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

Twisted Fate Build — AP or AD, Runes and Counters · Patch 26.20

the Card Master

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (5,003 games).

Twisted Fate, the Card Master, picks a gold, red or blue card for his next attack with Pick a Card and teleports across the map with Destiny. Our Master+ count answers AP: both leading paths start Rod of Ages into Lich Bane, on Arcane Comet. Katarina and Ahri beat him most often. Akali, Locke and Viktor he did better against.

MageMarksman

Patch 26.18 · Mid · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 5,003 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Mid)

ATier
Win Rate
51.5%
Pick Rate
7.6%
Ban Rate
1.7%

5,003

Games

Very High

Confidence

Most common path

1,336 games

53.5%Win Rate

Start
FlashTeleport

Highest win rate path

82 games

82.9%Win Rate

Start
FlashTeleport

Other first item

539 games

55.7%Win Rate

Start
FlashGhost

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 20.4% of games·50.5% win rate over 1,021 games.

Primary

Sorcery

Arcane Comet

Damaging a champion with an ability hurls a damaging comet at their location.

Manaflow Band

Hitting an enemy champion with an ability permanently increases your maximum mana by 25, up to 250 mana. After reaching 250 bonus mana, restore 1% of your missing mana every 5 seconds.

Celerity

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

Scorch

Your first damaging ability hit every 10s burns champions.

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

  • Lethal Tempo13.3% taken · 45.6% win667 games
  • Unsealed Spellbook11.8% taken · 51.7% win590 games
  • Electrocute8.6% taken · 48.7% win431 games

Tree pairs

  • Sorcery + Resolve45.3% taken · 52.1% win2,267 games
  • Sorcery + Inspiration15.1% taken · 57.8% win756 games
  • Precision + Inspiration10.7% taken · 45.0% win533 games

Skill Order

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

Q

Wild Cards

Twisted Fate throws three cards, dealing damage to each enemy unit they pass through.

Cooldown 6/5.75/5.5/5.25/5s · 60/70/80/90/100 Mana
W

Pick a Card

Twisted Fate chooses a magic card from his deck, and uses that for his next attack, causing bonus effects.

Cooldown 6s · 50/55/60/65/70 Mana
E

Stacked Deck

Every 4 attacks, Twisted Fate deals bonus damage.

Cooldown 0s · No cost
R

Destiny

Twisted Fate predicts the fortunes of his foes, revealing all enemy champions and enabling the use of Gate, which teleports Twisted Fate to any target location in 1.5 seconds.

Cooldown 170/140/110s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QWE

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

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QWild CardsQQQQQ
WPick a CardWWWWW
EStacked DeckEEEEE
RDestinyRRR

Matchup map (Mid)

How Twisted Fate performs against enemy mid laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Twisted Fate'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

Twisted FateMid average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Twisted Fate

  • Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip

  • Close the gap early — it wins at range and at three items — neither before ten minutes

  • Punish the cooldown — Twisted Fate 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 9/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

  • P

    Loaded Dice

    Upon killing a unit, Twisted Fate rolls his 'lucky' dice receiving 1 to 6 bonus gold.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Wild Cards

    Twisted Fate throws three cards, dealing damage to each enemy unit they pass through.

    Cost 60/70/80/90/100 ManaCooldown 6/5.75/5.5/5.25/5sRange 10000

  • W

    Pick a Card

    Twisted Fate chooses a magic card from his deck, and uses that for his next attack, causing bonus effects.

    Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 6sRange 200

  • E

    Stacked Deck

    Every 4 attacks, Twisted Fate deals bonus damage. In addition, his Attack Speed is increased.

    No costCooldown 0sRange 0

  • R

    Destiny

    Twisted Fate predicts the fortunes of his foes, revealing all enemy champions and enabling the use of Gate, which teleports Twisted Fate to any target location in 1.5 seconds.

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 170/140/110sRange 5500

Twisted Fate balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Twisted Fate in 5 patches. The latest is patch 25.14, published 2025-07-15.

  1. Patch 25.142025-07-15

    QWild Cards

    • Damage70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+ 50% bonus AD) (+ 85% AP)to60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+ 50% bonus AD) (+ 85% AP)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Twisted Fate has been playing with a stacked deck, so we're looking to bring him back closer to an even playing ground.

  2. Patch 25.132025-06-24

    RDestiny

    • Cooldown160 / 130 / 100to170 / 140 / 110
    Why, in Riot's words

    Twisted Fate's buffs from last patch overshot our goals and now he's arguably the strongest mid laner in the game. We're happy that TF has his time back in the sun, but he's currently too dominant, so we're walking back about 1/3 of the power we gave him two weeks ago.

  3. Patch 25.122025-06-10

    EStacked Deck

    • Bonus Attack Speed10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50%to15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55%

    RDestiny

    • Cooldown180 / 150 / 120to160 / 130 / 100 seconds
    Why, in Riot's words

    Twisted Fate has been sporting very low presence in all levels of play this year, and we think a bump in power alongside the recent Unsealed Spellbook changes could make him an interesting option for pro teams. We’re increasing his attack speed gained from Stacked Deck and we’re giving him a lower cooldown on his global teleport to give him some more uptime on the map.

  4. Patch 25.112025-05-27

    QWild Cards

    • Base Damage60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+ 50% Bonus AD) (+ 85% AP)to70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+ 50% bonus AD) (+ 85% AP)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Twisted Fate has been on the weaker side ever since the RoA changes, and these changes are targeted to help his early game and his wave clear break points.

  5. Patch 25.062025-03-18

    Base Stats

    • Base Armor21to24
    Why, in Riot's words

    We're giving Twisted Fate a bit of juice as he's been bricking for a long time now. Since he's such an attack-heavy champion, even for a mage, he has no choice but to draw minion aggro pretty consistently. We'd like him to be able to play out those trades more favorably on his terms, so we're giving him a little early armor to brave the minions.

Twisted Fate skins (17)

Riot's data lists 17 looks for Twisted Fate with their own art, the base skin included and 37 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB
Win Rate
50.0%
▲ 0.3%
Pick Rate
3.4%
▲ 4.4%
Ban Rate
0.7%
▲ 1.7%
Damage dealt
108.6%
Damage taken
94.5%
Healing
97.1%
Shielding
92.7%
Ability Haste
+25

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. 26.1951.6% over 1,307 games+0.3
  2. 26.1850.8% over 2,887 games-1.3
  3. 26.1754.5% over 781 games · small sample—

Twisted Fate's base stats against all 173 champions

StatTwisted FateRankMedian
Base health604115th620
Health per level108=53rd104
Base armor24=130th30
Armor per level4.35119th4.6
Base magic resist30=110th32
Magic resist per level1.3=93rd1.55
Base attack damage52=150th59
Base attack speed0.625=117th0.656
Attack speed per level2.5%=75th2.5%
Move speed330=117th335
Attack range525=46th175

Twisted Fate at level 1 and level 18

  • Twisted Fate reaches 2440 health at level 18 — 604 at level 1 plus 17 × 108, the 60th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Twisted Fate reaches 996 mana at level 18 — 333 at level 1 plus 17 × 39, the 48th-lowest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
  • Twisted Fate reaches 97.95 armor at level 18 — 24 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.35, the 34th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Twisted Fate reaches 52.1 magic resist at level 18 — 30 at level 1 plus 17 × 1.3, the 34th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 43.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health604+1082440=60th of 173
Mana333+3999698th of 145
Armor24+4.3597.95140th of 173
Magic resist30+1.352.1=97th of 173

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

Riot's tips for Twisted Fate

Playing Twisted Fate

  • Coordinate with your allies for the best time to use Destiny to ambush enemies.
  • Stealth characters often escape a battle with very low hit points. Take advantage of Destiny's ability to reveal stealthed units to finish them off.
  • Twisted Fate is viable as an Attack Damage or Ability Power character, letting him fit on many different team compositions.

Playing against Twisted Fate

  • Focus on dodging Wild Cards early when your champion doesn't have the hit points to afford getting hit.
  • If you have low Health, use Destiny as an indicator to run to safety. It will give you a head start in escaping any possible ganks.

Quick answers about Twisted Fate

How does Twisted Fate do against Katarina?
Twisted Fate won 43.1% of 116 counted Master+ games against Katarina. Katarina is one of the opponents that beat Twisted Fate.
How does Twisted Fate do against Ahri?
Twisted Fate won 43.2% of 155 counted Master+ games against Ahri. Ahri is one of the opponents that beat Twisted Fate.
How does Twisted Fate do against Tristana?
Twisted Fate won 32.1% of 56 counted Master+ games against Tristana. Tristana is one of the opponents that beat Twisted Fate. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Twisted Fate do against Akali?
Twisted Fate won 60.7% of 163 counted Master+ games against Akali. It is a matchup Twisted Fate wins more often than not.
How does Twisted Fate do against Locke?
Twisted Fate won 58.6% of 174 counted Master+ games against Locke. It is a matchup Twisted Fate wins more often than not.
How does Twisted Fate do against Viktor?
Twisted Fate won 55.6% of 196 counted Master+ games against Viktor. It is a matchup Twisted Fate wins more often than not.
How does Twisted Fate do against Yasuo?
Twisted Fate won 56.1% of 98 counted Master+ games against Yasuo. It is a matchup Twisted Fate wins more often than not.
How does Twisted Fate do against Sylas?
Twisted Fate won 51.7% of 201 counted Master+ games against Sylas. It is close to even.
What class is Twisted Fate?
Riot classes Twisted Fate as Mage and Marksman. This site files the champion under Mid.
How hard is Twisted Fate to play?
Riot rates Twisted Fate's difficulty 9 out of 10.
What resource does Twisted Fate use?
Twisted Fate's abilities spend Mana.
What is Twisted Fate's attack range?
525 units — the 46th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 17 others).
What are Twisted Fate's abilities?
Passive — Loaded Dice, Q — Wild Cards, W — Pick a Card, E — Stacked Deck and R — Destiny.
How many skins does Twisted Fate have?
Riot's data lists 17 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 37 chroma variants.
How much health does Twisted Fate have at level 18?
2440 — 604 at level 1 plus 17 × 108 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Twisted Fate's ultimate cooldown?
Destiny (R): 170/140/110 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Twisted Fate?
Patch 25.14, published 15 July 2025 — the latest of 5 patches that change Twisted Fate in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Twisted Fate at a glance

Twisted Fate, the Card Master, is a Mage and Marksman champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 9/10 for difficulty, 6/10 for attack, 2/10 for defense and 6/10 for magic. Twisted Fate spends Mana and has 17 skins with their own art.

Attack6/10
Defense2/10
Magic6/10
Difficulty9/10

Twisted Fate's story

Twisted Fate is an infamous cardsharp and swindler who has gambled and charmed his way across much of the known world, earning the enmity and admiration of the rich and foolish alike. He rarely takes things seriously, greeting each day with a mocking smile and an insouciant swagger. In every possible way, Twisted Fate always has an ace up his sleeve.
— 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.

Twisted Fate on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 14 June 2010.

16 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.