Summoners War 2A Varus Build: Runes, Stats, and RTA Strategy

To build Second Awakening (2A) Varus (Dark Griffon) in Summoners War, cap his Critical Rate at 100% and stack high Speed and Defense. Varus functions as a single-target control bruiser whose default skill, Snatch, lands a guaranteed one-turn stun whenever it deals a critical hit. Because this stun has no cooldown, Varus can lock down high-priority enemy threats every turn and on revenge counterattacks.

Core Stat Priorities and Rune Sets

Reaching 100% Critical Rate is mandatory. Any lower value introduces random failure into his primary crowd-control mechanic. After securing maximum Critical Rate, prioritize Speed for frequent turn cycling, followed by Defense and HP for survivability and damage scaling.

Aim for these competitive World Arena benchmarks:

• Critical Rate: 100% (Strict requirement)
• Speed: +130 to +160 on Violent, or +180+ on Swift
• Defense: +1,000 to +1,300
• HP: +14,000 to +18,000
• Accuracy: 40% to 55%

Set Selection: Violent vs. Swift

• Violent + Revenge: This setup offers the highest match impact. Violent turns allow Varus to soften an enemy with Skill 2 (Body Slam) for a two-turn Defense and Attack break, then immediately stun that target or another threat with Snatch. Revenge runes trigger Snatch when Varus takes damage, immediately stunning the attacker on their own turn.
• Swift + Revenge: Choose Swift when drafting for immediate turn-one control. A high-speed Swift build lets Varus act directly after your team's buff stripper to neutralize dangerous enemy openers before they cycle their abilities.

Artifact Substats

Equip Defense-type artifacts with primary Defense or HP stats. Because Varus attacks frequently through normal turns and counterattacks, prioritize substats that reward repetitive hits and boost his debuff reliability:

• Damage Dealt by Skill 1 Critical Damage: Directly amplifies the damage of Snatch on every landing stun.
• Additional Damage based on Speed and Defense: Adds flat bonus damage that bypasses high enemy mitigation.
• Accuracy on Skill 1 and Skill 2: Ensures consistent stuns and dual breaks against high-Resistance targets without requiring dedicated rune slots.
• Damage Taken from Light or Dark: Reduces incoming burst damage from opposing neutral-element threats.

World Arena Drafting and Counters

Varus performs best as a late fourth or fifth counter-pick against drafts that rely on a single carry or limited sustain. His Dark attribute eliminates glancing penalties against Fire, Water, and Wind units, allowing him to challenge elemental carries reliably.

Follow these drafting rules to keep Varus effective:

• Draft with strippers: Varus cannot stun through Will runes or active immunity buffs. Pair him with turn-one strippers like Moore or Chiwu so he has unshielded targets.
• Pair with attack bar boosters: Turn cyclers such as Miles, Racuni, and Verdehile help Varus chain attacks and keep a locked-down target permanently disabled.
• Do not early-pick: Revealing Varus early allows opponents to draft heavy immunity supports like Woosa, Velajuel, or Riley, which shut down his single-target control.
• Avoid stun-immune units: Keep Varus away from passive stun counters such as Josephine or Rigel, and protect him from Oblivion effects like Tesarion that strip his kit value. When facing cleanse units, open with Body Slam to bait the cleanse before applying Snatch to secure the stun.