AD Carry

Smolder Build 26.22

Smolder is a baby dragon that starts weak and ends the game as a problem nobody can solve. Every Q stacks his passive, and past the big thresholds that same Q hits a whole area and executes anyone low. Middle of the pack at 50.4% and climbing this patch, but his identity is the stack count, survive the rough early, hoard Q hits, and become a hypercarry the enemy simply cannot out-damage.

#37 of 59 ad carry this patch · 2.3k games

Win rate50.4%+0.4Games2.3kPick rate4.1%Ban rate1.5%Last 8 patches−0.4 since 26.15Damage profilei

AP 20%AD 70%True 10%DifficultyiModerateRewards fundamentals

The 10-second answer standard · 50.4% WR

Spells

Flash + Barrier Start

Gluttonous Greaves SkillsQ›W›E Runes

Shards

ModernARAM Counter

173 champions

AatroxTopB50.1%AhriMidA51.5%AkaliMidB49.6%AkshanMidB49.7%AlistarSupportA52.3%AmbessaTopC47.8%AmumuJungleC48.7%AniviaMidB49.7%AnnieMidA52.4%ApheliosAD CarryC48.6%AsheAD CarryC49.3%Aurelion SolMidA52.3%AuroraMidB50.4%AzirMidC48.6%BardSupportC48.6%Bel'VethJungleS53.2%BlitzcrankSupportS52.4%BrandSupportC49.1%BraumSupportA51.4%BriarJungleB49.9%CaitlynAD CarryC47.9%CamilleTopA51.4%CassiopeiaMidC49.1%Cho'GathJungleA51.3%CorkiAD CarryB50.6%DariusTopB50.4%DianaJungleB49.7%Dr. MundoTopA51.3%DravenAD CarryA51.6%EkkoMidS52.5%EliseJungleC48.4%EvelynnJungleA51.0%EzrealAD CarryD46.2%FiddlesticksJungleB50.6%FioraTopA51.1%FizzMidB49.6%GalioMidB50.5%GangplankTopA51.5%GarenTopB50.3%GnarTopC49.2%GragasTopC49.2%GravesJungleB49.4%GwenTopA51.3%HecarimJungleA51.1%HeimerdingerTopS52.6%HweiMidA51.8%IllaoiTopB50.2%IreliaTopB49.8%IvernJungleA52.0%JannaSupportB50.8%Jarvan IVJungleC48.6%JaxTopB50.0%JayceTopD47.4%JhinAD CarryB50.4%JinxAD CarryA51.1%K'SanteTopD47.4%Kai'SaAD CarryB49.6%KalistaAD CarryB49.8%KarmaSupportD47.2%KarthusJungleC48.5%KassadinMidS52.5%KatarinaMidA51.7%KayleTopB50.7%KaynJungleB50.0%KennenTopA52.1%Kha'ZixJungleB50.2%KindredJungleA51.5%KledTopS52.8%Kog'MawAD CarryA51.9%LeBlancMidS52.4%Lee SinJungleC48.0%LeonaSupportA51.6%LilliaJungleA51.2%LissandraMidB49.9%LockeMidC48.2%LucianAD CarryC49.2%LuluSupportC49.1%LuxSupportC48.5%MalphiteTopA51.5%MalzaharMidC48.9%MaokaiSupportA51.9%Master YiJungleB49.4%MelMidD47.1%MilioSupportC48.6%Miss FortuneAD CarryC49.1%MordekaiserTopB50.3%MorganaSupportA51.4%NaafiriJungleA50.9%NamiSupportB50.7%NasusTopB49.4%NautilusSupportB50.4%NeekoSupportD47.3%NidaleeJungleA52.1%NilahAD CarryS+56.7%NocturneJungleB49.5%Nunu & WillumpJungleA51.0%OlafTopB50.3%OriannaMidD47.3%OrnnTopB50.8%PantheonTopA51.6%PoppySupportS53.8%PykeSupportB50.3%QiyanaJungleC48.3%QuinnTopD47.7%RakanSupportS52.8%RammusJungleS+55.3%Rek'SaiJungleS53.0%RellSupportS52.5%Renata GlascSupportB49.5%RenektonTopC48.7%RengarJungleB49.3%RivenTopB50.3%RumbleTopC49.0%RyzeMidD45.7%SamiraAD CarryB49.4%SejuaniJungleA52.1%SennaSupportB50.4%SeraphineSupportB49.5%SettTopA52.1%ShacoJungleB50.0%ShenTopA52.1%ShyvanaJungleS53.6%SingedTopB50.9%SionTopA51.0%SivirAD CarryA51.2%SkarnerJungleS+54.4%SmolderAD CarryB50.4%SonaSupportA51.6%SorakaSupportA51.4%SwainSupportA51.7%SylasMidC48.3%SyndraMidB49.7%Tahm KenchSupportC48.2%TaliyahJungleA50.9%TalonJungleA50.8%TaricSupportB50.9%TeemoTopA50.9%ThreshSupportB50.7%TristanaAD CarryB50.5%TrundleTopD47.7%TryndamereTopB50.6%Twisted FateMidB49.6%TwitchAD CarryB50.3%UdyrJungleB50.5%UrgotTopB50.8%VarusAD CarryC49.1%VayneAD CarryB50.7%VeigarMidD47.8%Vel'KozSupportS53.4%VexMidA52.2%ViJungleB50.0%ViegoJungleC48.8%ViktorMidB49.5%VladimirMidA51.2%VolibearTopB50.5%WarwickJungleS52.9%WukongJungleA51.7%XayahAD CarryS52.7%XerathMidA51.7%Xin ZhaoJungleA52.1%YasuoMidC48.3%YoneMidC48.8%YorickTopC48.5%YunaraAD CarryC49.0%YuumiSupportC48.9%ZaahenTopC49.1%ZacJungleA52.0%ZedMidC48.9%ZeriAD CarryA51.6%ZiggsAD CarryA52.1%ZileanSupportA51.5%ZoeMidS52.8%ZyraSupportB50.0%

