Guide · ADC

Smolder Guide

the Fiery Fledgling

Marksman

Mage

Tier B ADC

Smolder, the Fiery Fledgling, is a marksman and mage champion of medium difficulty. Across our 390 analysed ranked games, Smolder is mostly played as ADC (86% of its games), and more rarely in Mid (14%), with a 48.7% win rate in that role: tier B among ADC champions (#18 of 36, ranked by win rate). Smolder's damage is mostly physical (70%): armor is the best defensive answer against this champion. 11% of that damage is true damage and therefore ignores resistances. Win rate varies with game length: 53.7% in long games (over 35 min, 82 games) versus 43.5% in short games (under 25 min).

Averages measured over 337 ADC games played with Smolder, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Smolder is a draconic marksman-mage: hitting champions with an ability and killing enemies with Super Scorcher Breath gives him Dragon Practice stacks that raise the damage of his basic abilities. Achooo! explodes on champions, Flap, Flap, Flap makes him fly while bombarding the enemy with the lowest health, and MMOOOMMMM! calls his mother for a slowing fire.

Harassment

Q › W › AA AA

When: An enemy is within range.

Super Scorcher Breath becomes more powerful with accumulated stacks; Achooo! explodes on the champions hit.

The bombardment flight

E › Q › AA AA

When: You want to get past obstacles.

Flap, Flap, Flap makes you fly, ignoring obstacles, and bombard the enemy with the lowest health.

The team ultimate

R › W › Q

When: A fight begins.

MMOOOMMMM! makes his mother spit fire from the air: bonus damage and a slow at the center of the fire.

Laning phase

Take kills with Super Scorcher Breath: they earn you stacks. Achooo! explodes if it hits enemy champions.

Common mistakes

• Neglecting kills: they grow your abilities.
• Using Flap, Flap, Flap without knowing who will be bombarded.
• Casting the ultimate on enemies who leave the area.

Riot's official tips for playing Smolder

• Smolder has a vulnerable early game. Focus on passive stacking and staying alive to become a strong dragon later!
• Smolder relies on his team to keep him safe. Try to find allies who can help you against enemy threats.
• Smolder can do a lot of damage to areas of enemies. Look for attack opportunities where the enemies are close together.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Black Cleaver, Spear of Shojin, and Essence Reaver (100 games, 54.0% win rate).

Black Cleaver+Spear of Shojin+Essence Reaver

100 games · 54.0%

Rapid Firecannon+Spear of Shojin+Essence Reaver

80 games · 56.2%

Infinity Edge+Rapid Firecannon+Essence Reaver

67 games · 62.7%

Summoner spells

Flash + Barrier47.7% · 285 games

Flash + Teleport40.0% · 25 games

Most-played runes

Deathfire Touch + Inspiration

45.3% · 234 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Nimbus Cloak90%

Celerity92%

Gathering Storm97%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Magical Footwear83%

Jack Of All Trades67%

Shards

Adaptive force91%

Movement speed87%

Health scaling86%

Fleet Footwork + Inspiration

69.2% · 39 games

Primary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind82%

Legend: Bloodline74%

Cut Down87%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Biscuit Delivery54%

Cash Back49%

Shards

Attack speed67%

Adaptive force90%

Health72%

Fleet Footwork + Sorcery

64.0% · 25 games

Primary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind80%

Legend: Haste96%

Coup de Grace84%

Secondary tree · Sorcery

Gathering Storm92%

Transcendence88%

Shards

Ability haste84%

Adaptive force84%

Health84%

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 Smolder'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 team47.8% · 113 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Essence Reaver 46.8%

Spear of Shojin 57.8%

Rapid Firecannon 53.2%

Black Cleaver 40.7% ▼

Infinity Edge 63.9% ▲

Endless Hunger 38.9%

The item that stands out most is Infinity Edge: 63.9% win rate, +6 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team49.0% · 96 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Essence Reaver 50.6%

Spear of Shojin 49.0% ▼

Black Cleaver 51.1% ▲

Rapid Firecannon 54.0%

Infinity Edge 63.0% ▲

Endless Hunger 50.0%

The item that stands out most is Infinity Edge: 63.0% win rate, +5 points versus its usual win rate.

Balanced enemy team49.2% · 128 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Essence Reaver 51.3%

Spear of Shojin 59.7% ▲

Black Cleaver 50.0%

Rapid Firecannon 47.8% ▼

Infinity Edge 48.6% ▼

Endless Hunger 46.9%

The item that stands out most is Spear of Shojin: 59.7% win rate, +3 points versus its usual win rate.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Smolder as ADC

Jhin Smolder: 35.0%20 games

Jhin has the edge in 65% of the 20 ADC duels against Smolder. See the Jhin guide.

Jinx Smolder: 47.8%23 games

Jinx has the edge in 52% of the 23 ADC duels against Smolder. See the Jinx guide.

Kai'Sa Smolder: 50.0%20 games

Kai'Sa has the edge in 50% of the 20 ADC duels against Smolder. See the Kai'Sa guide.

Ezreal Smolder: 52.9%17 games

Ezreal has the edge in 47% of the 17 ADC duels against Smolder. See the Ezreal guide.

Caitlyn Smolder: 59.3%27 games

Caitlyn has the edge in 41% of the 27 ADC duels against Smolder. See the Caitlyn guide.

Who Smolder is strong against

Ashe76.5% · 17 games

Caitlyn59.3% · 27 games

Ezreal52.9% · 17 games

Kai'Sa50.0% · 20 games

Jinx47.8% · 23 games

How to play against Smolder

• Smolder relies on his team for safety. Attack him when his team can't save him.
• Don't group up when facing Smolder!
• Smolder is very vulnerable in the early stages. Try to take advantage of his weakness before he can learn how to be a dragon!
• Smolders flight can be interrupted by hard CC and impacted by slows.

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

Abilities

PassiveDragon Practice

Hitting champions with Abilities and killing enemies with Super Scorcher Breath grants a stack of Dragon Practice. Stacks increase the damage of Smolders basic Abilities.

QSuper Scorcher Breath

Smolder breathes fire on an enemy. As he gains more stacks, this ability becomes more powerful.

WAchooo!

Smolder lets out an adorable flaming sneeze that explodes when hitting enemy champions.

EFlap, Flap, Flap

Smolder takes flight ignoring terrain and bombarding the lowest health enemy.

RMMOOOMMMM!

Smolder calls his mom to breath fire from above, dealing extra damage and slowing enemies in the center of her fire.

Frequently asked questions

Full Smolder page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides