Smolder vs Vayne
You are stronger late game. Farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Vayne
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Smolder: Essence Reaver, Black Cleaver, Spear of Shojin, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Rapid Firecannon, Infinity Edge, Lord Dominik's Regards, Guardian Angel.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Vayne's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Vayne ruthlessly hunts evil-doers, gaining Move Speed when moving toward nearby enemy champions.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6s | 0s | 20s | – |
| 6 | 4s | 0s | 20s | 1m40 |
| 9 | 2s | 0s | 20s | 1m40 |
| 11 | 2s | 0s | 20s | 1m25 |
| 16 | 2s | 0s | 16s | 1m10 |
| 18 | 2s | 0s | 12s | 1m10 |
Playing as Smolder
Tips to maximize your impact
- Last-hit minions with your fireball
Last-hit minions with Super Scorcher Breath (Q): each kill with the spell gives you a Dragon Practice (passive) stack, which empowers your basic spells.
- Poke with your sneeze
Poke with Achooo! (W): the sneeze slows, explodes on champions hit, and each champion hit gives you a Dragon Practice stack.
- Aim for the final tier
Build enough stacks for the final tier of Super Scorcher Breath (Q): it burns its target, and kills a champion who drops below a health threshold.
- Take flight to escape
Escape or reposition with Flap, Flap, Flap (E): you fly over obstacles, bombarding the enemy with the lowest health.
- Call your mom from far away
Cast MMOOOMMMM! (R) to finish or slow from far away: the center of the breath hits harder and slows, and if it hits you, your mom heals you.
Playing against Vayne
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Don't fight with your back to a wall
Don't stand with your back to a wall against her: Condemn (E) knocks you back, and if you hit terrain, you're stunned.
- Short, repeated trades
Take short, repeated trades: she's fragile, and on the third consecutive hit on you, Silver Bolts (W) adds true damage based on your max health.
- Don't feed her kills during her ult
During Final Hour (R), back off rather than risk your life: each champion she kills after damaging them extends the effect.
Other Smolder matchups
Patch 16.21.1