Guide · ADC

Kai'Sa Guide

Daughter of the Void

Marksman

Mage

Tier B ADC

Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void, is a marksman and mage champion of medium difficulty. Across our 1905 analysed ranked games, Kai'Sa is mostly played as ADC (97% of its games), with a 49.9% win rate in that role: tier B among ADC champions (#19 of 36, ranked by win rate). Kai'Sa's damage is mixed (57% physical, 42% magic): stacking a single type of resistance is less efficient against this champion. Win rate varies with game length: 53.9% in short games (under 25 min, 583 games) versus 43.6% in long games (over 35 min).

Averages measured over 1855 ADC games played with Kai'Sa, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Kai'Sa is a marksman-mage who chains Plasma effects: each attack applies stacks, and her allies' immobilizing effects add some too. Her items upgrade her basic abilities (Living Weapon), which changes her playstyle depending on her build. Her ultimate dashes her to an enemy champion, ideal for an execution.

Lane harassment

W › AA AA › AA AA › Q

When: An enemy is within range of the beam.

Void Seeker marks with your passive, your basic attacks complete the stacks, then Icathian Rain deals its damage on nearby targets.

The execution

R › Q › AA AA › AA AA

When: A carry is isolated or weakened.

Killer Instinct dashes you to an enemy champion; immediately follow with Icathian Rain and your attacks. Make sure you have a way out before diving.

The team fight

E › AA AA › AA AA › W

When: Your team engages and you are at range.

Supercharge boosts your movement speed then attack speed. Stay on the edge and use Void Seeker to mark: your allies' immobilizing effects add Plasma.

Laning phase

Mark with Void Seeker at long range to stack Plasma, then attack to finish the stacks. Icathian Rain deals area damage around you: use it at point-blank range. Supercharge helps you reposition; upgraded, it gives you a brief invisibility.

Common mistakes

• Using the ultimate to open a fight without an exit: it puts you right next to the enemies.
• Ignoring how your items upgrade your abilities: the item you choose changes what each ability does.
• Casting Supercharge with no purpose: it is your repositioning tool, not a damage ability.

Riot's official tips for playing Kai'Sa

• Try to catch enemy carries alone to burst them with Icathian Rain.
• Work with your teammates to set up your Ultimate and optimize damage with your passive.
• Make sure to buy items that will evolve at least 1 or 2 of your spells.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Guinsoo's Rageblade, Terminus, and Kraken Slayer (550 games, 54.9% win rate).

Guinsoo's Rageblade+Terminus+Kraken Slayer

550 games · 54.9%

Nashor's Tooth+Guinsoo's Rageblade+Kraken Slayer

483 games · 51.8%

Guinsoo's Rageblade+Zhonya's Hourglass+Kraken Slayer

399 games · 57.4%

Summoner spells

Flash + Barrier49.2% · 1276 games

Exhaust + Flash48.4% · 322 games

Cleanse + Flash53.9% · 152 games

Flash + Ghost56.4% · 94 games

Most-played runes

Lethal Tempo + Inspiration

50.4% · 1715 games

Primary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind59%

Legend: Bloodline82%

Cut Down59%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cash Back56%

Triple Tonic45%

Shards

Attack speed98%

Adaptive force100%

Health54%

Press the Attack + Inspiration

46.2% · 52 games

Primary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind94%

Legend: Bloodline73%

Coup de Grace69%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Magical Footwear62%

Biscuit Delivery58%

Shards

Attack speed83%

Adaptive force98%

Health scaling67%

Press the Attack + Domination

61.5% · 26 games

Primary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind96%

Legend: Bloodline96%

Coup de Grace92%

Secondary tree · Domination

Taste of Blood100%

Treasure Hunter92%

Shards

Attack speed100%

Adaptive force100%

Health scaling96%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Kai'Sa's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team52.3% · 463 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Guinsoo's Rageblade 54.0%

Kraken Slayer 53.4%

Nashor's Tooth 52.1%

Terminus 58.5% ▲

Zhonya's Hourglass 51.5% ▼

Statikk Shiv 48.9%

The item that stands out most is Terminus: 58.5% win rate, +4 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team46.0% · 559 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Guinsoo's Rageblade 47.9% ▼

Kraken Slayer 47.5% ▼

Terminus 47.0% ▼

Nashor's Tooth 47.8% ▼

Zhonya's Hourglass 51.1% ▼

Statikk Shiv 43.6%

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Balanced enemy team51.1% · 833 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Guinsoo's Rageblade 52.3%

Kraken Slayer 53.5%

Nashor's Tooth 53.8%

Terminus 56.7%

Zhonya's Hourglass 60.9% ▲

Statikk Shiv 46.3%

The item that stands out most is Zhonya's Hourglass: 60.9% win rate, +5 points versus its usual win rate.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Kai'Sa as ADC

Aphelios Kai'Sa: 32.4%37 games

Aphelios has the edge in 68% of the 37 ADC duels against Kai'Sa. See the Aphelios guide.

Tristana Kai'Sa: 38.1%63 games

Tristana has the edge in 62% of the 63 ADC duels against Kai'Sa. See the Tristana guide.

Yunara Kai'Sa: 41.2%80 games

Yunara has the edge in 59% of the 80 ADC duels against Kai'Sa. See the Yunara guide.

Jinx Kai'Sa: 44.6%83 games

Jinx has the edge in 55% of the 83 ADC duels against Kai'Sa. See the Jinx guide.

Lucian Kai'Sa: 45.3%64 games

Lucian has the edge in 55% of the 64 ADC duels against Kai'Sa. See the Lucian guide.

Who Kai'Sa is strong against

Miss Fortune62.1% · 29 games

Ashe61.5% · 26 games

Zeri59.4% · 32 games

Ezreal56.5% · 124 games

Samira56.0% · 25 games

How to play against Kai'Sa

• Kai'Sa is very good at picking off isolated enemies. Stick together against her.
• Kai'Sa is very vulnerable to getting outranged by mages and long range carries.
• Make sure to place wards in your blind spots so you can see Kai'Sa coming.

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Kai'Sa's matchups.

Abilities

PassiveSecond Skin

Kai'Sa's basic attacks stack Plasma, dealing increasing bonus magic damage. Allies' immobilizing effects help stack Plasma. Additionally, Kai'Sa's item purchases upgrade her basic spells to have more powerful properties.

QIcathian Rain

Kai'Sa shoots a swarm of missiles that seek out nearby targets.

Living Weapon: Icathian Rain is upgraded to shoot more missiles.

WVoid Seeker

Kai'Sa shoots a long range missile, marking enemies with her passive.

Living Weapon: Void Seeker is upgraded to apply more passive marks and reduce cooldown on champion hit.

ESupercharge

Kai'Sa briefly increases her Move Speed, then increases her Attack Speed.

Living Weapon: Supercharge is upgraded to briefly grant Invisibility.

RKiller Instinct

Kai'Sa dashes near an enemy champion.

Frequently asked questions

Full Kai'Sa page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides