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Choose Champion Build:
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Unusual Build
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Mid lane Graves
Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Heal
Items
Ability Order
New Destiny (PASSIVE)
Graves Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Introduction
1. Strong early- mid game: Graves has some fantastic spells and steroids in his kit. With his passive




2. Tanky: Due to

3: Respectable laning phase mana costs: For farming specifically, the only spell you should be using is


Cons:
1. Short auto attack range: This is the biggest weakness with Graves and why he isn't as good in the late game. You have a relatively shorter auto attack range than most ADCs, which puts you at increased risk during the teamfight phase of being caught by CC or damage. When compared to a long range Jinx or Caitlyn in the late game, Graves can have the problem of staying alive in order to deal damage.
3. You don't kill tanks well. Your kit is a squishy killer, but it doesn't kill tanks well. Combined with your shorter than average auto attack range and you have a problem vs multiple tanks. This has particularly become a problem with the introduction of Cinderhulk and the now abundance of tanks you will have to plow through.







1. E> auto attack for the increase attack speed duration> Q>R>W. The important parts of this combo are to fully utilize your attack speed buff given from





2. E>Q>R>W. This combo is assuming that the enemy is low on health and you can simply kill them with your spells. In this case, just use

3. Trinity Force Combo: You may have noticed in my item description that I include a Tri Force in my favorite build: For the record on Graves, this item is terrible early on in the build. However, for reasons I explain in detail in the Item Discussion section, Graves can utilize this item extremely well in the late game.
E> Auto attacks > Repeat: This is a simple combo, but with the increased damage from Spellblade Passive (See Item Selection) and considering how fast your attack speed is, which indirectly lowers the cooldown of

W> Auto Attacks: This combo makes your

Q> Autos: This is already a natural spell weaving mechanic on Graves, might as well make it more deadly.




1: Stand behind your tankline
2: Don't be at the front of the fight.
3: Auto attack like crazy onto any target you can.
While Grave's kit may make you want to duel the enemy team, just remember unless you are really FED going into a 1 v 5 is not preferable.
Now specifically to think about on Graves is his


I almost never initiate with

Now in a lane scenario using

However in a 5 v 5 teamfight where everyone has full life bars you may not be so sure: Do I use it right off the back to damage everyone or do I use it to kill one person at the end.
Well, if I see 3 or more people bunched together as a fight starts I use my ultimate to damage as many people as possible and to help my team get more kills. If I don't see people bunched together, I will typically hold onto it and save it until they bunch up or I wait for one specific target to get within execute range, this target changes with each game. Just try and make this shot count.


However, if you are in ranked and see the enemy team doesn't have an AP threat, you can swap out the magic resistance glyphs for glyphs of your personal choice: I would choose between health, armor, or attack damage glyphs.





































http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/TRKR1/580109?gameHash=b817640f2c56dc89&tab=stats
Now if you look at the statistics for this game, there is a 2000+ crit performed by SKT T1 Bang, this would not have been possible without the Trinity Force.
With this information in mind, consider in the late game how frequently you get off spell rotations: You have





Math summary 1: Standard Graves Build Build








So with Tri force replacing boots, and assuming 3 dragon stacks, you only loose a small amount of move speed but gain the

In the item discussion I explain why I like Trinity Force on Graves, specifically on acquiring the "Supercrit". This build is all about acquiring the "Super Crit" as often as possible. To do this more often than normal you need lots of crit chance, and cooldown reduction.
Runes:
Move Speed Quints: I add these so that I can pick up a Tri Force in place of my Berserker's Grieves. In addition, having these quints gives you 345 move speed at level 1 compared to the 330 you would have in a normal build. Having this extra move speed can help you in the early game dodge skillshots and get in auto range, this can sometimes be frustrating with your low auto range. I do take rank 1 boots just to have some move speed until I get both the Tri Force and Phantom Dancer. Note, Movespeed Quints + Tri Force + PD= 388 move speed.
Attack Damage Marks: Helps you last hit and adds damage to your

Scaling CDR Glyphs: This is where things get interesting. In order to get as many Supercrits as possible, you need lots of CDR. This can be done using CDR runes. At level 18 with 15% CDR your

Scaling Health Seals: Since I'm not running magic resistance I don't want to just run armor (most supports come with magic damage). So I will invest in health, which is a universal statistic. You can substitute these with flat health seals if you prefer, but I haven't had a game where getting to level 9,10 (Which is when the scaling health seals break even/ exceed flat stats) so I prefer the scaling health runes for the late game benefit.
Item Build:
If you are running this rune and mastery set up you must build the following items in the following order
Double

















Note: IE + YGB + PD= 65% Crit chance= You will outduel just about any ADC and deal respectable damage to a tank




Like I said, this is a risky build (one might even say troll build), but I think this is a fun and unique way to play an ADC. It's not perfect, but what's the fun of life and League if you don't try new things and experiment a little every now and again.
The full builds looks is:






In addition, between the Bloodthirster shield, the health from Trinity Force, the health from Sterak's Gage, and the unique "shield" passive from Sterak's Gage you would now have al alternative manner of surviving an assasination attempt and dealing tons of damage.
Like I said, I haven't tried this yet and won't be able to do so for a long time due to time constraints. So, just give it a try and see what you think
Before I explain the set up, I want to explain why Graves works in the mid lane. Graves get's free armor and magic resistance due to






So in the Vs champion section I will go more into depth about each champion, but here are some general rules:
Graves is good against low champions who have to purchase

