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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Kayle Build, Runes and Counters — Top Lane and Mid · Patch 26.20

the Righteous

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (1,495 games).

Kayle, the Righteous, grows stronger with every level and skill point through Divine Ascent, and Divine Judgment makes an ally invulnerable. Master+ played her Top more than Mid, mostly on Press the Attack, with Nashor's Tooth into Dusk and Dawn the dominant build. Against Garen, the pairing people search most, she was close to even. Fiora beat her most often, on a small sample.

MarksmanMage

Patch 26.18 · Top · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 1,495 games · Preview sample

League of LegendsPatch 26.18TopRanked Solo/DuoMaster+EUW · KR · NA1,495 gamesPreview sample

Role snapshot (Top)

BTier

Win Rate: 50.0%
Pick Rate: 2.3%
Ban Rate: 0.6%

1,495

Games

High

Confidence

Win rate by lane

Top50.1% · 896 games · small sample
Mid50.7% · 531 games · small sample

Most common path

449 games

63.9%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Teleport

Other first item

11 games

45.5%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Ghost

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 23.1% of games·51.6% win rate over 345 games.

Primary

Precision

Press the Attack

Hitting an enemy champion 3 consecutive times deals bonus damage and amplifies your damage until you leave combat with champions.

Presence of Mind

Restore a small amount of mana or energy when damaging an enemy champion. Takedowns restore mana or energy.

Legend: Alacrity

Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Attack Speed.

Last Stand

Deal more damage to champions while you are low on health.

Secondary

Sorcery

Celerity

All Move Speed bonuses are 7% more effective on you and gain 1% Move Speed.

Gathering Storm

Gain increasing amounts of AD or AP, adaptive over the course of the game.

Shards

Adaptive Force
Adaptive Force
Health

Other keystones taken

Lethal Tempo17.5% taken · 50.4% win262 games
Fleet Footwork5.9% taken · 45.5% win88 games
Deathfire Touch0.5% taken · 71.4% win7 games

Tree pairs

Precision + Sorcery78.3% taken · 50.9% win1,170 games
Precision + Resolve14.2% taken · 43.7% win213 games
Precision + Inspiration6.4% taken · 51.0% win96 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Kayle's most common path.

Radiant Blast

Kayle conjures a portal, summoning a celestial sword that pierces through enemies, slowing, damaging, and reducing the resistances of all hit.

Cooldown 12/11/10/9/8s · 60/70/80/90/100 Mana

Celestial Blessing

Blessed by the divine, Kayle heals and grants Move Speed to herself and the nearest ally.

Cooldown 15s · 70/75/80/85/90 Mana

Starfire Spellblade

Passive: Kayle's celestial sword, Virtue, deals bonus magic damage to enemies she attacks.

Cooldown 8/7.5/7/6.5/6s · No cost

Divine Judgment

Kayle makes an ally invulnerable and calls upon former Aspects of Justice to purify the area around her target with a holy rain of swords.

Cooldown 160/120/80s · 100/50/0 Mana

Max Order

QEW

Max Q first, then E, then W. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

QRadiant Blast
WCelestial Blessing
EStarfire Spellblade
RDivine Judgment

Ability	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
QRadiant Blast			Q	Q	Q		Q		Q
WCelestial Blessing		W												W	W		W	W
EStarfire Spellblade	E							E		E		E	E
RDivine Judgment						R					R					R

Matchup map (Top)

How Kayle performs against enemy top laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Kayle's win rate

≥ 60%Very favorable

55 – 60%Favorable

50 – 55%Even

45 – 50%Unfavorable

40 – 45%Hard

< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18

Mythic / CoreFirst major item

Core 2Second item

Core 3Third item

BootsBoot slot

SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

KayleTop average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Kayle

Close the gap early — it wins at range and at three items — neither before ten minutes
Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip
Punish the cooldown — Kayle is exposed while its rotation is down
Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one
Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 7/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

P
Divine Ascent
Kayle's attacks are empowered by the heavens as she levels up and spends skill points. Her wings are lit aflame as she progressively gains Attack Speed, Move Speed, Attack Range, and waves of fire on her attacks.
Passive — never cast
Q
Radiant Blast
Kayle conjures a portal, summoning a celestial sword that pierces through enemies, slowing, damaging, and reducing the resistances of all hit.
Cost 60/70/80/90/100 ManaCooldown 12/11/10/9/8sRange 900
W
Celestial Blessing
Blessed by the divine, Kayle heals and grants Move Speed to herself and the nearest ally.
Cost 70/75/80/85/90 ManaCooldown 15sRange 900
E
Starfire Spellblade
Passive: Kayle's celestial sword, Virtue, deals bonus magic damage to enemies she attacks.Active: Kayle's next attack smites her target with celestial fire, dealing bonus damage proportionate to their missing health.
No costCooldown 8/7.5/7/6.5/6sRange 550
R
Divine Judgment
Kayle makes an ally invulnerable and calls upon former Aspects of Justice to purify the area around her target with a holy rain of swords.
Cost 100/50/0 ManaCooldown 160/120/80sRange 900

Kayle balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Kayle in 1 patch. The latest is patch 26.4, published 2026-02-18.

