Cull
Starter item · Patch 26.22 · numbers from Riot's Data Dragon files, refreshed every patch
Cull stats
- +7 Attack Damage
Passive and active effects
- Passive: Reap
- Restore 3 Health On-Hit . Killing minions grants 1 gold , up to 100 . Reaching the limit grants another 350 gold .
Effect text as written in Riot's game data; for scaling effects, the in-game shop tooltip shows the exact numbers that match your current stats and level.
Gold efficiency
| Stat | Amount | Gold per point | Gold value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attack Damage | 7 | 35 g | 245 g |
| Total stat value | 245 g |
Gold efficiency = stat value ÷ item cost = 245 ÷ 450 = 54%. The gold per point comes from basic items of the same patch (for example, Long Sword: 35 g per Attack Damage). Passives and actives are not counted.
Cull patch history
| Patch | Change |
|---|---|
| 6.2 | Attack Damage: 5 → 7; Effect text changed |
| 6.1 | Effect text changed |
| 5.23 | Effect text changed |
| 5.22 | Added to the game data |
We compare cost and stats patch by patch in Riot's Data Dragon files. "Effect text changed" means the passive or active wording changed in that patch.
Cull is the farming start in League of Legends, a 450 gold item that pays for itself: 7 Attack Damage in patch 26.22, plus the Reap passive, which restores 3 Health on every hit, grants 1 gold per minion kill up to 100 minions, and then pays a lump sum of 350 gold once you reach that limit. It builds into nothing, and you sell it once it has paid out.
What does Reap do?
Three small things that add up to one idea: farm a hundred minions and get your money back with interest. Each minion kill is worth 1 bonus gold until you hit 100, the moment you do you receive 350 gold on the spot, and the whole time every attack heals you for 3 Health.
So the maths is simple. You spend 450 gold at the start, collect 100 gold over the first hundred last hits, then the 350 gold bonus lands, and the item has paid for itself with a little change, and you still own a 7 Attack Damage item you can sell for 180 gold. Is that free money? Almost, with one large asterisk: the 450 gold bought almost no combat stats, so you lane with less damage and less Health than a Doran’s Blade user for the ten or twelve minutes it takes to reach a hundred minions (a long time to be weak against a Draven). The 3 Health on hit helps with poke and barely matters in a real fight.
Is Cull gold efficient?
Not on stats: 54%, since our method prices only the 7 Attack Damage (245 gold at 35 gold per point) and gives the gold passive no value at all. Count the passive and it becomes the most efficient starting item in the shop once completed, because the gold it returns is larger than the gold it cost.
Thing is, efficiency after twelve minutes is not the same as efficiency at minute three. A Doran’s Blade gives more damage, 80 Health and sustain from the first wave, and in any lane where those stats decide a fight, the Blade is worth more than the 350 gold you would collect later. Cull wins in lanes where nobody is fighting anyway.
Who should start with it?
Scaling champions in passive matchups: a Kayle, Nasus or Gangplank top who plans to farm for twenty minutes, a marksman like Kog'Maw or Jinx facing an enchanter lane that will never all-in, the occasional Ezreal who wants the early gold for a Tear-based build. Junglers never take it, since monsters are not minions.
Who should not? Anyone against a lane bully, anyone whose plan involves fighting before level six, and anyone who is not confident of actually reaching 100 minions before the item starts to feel useless. Honestly, that last group is larger than people admit. A Cull that hits a hundred CS at minute twelve is a good buy; one that gets there at minute eighteen because the lane went badly has cost you an entire laning phase for a late refund.
How has Cull changed over the patches?
Three entries, all in its first few months. It arrived in patch 5.22 with 5 Attack Damage, had its effect text adjusted in 5.23 and 6.1, and in patch 6.2 the Attack Damage went up to 7. Nothing since. Put simply, Riot found the number they wanted in early 2016 and have left the item alone for nearly a decade, which is rare for anything in the starting item slot. The table above has each entry, and the LoL items database lists the other starting items alongside it.
When should you sell it?
Once the 350 gold has landed, as soon as you need the slot. The passive has nothing left to give at that point, only 7 Attack Damage and a small heal on hit remain, and a Long Sword beats both. For what it’s worth, selling it immediately after the payout to fund a component is the standard move, and holding it to full build is simply forgetting. If you are still deciding whether your champion is a farmer or a fighter, our guide to LoL roles covers which positions scale and which trade, and Cull belongs only to the scalers.
FAQ
How much does Cull cost?
450 gold in patch 26.22. It sells for 180 gold.
How much gold does it give back?
1 gold per minion kill up to 100 minions, then a bonus of 350 gold when you reach the limit.
Does it heal?
Yes, 3 Health on every hit, which helps against poke in lane.
Do monsters or champions count toward the limit?
No. Only minion kills count.
Does it build into anything?
No. It is a starting item you sell after the payout.
Cull or Doran’s Blade?
Doran’s Blade in any lane with fighting; Cull in a passive lane where you can farm freely to a hundred minions.