Welcome future Kassadin gods!
I'm Wengster a 22 years old streamer from Germany. League has been a part of my life since early Season 1. I started playing competitive as a midlaner in Season 2 and have been playing in the German scene EPS (now called ESL Meisterschaft) with multiple teams.

My accounts are usually Diamond 1 or Master since S3, while peaking Challenger in multiple seasons. I started to play a lot of Kassadin in the end of season 4 and have played him a lot in scrims (training for competitive with your team). Kassadin has been my counter for a lot of matchups ever since!
I played over 300 ranked games with him on all of my accounts combined while always maintaining good winrates.



While I am streaming in German you can still ask me EVERYTHING you wanna know about Kassadin and most other midlane and toplane Champions as I have played over 17.000 games of League and know nearly every matchup!

This is my second guide, so feel free to give me feedback in the comments!
I'll update this guide with most matchups in the next few weeks! It will look like my Xerath guide.

Here are the other guides i made so far:

I will also update it every patch!

I will probably make a guide for each of my other champions that I played over 300 games, if there is enough interest.

Pros: Great snowball potential Super strong late game Solo carry potential Good at split pushing and 1vs1 High mobility Tanky against mages

Cons: Melee with short range Bad early game Bad waveclear without range Low base damage Needs a lot of gold to deal damage

AGAINST RANGED CHAMPIONS

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Arcane Comet is great for trading in lane and scales really well into lategame. Using your Force Pulse and slowing will make for easy Arcane Comet hits, even against Champions with a lot of movementspeed.

Manaflow Band gives you a little mana sustain in lane and a decent amount of passive mana regen, as well as 250 maximum mana when it's fully stacked. Kassadin uses a lot of mana with Riftwalk in fights. He also has mana scaling on Riftwalk which makes Manaflow Band even more valuable.

Transcendence grants you 10% cooldown reduction after reaching level 10. Kassadin most of the times starts fighting after getting Rod of Ages and mostly waits for level 11 with a second point in Riftwalk which makes Transcendence a really good addition to his powerspike.

Every 20 seconds your next ability that hits an enemy Champion will proc Scorch, dealing a little extra damage after 1 second. Getting the extra damage whenever you trade with Null Sphere in lane can make your early a little easier. Average gametimes are very short which makes this more appealing than Gathering Storm.

Bone Plating gives you a little damage reduction from champions in early game. While it doesn't reduce the first damage you take from a champion it will still reduce a lot of your enemy's trading and poking potential when it's not on cooldown.

Second Wind gives Kassadin a lot of sustain against Champions that frequently poke or trade him. Together with Doran's Shield health regeneration it can help you a lot through the early laning phase.

AGAINST RANGED CHAMPIONS WITH WEAK EARLY GAME

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Arcane Comet is great for trading in lane and scales really well into lategame. Using your Force Pulse and slowing will make for easy Arcane Comet hits, even against Champions with a lot of movementspeed.

Manaflow Band gives you a little mana sustain in lane and a decent amount of passive mana regen, as well as 250 maximum mana when it's fully stacked. Kassadin uses a lot of mana with Riftwalk in fights. He also has mana scaling on Riftwalk which makes Manaflow Band even more valuable.

Transcendence grants you 10% cooldown reduction after reaching level 10. Kassadin most of the times starts fighting after getting Rod of Ages and mostly waits for level 11 with a second point in Riftwalk which makes Transcendence a really good addition to his powerspike.

Every 20 seconds your next ability that hits an enemy Champion will proc Scorch, dealing a little extra damage after 1 second. Getting the extra damage whenever you trade with Null Sphere in lane can make your early a little easier. Average gametimes are very short which makes this more appealing than Gathering Storm.

Taste of Blood is an early game rune, providing extra healing whenever you damage an enemy Champion. Its 20 seconds cooldown allows you to use it a lot with Null Sphere in lane and gives you more early game safety. When facing weak early game midlaners you can play more aggressively and get more healing from Taste of Blood than you would get from Second Wind.

