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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Taric Support Build, Runes and Counters · Patch 26.20

the Shield of Valoran

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (1,193 games).

Taric, the Shield of Valoran, makes nearby allies invulnerable after a delay with Cosmic Radiance and stuns with Dazzle. Most counted Master+ Tarics ran Glacial Augment, and their most-bought path opened on Locket of the Iron Solari. Alistar, Lulu and Rell beat him most often. Thresh he edged out. Nautilus was about even.

SupportTank

Patch 26.18 · Support · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 1,193 games · Preview sample

League of LegendsPatch 26.18SupportRanked Solo/DuoMaster+EUW · KR · NA1,193 gamesPreview sample

Role snapshot (Support)

BTier

Win Rate: 49.1%
Pick Rate: 1.8%
Ban Rate: 0.3%

1,193

Games

Moderate

Confidence

Most common path

25 games

64.0%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Heal

Other first item

9 games

88.9%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Ignite

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 13.0% of games·44.5% win rate over 155 games.

Primary

Inspiration

Glacial Augment

Immobilizing an enemy champion will cause 3 glacial rays that slow nearby enemies and reduce their damage to your allies.

Hextech Flashtraption

While Flash is on cooldown it is replaced by Hexflash. Hexflash: Channel, then blink to a new location.

Biscuit Delivery

Gain a free Biscuit every 2 min, until 6 min. Consuming or selling a Biscuit permanently increases your max health and restores health.

Cosmic Insight

+18 Summoner Spell Haste+10 Item Haste

Secondary

Resolve

Bone Plating

After taking damage from an enemy champion, the next 3 spells or attacks you receive from them deal 30-60 (based on level) less damage. Duration: 1.5s Cooldown: 55s

Unflinching

Gain Armor and Magic Resist when receiving crowd control.

Shards

Attack Speed
Move Speed
Health

Other keystones taken

Guardian12.5% taken · 53.0% win149 games
Lethal Tempo7.5% taken · 49.4% win89 games
Press the Attack2.8% taken · 51.5% win33 games

Tree pairs

Inspiration + Resolve60.4% taken · 49.2% win720 games
Precision + Resolve9.2% taken · 50.9% win110 games
Inspiration + Precision7.5% taken · 42.2% win90 games

Skill Order

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

Starlight's Touch

Heals nearby allied champions based on charges stored.

Cooldown 3s · 60 Mana

Bastion

Passively increase the Armor of Taric and any allied champion with Bastion.

Cooldown 15s · 60 Mana

Dazzle

Taric readies a beam of starlight that, after a brief delay, deals magic damage and stuns enemies.

Cooldown 16/15/14/13/12s · 40 Mana

Cosmic Radiance

Pulses cosmic energy onto nearby allied champions after a delay, making them invulnerable for a short duration.

Cooldown 180/150/120s · 100 Mana

Max Order

EQW

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

Level-up Order

QStarlight's Touch
WBastion
EDazzle
RCosmic Radiance

Ability	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
QStarlight's Touch	Q			Q						Q		Q					Q
WBastion			W										W	W	W			W
EDazzle		E			E		E	E	E
RCosmic Radiance						R					R					R

Matchup map (Support)

How Taric performs against enemy support laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Taric'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

TaricSupport average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Taric

Track the roam — it is strongest where the enemy jungler already is
Build percentage damage — flat penetration falls off against the stats it stacks
Punish the cooldown — Taric 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 3/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

P
Bravado
Spellcasts empower Taric's next 2 basic attacks to deal bonus magic damage, reduce his spell cooldowns, and attack in quick succession.
Passive — never cast
Q
Starlight's Touch
Heals nearby allied champions based on charges stored. Bravado-empowered attacks grant a charge of Starlight's Touch.
Cost 60 ManaCooldown 3sRange 325
W
Bastion
Passively increase the Armor of Taric and any allied champion with Bastion.Actively shields an ally and grants them Bastion for as long as they remain near Taric. Taric's spells also cast off the ally with Bastion.
Cost 60 ManaCooldown 15sRange 800
E
Dazzle
Taric readies a beam of starlight that, after a brief delay, deals magic damage and stuns enemies.
Cost 40 ManaCooldown 16/15/14/13/12sRange 610
R
Cosmic Radiance
Pulses cosmic energy onto nearby allied champions after a delay, making them invulnerable for a short duration.
Cost 100 ManaCooldown 180/150/120sRange 400

Taric balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change nothing about Taric.

Taric skins (8)

Riot's data lists 8 looks for Taric with their own art, the base skin included and 28 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateS

Win Rate: 51.9%; ▼ 0.4%
Pick Rate: 8.9%; ▲ 0.9%
Ban Rate: 0.4%; ▼ 2.4%

Damage dealt: 109.0%
Damage taken: 99.8%
Healing: 97.0%
Shielding: 91.0%
Ability Haste: +7

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.

