Lissandra ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch; ARAM balance numbers come from the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data.

A Lissandra ARAM build leans on Health, Mana and Ability Power, because the Howling Abyss trims her: Lissandra deals 95% damage and takes 105% damage in ARAM. The kit still fits one crowded lane. Ice Shard passes through its first target, Ring of Frost roots everyone around her, and Frozen Tomb on herself buys a few seconds of being untouchable in the middle of five enemies.

The four items below are our choice for her kit in patch 26.21. No statistics were consulted, only what the items and abilities say they do.

How is Lissandra changed in ARAM?

Two modifiers, both against her: 95% damage dealt and 105% damage taken, with nothing else listed for this patch. Small numbers, sure. They add up, though, because her plan is to teleport into the enemy team with Glacial Path, and a champion who arrives in the middle of five people with 5% extra damage coming in notices the difference fast. Why would Riot trim a mage with 550 range at all? Because on the Abyss her root and her ultimate catch two or three champions instead of one, and the self-cast tomb heals her while the whole enemy team wastes cooldowns on dark ice.

Why does Lissandra fit the Howling Abyss?

Because her kit was drawn for a crowd, and a crowd is all this map has. Riot’s data for patch 26.21 lists it like this:

• Iceborn Subjugation (passive): an enemy champion who dies near her becomes a Frozen Thrall, which slows enemies around it and then shatters for magic damage.
• Ice Shard (Q): an ice spear that shatters on the first enemy, deals magic damage and slows, with the shards passing through to hit everyone behind. Cooldown 7 seconds at rank 1, 3 at rank 5.
• Ring of Frost (W): magic damage and a root on every enemy close to her. Cooldown 10/9.5/9/8.5/8.
• Glacial Path (E): a claw of ice that deals magic damage, and pressing the key again carries her to wherever the claw has reached. Cooldown 24/21/18/15/12.
• Frozen Tomb (R): stuns an enemy champion, or, cast on herself, encases her in dark ice that heals her and makes her untargetable and invulnerable. From the target, ice spreads out, damaging and slowing. Cooldown 120/100/80.

Look at what happens in a fight at the Abyss choke. One Ice Shard hits the front liner and the shards keep going into the three people behind. Glacial Path puts her among them, Ring of Frost roots the lot, and the ultimate either stuns the carry or wraps her in ice while they panic. Then somebody dies, and the corpse becomes a Frozen Thrall that slows and shatters on whoever is left. On Summoner’s Rift she has to find that fight. Here it finds her. To be fair, the weak spot is the long Glacial Path cooldown (24 seconds at rank 1 feels like a year when you’ve landed in the wrong place), plus the fact that she takes 105% damage while waiting for it.

What should a Lissandra ARAM build focus on?

Health first, then Ability Power and Mana, with one item that stops her dying while the ultimate is down. She is a mage who plays like a diver, and the shop should treat her that way. Four items do.

Rod of Ages opens the build: 45 Ability Power, 350 Health and 500 Mana, and Timeless grows the item every 60 seconds, 10 times over, until it hands you a level at full stacks. Eternity is the part that suits her: taking damage from champions returns 10% of it as Mana, and casting an ability heals for 25% of the Mana spent. A champion who teleports into the enemy team takes a lot of damage from champions, so the Mana comes back, and a 3 second Ice Shard turns that Mana into a steady trickle of healing. Buy it at the first shop if the gold allows (it usually does on the Abyss).

Zhonya’s Hourglass is item two, and on Lissandra it works as a second ultimate. It carries 50 Armor alongside 105 Ability Power, but the reason to buy it is Time Stop, 2.5 seconds of Stasis cast while the rooted enemies are still deciding who to hit. The pattern is simple: Glacial Path in, Ring of Frost, Frozen Tomb on the carry, Hourglass while the root holds and your team follows. When the tomb is down, the Hourglass is the self-cast you no longer have. Honestly, skipping it on this champion is how most bad Lissandra games go.

Third is Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, which on this champion is less about its 65 Ability Power than about Rimefrost: any damaging ability now slows the target by 30% for 1 second, and the 400 Health rides along for free. Ice Shard and the dark ice from Frozen Tomb already slow. With Rylai’s, so does the claw of Glacial Path, and so does the root damage from Ring of Frost, so nobody walks away from her at normal speed. The Health matters just as much as the slow on a champion who eats 105% damage.

