Guide · Mid

Kassadin Guide

the Void Walker

Assassin

Mage

Tier S Mid

Kassadin, the Void Walker, is an assassin and mage champion that is demanding to master. Across our 407 analysed ranked games, Kassadin is mostly played in Mid (100% of its games), with a 54.0% win rate in that role: tier S among Mid champions (#1 of 42, ranked by win rate). Kassadin's damage is mostly magic (83%): magic resistance items are therefore effective against this champion. Win rate varies with game length: 59.6% in long games (over 35 min, 47 games) versus 45.9% in short games (under 25 min).

Averages measured over 407 Mid games played with Kassadin, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Kassadin is an assassin-mage who takes less magic damage and passes through units. Null Sphere interrupts channels, Nether Blade empowers his attacks, Force Pulse uses the energy of spells cast near him, and Riftwalk teleports him: each use in quick succession increases cost and damage.

The trade

Q › W › AA AA › E

When: An enemy is within range.

Null Sphere deals damage and protects you from magic, Nether Blade empowers your attack and restores mana, Force Pulse damages and slows in a cone after absorbing enough energy.

The engage

R › Q › W › AA AA › R

When: A carry is far away.

Riftwalk teleports you while damaging nearby enemies; each use in a short period increases the mana cost and the damage of the next.

Anti-magic

Q › E

When: An enemy mage casts abilities around you.

Force Pulse draws energy from spells cast near you; your passive reduces the magic damage you take.

Laning phase

Keep Null Sphere to interrupt a channel or gain a shield against magic. The active Nether Blade restores mana and deals heavy damage.

Common mistakes

• Chaining Riftwalks without mana.
• Using Force Pulse without enough energy.
• Engaging with no exit: your Riftwalks cost more and more.

Riot's official tips for playing Kassadin

• Kassadin has multiple item paths; he can go caster via Mana and Ability Power or anti-caster with Cooldown Reduction and Magic Resist.
• Kassadin's ultimate has many uses and is on a shorter cooldown than most, use it often.
• Try to get the Ancient Golem buff to counteract Riftwalk's increasing Mana cost.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Malignance, Zhonya's Hourglass, and Rod of Ages (42 games, 59.5% win rate), usually with Spellslinger's Shoes (56.6% over 173 games).

Malignance+Zhonya's Hourglass+Rod of Ages

42 games · 59.5%

Rabadon's Deathcap+Malignance+Rod of Ages

33 games · 60.6%

Rabadon's Deathcap+Malignance+Zhonya's Hourglass

24 games · 58.3%

Boots

Spellslinger's Shoes56.6% · 173 games

Chainlaced Crushers52.9% · 102 games

Armored Advance48.8% · 86 games

Summoner spells

Flash + Teleport55.0% · 302 games

Flash + Ignite55.7% · 88 games

Most-played runes

First Strike + Domination

55.2% · 154 games

Primary tree · Inspiration

Cash Back96%

Triple Tonic99%

Cosmic Insight74%

Secondary tree · Domination

Ultimate Hunter100%

Sudden Impact99%

Shards

Adaptive force82%

Health scaling67%

Health scaling92%

Electrocute + Precision

54.5% · 77 games

Primary tree · Domination

Sudden Impact99%

Grisly Mementos75%

Ultimate Hunter100%

Secondary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind100%

Last Stand60%

Shards

Adaptive force99%

Health scaling77%

Health scaling88%

Deathfire Touch + Domination

56.0% · 50 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Axiom Arcanist52%

Transcendence84%

Scorch64%

Secondary tree · Domination

Ultimate Hunter100%

Sudden Impact98%

Shards

Adaptive force78%

Adaptive force86%

Health scaling64%

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 Kassadin'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 team62.5% · 88 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Malignance 67.2% ▲

Rod of Ages 62.3% ▲

Rabadon's Deathcap 66.7%

Zhonya's Hourglass 66.7%

The item that stands out most is Rod of Ages: 62.3% win rate, +10 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team52.5% · 137 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Rod of Ages 48.0% ▼

Malignance 58.7%

Zhonya's Hourglass 72.7% ▲

Rabadon's Deathcap 76.9%

Void Staff 75.0%

Frozen Heart 72.7%

The item that stands out most is Zhonya's Hourglass: 72.7% win rate, +10 points versus its usual win rate.

Balanced enemy team51.1% · 182 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Rod of Ages 50.4%

Malignance 56.2% ▼

Zhonya's Hourglass 53.8% ▼

Rabadon's Deathcap 53.3% ▼

Frozen Heart 73.3%

Void Staff 50.0%

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

Counters and matchups

How to play against Kassadin

• Kassadin deals mostly magic damage. If he's doing well consider buying magic resist items like Mercury's Treads and Banshee's Veil.
• Each time Kassadin consecutively uses Riftwalk, he pays more and more mana. Keep this in mind as you chase him.
• It takes 6 spell casts for Kassadin's slow, Force Pulse, to become castable. If he levels up that ability, judiciously use your own skills while laning against him.

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

Abilities

PassiveVoid Stone

Kassadin takes reduced magic damage and ignores unit collision.

QNull Sphere

Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at a target, dealing damage and interrupting channels. The excess energy forms around himself, granting a temporary shield that absorbs magic damage.

WNether Blade

Passive: Kassadin's basic attacks deal bonus magic damage. Active: Kassadin's next basic attack deals significant bonus magic damage and restores Mana.

EForce Pulse

Kassadin draws energy from spells cast in his vicinity. Upon charging up, Kassadin can use Force Pulse to damage and slow enemies in a cone in front of him.

RRiftwalk

Kassadin teleports to a nearby location dealing damage to nearby enemy units. Multiple Riftwalks in a short period of time cost additional Mana but also deal additional damage.

Frequently asked questions

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