Abyssal Mask

Abyssal Mask is a 2,650 gold Magic Resist item in League of Legends for tanks who want their mages to hit harder: 350 Health, 45 Magic Resist and 15 Ability Haste in patch 26.22. Its Unmake passive makes nearby enemy champions take 12% more magic damage, from you and from everyone on your team.

What does Unmake do?

It is an aura. Enemy champions standing near you take 12% more magic damage from all sources, with no stacking, no trigger and no cooldown; the shop tooltip lists the radius.

That makes it a team item wearing a tank item’s stats. On a Maokai with a Syndra behind him, the passive is worth more to the Syndra than the Health is to the Maokai, and that is exactly the trade the item wants you to make. Does it help an AD team? Barely. A tank whose carries deal physical damage gets 45 Magic Resist and some Haste out of it and leaves the best part on the table (which happens more often than you’d think, people buy it for the resist alone and never check their own team’s damage). Champions who deal magic damage themselves, Amumu, Rammus with his W, Cho'Gath, Galio, double dip: the aura boosts their own spells too.

Is Abyssal Mask gold efficient?

Just under: 97%, or 2,583 gold of stats for 2,650 gold. The 350 Health is worth 933 gold at 2.67 gold per point, the 45 Magic Resist 900 gold at 20 per point, and the 15 Ability Haste adds 750 gold.

So the aura costs you about 67 gold of stats, which is cheap for an effect that multiplies an entire team’s magic damage. The comparison that matters is Spirit Visage, the other Magic Resist item tanks reach for: more Health and a healing boost for yourself, nothing for your team. Thing is, the choice usually makes itself. Two or more magic damage dealers on your side? Mask. A team built around an AD carry and a healer? Visage.

Who should build it?

Tanks and AP bruisers on teams with heavy magic damage: Maokai, Amumu, Sejuani, Galio, Rammus, Zac, Cho’Gath, Mordekaiser, and supports like Leona or Nautilus once they have the gold. The aura rewards whoever stands in the middle of the enemy team, which is the tank’s job anyway.

In practice the item is a second or third buy, taken when the enemy has an AP threat worth 45 Magic Resist and your own team has at least one mage worth the 12%. Buying it with no magic damage on your side is the common mistake, and it is a real loss, since the gold could have gone into an item that protects you better. Funny enough, it is still a decent Magic Resist item on its own, just not the best one.

What does the build path look like?

Kindlegem (800 gold) and Negatron Cloak (850 gold), followed by a large 1,000 gold combine. Negatron Cloak is the sensible first piece against a mage in lane; Kindlegem when you need the Health and Haste sooner. Nothing builds from the finished item.

How has Abyssal Mask changed over the patches?

A lot. Riot’s files list eleven changes since patch 11.23, and the item has had Mana, lost it, gained Health, lost most of it again:

• Patch 12.22: cost 2,700 → 3,000, Health 450 → 500, 300 Mana added.
• Patch 13.10: cost 3,000 → 2,400, Health 550 → 300, Magic Resist 40 → 60, Mana removed.
• Patch 14.10: cost 2,400 → 2,300, Magic Resist 60 → 50.
• Patch 14.19: cost 2,500 → 2,650, Ability Haste 10 → 15, Magic Resist 50 → 45.
• Patch 25.S1.1: Health 300 → 350, Magic Resist 45 → 50.
• Patch 25.04: Magic Resist 50 → 45.

Long story short, Riot has never settled on how tanky it should be. The aura stayed the whole way through. The table above has the complete record, and the LoL items database shows the other Magic Resist items on the same timeline.

When is it the right buy?

When the enemy has magic damage worth answering and your team has magic damage worth boosting, both at once. One without the other and a different item does more. If you want to understand why the tank is the one carrying a team aura rather than the mage, our guide to LoL roles covers how front liners are expected to spend their gold, and Abyssal Mask is a clear example of that logic.

FAQ

How much does Abyssal Mask cost?

2,650 gold in patch 26.22, of which 1,000 gold is the combine. It sells for 1,855 gold.

What stats does it give?

350 Health, 45 Magic Resist and 15 Ability Haste.

How much more magic damage do enemies take?

12% more, from every source, while they are near the wearer.

Does Unmake stack with a second Abyssal Mask on the team?

No. The aura does not stack, so one per team is enough.

Does it still give Mana?

No. The Mana added in patch 12.22 was removed again in 13.10.

What does it build from?

Kindlegem and Negatron Cloak.