26.1948.5% over 328 games · small sample-0.2
26.1849.9% over 645 games · small sample+0.4
26.1746.9% over 213 games · small sample—

Taric's base stats against all 173 champions

Taric's base armor of 40 is the 2nd-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 3 others).

Stat	Taric	Rank	Median
Base health	645	=39th	620
Health per level	99	=126th	104
Base armor	40	=2nd	30
Armor per level	4.3	=120th	4.6
Base magic resist	28	=160th	32
Magic resist per level	2.05	=4th	1.55
Base attack damage	55	=120th	59
Base attack speed	0.625	=117th	0.656
Attack speed per level	2%	=119th	2.5%
Move speed	340	=37th	335
Attack range	150	=115th	175

Taric at level 1 and level 18

Taric reaches 2328 health at level 18 — 645 at level 1 plus 17 × 99, the 54th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Taric reaches 1320 mana at level 18 — 300 at level 1 plus 17 × 60, the 17th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20, shared with 2.
Taric reaches 113.1 armor at level 18 — 40 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.3, the 45th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Taric reaches 62.85 magic resist at level 18 — 28 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.05, the 78th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 6.

Stat	Level 1	Per level	Level 18	Rank at 18
Health	645	+99	2328	120th of 173
Mana	300	+60	1320	=17th of 145
Armor	40	+4.3	113.1	45th of 173
Magic resist	28	+2.05	62.85	=78th of 173

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

Riot's tips for Taric

Playing Taric

The cooldown reducing component of Bravado makes Cooldown Reduction items like Frozen Heart, Iceborn Gauntlet, and Spirit Visage exceptionally powerful on Taric.
Using Starlight's Touch at lower charges makes its healing less Mana efficient, but can greatly increase Taric's sustained damage via Bravado.
Rather than saving Cosmic Radiance for the last moment and risking someone dying during the delay, it can be more beneficial to cast it as soon as you know a teamfight is guaranteed to start.

Playing against Taric

Taric's ultimate, Cosmic Radiance, has a long delay before its effect. Try to quickly assess whether to disengage the fight or attempt to kill his allies before it goes off.
Taric reduces his spell cooldowns by basic attacking enemies with Bravado. Try to kite him in teamfights and punish him for approaching the minion wave in lane.

Quick answers about Taric

How does Taric do against Alistar?: Taric won 40.9% of 93 counted Master+ games against Alistar. Alistar is one of the opponents that beat Taric. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Taric do against Lulu?: Taric won 46.5% of 101 counted Master+ games against Lulu. Lulu is one of the opponents that beat Taric.
How does Taric do against Rell?: Taric won 43.3% of 60 counted Master+ games against Rell. Rell is one of the opponents that beat Taric. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Taric do against Bard?: Taric won 43.1% of 58 counted Master+ games against Bard. Bard is one of the opponents that beat Taric. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Taric do against Janna?: Taric won 39.5% of 38 counted Master+ games against Janna. Janna is one of the opponents that beat Taric. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Taric do against Thresh?: Taric won 53.3% of 60 counted Master+ games against Thresh. It is a matchup Taric wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Taric do against Nautilus?: Taric won 52.1% of 96 counted Master+ games against Nautilus. It is close to even.
How does Taric do against Leona?: Taric won 46.7% of 45 counted Master+ games against Leona. Leona is one of the opponents that beat Taric. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Taric?: Riot classes Taric as Support and Tank. This site files the champion under Support.
How hard is Taric to play?: Riot rates Taric's difficulty 3 out of 10.
What resource does Taric use?: Taric's abilities spend Mana.
What is Taric's attack range?: 150 units — the 46th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 13 others).
What are Taric's abilities?: Passive — Bravado, Q — Starlight's Touch, W — Bastion, E — Dazzle and R — Cosmic Radiance.
How many skins does Taric have?: Riot's data lists 8 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 28 chroma variants.
How much health does Taric have at level 18?: 2328 — 645 at level 1 plus 17 × 99 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Taric's ultimate cooldown?: Cosmic Radiance (R): 180/150/120 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.

Taric at a glance

Taric, the Shield of Valoran, is a Support and Tank champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 3/10 for difficulty, 4/10 for attack, 8/10 for defense and 5/10 for magic. Taric spends Mana and has 8 skins with their own art. Taric's base armor of 40 is the 2nd-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 3 others).

Attack4/10
Defense8/10
Magic5/10
Difficulty3/10

Taric's story

Taric is the Aspect of the Protector, wielding incredible power as Runeterra's guardian of life, love, and beauty. Shamed by a dereliction of duty and exiled from his homeland Demacia, Taric ascended Mount Targon to find redemption, only to discover a higher calling among the stars. Imbued with the might of ancient Targon, the Shield of Valoran now stands ever vigilant against the insidious corruption of the Void.

— 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.

Taric on video

Taric: Champion Spotlight | Gameplay - League of Legends — League of LegendsLeague of Legends on YouTube · plays here

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 18 April 2016.

10 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.