GuideUpdated for Patch 26.20Updated October 10, 2026 · 14 min read
What to Build Against the 12 Champions Players Ask About Most
Darius, Mordekaiser, Yorick, Tahm Kench, Gwen, Master Yi, Sett, Nasus, Dr. Mundo, Illaoi, Teemo and Vayne. For each one: what actually kills you, the boots, the first defensive item, whether anti-heal is worth it, and the one habit that matters more than any item.
Pick a Champion, Get the Answer
Boots, first item, anti-heal and the habit for all twelve, current for patch 26.20.
Darius
Main damage: Physical + true (ult)
BootsPlated SteelcapsAlmost all of his damage before the ultimate comes from attacks and physical abilities.
First itemBramble Vest into ThornmailArmor and Grievous Wounds on his Q heal in one slot, for tanks and fighters.
Anti-healYesDecimate's blade heal is what wins him extended trades.
ProLaning against Yorick? Hexgate's matchup tab scores items and runes for your exact lane opponent.
Tahm Kench
Main damage: Magic
BootsMercury's TreadsHis abilities and Devour deal magic damage, and the tenacity shortens the stun.
First itemKaenic Rookern or Force of NatureMagic resist with health. Your damage items should scale with his health.
Anti-healSituationalTongue Lash heals him on a champion hit, but his out-of-combat heal comes after Grievous Wounds has expired. Patch 26.20 raised Tongue Lash healing a lot, so anti-heal is worth more against him than before.
The habit: Don't trade into three stacks of his passive.
ProLaning against Vayne? Hexgate's matchup tab scores items and runes for your exact lane opponent.
Your role changes the answer. "What to build against Darius" is a different question for a Malphite top, a Jinx bot and a Lux mid. Each section below splits the advice into tanks and fighters, who can buy defense, and carries, who mostly answer with damage choice and spacing. All anti-heal items on 26.20 apply the same 40% Wounds for 3 seconds, so buy the one that matches your damage type.
One card answers one champion. In a real game there are five enemies, and a player behind each one. Hexgate covers the game against them from champ select to the post-game.
Champ select and laneLane matchup scoring ProItems and runes scored against your exact lane opponent.
Loading screenLane Scouting Pro+How that Darius or Teemo plays early, from their own recent ranked or Swiftplay games.
In gameItems against all five FreeSituational items re-ranked live, with the reason on screen.
In gameGold difference per lane FreeHold Tab to see how far ahead that Darius is in item gold, right on League's scoreboard.
After the gameMatch Breakdown and Clips Pro+Why you lost to him, and every death saved to rewatch.
Every champion on this list feels unfair the first time you lane against them, and almost every one of them has a specific weakness that the default build ignores. The items below are current for patch 26.20 and checked against Riot's own item data. The pattern repeats: figure out what kind of damage kills you, whether they heal, and what the champion needs to land, then buy for those three things. If you want the general method behind it, we wrote it up in how to counter-build in League.
What to Build Against Darius
What kills you: Hemorrhage, his passive. Every attack and damaging ability adds a physical bleed that stacks up to five times, and at five stacks he gains a huge amount of Attack Damage. Noxian Guillotine then deals true damage that grows with each stack on you. His E passively ignores part of your armor, and the blade of Decimate (the outer ring of his Q) heals him for each champion hit.
BootsPlated Steelcaps. Almost all of his damage before the ultimate comes from attacks and physical abilities.
Tanks and fightersBramble Vest early, finished into Thornmail. It is armor and Grievous Wounds on his Q heal in one slot. Frozen Heart and Randuin's Omen follow if the rest of the enemy team is also physical.
CarriesExecutioner's Calling or Oblivion Orb only if your team is focusing him and he is healing out of fights. Otherwise spend on range and damage; you beat Darius by never being in melee range for long.
Anti-healYes. Decimate's blade heal is what wins him extended trades.
The habit: stand inside the handle of his Q, not at the edge where the blade hits, and walk away before the fifth stack. Armor slows the stacks down, but the ultimate is true damage, so the real counter is the stack count.
What to Build Against Mordekaiser
What kills you: sustained magic damage. His passive builds a damage aura after three hits, Obliterate (Q) hits hardest when it strikes a single target, and Realm of Death drags you into a one-on-one where he steals part of your stats. Indestructible (W) stores the damage he deals and takes as a shield, which he can then consume to heal.
Tanks and fightersForce of Nature is excellent here. It gains 70 extra magic resist after you take magic damage from champions eight times, and Mordekaiser's aura and abilities get you there quickly. Kaenic Rookern and Spirit Visage are the alternatives, Spirit Visage mostly when you have your own healing to amplify.
AD championsSerpent's Fang reduces the shields he gains and strips part of the one he has, which also shrinks the heal he can convert from it.
Anti-healYes. His W heal comes from the same shield, so Grievous Wounds and shield reduction stack nicely.
