Verdant Barrier

Verdant Barrier is an epic component in League of Legends that gives 40 Ability Power, 25 Magic Resist and a spell shield called Annul, which blocks the next enemy ability, for 1,600 gold in patch 26.21. It builds from two Amplifying Tomes and a Null-Magic Mantle, and it has exactly one upgrade: Banshee’s Veil.

What does Verdant Barrier do?

It is a small Banshee’s Veil. You get mage damage, a bit of Magic Resist, and the Annul passive puts a bubble around you that eats the next enemy ability, whatever that ability is.

The shield is the whole reason to buy it early. A mid lane mage into a Zed or a LeBlanc who keeps landing the first skillshot can pick up the Barrier on the second back and suddenly the opening poke hits a shield instead of a health bar, which turns a losing lane into a quiet one (quiet is a win against assassins). Thing is, the shield only takes one ability and then needs time away from combat to come back, so a champion who pokes with three cheap spells gets through it fast. Against a single long cooldown hook or a Syndra stun, though, it is close to a hard counter for the price.

Is Verdant Barrier worth 1,600 gold?

Only 81% of the price comes back as raw stats. The Ability Power is worth 800 gold at the Amplifying Tome rate of 20 gold per point, the Magic Resist is worth 500 gold at the Null-Magic Mantle rate, and that totals 1,300 gold.

So the spell shield costs you 300 gold of missing stats. Is that a fair price for blocking one ability per fight? In lane against the right opponent, yes, and against a team with nothing you need to block it is a waste you will feel until Banshee’s Veil is finished. The combine cost is 400 gold, the sell value is 1,120 gold, and honestly the sell value matters here more than for most components, because a mage who bought the Barrier for lane and no longer needs it late can sell it for a real slot upgrade without losing much.

What builds from it?

Just Banshee’s Veil, at 3,000 gold. No second option, which makes the Barrier one of the most committed components in the game: buy it and your next legendary is decided.

The pieces below are two Amplifying Tomes at 400 gold each and a Null-Magic Mantle at 400 gold. A common route is Tome at spawn, Mantle plus a second Tome on the first back when the lane looks dangerous, then the Barrier itself.

Who buys it?

Mages who are losing lane to burst, and mages who expect to be the target of one specific ability later on. Orianna against a fed Zed, Viktor against a Fizz, a Syndra who knows the enemy jungler is Elise.

Who leaves it on the shelf? Enchanters, who have no use for a spell shield that costs this much, and any mage who is comfortably winning, since the gold does far more in Lost Chapter or Needlessly Large Rod. Put simply, the Barrier is a reactive purchase. Nobody plans around it. That is fine. The guide to LoL roles explains why mid laners end up making this kind of call more often than other positions.

How has Verdant Barrier changed?

More than most components, and the big swing came in patch 14.1. Before that, the Barrier was a cheap 1,000 gold lane item with 20 Ability Power. The 14.1 item overhaul doubled the Ability Power to 40, raised the Magic Resist by five and pushed the price all the way to 1,800 gold, turning a lane trinket into a serious mid game purchase.

Then Riot walked the price back. Patch 14.6 took it to 1,700 gold, patch 14.10 to the current 1,600, and patch 14.19 removed the extra Magic Resist again, which is how the item ended up with 25 today. Earlier on, patch 11.3 had cut it from 1,200 to 1,000 gold and patch 11.6 trimmed the Ability Power by five points (the shield text was reworded in both patches). Odd history for a component. For what it’s worth, today’s Verdant Barrier is the most expensive version apart from the 14.1 spike (a full 600 gold above the launch price), and the current prices for everything around it are in our LoL items database.

FAQ

How much does Verdant Barrier cost?

The shop price is 1,600 gold in patch 26.21. Combining it from components costs 400 gold, and selling returns 1,120 gold.

What does Annul do?

Annul wraps you in a spell shield, and the next enemy ability to hit you is absorbed instead of landing. The shield returns after time spent out of combat.

What stats does it have?

40 Ability Power and 25 Magic Resist.

What does it build into?

Banshee’s Veil only.

What does it build from?

Two Amplifying Tomes and one Null-Magic Mantle plus 400 gold.

Is it good against assassins?

Against assassins who rely on a single opening ability, yes. Against champions who poke with several cheap spells the shield breaks too quickly to matter much.