LeBlanc is historically one of League of Legends’ strongest champions. But recently, she has fallen out of favor compared to other champions in her role. Here’s how you can maximize your chance at success on LeBlanc.
LeBlanc is in a rough spot after the recent patch drop. She currently sits in D-tier on Mobalytics’ League of Legends 14.11 tier list. With its Faker-centric skin introduced into the game, LeBlanc will likely rise in popularity seeing how that’s the most affordable one of the bunch. Therefore, you should learn the optimal build for LeBlanc so you don’t feel useless on the Rift with your cool new skin.
Best LeBlanc build in League: Runes, items, and more
Runes
Domination
Electrocute: Although First Strike is a solid option, you should opt for Electrocute to get the most out of LeBlanc’s kit. It makes you very annoying to deal with in the laning phase due to the amount of poke you can deal.
Taste of Blood: An excellent sustain rune for LeBlanc. She gains a small percentage of her health back whenever she damages an enemy champion. This has a short cooldown of 20 seconds, which is amazing for the laning phase.
Eyeball Collection: This is an assassin’s dream rune, granting bonus stats (one Eyeball per) for every takedown. Each Eyeball provides additional adaptive damage (1.2 AD or two AP). Once you reach level 10, you gain an additional six Attack Damage or 10 Ability Power.
Treasure Hunter: As a heavy roamer, LeBlanc will gain many Bounty Hunter stacks, so the additional gold offered for each of them by Treasure Hunter is a great benefit to have.
Sorcery
Manaflow Band: LeBlanc is a heavy skirmish champion in League of Legends, so she benefits greatly from the permanent +25 mana (max 250) every time she inflicts damage on an enemy champion.
Scorch: Although LeBlanc is already great at one-shotting squishy targets, Scorch will do the trick for the tankier champions. It burns the next enemy champion hit, dealing 20-40 bonus Magic Damage depending on your level.
Bonuses: For the bonus statistics, you should run +10 percent Attack Speed, +9 Adaptive Force, and +10-180 Health, which are scaled based on your level.
Starting items
Doran’s Ring
Although Corrupting Potion has been a solid option for LeBlanc in the past, players tend to go for Doran’s Ring in season 14. It restores 1.25 mana every second or heals you if you are already full on mana. Basic attacks also deal five bonus Physical Damage on-hit against minions. This makes it much easier for LeBlanc to farm as she will regain mana quickly and deal additional auto-attack damage to them.
Core items
Sorcerer’s Shoes
Sorcerer’s Shoes penetrate an enemy’s Magic Resistance and pair well with other Magic pen items, like Void Staff.
Luden’s Companion
This is the ultimate early-game burst item, the one that helps LeBlanc really get going. If you were wondering what replaced Luden’s Echo, it’s this one. Luden’s Companion is good in the early game thanks to its low cost and high burst potential. It will let you shove in the wave quickly and then look to roam elsewhere—very important for an assassin. The six charges will let you take down the minion wave with ease.
Shadowflame
Shadowflame is an excellent second item for LeBlanc, who, by this stage of the game, is starting to scale well, getting ready to one-shot enemies. Its passive critically strikes against enemies below 35 percent health for 120 percent damage.
Late-game items
Zhonya’s Hourglass
Zhonya’s is a great item, especially against attack damage-focused teams or champions who rely on combos to kill you. Sometimes, LeBlanc players—and assassins in general—can get a little overzealous, which is where the Hourglass comes into play.
In teamfights, Zhonya’s Hourglass lets you deceive opponents. You can force them to use all their spells and engage tools on you, then use the item to give your team a few crucial seconds to unleash devastation while you’re untargetable. Once you leave the stasis, you can use your W to reposition and escape the fight unharmed.
Banshee’s Veil
What was once a rush item became an optional tool against crowd control. Use Banshee’s Veil against heavy-pick compositions that rely on getting an engage to dismantle you. You can increase your chances of winning such games by having a spell shield to protect you from Nocturne Paranoia or Ashe Arrow.
Don’t waste the spell shield before a teamfight begins since it needs a lot of time to recharge. If you do so, ask your team to wait a few seconds before engaging to ensure a good outcome.
Rabadon’s Deathcap
There’s no better item for mages than Rabadon’s Deathcap, which amplifies all your power. Although some players might rush it if they win their lane, it’s quite a suboptimal path unless you already have other core AP items—even more so, considering Ornn can no longer upgrade it at all since patch 14.11.
If you’re ahead in the lane and have plenty of gold, then feel free to get this item, especially if enemies are stacking magic resistance early on.