Ultimate Hunter provides you with additional cooldown reduction for your Riftwalk and snowball potential, lowering Riftwalk's cooldown even further whenever you get a kill or an assist on a Champion that you haven't been part of the takedown before.

AGAINST MELEE CHAMPIONS

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Grasp of the Undying gives Kassadin a lot of early trading power against other melee Champions. It gives you a great mix of damage and sustain that allows you to bypass your earlygame weakness while not falling off too hard since you get 5 permanent health whenever you proc it.

Bone Plating gives you a little damage reduction from champions in early game. While it doesn't reduce the first damage you take from a champion it will still reduce a lot of your enemy's trading and poking potential when it's not on cooldown.

Second Wind gives Kassadin a lot of sustain against Champions that frequently poke or trade him. Together with Doran's Shield health regeneration it can help you a lot through the early laning phase.

Overgrowth gives you 0.2% maximum health whenever 8 minions or monster die near you. It scales good with your Rod of Ages and will give you around 200 health at the 30 minute mark, making it the best choice of the tier 4 Resolve runes.

Taste of Blood is an early game rune, providing extra healing whenever you damage an enemy Champion. Its 20 seconds cooldown allows you to use it a lot with Null Sphere in lane and gives you more early game safety.

Ravenous Hunter provides Kassadin with even more sustain throughout the game, making it a great addition to his kit. In lane and when splitpushing, getting the permanent healing from your abilities can help you a lot.

Is by far the best summoner spell in the game. Always choose it! Kassadin has no mobility before reaching level 6 which makes Flash his only escape tool against an early gank. Flash gives you scaling with the environment, which means that you can get over walls using Flash to escape or chase enemies. You can even use Flash to get through championmade environment like Anivia's Crystallize or Trundle's Pillar of Ice. Combining Flash with your Champions abilities might give you an extra advantage (i.e. Riftwalk+ Flash). Dodging Abilities with Flash last second gives you great outplay potential!

Teleport is important for Kassadin. Always choose it! Teleport allows you to go back in lane without missing experience and farm! You can join teamfights on the other side of the map while splitpushing with Teleport. Using Teleport on a ward behind your enemies backline can give you a great flanking opportunity!

Void Stone

Kassadin ignores unit collision and takes 15% reduced magic damage.

• Kassadin can't get blocked by minions while farming in lane which can allow him to dodge abilities more easily.
• The 15% reduced incoming magic damage combined with Null Sphere's magic damage shield make Kassadin a great anti-mage Champion.

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Null Sphere

Range: Cooldown: Mana cost:

650 9 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90

Kassadin fires an orb of void dealing 65 / 95 / 125 / 155 / 185 (+ 70% AP) magic damage while also interrupting channeling abilities. Kassadin also gets a shield that blocks 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+ 30% AP) magic damage for 1.5 seconds.

• This is your main trading tool in your laning phase.
• Using Null Sphere whenever your opponent is also using an ability that deals magic damage will greatly improve your trade. Sometimes waiting for them to cast first to ensure that the shield blocks damage can be the better option.
• Null Sphere interrupts channeling abilities like Arcanopulse, Requiem or Glacial Storm.

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Nether Blade

Cooldown: Mana cost:

7 1

Passive: Kassadin's basic attacks deal 20 (+ 10% AP) bonus magic damage.

Active: Kassadin's next basic attack gains 50 range and deals 40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 (+ 80% AP) magic damage while also restoring 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8% of your missing mana.

• Nether Blade allows Kassadin to farm a lot easier, especiall under his own tower.
• Using Nether Blade immediately after an autoattack resets your autoattack timer which means that you can attack twice really fast.
• Nether Blade gives you a lot of mana sustain in fights or in lane when facing a melee Champion or after teleporting on top of a ranged Champion with Riftwalk
• Combining Nether Blade with a Lich Bane empowered autoattack gives you a lot of burst potential.
• In patch 8.13 Nether Blade got a mana cost of 1 so he can buff tear with it as well.