When Is Smolder Strongest?

The win rate climbs the longer the game runs, peaking in the late game, and games at this rank average around 29 minutes. Smolder is a scaling stack machine, so he uses that window to farm his abilities to their ceiling, at which point his fire breath one-shots priority targets and his flight lets him snipe from total safety.

Game timeline · Smolder drag or hover to scrub · space plays · ←/→ step

your power minute by minute · gold = item spikes · small = components · dashed = objectives

Camps1:30Drake / Grubs5:00Herald14:00Baron20:00Avg end29:17

Ambush zone5:30–7:00 Power spike 23:06

~5:34

12:04

19:59

23:06

0:00 10:00 20:00 30:00 40:00

At 12:00

Power 54/100 · Even

Core 0/3 items

Gold ~5.7k

Phase Lvl-6 window

Next spike Essence Reaver · 12:04

Smolder Item Build

Smolder is a stacking hypercarry who grows his abilities stronger with every Dragon Practice stack, so the build stacks attack speed, crit, and ability haste to farm those stacks fast and cash them into late-game damage. Every item accelerates the ramp toward his one-shot breath.

Standard loadout · Smolder The consensus path — reliable spikes, no dead time.

Starting items 500g

Doran's Blade×1

Health Potion×1

Stealth Ward×1 Core path · click an item for its recipe ›› Boots

Gluttonous Greaves55% · 51.4%

Ionian Boots of Lucidity45% · 51.8%

Situational items pick an opponent in the bar above — the right swaps light up

vs AD threatsPhysical threats spike with lethality — armor answers buy the mid game back.G

Guardian Angel20064.0%

vs stacked resistsWhen resists stack, penetration beats raw stats — swap a damage slot.M

Mortal Reminder14358.7%L

Lord Dominik's Regards28856.9%H

Hubris15655.1%

vision controlFights are decided a minute earlier by the team that sees first.O

Oracle Lens3756.8%F

Farsight Alteration1.5k51.2%S

Stealth Ward73348.4%

Best Smolder Runes

Deathfire Touch is the standard, and it rewards the poke-and-stack pattern Smolder lives on. He is not a burst laner early, he is chunking targets with Q to farm stacks and stay relevant until his scaling arrives. Build the rest for the sustained, at-range damage that keeps him safe while the stack count climbs.