The habit: sidestep Obliterate, especially when you are alone, because its single-target bonus is where the burst comes from. Trade when his W is on cooldown.
What to Build Against Yorick
What kills you: numbers. Yorick summons Mist Walkers from graves, and his ultimate brings the Maiden of the Mist, who raises more Walkers from enemies who die near her and makes Yorick's attacks on her target deal bonus damage. Mourning Mist (E) reduces armor and marks you so the Walkers run at you. Dark Procession (W) is a wall that traps you in the swarm.
BootsPlated Steelcaps. Most of the damage you take arrives as basic attacks from Yorick and his summons.
Tanks and fightersArea damage is the real answer, because every Walker you kill is damage that never reaches you. Items with area damage or a cleave (Sunfire Aegis, Titanic Hydra, Ravenous Hydra on the champions that use them) turn the swarm from a threat into gold. Armor after that: Frozen Heart, Randuin's Omen.
CarriesWaveclear and range. Don't fight him in a side lane alone; he is built to win that exact fight.
Anti-healOptional. Last Rites heals him, but his threat is the swarm, not sustain.
The habit: kill the Walkers first, and step away from his W wall before you commit. Group with your team; Yorick wants you alone.
What to Build Against Tahm Kench
What kills you: his passive. An Acquired Taste adds damage to his attacks based on his total health, and every time he damages you he builds a stack. At three stacks his Tongue Lash stuns you and he can Devour you. Thick Skin stores part of the damage he takes, heals him out of combat, and can be turned into a shield.
BootsMercury's Treads. His abilities and Devour deal magic damage, and the tenacity shortens the stun.
Tanks and fightersMagic resist with health (Kaenic Rookern, Force of Nature). He is a tank, so your damage items should scale with his health: Black Cleaver on physical fighters, Liandry's Torment on mages, Blade of The Ruined King or Lord Dominik's Regards on marksmen.
AD championsSerpent's Fang cuts the shield from Thick Skin.
Anti-healSituational. Tongue Lash heals him when it hits a champion, but his out-of-combat heal happens when Grievous Wounds has already expired. Patch 26.20 raised Tongue Lash healing a lot, so anti-heal is worth more against him than before.
The habit: count his stacks on you. Short trades that reset the count beat long trades where he reaches three.
What to Build Against Gwen
What kills you: magic damage based on your health from her passive (which also heals her), plus true damage from the center of Snip Snip! (Q). Hallowed Mist (W) makes her untargetable to anyone standing outside the mist.
BootsMercury's Treads.
Tanks and fightersForce of Nature (she hits you many times per fight), Kaenic Rookern, or Spirit Visage if you heal. Since the center of her Q is true damage, raw health matters more than usual.
CarriesMagic resist is a luxury; spacing is not. Keep her off you with range and crowd control.
Anti-healYes. A Thousand Cuts heals her on every hit against a champion.
The habit: when she casts Hallowed Mist, either step inside it to keep hitting her or back off and wait it out. Standing just outside and trying to hit her is the worst of both.
What to Build Against Master Yi
What kills you: attacks. Double Strike hits twice every few attacks, Wuju Style adds true damage to every attack, Highlander boosts his attack and move speed and makes him immune to slows, and kills or assists reset his cooldowns. Alpha Strike makes him untargetable, and Meditate heals him and reduces the damage he takes.
BootsPlated Steelcaps (10% less damage from attacks).
Tanks and fightersFrozen Heart (cuts the attack speed of nearby champions by 20%) and Randuin's Omen (30% less damage from critical strikes, which matters when he builds crit). Thornmail adds Grievous Wounds on Meditate and his life steal.
CarriesZhonya's Hourglass on mages and Guardian Angel on marksmen buy the seconds your team needs. Exhaust as a support spell is the classic answer.
Anti-healYes, especially once he has life steal.
The habit: never throw your stun at him while he is mid Alpha Strike. Wait until he lands, then lock him down. Slows do nothing during Highlander, so hard crowd control is what counts.
What to Build Against Sett
What kills you: Haymaker (W). He stores the damage he takes as Grit, then spends it all on a shield and a punch that deals true damage in the center and physical damage on the sides. Facebreaker (E) stuns you if he catches enemies on both sides of him. Pit Grit gives him more health regeneration the lower his health.
BootsPlated Steelcaps.
Tanks and fightersArmor (Bramble Vest into Thornmail, Frozen Heart). Don't hand him free Grit by trading damage while his W is ready and he is full.
AD championsSerpent's Fang reduces the Haymaker shield, which is most of his durability in a fight.
Anti-healYes. Grievous Wounds also reduces health regeneration, and his passive regeneration is what wins him long trades.
The habit: the center of Haymaker is true damage; step to the side of it. Burst him right after he has used W, not before.