Graves can be good against long ranged AP poke. If you can dodge spells, Graves can be good against most mages since most mages aren't good duelists.
Graves is bad against AD assasins: Zed, Talon, Fizz, Master Yi, Riven, Tryndamere, are all champions that once they hit level 6 should be able to easily kill Graves. Graves may be able to handle them in laning phase until level 6, but unless you get a very large lead I almost guarantee these champs will win.
Now let's talk about the set up for mid lane Graves.
There are 2 mastery pages you can use. The mastery page I list in the standard Graves build or the new one I have for this build, the only difference being in this new page I take







For summoner spells I take Flash and Teleport. Flash is just mandatory in this game for almost every champ. I take Teleport for a very important reason: map pressure and split pushing. With teleport I can pick up a BF sword, then I know that the bot lane is still farming for their BF sword and if the opportunity presents itself, I go to bot lane. I should have a level and item advantage and when I am level 6 I unload my burst. If I perform the gank right I get the enemy duo lane killed and snowball this move into a tower, then dragon, then into strong map control. Having teleport also means you split push, forcing the enemy to decide whether to address your presence or not. In either case you can turn that into your advantage (you either take a free structure or you trick them into coming for you then you TP out and opt into a teamfight where your team has a numbers advantage). My personal favorite is being able to TP into the enemy base in a late game situation and backdoor the base. I feel that Teleport just gives mid lane Graves more option on how to affect the game and map than any other summoner spell.
If you don't want to take Teleport here are some alternatives:
Ignite: If you want to dominate your lane hard
Exhaust: If you are worried about an "all in" from an assassin can help you not take a bad trade, or not get blown up
Heal or Barrier: defensive oriented combated spell
Ghost: Mid lane Graves can make good use of Ghost as during a teamfight this spell can help you dance around the enemies even harder while you kite and wittle them down
Cleanse: if you against hard CC then this spell can really save your ***.
I will explain my item purchase ordre
1: Doran's blade: best starting item for Graves period
2: B.F. Sword: Builds into Infinity Edge and is the best place to hopefully put your early money
3: Berserker's Grieves: Adding attack speed early in your build can help you clear waves faster and dodge + dance your way around skirmishes
4: Infinity Edge: Damage time
5A: a second Doran's Blade (do this if the enemy has a tank as you will need to get

5B: Brutalizer: this builds into youmuu's
6:

7A:

7B:

8A

9:

10:

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comment section
Good Supports:
1. Thresh: Thresh has good ranged auto attacks, disengage potential, and amazing catch potential. It doesn't matter that Graves is short ranged when Thresh lands a hook and pulls the enemy closer to you. This is probably your best support to go with.
2. Leona: Has amazing CC and kill threat at early levels. Also has a tank steroid to make your all ins be more effective. A very good kill lane support, but she can get harassed down in lane.
3. Morganna: She has great early damage and can block many forms of CC with her



4. Blitzcrank: A higher level 1 kill threat than Thresh, and has amazing catch potential. However Blitz can get poked down similar to Leona.
5. Annie: Can prime stuns, and has high base damage. A great kill lane, but offers no real utility
6. Nami: The only non traditional kill lane I like on Graves. Nami doesn't have high damage or god like kill threat, but she has great forms of utility and sustain. She can heal you, which can allow you to trade more often than your opponents who may not have sustain. Also, Nami can speed you up with any of her spells and help you close the gap. This can be particularly helpful seeing as Graves does have a short auto attack range and sometimes getting in range of others can be frustrating. Combine Nami's speed ups with the slow on

Middle of the Pack supports
1: Lulu: Lulu has strong early dueling potential and good base values on her speed up and shields. The speed up part helps Graves overcome his short range and attack enemy ADC's. Only issue is lulu just isn't as damaging as an Annie/ Morg and doesn't have sustain.
2: Janna: While Graves is more a fan of engage supports, Janna's Shields + speed boost can work quite nicely with Grave's kit. Also her shield doubles as a damage boost for Graves, which can allow him to win early trades. Note, Janna has a low auto attack range and is really squishy.
3: Braum: Similar in playstyle to Alistar, except Braum has at level 1 the ability to stun the enemy bot lane. Braum can offer some protection and good engage/ disengage. Braum is basically a better rounded Allistar with a better laning phase.
4: Nautilus: Nautilus and Braum are very similar in terms of role, both bringing heavy CC to a level 1 fight. Nautilus has better engage than Braum, but very low disengage.
5. Allistar: No Disrespect to the cow with great late game tank scaling, but his early game leaves much to be desired. It simply takes more work to make Allistar synergize with Graves than any of the optimal supports needs. However, Alistar is a level 6 turret diving god and at level 6 can push himself harder in trades than most other champions in the game. Also Alistar does have heals which Graves always appreciates.
Bad Supports:
1. Soraka: In theory Soraka should be good with Graves: Soraka is an endless healing machine with long range poke. In theory, Graves should be able to endlessly trade with the enemy knowing he can just get Soraka healed and Soraka should be able to help the 2 v 2 with safe poke. However in a real game, I have never had the lanes work in this fashion. Soraka just feels too much like a backline support while Graves is an upfront all in champion. I don't like Soraka, in reality it feels like you 2 have no synergy.
2. Sona: In terms of survivability/Disengage not as good as a Nami. In terms of damage, Morgana and Annie have Sona beat. Quite simply, not an optimal choice.
3. Bard: While Bard has received some buffs recently, I still don't like him. I would prefer a support with stronger lane presence.
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