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Force Pulse

Range: Cooldown: Mana cost:

600 5 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80

Passive: Kassadin gains a charge of Void Energy, whenever a nearby Champion and he himself uses an ability, up to 6 charges. When Kassadin reaches 6 charges he can cast Force Pulse.

Active: Kassadin emits a pulse of void energy dealing 80 / 105 / 130 / 155 / 180 (+ 80% AP) magic damage in a cone while also slowing them by 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90% for 1 second.

• If you are at 3 stacks you can use Riftwalk towards an enemy then use Nether Blade and Null Sphere to get enough stacks to use Force Pulse as well.
• Force Pulse is your best ability in teamfights. It has lower cooldown as Null Sphere and its slow can greatly lower your enemies mobility!
• Casting Flash in Force Pulse's casting animation can greatly increase your range. Your Force Pulse will appear in the same direction as your Flash after the teleport.

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Riftwalk

Range: Cooldown: Mana cost:

500 6 / 4 / 2 50 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800

After a small delay Kassadin teleports to the target location, dealing 80 / 100 / 120 (+ 40% AP) (+ 2% maximum mana) magic damage to all enemies on arival.

Each subsequent Riftwalk withing 15 seconds doubles its mana cost and increases its damage by 40 / 50 / 60 (+ 10% AP) (+ 1% maximum mana) per stack, staching up to 4 times.

• Riftwalk is Kassadin's signature ability, allowing him to engage and disengage fights pretty easily.
• Always look at Riftwalk's stacks so you don't accidently run out of mana in the middle of a fight.
• While in the cast animation of Riftwalk use Flash to lengthen your teleport distance. Damage occours at your final destination!
• Scaling with environment allows for easy ganks or escapes over walls.

In Lane Try to Null Sphere whenever the enemy Champion is in range. When facing an enemy that tries to poke you with short range spells, wait for them to cast and as soon as you see their cast animation use your Null Sphere on them so you also get your shield while damaging them. Use your Nether Blade as often as possible to last hit. This gives you a lot of mana sustain while you are already low mana. Don't be afraid to use too much mana for Null Sphere and Force Pulse early since Nether Blade gives you 4% of your missing mana every time you use it. Avoid pushing the lane at all cost and focus on freezing your wave (freezing means only lasthitting the minions as late as possible and letting your wave push into your direction). Kassadin is immobile and can be ganked pretty easily before getting access to Riftwalk! Use your Teleport to go back between waves to make your laning easier. Don't try to safe it and risk dying when you drop to low health. As soon as you get level 6 you can start poking your opponent by getting closer with Riftwalk and casting Null Sphere and Force Pulse. Keep in mind that your Riftwalk has a long cooldown early, so don’t go aggressive if the enemy midlaner can kill you or if you do not have vision of their jungler. After reaching Catalyst of Aeons start poking them with Riftwalk and Null Sphere if you don’t have a Riftwalk stack. If you have one only use Riftwalk when your Force Pulse will be available for poking as well, so you don’t waste too much mana. If you get an opportunity to Riftwalk on top of an enemy Champion make sure to immediately use Nether Blade to gain back a lot of your missing mana! Kassadin has low base damage in the early game, so be sure to work with your jungler. You can easily follow him with Riftwalk if he decides to fight in the jungle or gank a sidelane. Kassadin has one of the best snowball potentials in the game since his AP scalings are really high and his mobility allows him to easily catch people. Try to take every kill you can get. In Midgame Farming on sidelanes as Kassadin can be a great option to keep your gold income steady while not losing towers against multiple enemy Champions because of your bad waveclear. Kassadin can escape most ganks in the midgame with Riftwalk. Keep in mind that Kassadin’s Riftwalk cooldown decreases by 33% when hitting level 11 which can make a huge difference in fights. At the same time always be aware of Riftwalk’s stacks. Sometimes you need to Riftwalk more than once to get to and stay on an enemy Champion, so if you arrive at a fight with 4 stacks you might get in trouble because of Riftwalk’s high mana cost. Only use Riftwalk if you can either combo someone in teamfights with Null Sphere Force Pulse or finish them with Riftwalk. If you are low mana wait for an opportunity to Riftwalk and Nether Blade onto an enemy and regain a lot of mana and keep fighting afterwards. In some occasions Riftwalk and Force Pulse can be used to catch enemies. Your Riftwalk will be on cooldown for a short amount of time so be careful. Waiting for an engage while opting for a flank with Riftwalk into the enemies' backline is often the best choice. Kassadin doesn’t have problems fighting poke or control mages 1vs1 which makes him a big threat for a lot of Champions. In Lategame Flanking becomes even more relevant as Kassadin’s lategame scaling allows him to oneshot most carries and supports. Mostly ignore tanks and deal as much damage as you can to the others. Riftwalk combined with Flash and Force Pulse can slow targets even if you started from really far away. Follow it up with a Zhonya's Hourglass. It lets you wait for Riftwalk and Force Pulse will nearly be ready again as well. You can also splitpush since most Champions can’t survive a 1vs1 against Kassadin in lategame. Try to reach level 16 as fast as possible. Hitting level 16 increases Kassadin's powerlevel by a lot. Riftwalk's cooldown decreases by 50% which allows you to spam it even more! In General When you are up against Champions that deal a lot of physical damage go for Ninja Tabi and Zhonya's Hourglass. If the enemy team has a lot of Crowd Control get Mercury's Treads. Use the different runepages and itembuilds at the beginning of this Guide accordingly to ensure your own success!

