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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Sylas Counters, Build and Runes — Mid and Jungle · Patch 26.20

the Unshackled

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (11,032 games).

Sylas, the Unshackled, steals an enemy's ultimate with Hijack and pulls himself onto a champion with Abscond / Abduct. Master+ split him almost evenly between Mid and the jungle and built AP, Hextech Rocketbelt into Riftmaker by a wide margin, on Conqueror. Katarina, LeBlanc and Taliyah beat him most often. Zed and Fizz he came out ahead of. Ahri, Akali and Syndra were level with him.

MageAssassin

Patch 26.18 · Mid · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 11,032 games · Preview sample

League of LegendsPatch 26.18MidRanked Solo/DuoMaster+EUW · KR · NA11,032 gamesPreview sample

Role snapshot (Mid)

ATier

Win Rate: 49.6%
Pick Rate: 16.9%
Ban Rate: 20.8%

11,032

Games

Very High

Confidence

Win rate by lane

Mid48.4% · 4,858 games
Jungle50.9% · 4,561 games

Most common path

2,329 games

54.2%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Smite

Highest win rate path

308 games

80.5%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Smite

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 16.3% of games·50.0% win rate over 1,795 games.

Primary

Precision

Conqueror

Gain stacks of adaptive force when attacking enemy champions. After reaching 12 stacks, heal for a portion of damage you deal to champions.

Triumph

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

Legend: Haste

Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Basic Ability Haste.

Last Stand

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

Secondary

Inspiration

Cosmic Insight

+18 Summoner Spell Haste+10 Item Haste

Magical Footwear

You get free boots at 12 min but you cannot buy boots before then. Each takedown you get makes your boots come 45s sooner.

Shards

Adaptive Force
Adaptive Force
Health

Other keystones taken

Electrocute21.3% taken · 49.1% win2,350 games
Stormraider's Surge3.8% taken · 53.3% win418 games
Dark Harvest2.7% taken · 49.3% win296 games

Tree pairs

Precision + Inspiration39.4% taken · 51.1% win4,351 games
Precision + Resolve29.3% taken · 48.2% win3,237 games
Domination + Resolve7.9% taken · 48.3% win876 games

Skill Order

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

Chain Lash

Sylas lashes his chains out, intersecting at his targeted location dealing damage to and slowing enemies.

Cooldown 10/9/8/7/6s · 55 Mana

Kingslayer

Sylas lunges at an enemy with magical force dealing damage and healing himself against enemy champions.

Cooldown 12/10.5/9/7.5/6s · 50/60/70/80/90 Mana

Abscond / Abduct

Sylas dashes to a location.

Cooldown 13/12/11/10/9s · 65 Mana

Hijack

Sylas steals the enemy's ultimate ability and can cast it freely.

Cooldown 80/55/30s · 75 Mana

Max Order

WEQ

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

Level-up Order

QChain Lash
WKingslayer
EAbscond / Abduct
RHijack

Ability	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
QChain Lash		Q												Q	Q		Q	Q
WKingslayer			W	W	W		W		W
EAbscond / Abduct	E							E		E		E	E
RHijack						R					R					R

Matchup map (Mid)

How Sylas performs against enemy mid laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Sylas'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

SylasMid average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Sylas

Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip
Deny the reset — it wants a kill to come back out; a warded exit removes it
Punish the cooldown — Sylas 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 5/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

P
Petricite Burst
After casting a spell, Sylas stores a charge of Petricite Burst. Sylas's basic attacks will expend a charge and whirl his energized chains around him dealing bonus magic damage to enemies hit. While Sylas has a charge of Petricite Burst, he gains attack speed.
Passive — never cast
Q
Chain Lash
Sylas lashes his chains out, intersecting at his targeted location dealing damage to and slowing enemies. After a delay, magical energy explodes from the intersection point dealing damage.
Cost 55 ManaCooldown 10/9/8/7/6sRange 775
W
Kingslayer
Sylas lunges at an enemy with magical force dealing damage and healing himself against enemy champions.
Cost 50/60/70/80/90 ManaCooldown 12/10.5/9/7.5/6sRange 400
E
Abscond / Abduct
Sylas dashes to a location. Sylas can recast the ability to throw his chains out, pulling himself to an enemy he hits.
Cost 65 ManaCooldown 13/12/11/10/9sRange 400
R
Hijack
Sylas steals the enemy's ultimate ability and can cast it freely.
Cost 75 ManaCooldown 80/55/30sRange 950

Sylas balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Sylas in 4 patches. The latest is patch 26.15, published 2026-07-28.

Patch 26.152026-07-28
QChain Lash
- First Lash Damage40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 (+45% Ability Power)to40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 (+40% Ability Power)
Why, in Riot's words
After his buff in 26.12, it was clear that we moderately overshot our target. We’re pulling back the chains a tad to prevent him from bullying too hard.
Patch 26.122026-06-09
QChain Lash
- Initial Damage40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 (+40% AP)to40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 (+45% AP)
WKingslayer
- Heal Amount20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 (+20% AP) (+5% Sylas' Bonus HP), increased by up to 100% based on Sylas' missing healthto20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 (+30% AP) (+5% Sylas' Bonus HP), increased by up to 100% based on Sylas' missing health
Why, in Riot's words
Sylas is one of the champions who has come out worse for wear since the start of Season 2. We think he is still a powerful early lane bully, but he's lost enough power that his scaling is critically low to the point he's completely one note, so we are helping him out there.
Patch 25.182025-09-09
PPetricite Burst
- Bonus Damage to Monsters150%to130%
Why, in Riot's words
As players have gotten better at him, Sylas jungle has continued to rise up the ranks and now is more performant than we're comfortable with. Since we're happy with his power level in mid lane, we're simply walking back a portion of his prior jungle buffs.
Patch 25.162025-08-12
PPetricite Burst
- Monster Damage Modifier100%to150%
Why, in Riot's words
Sylas is a reasonably popular jungler, despite the fact that he isn’t really able to jungle effectively. To help the players that want to play him there we’re re-visiting his ability to clear the jungle by letting him whip his chains around and slay jungle camps.