The fourth slot goes to Cosmic Drive. Ability Haste is the reason, 25 of it, and the item also brings 350 Health, 4% Move Speed and 70 Ability Power. Spelldance grants Move Speed for 4 seconds when she deals magic damage to champions, and the Ability Haste trims every cooldown in a kit where the long ones hurt (Glacial Path, Frozen Tomb). Should the game run long enough for a fifth purchase, Rabadon’s Deathcap is the pick: 130 Ability Power on its own, then Magical Opus multiplies everything you already have by another 30%. Sorcerer’s Shoes for boots, 12 Magic Penetration and 45 Move Speed, since everything she does is magic damage.

How do you play Lissandra on the Howling Abyss?

• Poke with Q through the front line. Ice Shard shatters on the first enemy and the shards pass through, so aim it at the tank standing in front of the carry.
• Hold Glacial Path until the fight is real. With a 24 second cooldown at rank 1, a wasted claw means a long wait with no way in or out.
• Root before you tomb. Ring of Frost holds the group still, which is what makes the Frozen Tomb stun on the right target easy to land.
• Self-cast the ultimate when three or more are on you. The healing and the untargetable window are worth more than a single stun in that spot.
• Fight near corpses. Iceborn Subjugation turns a nearby dead champion into a Frozen Thrall that slows and shatters, free damage in a lane where someone is always dying.

How do shopping and Mark change the game on the Howling Abyss?

No recall exists on this map. You see the shop twice per life, once at the start and once after dying, and between those visits the relics on the lane are what heal you. For Lissandra that pushes Rod of Ages forward in the order, because Eternity is healing you carry with you and Timeless only grows while the item is in your inventory. Every minute without it is a stack you never get. In practice, buying the Catalyst first and the rest later beats waiting for the full item.

Then there’s the snowball. Mark exists only on this map: throw it, hit a champion, and you may dash to that champion. Summoner spells lock in before the game loads, so the choice is made once. For a mage whose only movement is a 24 second claw, a second dash is a gift, and the catch is what it costs her. Landing on an enemy with Mark means Glacial Path is still available for the way out, which is the correct order on a champion taking 105% damage. Snowball in, root, tomb the carry, claw out. Does it work every time? No, but for what it’s worth it works often enough that the enemy team starts standing further back, and that alone wins lanes on the Abyss.

Is Lissandra good in ARAM?

Yes, with a shopping list attached. The 95% damage and 105% damage taken modifiers are a tax, not a ban, and her kit is built for exactly the fight the Howling Abyss produces every ninety seconds: a spear through the group, a root on the group, a stun on the one that matters, and an untargetable heal when it goes wrong. What holds her back is timing. Every entry costs a 24 second claw and often a 120 second ultimate, so, long story short, a Lissandra ARAM player who dives on cooldown dies on cooldown.

The matchups that hurt are magic-resistant mids and champions who go untargetable during Frozen Tomb, covered in our Lissandra counters guide. New to the role? Our guide to LoL roles sorts out which lane she belongs in and why. Stats for every item named here sit in the LoL items database, and her outfits are on the Lissandra skins page.

So the Lissandra ARAM build is Rod of Ages, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter and Cosmic Drive, and the game plan is one claw, one root, one tomb, one Hourglass. Then walk out and do it again when the claw returns.

FAQ

Is Lissandra nerfed in ARAM?

Yes, slightly. Her ARAM modifiers for patch 26.21, as listed in the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data, are 95% damage dealt and 105% damage taken.

What items does the Lissandra ARAM build use?

Rod of Ages, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter and Cosmic Drive, with Sorcerer’s Shoes and Rabadon’s Deathcap as the fifth item if the game lasts.

Should she ult herself or an enemy on the Howling Abyss?

Both are correct at different moments. Cast on an enemy, Frozen Tomb stuns them. Cast on herself, it heals her and makes her untargetable and invulnerable, which is the safer choice when several enemies are already on her.

How does Lissandra get back out after Glacial Path?

She doesn’t, unless the claw is still available or Mark gave her a way in. Glacial Path has a 24 second cooldown at rank 1 and 12 at rank 5, so Zhonya’s Hourglass covers the gap.

Were these items chosen from win rates?

No. They are an editorial pick based on how Lissandra’s abilities and the item effects read in patch 26.21.