Elemental Dominance: Lilith's Ultimate Build

Welcome back to the arena, Vault Hunters.

In this article, we’ll explore potential Skill Tree builds for our favorite Siren and star of the new Borderlands movie, Lilith! This Vault Hunter can be found in the Box of Badasses along with a huge cast of famous characters.

Lilith’s Phasewalk allows you to place her within four zones regardless of line of sight or intervening zones. Being able to move four zones is already an amazing ability but you can also break the rules by moving through blocked zones that are full of models or even empty zones that don’t have a hex tile. Note that you can only move through these “illegal” zones: You cannot end your movement in them. All of Lilith’s Skill Trees enhance her Phasewalk ability but this article is going to focus on having fun with elemental effects.

The reference image shows the path for four levels, with a Skill token placed next to each of the chosen abilities.

Lilith’s first level unlocks a free Radiance attack that allows you choose an elemental effect. When you make an attack with an elemental effect, roll a purple d4 and place the chosen elemental token on the target if a Crit is rolled. Remember that you always roll the d4 to see if you inflict an elemental effect even if the attack fails. Options for elemental effects are posted below but feel free to skip this section and move onto the next skill if you’re already familiar with the elements. These tokens are removed during the Clean Up Roll if End Effects is rolled.

Corrosive: Target reduces their Defense value by 1 for each Corrosive token on it.

This is great for enemies with several hit points like a Boss or Unique model that also have a high Defense value. Stacking Corrosive makes it easier for all Vault Hunters to succeed at attacking the target and the tokens only go away if the End Effects is rolled. Corrosive is practically useless for enemies with minimal hit points since they will be taken out after only a couple wounds anyway. Corrosive can still be useful against enemies with a really high Defense value even if they only have a couple hit points.

Cryo: Models with a Cryo token may not move. At the end of the model’s turn, remove all Cryo tokens from it.

This element is fantastic against enemies with strong melee attacks. You can freeze the enemy in place and hit them from a safe distance with ranged attacks. Another fun trick is to pin enemies in place so the zone becomes full faster. When used properly, this tactic can create impassable bottlenecks so enemies have to move around a longer path to attack, buying you more precious time. Lilith can even Phasewalk through these bottlenecks to “kite” melee enemies back if she has the Spotlight.

Burning (placed by Incendiary): At the end of each Enemy Turn, every model with Burning tokens suffers wounds equal to the number of Burning tokens on them.

Most of your elemental attacks are going to be playing with fire since Burning is such an effective method for dealing free wounds and have your enemies melt away. Burning deals one wound and doesn’t require spending an Action token or even making a successful attack to keep the damage going every turn. Unlike Deadly or other effects that deal extra damage, Burning tokens stack as a cumulative effect so you can melt enemies even faster.

Radiation: When a model with a Radiation token is taken out, roll the black d10: All other models in the same zone as the irradiated model immediately suffer an attack with Strength equal to the roll that is resisted by Reflexes. This may occur during the attack that placed the Radiation token on the model if the model was taken out by that attack. During the Clean Up Roll, if End Effects is rolled, each model with a Radiation token suffers one wound (the token is not removed).

Radiation can be tricky and using Incendiary to place Burning tokens is generally more practical. Radiation can be used as an explosive attack by targeting a zone full of enemies. If you inflict Radiation on an enemy with only one hit point remaining and take them out with the attack, it acts like a d10 attack to all other models in the same zone. This can be a great tactic against mobs of weak enemies but requires the right circumstances and a bit of luck. Also be careful about friendly fire since the d10 attack targets all models in the same zone, including Vault Hunters!

Shock: Models with a Shock token may not recharge their shields.

Generally only powerful enemies like a Unique and Boss has shields. However, future expansions may introduce more enemies with shields so Shock will be more valuable over time (hint hint). While this element is only useful against shielded enemies, it can be a key strategy in taking them down quickly before they go on a killing frenzy.

Slag: Models with a Slag token suffer one additional wound from successful attacks.

Slag basically gives attacks Deadly but can still combo with Deadly and Deadly Crits. This gives you potential to deal up to three wounds if you successfully make a Deadly attack targeting an enemy with Slag. While this ability is powerful, it only lasts one round since all Slag tokens are removed during the Clean Up Roll, regardless of the roll result. Slag should only be used when multiple Vault Hunters can focus attacks on the same target like a Unique and Boss.

Now that we covered your options for elemental effects, Lilith’s second level unlocks Elemental Conduit. This ability applies elemental effects on a purple die result of 2, 3, or Crit. The only time your element “misses” is when you roll a Fumble. Note that rolling a Fumble for an elemental effect does not make the attack fail: If the attack succeeds you still deal a wound as normal.

The third level gives you one additional yellow Action token. No fancy tricks here but having an extra action each turn is always useful.

Lilith’s fourth level unlocks her Phoenix action that deals two wounds to enemies for each elemental token on them. This affects all enemies within three zones regardless of line of sight. This is an Easy action so no roll is required, but you’ll still need to spend an Action token. While the Phoenix action can deal a tremendous amount of wounds and take out several enemies with one action, it also takes careful planning and coordination. Combining Lilith’s Radiance attack with Elemental Conduit ensures a steady stream of elemental tokens but you can also use barrels and weapons with elemental effects to deal out more tokens. Other Vault Hunters should also try to use guns with elemental effects. Assault Rifles with Rapid attacks can be really effective at dealing elemental tokens to multiple enemies.

We discussed how Phasewalk can be used to set up powerful attacks but it’s also a great defensive option. Most scenarios have blind spots on the map that cut off line of sight. These can take the form of empty spaces that creates gaps between hex tiles, or round shapes that curve beyond line of sight. Lilith can end her turn in these protected areas and then use Phasewalk to pop out of them during her next activation.

In conclusion, Lilith’s Skill Tree build offers a blend of strategic depth and explosive power, making her a versatile and formidable Vault Hunter on the battlefield. Whether you're freezing enemies in place with Cryo, stacking damage with Burning, or strategically dismantling shielded foes with Shock, Lilith's elemental prowess and Phasewalk ability give you the tools to dominate any encounter. So gear up, Vault Hunter, and unleash the elemental fury of Lilith in your next Borderlands adventure. Happy gaming!