What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
144 buys
2ndSecond most
99 buys
3rdThird most
93 buys
4thFourth most
80 buys
5thFifth most
77 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Lich
Ranged · Intelligence
- Win rate
- 52.6%
- Pick share
- 1.0%
- Matches
- 469,773
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsSupportNuker
NeedsCarryInitiatorDisablerFrontlineTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 50 min + — that is where this hero measures best, at 51.8% over 955 matches.
- You are playing around Crusader — its strongest medal, 53.3% over 64,365 picks.
Avoid
- Sniper is on their side — this hero wins 37.1% of 105 matches against it.
- Nyx Assassin is on their side — this hero wins 29.2% of 48 matches against it.
- Treant Protector is on their side — this hero wins 35.1% of 74 matches against it.
144 buys99 buys93 buys80 buys77 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Lich took at each level.
QFrost Blast
Blasts the target enemy unit with damaging frost, dealing area damage and slowing movement and attack rates for 4 seconds.
Unit Target · AOE · Magical damage
WFrost Shield
Applies a magical frost shield around the target, reducing damage from attacks against it.
Unit Target · Magical damage
ESinister Gaze
CHANNELED - Hypnotizes an enemy unit, causing it to move towards a point between the two of you and drains a percentage of its current mana.
Unit Target · Channeled
RChain Frost
Releases an orb of frost that bounces between nearby enemy units up to 10 times, slowing and damaging each time it hits.
Unit Target · Magical damageMax Order
QEW
Max Q first, then E, then W. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QFrost Blast
- WFrost Shield
- ESinister Gaze
- RChain Frost
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QFrost Blast | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WFrost Shield | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| ESinister Gaze | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RChain Frost | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Lich performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
108 opponents · public matches40%60%Lich's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “slow”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “shield”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”.
- Clear or push the wave
Creeps, summons and anything that hits a building. Matched on “creep”.
- Pressure their mana
Burn it, drain it, or take the spell away entirely. Matched on “mana”.
By medal
- Herald52.0%10,846
- Guardian52.7%36,656
- Crusader53.3%64,365
- Archon53.0%94,114
- Legend52.6%106,771
- Ancient52.4%76,138
- Divine51.9%51,326
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min42.0%3,968
- 20–30 min47.4%9,029
- 30–40 min49.2%5,484
- 40–50 min50.9%2,286
- 50 min +51.8%955
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Lich
Abilities
Frost Blast
Unit Target · AOE · Magical damageBlasts the target enemy unit with damaging frost, dealing area damage and slowing movement and attack rates for 4 seconds. The primary target receives both base and area damage.
Frost Shield
Unit Target · Magical damageApplies a magical frost shield around the target, reducing damage from attacks against it. While the shield is active, ice magic will affect nearby enemy units every 1 seconds, dealing minor damage and slowing them.
Sinister Gaze
Unit Target · ChanneledCHANNELED - Hypnotizes an enemy unit, causing it to move towards a point between the two of you and drains a percentage of its current mana.
Ice Spire
Point Target · AOE · HiddenCreates an Ice Spire at the target spot, slowing enemies around it. Can take 4 hero hits or 8 creep hits and when destroyed it will create a Frost Blast around it. Chain Frost can be cast on the Spire and can bounce to the Spire and damage the spire by 1 hero attack if there are no other enemies in range. Lich can cast Frost Shield on the Spire. Each Frost Shield tick will heal the spire by 1 hero attack.
Sacrifice
Unit TargetSacrifice an allied creep to convert its current health into mana for Lich and give Lich its experience bounty. Begins the game on cooldown and with no charges.
Chain Frost
Unit Target · Magical damageReleases an orb of frost that bounces between nearby enemy units up to 10 times, slowing and damaging each time it hits. Each bounce increases the damage for the subsequent bounces. Chain Frost lingers on its last target if it fails to bounce and can bounce again if new targets become available.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 20 +2.1
- Agility
- 17 +1.7
- Intelligence
- 28 +3.4
- Move · range
- 290 · 550
Talents
- 4Frost Shield Provides HP RegenChain Frost Unlimited Bounces
- 3Frost Shield ChargesChain Frost on Death
- 2Sinister Gaze DurationFrost Blast Cooldown
- 1Frost Shield Damage ReductionFrost Blast Radius and Area Damage
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Sinister Gaze
Sinister Gaze becomes an Area of Effect ability, affecting units within a radius of 400 in the target area. Sinister Gaze allows Lich to cast other abilities while channeling it.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Ice Spire
Creates an Ice Spire at the target spot, slowing enemies around it. Can take 4 hero hits or 8 creep hits and when destroyed it will create a Frost Blast around it. Chain Frost can be cast on the Spire and can bounce to the Spire and damage the spire by 1 hero attack if there are no other enemies in range. Lich can cast Frost Shield on the Spire. Each Frost Shield tick will heal the spire by 1 hero attack.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.