Ahri Threat Level: 5

Ahri has no real kill pressure without Spirit Rush. Play safe against her and try to poke her down with Null Sphere. Don't stand directly in your minions! It will not provide cover against her Orb of Deception which passes through minions. Only go into the minion wave to last hit while still trying to avoid taking too much damage for a single minion. Standing without minions between Ahri and yourself, can give her an opportunity to Charm you. The best positioning in lane is most of the times behind your minions while keeping a short distance to them. Keep in mind that Orb of Deception deals true damage while returning to Ahri so Null Sphere magic damage shield will not block the damage. Don't try to Riftwalk onto Ahri when her Charm is available or she'll get a free hit on you. When behind go for early Mercury's Treads to avoid feeding her any further.

Akali Threat Level: 2

Akali is one of the easiest matchups for Kassadin. Kassadin won't loose his lane and outscales her. In lane try to proc your Grasp of the Undying every time it's available and Akali is in range. Use your Null Sphere whenever you can to keep up the pressure. Don't let Akali autoattack you freely after she hit her Mark of the Assassin. Only let her hit you if your Grasp of the Undying or your Null Sphere is available so you outtrade her regardless. After hitting level 6 you can start using your whole combo to poke her whenever she gets close. While her Twilight Shroud gives Akali stealth you can still hit her with Force Pulse and Riftwalk.

Anivia Threat Level: 3

In lane use your Null Sphere whenever its available while dodging her Flash Frost to avoid getting burst for free by Frostbite. Your Null Sphere will cancel her Glacial Storm so use it to deny her waveclear. You can Riftwalk to get in range for Null Sphere if it's available. Don't do this if your Flash is on cooldown or you risk getting caught for free if the enemy's jungler is close. Don´t greed for her egg in the early game. Xerath lacks follow up after using all of his abilities once. His long cooldowns early don’t allow him to kill her while she is in Rebirth without the help of your jungler.

