Null-Magic Mantle

Null-Magic Mantle is the basic Magic Resist component in League of Legends: 20 Magic Resist for 400 gold in patch 26.21, no passive, nothing beneath it. Nine items build out of it, from Mercury’s Treads and Negatron Cloak to Hexdrinker, Quicksilver Sash and Verdant Barrier, which makes it the cheapest answer in the shop to a mage who is winning lane.

What does Null-Magic Mantle do?

It adds 20 Magic Resist. Magic damage you take drops by a percentage that depends on how much resist you already have, and since most champions start with around 30 base Magic Resist (melee champions scale it with levels, ranged ones mostly do not), the Mantle’s 20 is a big relative jump early.

What does that look like in lane? A Lux combo that took two thirds of your Health at level four takes a little over half instead, which is often the difference between recalling and being forced out by the next poke. Against physical damage the item does nothing, and the usual beginner error with the Mantle is the mirror of the one with Cloth Armor: buying resist because you are losing, without checking what kind of damage is actually hurting.

Is it worth the gold?

Exactly even. The Mantle is the item our efficiency numbers use as the reference price for Magic Resist, 20 gold per point, so 20 Magic Resist is worth 400 gold and the item sits at 100% for its 400 gold.

The sell value is 280 gold. Honestly, the Mantle’s real value is positional rather than statistical: it is the one magic resist piece you can buy at 400 gold on almost any champion and later fold into boots, a tank item, a fighter item or a support item without wasting it. The Negatron Cloak one step up gives more resist at the same rate, so the Mantle is the choice when you cannot afford the Cloak yet or when your finished item only needs the smaller piece.

What does Null-Magic Mantle build into?

Nine items across every role:

• Boots: Mercury’s Treads, with Tenacity on top of the resist.
• Components: Negatron Cloak, Spectre’s Cowl, Hexdrinker and Verdant Barrier.
• Finished items: Quicksilver Sash and, on the support side, Locket of the Iron Solari plus Zeke’s Convergence; Bandlepipes rounds it out.

So the Mantle serves tanks (through Spectre’s Cowl and Negatron), fighters (Hexdrinker into Maw of Malmortius), mages (Verdant Barrier into Banshee’s Veil) and supports (Locket, Zeke’s) all at once. Thing is, that spread is exactly why it is such a common first-recall buy against an AP laner: you commit 400 gold and nothing else. Current prices for the whole set live in the LoL items database.

Who buys it?

Anyone losing to magic damage early, which in practice means top laners against Teemo or Kennen, mid laners against burst mages, junglers facing an AP jungle, and most tanks at some point. For what it’s worth, it is also the standard first step toward Mercury’s Treads for anyone who needs Tenacity against a crowd control heavy team. Marksmen rarely buy it, since their resist comes late and from finished items like Mercurial Scimitar.

How has it changed over the patches?

Three times, and it has ended up back where it started. Riot’s data lists it at the current price and resist from 2013 or earlier, raised to 500 gold with 25 Magic Resist in patch 4.20, trimmed to 450 gold in 5.16, and finally returned to 400 gold and 20 Magic Resist in patch 14.15. Funny enough, a decade of adjustments cancelled out completely (the finished items above it did not stand still, though).

When should you buy it?

On the first or second recall against a magic damage laner when you have 400 to 700 gold. Pair it with boots. Or with a Ruby Crystal, if Spectre’s Cowl is the plan. Facing physical damage instead? Put the gold into Cloth Armor and forget this item exists. If you are not yet sure which lanes tend to face magic damage, the guide to LoL roles covers the usual matchups, and Null-Magic Mantle shows up in the first buys of most champions who meet a mage.

FAQ

How much does Null-Magic Mantle cost?

400 gold as of patch 26.21. Sell it and you get 280 gold back.

What stat does it give?

20 Magic Resist.

Does it have a passive?

No, it is a flat Magic Resist component.

What does it build into?

Mercury’s Treads, Negatron Cloak, Spectre’s Cowl, Hexdrinker, Verdant Barrier, Quicksilver Sash, Locket of the Iron Solari, Zeke’s Convergence and Bandlepipes.

Null-Magic Mantle or Negatron Cloak?

The Cloak if you can afford it and your finished item needs one; the Mantle if you have less gold or your target item (Mercury’s Treads, Hexdrinker, Locket) builds from the Mantle directly.