What to Build Against Nasus
What kills you: time. Siphoning Strike (Q) grows permanently every time it kills something, and Soul Eater gives him life steal. Wither slows your movement and attack speed over time, and Fury of the Sands gives him health, range, bonus armor and magic resist.
BootsPlated Steelcaps.
Tanks and fightersArmor, and Thornmail in particular, since it hits back on every Siphoning Strike and adds Grievous Wounds on his life steal.
CarriesYour damage items should handle his ultimate's resistances: Lord Dominik's Regards or Black Cleaver for physical damage, Void Staff for magic.
Anti-healYes, because of his life steal.
The habit: the lane is decided before he has his stacks. Zone him off minions early and trade when Q is on cooldown; every last hit you deny is damage he never gets.
What to Build Against Dr. Mundo
What kills you: nothing fast, which is the problem. Mundo's passive gives him greatly increased health regeneration and absorbs the first immobilizing effect that hits him. Maximum Dosage instantly heals a percentage of his missing health, then regenerates a percentage of his max health for a long duration and gives him move speed. Infected Bonesaw takes a chunk based on your current health.
BootsWhatever your lane needs. His damage is mixed, so boots are not where you beat him.
EveryoneBuy Grievous Wounds early. It reduces healing and health regeneration by 40%, which cuts into both his ultimate and his passive. Executioner's Calling, Oblivion Orb or Bramble Vest, depending on your damage type.
Damage itemsScale with his health. Blade of The Ruined King, Black Cleaver or Lord Dominik's Regards for physical damage, Liandry's Torment for magic.
The habit: bait his passive with your weakest crowd control, then use the real one. Save your burst until after Maximum Dosage, when Grievous Wounds can cut its regeneration down.
What to Build Against Illaoi
What kills you: her Tentacles. They spawn on nearby walls and terrain, deal physical damage and heal Illaoi when they hit a champion. Test of Spirit (E) pulls your spirit out; damage to the spirit echoes onto you, and if the spirit dies or you walk too far from it, you become a Vessel that spawns more Tentacles. Leap of Faith spawns a Tentacle for every champion it hits.
BootsPlated Steelcaps.
Tanks and fightersArmor and Grievous Wounds (Bramble Vest, Thornmail, or Chempunk Chainsword on fighters).
CarriesStay far from terrain when she is nearby.
Anti-healYes. Every Tentacle that hits you heals her.
The habit: dodge Test of Spirit (minions block it, so stand behind your wave), and never fight her inside her ultimate near walls. If she catches you there, leave instead of trading.
What to Build Against Teemo
What kills you: magic damage over time from Toxic Shot on every attack, Blinding Dart (which makes your attacks miss), and Noxious Traps that slow and poison you. Guerrilla Warfare turns him invisible when he stands still, or while moving in brush.
BootsMercury's Treads.
Tanks and fightersEarly magic resist (a Null-Magic Mantle or Negatron Cloak component) takes most of the sting out of the lane. Champions whose damage does not rely on basic attacks ignore his blind.
EveryoneSwitch to Oracle Lens once the mushrooms are out. It reveals and lets you clear the traps that win him the mid game.
Anti-healNo. Teemo has no healing to cut.
The habit: respect the brush, and sweep it instead of face-checking it.
What to Build Against Vayne
What kills you: Silver Bolts, which deals a percentage of your max health as true damage on every third hit or ability. Condemn knocks you back and stuns you if you hit terrain. Final Hour gives her attack damage and invisibility on Tumble.
BootsPlated Steelcaps.
Tanks and fightersFrozen Heart to cut her attack speed and Randuin's Omen if she builds crit. Armor still reduces her physical damage, but stacking health is weak against her, because Silver Bolts scales with your max health.
CarriesRange and crowd control win this, not items. Exhaust from a support and point-and-click stuns are the classic counters.
Anti-healNot a priority unless she has bought heavy life steal.
The habit: walls are her stun. Fight her in open space, and don't chase her into terrain.
The Rules Behind All Twelve
Read the damage type before you buy armor or magic resist. Four of these champions deal magic damage (Mordekaiser, Gwen, Tahm Kench, Teemo), and they still get armor bought against them every day. For whole-team versions, see best items against full AD and best items against full AP.
Anti-heal is a damage item, not a defensive one. Buy it when a healer is winning fights through their sustain, and buy the version that fits your champion.
True damage changes what defense is worth. Darius's ultimate, Sett's W center, Gwen's Q center, Master Yi's E and Vayne's W all ignore resistances. Against them, avoiding the trigger beats stacking stats.
Tanks get answered by damage that scales with health.Black Cleaver, Liandry's Torment, Lord Dominik's Regards and Blade of The Ruined King exist for Mundo, Tahm and friends.
One champion rarely decides your build. The other four enemies matter just as much. A lone Mordekaiser on an otherwise physical team does not justify three magic resist items.
Let the Overlay Do the Counting
Rule five is where most people's builds fall apart: nobody tallies five enemy kits while laning. That is the job Hexgate does. It reads all five enemies from Riot's Live Client Data API during your game, then re-ranks the situational items that are actually viable for your champion against them: their damage split, crowd control, healing, shields, tankiness, and who is fed. Every change carries a label telling you why, such as Healing, Heavy AD, Heavy CC, High HP or Shields, so it also teaches you the rules above while you play.
It is a native Windows app with no Overwolf and no ads, and the free tier covers 3 games per day. If you are choosing between tools, our roundup of the best LoL overlays compares it with Blitz, Porofessor, Mobalytics, OP.GG and U.GG.
Mordekaiser and Diana on the enemy team: Kaenic Rookern leads Leona's 3rd item, tagged Heavy AP, and Mercury's Treads lead the boots. A real in-game screenshot.
Before and After the Lane, Too
Items answer the champion, but the player matters as much: two Dariuses can play the same lane very differently. And when he still kills you, the useful question is why. Pro+ covers both ends of the game.
Lane Scouting Pro+When a ranked or Swiftplay game loads, your lane opponent's early habits from up to 12 of their recent games in that mode: early solo kills, early deaths, CS at 10, roams.How Lane Scouting works
Match Breakdown Pro+After every ranked, Draft and Swiftplay game: why you won or lost, with the evidence from the game's own timeline, and one tip for the next game.See a full breakdown
Clips Pro+Every death, kill and assist recorded while you play and saved on your PC, ready to rewatch in slow motion when the game ends.Rewatch your deaths
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I build against Darius?
Plated Steelcaps and armor first (Bramble Vest into Thornmail if you are a tank or bruiser, since it adds Grievous Wounds against his Decimate heal). His bleed is physical, so armor works against it, but Noxian Guillotine is true damage that scales with bleed stacks, so the real counter is never letting him reach five stacks: stay out of the blade of his Q and fight him from range.
What should I build against Mordekaiser?
Mercury's Treads and magic resist. Force of Nature fits because he hits you many times in a short fight. Anti-heal is worth it because his W turns his shield into healing. If you are an AD champion, Serpent's Fang reduces that shield too.
Do you need anti-heal against Dr. Mundo?
Yes, and early. Maximum Dosage heals a percentage of his missing health and then regenerates a percentage of his max health for a long duration, and his passive gives him greatly increased health regeneration. Grievous Wounds cuts both healing and health regeneration by 40%, so it is the single most efficient purchase against him.
What items counter Master Yi?
Frozen Heart (20% attack speed reduction to nearby champions) and Randuin's Omen (30% less damage from critical strikes) for tanks, Thornmail for its Grievous Wounds on his Meditate and life steal, and Plated Steelcaps. Point-and-click crowd control matters more than any item: hold it until Alpha Strike ends, because he is untargetable during it.
Does armor work against Vayne?
Partly. Silver Bolts deals true damage based on your maximum health every third hit, which armor does not reduce, and stacking health makes that true damage bigger. Armor still reduces the rest of her physical damage, so tanks buy Frozen Heart and Randuin's Omen, while squishy champions are better served by range, crowd control and not fighting her near walls.
Which anti-heal item should I buy?
The one that matches your damage. Executioner's Calling (physical) into Mortal Reminder for marksmen or Chempunk Chainsword for fighters, Oblivion Orb into Morellonomicon for mages, Bramble Vest into Thornmail for tanks. On patch 26.20 every one of them applies the same 40% Wounds for 3 seconds.
Can I see how the enemy Darius or Teemo plays before the game starts?
In ranked Solo/Duo, Flex and Swiftplay, yes, with Hexgate Pro+. When the game loads, Lane Scouting looks up your lane opponent in up to 12 of their most recent games of that mode (ranked, or Swiftplay in Swiftplay) in the role they are playing now and shows what they tend to do early: early solo kills, early deaths, CS at 10 and roams, plus the enemy jungler when his habits concern your lane. Players with fewer than 4 recent games of that mode in that role are left out.
Is there an app that tells me what to build against the enemy team?
Yes. Hexgate is a free overlay that reads all five enemies from Riot's Live Client Data API during your game and re-ranks your situational items against them, with a label on every change (Healing, Heavy AD, Heavy CC, High HP, Shields). The free tier covers 3 games per day. Pro adds unlimited games and lane matchup scoring against your lane opponent. Pro+ adds Lane Scouting on the loading screen, a Match Breakdown of every ranked, Draft and Swiftplay game, and Clips of every death, kill and assist to rewatch.
Plated Steelcaps
Almost all of his damage before the ultimate comes from attacks and physical abilities.
Bramble Vest into Thornmail
Armor and Grievous Wounds on his Q heal in one slot, for tanks and fighters.