Annie Threat Level: 3

Annie has high burst damage even in lane gets outscaled by a lot. Use Null Sphere whenever she uses Disintegrate on you to shield some of the damage while also poking her. Your Null Sphere has 25 more range than her Disintegrate so you will always be able to hit her if she hits you. Try to kill her with your jungler and snowball the lane. Especially after level 6 you can catch her easily with Riftwalk and Force Pulse. Get a Null-Magic Mantle early and buy Mercury's Treads after finishing your Rod of Ages. Abuse your mobility and scaling.

Aurelion Sol Threat Level: 2

Aurelion Sol has no kill pressure as long as you don't tank the minion waves. Play safe and try to poke him so he can't roam without risk. Null Sphere allows Kassadin to interrupt Aurelion Sol's Astral Flight which lowers Aurelion Sol's clear speed. Kassadin's bad waveclear in early levels still allows Aurelion Sol to roam before level 6 so make sure to ping a lot when he is leaving your lane! After getting access to Riftwalk you can start jumping into Aurelion Sol's Cosmic Creator and hitting him melee. He can't really do much about you dealing free damage onto him. Your midgame mobility allows you to easily follow his roams and catch him whenever he is in a bad position.

Azir Threat Level: 3

Never try to stand in a minion wave or he will deal a lot of damage to you with his Arise! soldiers and his Conquering Sands while farming the wave. Only get close when you are going for a lasthit. Try to poke him with Null Sphere whenever he gets close enough. Kassadin has a lot of kill pressure after getting Rod of Ages. You can start playing aggressive at this point! Abuse his lack of mobility and your ability to jump over his Emperor's Divide. In lategame try to flank him over walls with Riftwalk. You can basically oneshot him without any risk of dying since Azir is bad in a 1vs1 situation.

Brand Threat Level: 2

While laning against Brand try to avoid standing to close to your own minions. He will clear them with Pillar of Flame and Conflagration and get free poke onto you. Don't underestimate his burst in early game and don't try to fight him without your jungler. Be careful, if you Riftwalk in front of Brand he can easily stun you with Conflagration and Sear. Brand has no mobility and short range which allows you to try to catch and kill him easily with your jungler and alone when you got some items.

Cassiopeia Threat Level: 3

Whenever Cassiopeia hits you with a Noxious Blast in lane, walk away from her and use Null Sphere on her. Cassiopeia doesn't have enough mana to kill you before she gets Tear of the Goddess and Lost Chapter, so laning against her should be relatively safe. If you get ahead early you can abuse her missing mobility. Cassiopeia has really low damage as long as you don't stay in her Miasma or get hit by Noxious Blast. If you dodge both you can easily kill her while going melee with Riftwalk. Cassiopeia's Miasma grounds you and doesn't allow you to use Riftwalk, so jumping in front of her can be very scary if her teammates are close as well.

Corki Threat Level: 3

Facing a Corki will be most likely a safe lane. Both of you try to scale while you do not have kill pressure. Try to poke him with Null Sphere whenever he gets close to autoattack you. Hextech Munitions converts 80% of Corki's autoattack damage to magic damage, so most of their damage gets blocked by Null Sphere's magic damage shield. If he runs Fleet Footwork he won't drop to low health before your first back. Corki has earlier powerspikes than Kassadin. Be aware of his strength as soon as he gets Trinity Force.

Diana Threat Level: 3

Kassadin has a decent laning phase against Diana and outscales her by a lot in lategame. Stay away from her level 1 when she uses her Pale Cascade and tries to go melee. Only go for autoattack trades when your Grasp of the Undying is available and when her Pale Cascade is not available. After level 6 you can outtrade her by dodging her Crescent Strike with Riftwalk to deny her Lunar Rush resets while going melee.

Ekko Threat Level: 2

With Grasp of the Undying Kassadin can easily outtrade Ekko in and after lane. If Kassadin fights Ekko in a straight up fight he can't really loose. Use your Null Sphere on cooldown and use Nether Blade whenever Ekko gets close. Be wary of his Parallel Convergence placement since you can’t reposition yourself easily without Riftwalk if you are in its center.

