Guide · Mid

Xerath Guide

the Magus Ascendant

Mage

Support

Tier C Mid

Xerath, the Magus Ascendant, is a mage and support champion that is demanding to master. Across our 837 analysed ranked games, Xerath is mostly played in Mid (50% of its games), and more rarely as ADC (27%) and as Support (23%), with a 49.2% win rate in that role: tier C among Mid champions (#30 of 42, ranked by win rate). Xerath's damage is mostly magic (96%): magic resistance items are therefore effective against this champion. Win rate varies with game length: 52.5% in short games (under 25 min, 118 games) versus 46.4% in long games (over 35 min).

Averages measured over 421 Mid games played with Xerath, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Xerath is a long-range mage: Arcanopulse, Eye of Destruction and Shocking Orb harass from very far away. His attacks restore mana and his ultimate roots him in place to fire several long-range barrages.

Harassment

Q › W › E

When: An enemy is within range.

Arcanopulse deals damage in a line, Eye of Destruction slows (more in the center), Shocking Orb stuns and damages.

The control stun

E › W › Q

When: An enemy dives you.

Shocking Orb stuns first, then Eye of Destruction and Arcanopulse do the damage.

The siege ultimate

R › R › R

When: Enemies are visible at long range.

Rite of the Arcane roots you to fire several barrages: cast it when you are protected.

Laning phase

Arcanopulse deals damage to every target hit: cast it to hit enemies and minions. Eye of Destruction slows in the area, with more effect in the center.

Common mistakes

• Casting the ultimate with no protection: you are rooted while firing.
• Wasting Shocking Orb: it is your only stun.
• Neglecting mana: your attacks restore it regularly.

Riot's official tips for playing Xerath

• It's easier to land Arcanopulse on an enemy when they're moving toward or away from you, rather than side to side.
• Eye of Destruction will make landing Arcanopulse easier as the target will be slowed.
• If you stun an enemy with Shocking Orb, follow up with a guaranteed center hit on Eye of Destruction.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Rabadon's Deathcap, Shadowflame, and Luden's Echo (84 games, 57.1% win rate), usually with Spellslinger's Shoes (51.0% over 386 games).

Rabadon's Deathcap+Shadowflame+Luden's Echo

84 games · 57.1%

Horizon Focus+Shadowflame+Luden's Echo

55 games · 50.9%

Shadowflame+Stormsurge+Luden's Echo

40 games · 50.0%

Boots

Spellslinger's Shoes51.0% · 386 games

Summoner spells

Flash + Teleport47.9% · 309 games

Flash + Barrier56.4% · 55 games

Exhaust + Flash50.0% · 30 games

Most-played runes

Arcane Comet + Precision

45.6% · 215 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Manaflow Band85%

Transcendence78%

Scorch93%

Secondary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind93%

Coup de Grace68%

Shards

Adaptive force82%

Adaptive force99%

Health scaling74%

Arcane Comet + Inspiration

59.8% · 92 games

Primary tree · Sorcery

Manaflow Band98%

Transcendence90%

Scorch94%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cash Back61%

Triple Tonic51%

Shards

Adaptive force71%

Adaptive force99%

Health scaling58%

First Strike + Sorcery

49.1% · 53 games

Primary tree · Inspiration

Magical Footwear68%

Biscuit Delivery72%

Cosmic Insight98%

Secondary tree · Sorcery

Manaflow Band94%

Scorch81%

Shards

Adaptive force76%

Adaptive force98%

Health scaling76%

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 Xerath'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 team55.1% · 118 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Luden's Echo 58.8% ▲

Shadowflame 54.9% ▲

Horizon Focus 53.7% ▲

Rabadon's Deathcap 58.8% ▲

Stormsurge 63.6%

Void Staff 76.9%

The item that stands out most is Luden's Echo: 58.8% win rate, +7 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team44.8% · 105 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Luden's Echo 47.1% ▼

Shadowflame 44.4% ▼

Horizon Focus 44.1% ▼

Rabadon's Deathcap 44.4% ▼

Stormsurge 45.5%

Zhonya's Hourglass 46.2%

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

Balanced enemy team48.0% · 198 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Luden's Echo 49.7%

Shadowflame 50.4%

Horizon Focus 51.6%

Rabadon's Deathcap 54.7%

Stormsurge 42.9% ▼

Void Staff 42.3% ▼

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

Counters and matchups

Who counters Xerath in Mid

Ahri Xerath: 52.6%19 games

Ahri has the edge in 47% of the 19 Mid duels against Xerath. See the Ahri guide.

Viktor Xerath: 52.9%17 games

Viktor has the edge in 47% of the 17 Mid duels against Xerath. See the Viktor guide.

Syndra Xerath: 58.8%17 games

Syndra has the edge in 41% of the 17 Mid duels against Xerath. See the Syndra guide.

Who Xerath is strong against

Syndra58.8% · 17 games

Viktor52.9% · 17 games

Ahri52.6% · 19 games

How to play against Xerath

• Xerath's range can be intimidating, but most champions who close distance with him can trade favorably.
• Xerath takes a long time to engage Rite of the Arcane. Watch for his spellcast animation and start dodging.
• Banshee's Veil will make it much harder for Xerath to land Shocking Orb on you.

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

Abilities

PassiveMana Surge

Xerath's basic attacks periodically restore Mana. Whenever Xerath kills a unit, this cooldown is reduced.

QArcanopulse

Fires a long-range beam of energy, dealing magic damage to all targets hit.

WEye of Destruction

Calls down a barrage of arcane energy, slowing and dealing magic damage to all enemies in an area. Targets in the middle receive additional damage and a stronger slow.

EShocking Orb

Deals magic damage to an enemy and stuns them.

RRite of the Arcane

Xerath immobilizes himself and gains numerous long-range barrages.

Frequently asked questions

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