Every figure shows its source. Where a source is missing, the number is a placeholder — and it is never written as fact.

By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Master Yi Counters, Build and Runes — Jungle Matchups · Patch 26.20

the Wuju Bladesman

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (2,233 games).

Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman, strikes twice every few attacks through Double Strike and blinks untargetable through enemies with Alpha Strike. Hail of Blades won out over Lethal Tempo among counted Master+ Yis, and their single printed path is Kraken Slayer, The Collector, Lord Dominik's Regards. Ekko, Kindred and Talon beat him most often in the jungle. He got the upper hand on Shyvana, Nocturne and Viego.

FighterAssassin

Patch 26.18 · Jungle · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 2,233 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Jungle)

ATier
Win Rate
50.9%
Pick Rate
3.4%
Ban Rate
7.2%

2,233

Games

High

Confidence

Most common path

444 games

57.7%Win Rate

Start
FlashSmite

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 14.0% of games·50.0% win rate over 312 games.

Primary

Domination

Hail of Blades

Gain a large amount of Attack Speed and bonus true damage for the first 3 attacks made against enemy champions.

Sudden Impact

Damaging basic attacks and abilities deal bonus true damage to enemy champions after using a dash, leap, blink, teleport, or when leaving stealth.

Sixth Sense

On a long Cooldown, automatically sense a nearby untracked and unseen ward, tracking it for the team. Level 11: Also reveal the ward for 10s.

Treasure Hunter

Unique takedowns grant additional gold the first time they are collected.

Secondary

Precision

Triumph

Takedowns restore 5% of your missing health and grant an additional 20 gold.

Legend: Alacrity

Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Attack Speed.

Shards

  • Attack Speed
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health Scaling

Other keystones taken

  • Lethal Tempo24.6% taken · 46.4% win549 games
  • Conqueror1.0% taken · 43.5% win23 games
  • Electrocute0.1% taken · 100.0% win2 games

Tree pairs

  • Domination + Precision69.5% taken · 52.6% win1,552 games
  • Precision + Inspiration19.2% taken · 45.9% win429 games
  • Domination + Inspiration4.6% taken · 50.5% win103 games

Skill Order

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

Q

Alpha Strike

Master Yi teleports across the battlefield with blinding speed, dealing physical damage to multiple units in his path, while simultaneously becoming untargetable.

Cooldown 20/19.5/19/18.5/18s · 50/55/60/65/70 Mana
W

Meditate

Master Yi rejuvenates his body by focus of mind, restoring Health and taking reduced damage for a short time.

Cooldown 10s · 40 Mana
E

Wuju Style

Grants bonus true damage on basic attacks.

Cooldown 14s · No cost
R

Highlander

Master Yi moves with unparalleled agility, temporarily increasing his Move Speed and Attack Speed as well as making him immune to all slowing effects.

Cooldown 85s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QEW

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

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QAlpha StrikeQQQQQ
WMeditateWWWWW
EWuju StyleEEEEE
RHighlanderRRR

Matchup map (Jungle)

How Master Yi performs against enemy jungle laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Master Yi'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

Master YiJungle average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Master Yi

  • Avoid extended fights — its sustain grows with every trade it survives

  • Deny the reset — it wants a kill to come back out; a warded exit removes it

  • Punish the cooldown — Master Yi 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 4/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

  • P

    Double Strike

    Every few consecutive basic attack, Master Yi strikes twice.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Alpha Strike

    Master Yi teleports across the battlefield with blinding speed, dealing physical damage to multiple units in his path, while simultaneously becoming untargetable. Alpha Strike can critically strike and deals bonus physical damage to monsters. Basic attacks reduce Alpha Strike's cooldown.

    Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 20/19.5/19/18.5/18sRange 600

  • W

    Meditate

    Master Yi rejuvenates his body by focus of mind, restoring Health and taking reduced damage for a short time. In addition, Master Yi will gain stacks of Double Strike and pause the remaining duration on Wuju Style and Highlander for each second he channels.

    Cost 40 ManaCooldown 10sRange 20

  • E

    Wuju Style

    Grants bonus true damage on basic attacks.

    No costCooldown 14sRange 20

  • R

    Highlander

    Master Yi moves with unparalleled agility, temporarily increasing his Move Speed and Attack Speed as well as making him immune to all slowing effects. While active, Champion kills or assists extend Highlander's duration. Passively reduces cooldown for his other abilities on a kill or assist.

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 85sRange 1

Master Yi balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Master Yi in 9 patches. The latest is patch 26.19, published 2026-09-22.

  1. Patch 26.192026-09-22

    QAlpha Strike

    • Cooldown Refund on Hit-1 second, scaling down with Ability Hasteto1 second
    Why, in Riot's words

    Somewhat overdue, but because Duskblade was removed a while ago, we're removing the Ability Haste penalty we had to apply to his Q CDR mechanic. This should have minimal impact on Summoner's Rift, but we see you Mayhem and Arena!

  2. Patch 26.182026-09-09

    Base Stats

    • Armor Growth33 + 4.5/Levelto33 + 5/Level

    RHighlander

    • Move Speed35 / 45 / 55%to40 / 50 / 60%
    Why, in Riot's words

    Yi drew the short end of the stick on the Rageblade bugfix from earlier this year due to his double strike interactions. While the actual impact for most Rageblade users was minor (and we are compensating Rageblade as well for that this patch), he was impacted harder than the other users. He's also just been unable to scale as well as a melee carry compared to his normal power level, so we are also giving him a buff up.

  3. Patch 26.22026-01-21

    Base Stats

    • Armor Growth4.2to4.5

    QAlpha Strike

    • On-Hit Damage Mod65%to75%
    Why, in Riot's words

    Master Yi has been struggling as a result of the changes in the new season. We’re looking to return some of his power so that he can keep up with other junglers and better live up to his full hyper carry potential.

  4. Patch 25.242025-12-02

    Base Stats

    • Base Health655to640
    • Attack Damage Growth2.8to2.5
    Why, in Riot's words

    Master Yi is another powerful champion who's been dominating the jungle as of late. To level the playing field we're bringing down his durability and damage a bit split between the early and late game as we're currently happy with his overall combat and game pacing.

  5. Patch 25.172025-08-26

    Base Stats

    • Base Health669to655

    QAlpha Strike

    • On-hit damage modifier75%to65%
    Why, in Riot's words

    Our fixes for Master Yi Q applying Kraken and Terminus were understandably buffs to Yi. We're looking to reduce his built in on-hit build potency now that the system works in his favor and make his early game more exploitable in order to bring him down to size.

  6. Patch 25.162025-08-12

    QAlpha Strike

    • On-Hit Synergy: Alpha Strike now stacks Kraken Slayer and Terminus.
    Why, in Riot's words

    When Kraken Slayer first came out, we excluded Alpha Strike from stacking it but as it’s no longer a mythic item, those burst damage concerns aren’t nearly as pressing, so we’re enabling the item synergy and making Terminus also stack on each of these pseudo-attacks.

  7. Patch 25.152025-07-29

    QAlpha Strike

    • Damage30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 (+ 50% total AD)to20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 (+ 70% total AD)
    • Monster Damage95 / 150 / 205 / 260 / 315 (+ 50% total AD)to80 / 125 / 170 / 215 / 260 (+ 70% total AD)
    Why, in Riot's words

    As with Bel’Veth, Master Yi was a big winner from Blade of the Ruined King’s and Kraken Slayer’s buffs so we need to take him down a peg to remain balanced. We’re taking down some of his Alpha Strike burst in low-AD builds in order to put his higher AD crit builds closer to high AS on-hit builds.

  8. Patch 25.062025-03-18

    Base Stats

    • Armor Growth4.7to4.2

    QAlpha Strike

    • Bonus Critical Strike Damage75%to100%
    Why, in Riot's words

    Master Yi has several built in on-demand defensive options, meaning the times where he is attackable he should probably be more vulnerable at a base stat level. We're targeting his armor growth to make sure these periods of vulnerability are more clearly weak points for his opponents to go after him. Additionally, we're increasing the Bonus Crit Damage Ratio on Alpha Strike to allow crit Master Yi to be more viable for the Crit Yi enjoyers out there.

  9. Patch 25.S1.22025-01-22

    Base Stats

    • Attack Damage Growth2.5to2.8

    EWuju Style

    • On-hit True Damage20/25/30/35/40 (+30% Bonus AD)to20/25/30/35/40 (+35% Bonus AD)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Master Yi is weak, so we're giving him some generic buffs to help out his sustained damage.

Master Yi skins (19)

Riot's data lists 19 looks for Master Yi with their own art, the base skin included and 71 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB
Win Rate
50.0%
▼ 0.8%
Pick Rate
5.4%
▼ 1.6%
Ban Rate
8.7%
▼ 0.4%
Damage dealt
99.1%
Damage taken
106.8%
Healing
110.5%
Shielding
104.0%
Ability Haste
+21

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.

  1. 26.1952.5% over 686 games · small sample+0.5
  2. 26.1850.6% over 1,258 games+0.3
  3. 26.1748.7% over 275 games · small sample—

Master Yi's base stats against all 173 champions

  • Master Yi's move speed of 355 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
StatMaster YiRankMedian
Base health640=48th620
Health per level105=74th104
Base armor33=52nd30
Armor per level5=18th4.6
Base magic resist32=32nd32
Magic resist per level2.05=4th1.55
Base attack damage65=21st59
Base attack speed0.679=28th0.656
Attack speed per level2.5%=75th2.5%
Move speed3551st335
Attack range175=87th175

Master Yi at level 1 and level 18

  • Master Yi reaches 2425 health at level 18 — 640 at level 1 plus 17 × 105, the 70th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Master Yi reaches 965 mana at level 18 — 251 at level 1 plus 17 × 42, the 32nd-lowest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Master Yi reaches 118 armor at level 18 — 33 at level 1 plus 17 × 5, the 26th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Master Yi reaches 66.85 magic resist at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.05, the 5th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 69.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health640+1052425=70th of 173
Mana251+42965=113th of 145
Armor33+511826th of 173
Magic resist32+2.0566.85=5th of 173

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

Riot's tips for Master Yi

Playing Master Yi

  • If you're in a lane against ranged players, leveling up Meditate can allow you to stay in the lane longer and gain levels faster than they will.
  • Wuju Style is very strong early for last hitting minions.
  • Try using Alpha Strike on a minion in front of an enemy champion so you are placed at a safe distance at the end of the spell.

Playing against Master Yi

  • Meditate is an effective method of healing damage over time, but Master Yi is susceptible to coordinated team ganks early in the game.
  • If Master Yi tries to farm with Alpha Strike, hit him a few times so he has to use mana with Meditate to heal.
  • Although Master Yi cannot be slowed while using Highlander, other disables can stop him in his tracks.

Quick answers about Master Yi

How does Master Yi do against Ekko?
Master Yi won 30.2% of 43 counted Master+ games against Ekko. Ekko is one of the opponents that beat Master Yi. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Master Yi do against Kindred?
Master Yi won 36.4% of 33 counted Master+ games against Kindred. Kindred is one of the opponents that beat Master Yi. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Master Yi do against Talon?
Master Yi won 43.5% of 69 counted Master+ games against Talon. Talon is one of the opponents that beat Master Yi. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Master Yi do against Shyvana?
Master Yi won 74.3% of 35 counted Master+ games against Shyvana. It is a matchup Master Yi wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Master Yi do against Nocturne?
Master Yi won 57.6% of 33 counted Master+ games against Nocturne. It is a matchup Master Yi wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Master Yi do against Viego?
Master Yi won 53.2% of 77 counted Master+ games against Viego. It is a matchup Master Yi wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Master Yi do against Lee Sin?
Master Yi won 48.3% of 116 counted Master+ games against Lee Sin. It is close to even.
How does Master Yi do against Wukong?
Master Yi won 50.8% of 59 counted Master+ games against Wukong. It is close to even. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Master Yi?
Riot classes Master Yi as Fighter and Assassin. This site files the champion under Jungle.
How hard is Master Yi to play?
Riot rates Master Yi's difficulty 4 out of 10.
What resource does Master Yi use?
Master Yi's abilities spend Mana.
What is Master Yi's attack range?
175 units — the 60th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 27 others).
What are Master Yi's abilities?
Passive — Double Strike, Q — Alpha Strike, W — Meditate, E — Wuju Style and R — Highlander.
How many skins does Master Yi have?
Riot's data lists 19 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 71 chroma variants.
How much health does Master Yi have at level 18?
2425 — 640 at level 1 plus 17 × 105 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Master Yi's ultimate cooldown?
Highlander (R): 85 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Master Yi?
Patch 26.19, published 22 September 2026 — the latest of 9 patches that change Master Yi in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Master Yi at a glance

Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman, is a Fighter and Assassin champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 4/10 for difficulty, 10/10 for attack, 4/10 for defense and 2/10 for magic. Master Yi spends Mana and has 19 skins with their own art. Master Yi's move speed of 355 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Attack10/10
Defense4/10
Magic2/10
Difficulty4/10

Master Yi's story

Master Yi has tempered his body and sharpened his mind, so that thought and action have become almost as one. Though he chooses to enter into violence only as a last resort, the grace and speed of his blade ensures resolution is always swift. As one of the last living practitioners of the Ionian art of Wuju, Yi has devoted his life to continuing the legacy of his people—scrutinizing potential new disciples with the Seven Lenses of Insight to identify the most worthy among them.
— 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.

Master Yi on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 31 July 2013.

13 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.