Fizz Threat Level: 4

Fizz is another decent matchup for Kassadin. Grasp of the Undying makes your laning power even. Void Stone combined with the health from Rod of Ages and the magic damage shield form Null Sphere nullifies Fizz potential to burst you even if he's slightly ahead. Try to dodge his Playful / Trickster to not take unnecessary. If he hits you with it unleash your spells on him, making it an even trade in lane. Be careful if you fell behind in experience early game. If Fizz reaches level 6 before you, he can try to all in you with Chum the Waters. Without Riftwalk you most likely can't dodge it.

Galio Threat Level: 4

This is a farm lane for Kassadin. Be careful in early. Galio can easily catch Kassadin with Justice Punch and Shield of Durand if he steps to far forward. Galio’s Shield of Durand gives him a magic damage shield refreshing after 12 seconds of not taking damage. This will greatly reduce your poke efficiency in lane. Focus on farming and follow his map movements. In teamfights wait for him to use Shield of Durand and go in after so you don't Riftwalk into a taunt. If he is building tanky, ignore him and aim for key targets in your enemies backline.

Irelia Threat Level: 3

You can farm safely and even outdamage Irelia in lane as long as you dodge her Flawless Duet. Hit her whenever your Grasp of the Undying or Nether Blade is available while she goes for lasthits next to you with Bladesurge. Irelia spams abilities in lane so you'll have your Force Pulse available at nearly all times. You can also use it for poke every time she gets close. You can outtrade her with autoattacks and your Nether Blade and Grasp of the Undying before your first back and most of the times after first back as well. This will only be different if she's far ahead and gets close to Trinity Force.

Jayce Threat Level: 7

Jayce can autoattack Kassadin in lane and even poke him down with his spells since he mostly deals physical damage that doesn't get blocked by Null Sphere. This is a hard lane. Focus on farming and wait for your teammates to gank your lane. Don't stand to close to your minions since his To The Skies! deals area damage around the target he jumps to. Don't try to go too close to him especially after his first item purchase. Hide behind minions so his Acceleration Gate Shock Blast doesn't poke you low enough to get in danger. Buying an early Cloth Armor can lower his kill pressure early while Zhonya's Hourglass will keep you safe later on. Buying Ninja Tabi after Catalyst of Aeons can help you a lot.

Karma Threat Level: 1

Karma is a simple matchup like most other support champions in midlane. She doesn't really have kill pressure and you can farm safely against her. Avoid standing in your caster minions in the first wave since most Karma players will use Mantra Inner Flame them to push so you don't get hit as well. While farming try to leave your minion wave quickly after lasthitting a minion or her Inner Flame will hit you for free. Avoid getting close to her whenever her Mantra is available so she doesn’t use Focused Resolve to root you and poke you with her Mantra Inner Flame combo. If Karma uses Inspire and runs up to you there is a high chance that there is another enemy close by and she's looking for a root. Run towards your tower to be safe. Don't try to kill her alone since her Mantra Focused Resolve can heal through your early game burst while also rooting you. Wait for your teammates and work with them to kill Karma.

Karthus Threat Level: 1

Facing Karthus as Kassadin is another easy matchup. In lane farm safely while using your Null Sphere on Karthus whenever he gets close. Keep in mind that his Lay Waste has more range than your Null Sphere. Don't just run up to him before you don't have access to Riftwalk. As soon as you reach level 6 you can start using Riftwalk towards Karthus and start spamming your Null Sphere and Force Pulse to poke him out of lane. Most of Karthus players farm with Lay Waste in lane. Your Force Pulse will be available every time it's not on cooldown! Karthus can't afford to build magic resistance in most of his games. Abuse your mobility and him being squishy and immobile! If Karthus channels Requiem while he is still alive and in range interrupt him with Null Sphere.

I will add the other missing matchups in the next few weeks!