The pre-game page Deathfire Touch · Sorcery + Inspiration · keystone + 5 runes + 3 shards

Sorcery Primary

Deathfire TouchDamaging a champion with an ability burns them over time.

Nimbus Cloak78% · 49.8%

Celerity79% · 50.2%

Gathering Storm84% · 50.7%

Keystone plus three minors from Sorcery, two from Inspiration, then three shards — no runebook, no masteries.

Inspiration Secondary

Jack Of All Trades57% · 51.1%

Magical Footwear74% · 50.1%

Stat shards Offense

Adaptive Force+9 Adaptive Force

Flex

Move Speed+2.5% Move Speed

Defense

Health Scaling+10–180 Health (by level)

Shards give +9Adaptive Force+2.5%Move Speed+10–180 Health (by level)

Build Essence Reaver into Black Cleaver, the damage core his stacked Q wants behind it. A rough lane is survivable here, since the payoff is in scaling. Black Cleaver comes online around 20 minutes, and paired with a healthy stack count his Q flips from chip damage to deleting squishies. Rush that item and use his early timings to stay alive while the stacks pile up.

Smolder Skill Order

Flight is a level 3 pickup that holds one rank until 14, so the escape stays basic while Super Scorcher Breath maxes at 9 and Achooo finishes at 13. Every early point is aimed at the stack count, not the getaway.

Skill order · Smolder R at 6 / 11 / 16 — always

PriorityR

R›Q

Q›W

W›E

EMax Q first; W at level 2.

Lv 123456789101112131415161718

Q14579max 9

W28101213max 13

E314151718max 18

R61116max 16

Smolder Changes This Patch

Stat & ability changesPatch 26.22

W Explosion Damage10 / 35 / 60 / 85 / 110 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 / 125Buff

Smolder Abilities

That escape doubles as offense: Flap, Flap, Flap lifts him over terrain to bombard whoever sits lowest on health, so retreating still chips a target. Achooo! fills the gaps between big breaths, an explosive sneeze that only detonates when it catches an enemy champion.

Abilities · Smolderpatch 26.22 base numbers · click an ability · all ranks shown

Dragon PracticePassiveP

Super Scorcher BreathMax 1stQ

Achooo!Max 2ndW

Flap, Flap, FlapMax lastE

MMOOOMMMM!UltRRank-up levels here match the skill order below.

Super Scorcher BreathPhysical damageMax 1stStatLV 1rank 1LV 4rank 2LV 5rank 3LV 7rank 4LV 9MAXBase Damage+10 per ranklv 160lv 470lv 580lv 790lv 9100Cooldown-0.5 per ranklv 15.5slv 45slv 54.5slv 74slv 93.5sConstant at every rankCost25same at all ranks

Smolder Base Stats

Base stats · SmolderPatch 26.22

Base statslevel 1 · +per levelAD58+2.3AS0.638+4%MS330Range550HP575+100HP53.75+0.6Armor24+4MR33+1.1MP300+40MP58.5+0.7

Smolder Matchups

Smolder is fragile and slow to come online, so early aggression and dive that punish him before he stacks give him his worst games. Passive lanes that let him farm the breath uninterrupted are exactly where his scaling turns him into a ranged executioner.

Lane matchups · Smolder click any opponent to retune the console

Hardest lanes · click to tune

Best hunting

How to lane vs AP mages 01Respect their early kill pressure; do not walk into skillshot range carelessly.02Use E to dodge their crowd control, then punish their long cooldowns.03Buy magic resist and position behind frontline; scale to outrange their burst. Win rate by game lengthSmolder overall · all matchupsUnder 20 min46.3%20–28 min48.0%28–35 min51.0%Over 35 min54.9%

Hard engage and dive threats like Swain, Ziggs, and Aphelios can end Smolder before he ever comes online, so play the early game small and do not hand over free deaths. He grows past Yasuo, Brand, and Vayne, the lane bullies who beat him early but have no way to match his damage once the stacks are in. Your job is simply to reach the point where his Q outscales the whole enemy team.

ExploreWhere to go next after Smolder

Keep climbing · Bot laneADC Tier ListEvery ADC ranked by tierSee ADC Tier List