Sezz'ziz, Avatar of Sand: how to beat

Sezz'ziz, Avatar of Sand — dungeon “Zul'Karrak — Sanctum of Sands”, level 50. The deck: phases, turn cycle, damage and healing by mode, cold, test strike,…

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Dungeon Zul'Karrak — Sanctum of Sands, final boss, level 50.

The boss plays its own deck: every turn it plays the next line of its phase’s cycle, with no randomness. Learn the cycle and you know what is coming. The numbers on this page are the same as in the card tooltip in combat: before Hardiness and Defender’s Stance. Mechanics in detail — Boss mechanics.

In short

Modes: Heroic (at level 60), Normal (at the place’s level, 42–50), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
2 phases, 7 cards in the deck. Schools: ⚔ Physical 3, ⛰ Earth 2, 🌑 Darkness 2.
“Empty Hall” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 620, keystone +10 520 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Silence in Court!” test strike — on boss turns 7 and 14: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000; 40% weaker with a defensive card on yourself.
The heaviest hit is “Silence in Court!”: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000.

Phases and turn cycle

The phase changes with the boss’s Health. In each phase the boss goes round its own cycle: at the end it starts again. The boss’s next turn shows on its portrait.

1. “The Hearing” — from the start of the fight

Down to 50% Health: a question every 3 turns, a court ruling every 6.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Judge's Gavel
2	⚔ Judge's Gavel + 🌑 What Do You Say in Your Defence?
3	⚔ Judge's Gavel
4	🌑 Court Ruling
5	⚔ Judge's Gavel
6	⚔ Judge's Gavel + 🌑 What Do You Say in Your Defence?

2. “Guards!” — below 50% Health

Below 50%: guards at once, sand across the hall.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: ⛰ Guards!.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Judge's Gavel + ⛰ Sand Across the Hall
2	🌑 Court Ruling
3	⚔ Judge's Gavel + 🌑 What Do You Say in Your Defence?
4	⛰ Guards! + ⛰ Sand Across the Hall
5	⚔ Judge's Gavel

The “Silence in Court!” test strike is not part of the cycle: the boss announces it on its turns 6 and 13 and hits on turns 7 and 14.

Cards and numbers

The number is what a hit takes before Hardiness (through shields — from Health only), how much the boss heals itself, the shield it puts up, a minion’s Health. A dash means the card is not in that mode or has no number. Keystone: +10 numbers; hits are the same from +7 to +9 and weaker per level below +7.

Card	What it does	Heroic	Normal	Keystone +10	How to answer
⚔ Silence in Court! · Physical, test strike	A test strike on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank). The boss announces it on its own, outside the cycle, and hits on its 7th and 14th turn; one turn before, there is a countdown on the portrait and a warning above your hand. The target plays a defensive card on themselves before the hit — it is 40% weaker. Not in normal mode. Through shields.	7,000 · with a defensive card 4,200	—	8,000 · with a defensive card 4,800	Test strike, one turn of warning. The tank plays a defensive card, the healer tops him up in advance.
⚔ Judge's Gavel · Physical, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,468	945	4,305	A plain hit.
🌑 What Do You Say in Your Defence? · Darkness, question: give up a card	A question for a damage dealer or the healer (past the tank): in a window before their turn ends they choose — give up a card from hand until the fight ends (then damage to the boss ×1.25 until the turn ends) or stay silent and take a hit. No answer counts as silence. Residents answer by themselves.	1,410	540	2,460	The target chooses: give up a card from the hand until the fight ends (he writes it down: +25% damage to him for 1 party turn) or stay silent and take a hit.
🌑 Court Ruling · Darkness, charge	A charge: in 2 turns it hits everyone, the number is for each. Take 6% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and the charge breaks. Once broken, the boss plays “Session Adjourned”. Shields hold half, ignores 50% of Hardiness.	1,128	288	1,312	Reads it out for 2 turns. Take 6% of his Health and the session is adjourned. Too late: half through shields at everyone.
⚔ Session Adjourned · Physical, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.35 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	Gathering his papers: +35% damage to him for 1 party turn.
⛰ Guards! · Earth, summon with a task	Summons “Court Guard” ×2. While it lives, it covers the boss: damage to the boss ×0.6.	Health 1,300 · hits 165	Health 200 · hits 63	Health 3,560 · hits 287	While the guards stand, damage to him ×0.6. Fighters hit the guards first.
⛰ Sand Across the Hall · Earth, hit on everyone	A hit on everyone: the number is for each. Shields hold half.	353	90	410	A small hit on everyone half through shields. Party healing.

“Empty Hall” cold

The windows are smashed, there is no door. The court sits in the draught.

Heroic: 620 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 520 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Hits every fighter in the party through shields; Hardiness reduces it — better gear takes less.
The answer is healing every turn: shields do not stop cold. Healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
No cold in normal mode.

Test strike

“Silence in Court!” — on boss turns 7 and 14, through shields, on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank). On heroic, while the party’s tank is alive, it goes to the tank. Not in normal mode.
Heroic: 7,000 before Hardiness; 4,200 if the target answered with a defensive card.
Keystone +10: 8,000 before Hardiness; 4,800 if the target answered with a defensive card.
One turn before the hit there is a countdown on the portrait and a warning above your hand. The target plays a defensive card on themselves: a self-shield, damage reduction or “cannot be killed”. A card someone else plays on the target does not count.

Enrage

Heroic: from party turn 40, every boss turn is 4% stronger, and it stacks.
Normal: as before — if the fight drags on past its expected length, the boss hits harder every turn.
Keystone +10: as before — if the fight drags on past its expected length, the boss hits harder every turn.

Roles

Tank

The “Silence in Court!” test strike lands on the boss’s 7th and 14th turn (heroic and keystone +10). One turn before, play a defensive card on yourself — a self-shield, damage reduction or “cannot be killed”: the hit becomes 40% weaker. Keep such a card in hand for those turns.
Shields do not stop this hit: the healer tops up your Health before it.
“Judge's Gavel” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Judge's Gavel” (“The Hearing” phase, cycle step 1).
Do not fall: on heroic, mythic and in keystones, without a living tank the boss’s hits on its focus go through shields. A resident can be the tank too.

Healer

“Empty Hall” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 620, keystone +10 — 520 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“Court Ruling” and “Sand Across the Hall” hit everyone. Before such turns, get everyone above half Health; they all go half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.

Damage dealers

“Court Guard” covers the boss: while it lives, damage to the boss ×0.6. Kill it first.
“Session Adjourned”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
“Court Ruling” can be broken: take 6% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and there is no hit.
“What Do You Say in Your Defence?”: a question in a window — give up a card or stay silent. A card given up makes everyone hit the boss harder until the turn ends.
Do not drag it out: heroic — enrage from turn 40.

The heaviest hits

“Silence in Court!” — test strike, through shields.
“Judge's Gavel” — on the tank; “The Hearing” phase, cycle step 1.
“What Do You Say in Your Defence?” — on a damage dealer or the healer; “The Hearing” phase, cycle step 2.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the Zul'Karrak — Sanctum of Sands page.

Previous boss — Voodoo Priest Gahz'rul.

All bosses of the place — Zul'Karrak — Sanctum of Sands. Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.