Patch 26.42026-02-18
QRadiant Blast
- Base Damage60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220to60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180
Why, in Riot's words
Just about everyone had Kayle on their “winners of the new season” Bingo card due to her reliably reaching level 16 more often. As those assumptions have proved true, it's time to tune her more appropriately. Players have increasingly come to understand that maxing Q is optimal on her, and we'd like if the choice between Q and E were closer.

Kayle skins (19)

Riot's data lists 19 looks for Kayle with their own art, the base skin included and 70 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateA

Win Rate: 51.5%; ▼ 0.3%
Pick Rate: 5.9%; ▲ 3.1%
Ban Rate: 0.5%; ▲ 1.3%

Damage dealt: 90.7%
Damage taken: 99.4%
Healing: 108.9%
Shielding: 104.6%
Ability Haste: +8

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

26.1949.5% over 507 games · small sample-0.1
26.1850.1% over 797 games · small sample-0.2
26.1752.1% over 188 games · small sample—

Kayle's base stats against all 173 champions

Kayle's base magic resist of 22 is the lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Kayle's base health of 670 is the 8th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others).
Kayle's health per level of 92 is the 13th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 3 others).

Stat	Kayle	Rank	Median
Base health	670	=8th	620
Health per level	92	=158th	104
Base armor	26	=110th	30
Armor per level	4.2	=122nd	4.6
Base magic resist	22	173rd	32
Magic resist per level	1.3	=93rd	1.55
Base attack damage	50	=157th	59
Base attack speed	0.625	=117th	0.656
Attack speed per level	1.5%	=150th	2.5%
Move speed	335	=74th	335
Attack range	175	=87th	175

Kayle at level 1 and level 18

Kayle reaches 2234 health at level 18 — 670 at level 1 plus 17 × 92, the 21st-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Kayle reaches 1180 mana at level 18 — 330 at level 1 plus 17 × 50, the 46th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
Kayle reaches 97.4 armor at level 18 — 26 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.2, the 25th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 4.
Kayle reaches 44.1 magic resist at level 18 — 22 at level 1 plus 17 × 1.3, the 2nd-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Stat	Level 1	Per level	Level 18	Rank at 18
Health	670	+92	2234	153rd of 173
Mana	330	+50	1180	46th of 145
Armor	26	+4.2	97.4	=145th of 173
Magic resist	22	+1.3	44.1	172nd of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Kayle

Playing Kayle

Using Divine Judgment on a high-DPS ally can turn the tides of battle by giving your ally free reign to attack.
Kayle's attacks become incredibly powerful once she gains attack range from Divine Ascent. Play safe until then.
Kayle benefits greatly from Attack Damage and Ability Power, making hybrid items like Nashor's Tooth and Hextech Gunblade very effective on her.

Playing against Kayle

Divine Judgment only grants Kayle or her allies immunity to damage. Slows and stuns can still be applied, so trap them if they're being overzealous.
Kayle is usually a fragile target. If you see her ultimate cast on an ally, switch to attacking her.
Kayle starts the game as a weaker melee champion. Try to put her behind before she ascends to her ranged form.

Quick answers about Kayle

How does Kayle do against Garen?: Kayle won 48.9% of 45 counted Master+ games against Garen. It is close to even. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Kayle do against Fiora?: Kayle won 37.1% of 35 counted Master+ games against Fiora. Fiora is one of the opponents that beat Kayle. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Kayle?: Riot classes Kayle as Marksman and Mage. This site files the champion under Top.
How hard is Kayle to play?: Riot rates Kayle's difficulty 7 out of 10.
What resource does Kayle use?: Kayle's abilities spend Mana.
What is Kayle's attack range?: 175 units — the 60th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 27 others).
What are Kayle's abilities?: Passive — Divine Ascent, Q — Radiant Blast, W — Celestial Blessing, E — Starfire Spellblade and R — Divine Judgment.
How many skins does Kayle have?: Riot's data lists 19 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 70 chroma variants.
How much health does Kayle have at level 18?: 2234 — 670 at level 1 plus 17 × 92 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Kayle's ultimate cooldown?: Divine Judgment (R): 160/120/80 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Kayle?: Patch 26.4, published 18 February 2026 — the latest of 1 patch that change Kayle in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Kayle at a glance

Kayle, the Righteous, is a Marksman and Mage champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 7/10 for difficulty, 6/10 for attack, 6/10 for defense and 7/10 for magic. Kayle spends Mana and has 19 skins with their own art. Kayle's base magic resist of 22 is the lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20. Kayle's base health of 670 is the 8th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others).

Attack6/10
Defense6/10
Magic7/10
Difficulty7/10

Kayle's story

Born to a Targonian Aspect at the height of the Rune Wars, Kayle honored her mother's legacy by fighting for justice on wings of divine flame. She and her twin sister Morgana were the protectors of Demacia for many years—until Kayle became disillusioned with the repeated failings of mortals, and abandoned this realm altogether. Still, legends are told of her punishing the unjust with her fiery swords, and many hope that she will one day return…

— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window: Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation: Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment: A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters: The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample: None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause: An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from: Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.