Matchup

Heavy AD damageSustained DPS

Build vs Kalista

Build adapted to this matchup

Starting items

Doran's Shield
Health Potion

Core build

Trinity Force
1DPS
Mortal Reminder
2vs Hybride
Infinity Edge
3DPS

Standard

Boots of Swiftness
4vs Slow
Essence Reaver
5DPS

Summoner spells

41478%
41220%

Anti AD

Plated Steelcaps
4vs AD
Death's Dance
5vs AD
Guardian Angel
vs AD

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Anti Tank

The Collector
5vs Tank
Lord Dominik's Regards
vs Tank
Voltaic Cyclosword
vs Tank
Serpent's Fang
vs Tank
Youmuu's Ghostblade
vs Tank

DPS

Essence Reaver
DPS
Immortal Shieldbow
DPS
100.0% WR1 games
InspirationInspiration
First StrikeFirst Strike
Cash BackCash Back
Triple TonicTriple Tonic
Cosmic InsightCosmic Insight
PrecisionPrecision
Cut DownCut Down
Legend: HasteLegend: Haste
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceHealth

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Early (0-15)
Mid (15-30)
Late (30+)
GangplankGangplank
KalistaKalista
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral

Kalista's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Martial Poise (P)

Enter a movement command while winding up Kalista's basic attack or Pierce to lunge a short distance when she launches her attack.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
39s30s0s
69s30s0s2m40
99s30s0s2m40
119s30s0s2m20
169s30s0s2m
189s30s0s2m

Playing against Kalista

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

1

Kalista depends on her bound support — if the support is eliminated, she loses her R and a lot of utility.

2

Slows are devastating against Kalista: her passive dash scales with movement speed. Slow = tiny hops.

3

Burst champions are effective: if she can't auto to dash, she's very vulnerable.

4

Grievous Wounds isn't as important as against other ADCs — focus on CC and burst instead.

Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 9, 2026