Sylas skins (10)

Riot's data lists 10 looks for Sylas with their own art, the base skin included and 44 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB

Win Rate: 49.8%; ▲ 0.8%
Pick Rate: 6.3%; ▲ 0.2%
Ban Rate: 2.9%; ▲ 3.3%

Damage dealt: 103.3%
Damage taken: 98.6%
Healing: 92.5%
Shielding: 100.4%
Ability Haste: +23

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.

26.1949.0% over 3,018 games-0.2
26.1849.3% over 6,122 games-1.0
26.1751.1% over 1,848 games—

Sylas's base stats against all 173 champions

Sylas's magic resist per level of 2.55 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Sylas's health per level of 122 is the 3rd-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Stat	Sylas	Rank	Median
Base health	600	=116th	620
Health per level	122	3rd	104
Base armor	29	=91st	30
Armor per level	5.2	=3rd	4.6
Base magic resist	32	=32nd	32
Magic resist per level	2.55	1st	1.55
Base attack damage	61	=63rd	59
Base attack speed	0.645	=94th	0.656
Attack speed per level	3.5%	=11th	2.5%
Move speed	340	=37th	335
Attack range	175	=87th	175

Sylas at level 1 and level 18

Sylas reaches 2674 health at level 18 — 600 at level 1 plus 17 × 122, the 4th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Sylas reaches 1590 mana at level 18 — 400 at level 1 plus 17 × 70, the 2nd-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
Sylas reaches 117.4 armor at level 18 — 29 at level 1 plus 17 × 5.2, the 27th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
Sylas reaches 75.35 magic resist at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.55, the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Stat	Level 1	Per level	Level 18	Rank at 18
Health	600	+122	2674	4th of 173
Mana	400	+70	1590	2nd of 145
Armor	29	+5.2	117.4	=27th of 173
Magic resist	32	+2.55	75.35	1st of 173

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

Riot's tips for Sylas

Playing Sylas

Wait for you or your enemy to reach low health before using Kingslayer for maximum effect.
Space out your ability usage to get maximum effect from Petricite Burst.
Clever use of enemy ultimates can open up new possibilities to approach teamfights.

Playing against Sylas

Sylas's healthbar can be deceptive, watch out for his Kingslayer!
Try to fight Sylas when he isn't able to take your ultimate.

Quick answers about Sylas

How does Sylas do against Katarina?: Sylas won 40.6% of 133 counted Master+ games against Katarina. Katarina is one of the opponents that beat Sylas.
How does Sylas do against LeBlanc?: Sylas won 39.8% of 83 counted Master+ games against LeBlanc. LeBlanc is one of the opponents that beat Sylas. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Sylas do against Taliyah?: Sylas won 35.2% of 88 counted Master+ games against Taliyah. Taliyah is one of the opponents that beat Sylas. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Sylas do against Zed?: Sylas won 53.9% of 180 counted Master+ games against Zed. It is a matchup Sylas wins more often than not.
How does Sylas do against Fizz?: Sylas won 54.8% of 84 counted Master+ games against Fizz. It is a matchup Sylas wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Sylas do against Ahri?: Sylas won 49.4% of 342 counted Master+ games against Ahri. It is close to even.
How does Sylas do against Akali?: Sylas won 51.4% of 179 counted Master+ games against Akali. It is close to even.
How does Sylas do against Syndra?: Sylas won 48.3% of 234 counted Master+ games against Syndra. It is close to even.
What class is Sylas?: Riot classes Sylas as Mage and Assassin. This site files the champion under Mid.
How hard is Sylas to play?: Riot rates Sylas's difficulty 5 out of 10.
What resource does Sylas use?: Sylas's abilities spend Mana.
What is Sylas's attack range?: 175 units — the 60th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 27 others).
What are Sylas's abilities?: Passive — Petricite Burst, Q — Chain Lash, W — Kingslayer, E — Abscond / Abduct and R — Hijack.
How many skins does Sylas have?: Riot's data lists 10 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 44 chroma variants.
How much health does Sylas have at level 18?: 2674 — 600 at level 1 plus 17 × 122 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Sylas's ultimate cooldown?: Hijack (R): 80/55/30 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Sylas?: Patch 26.15, published 28 July 2026 — the latest of 4 patches that change Sylas in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Sylas at a glance

Sylas, the Unshackled, is a Mage and Assassin champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 5/10 for difficulty, 3/10 for attack, 4/10 for defense and 8/10 for magic. Sylas spends Mana and has 10 skins with their own art. Sylas's magic resist per level of 2.55 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20. Sylas's health per level of 122 is the 3rd-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Attack3/10
Defense4/10
Magic8/10
Difficulty5/10

Sylas's story

Raised in one of Demacia's lesser quarters, Sylas of Dregbourne has come to symbolize the darker side of the Great City. As a boy, his ability to root out hidden sorcery caught the attention of the notorious mageseekers, who eventually imprisoned him for turning those same powers against them. Having now broken free, Sylas lives as a hardened revolutionary, using the magic of those around him to destroy the kingdom he once served… and his band of outcast mage followers seems to grow by the day.

— 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.