Pyke ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.22. 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 Pyke ARAM build is a Lethality build with Ability Haste, made to land the hook, reach low targets and chain Death From Below across a teamfight. The Howling Abyss buffs him on three counts: Pyke deals 110% damage, takes 95% damage and has 120% tenacity in ARAM. An execute that resets on every kill finds plenty of low-Health targets in a five-on-five brawl.

The items below follow from his patch 26.22 kit, picked by us without any win-rate charts.

How is Pyke changed in ARAM?

He comes out ahead on every line. Damage is up 10%, damage taken is down 5%, and disables on him end sooner. The damage-taken cut matters more than it looks, because Pyke can’t gain extra maximum Health from any source; a flat reduction is one of the few ways he gets tankier at all. Why the help? Probably because his best tool, hiding in brush and fog, barely exists on a map this open. Gift of the Drowned Ones heals him only while he’s hidden, and the Abyss rarely lets him hide.

Why does Pyke fit the Howling Abyss?

Because ARAM fights leave lots of people at low Health at the same time, and his ultimate resets on each kill. Riot’s patch 26.22 text in short:

• Gift of the Drowned Ones (passive): regenerates recent champion damage while hidden; no bonus maximum Health, bonus Attack Damage in its place.
• Bone Skewer (Q): stab ahead, or hook an enemy and drag them in. Cooldown 10/9.5/9/8.5/8.
• Ghostwater Dive (W): Camouflage and a fading burst of Move Speed. Cooldown 14/13/12/11/10.
• Phantom Undertow (E): he dashes, and a phantom left behind races back to him, stunning enemy champions on the way. Cooldown 15/14/13/12/11.
• Death From Below (R): blinks to and executes low-Health enemies, recastable, with bonus gold for an assisting ally. Cooldown 100/85/70.

Honestly, Death From Below is the whole reason to pick him. In lane on the Rift he might execute one target; in an ARAM teamfight, three or four enemies can sit at low Health at once, and each kill lets him cast it again. Phantom Undertow gets better in a corridor too. Its phantom stuns every enemy champion on its path back, and in a narrow lane that path tends to cross several of them. Bone Skewer still does what it always does (drag someone out of position), just with more targets to choose from.

What should a Pyke ARAM build focus on?

Lethality first, then Ability Haste, then anything that rewards kills. Funny enough, Health on items isn’t wasted on him: Gift of the Drowned Ones converts bonus Health he’d get into bonus Attack Damage.

In practice, Youmuu’s Ghostblade is the first item. Haunt grants Move Speed out of combat, and Wraith Step gives Move Speed and Ghosting on use, which on a map with no flank routes is the fastest way to reach a backliner. It comes with 18 Lethality and 55 Attack Damage.

Hubris is second (the snowball item, if there ever was one). Any champion who dies within 3 seconds of taking his damage feeds Eminence, worth 90 Attack Damage plus {{item:6697:fx:Eminence:3}} per champion killed, lasting {{item:6697:fx:Eminence:4}} seconds. An ultimate that resets on kills is exactly the kind of kit that keeps those stacks rolling.

Third, Axiom Arc, which is a bit of a luxury but a good one. Flux gives back a chunk of his ultimate’s cooldown when a champion he hit in the last 3 seconds dies, so even a Death From Below that didn’t chain comes back sooner for the next fight. Its 20 Ability Haste helps the hook too.

The Collector finishes the build. Death makes his damage execute champions below 5% Health, and Taxes adds 25 bonus gold per champion kill. Against a team with lots of crowd control, Edge of Night goes here instead: its Spell Shield blocks the next enemy Ability, and its 250 Health becomes Attack Damage through his passive. Boots are Mercury’s Treads or Plated Steelcaps.

How do you play Pyke on the Howling Abyss?

• Wait for low targets before casting Death From Below. It only executes low-Health enemies, and each kill lets you cast it again.
• Hook the backline, not the tank. Bone Skewer drags the target to you, so pick someone your team can kill.
• Dash through the enemy line with Phantom Undertow. The phantom stuns every champion on its way back.
• Use Ghostwater Dive to reposition. Its Move Speed decays quickly, so move with purpose.
• Step out of sight between fights when you can; Gift of the Drowned Ones only heals while you’re hidden.

What do no-recall shopping and Mark mean for Pyke?

You can’t recall in ARAM, so the fountain is where gold turns into items, once at the start and again after each death. Real talk, Pyke struggles more than most with that. His passive heal needs him hidden, the Abyss offers little cover, and the lane’s relics are shared by everyone. Expect to play on low Health often (that’s the price of an execute champion).

Mark? Snowball, then dash. Whatever pair you bring is set in stone once the match loads. Pyke has a hook, a dash and a blink already, so Mark mostly helps him reach a low target that Death From Below can’t quite get to yet. Is a fourth gap closer too many? Perhaps. To be fair, most Pyke players keep Flash anyway and see how the game goes.

Is Pyke good in ARAM?

Yes. The 110% damage dealt, 95% damage taken and 120% tenacity modifiers all favour him, and Death From Below shines in fights where several enemies drop low together. His weak spot is sustain. Gift of the Drowned Ones barely works on an open map, and he can’t build Health, so he lives on relics and kills.

The supports who shut him down are in our guide to countering Pyke. For his normal job on the Rift, the LoL roles explainer describes support play. Stats for each item are in the League items database, and the Pyke skins page has his cosmetics.

So the Pyke ARAM build is Youmuu’s Ghostblade, Hubris, Axiom Arc and The Collector: hook the backline, stun through the line, and let every execute pay for the next one.

FAQ

Is Pyke buffed in ARAM?

Yes. The League of Legends Wiki’s patch 26.22 data gives him 110% damage dealt, 95% damage taken and 120% tenacity on the Howling Abyss.

What items does Pyke build in ARAM?

Youmuu’s Ghostblade, Hubris, Axiom Arc and The Collector, with Edge of Night as a swap against heavy crowd control.

Does Health on items do anything for Pyke?

It turns into bonus Attack Damage. Gift of the Drowned Ones stops him gaining extra maximum Health and gives him bonus Attack Damage instead.

How many times can Death From Below be cast in a fight?

Each time it executes a low-Health enemy, he can cast it again, so the number depends on how many low targets are in range.

How was this Pyke build put together?

By matching items to Pyke’s patch 26.22 abilities, one passive at a time. No win-rate statistics were used.