Champion Guide

Kayn Guide

By LoLSuggest

Jungle

Kayn is a jungler who chooses his form during the game. The Darkin Scythe collects orbs when he damages enemy champions: fighting melee champions pushes him toward Rhaast, a sustain-heavy bruiser, while fighting ranged champions pushes him toward the Shadow Assassin, a mobile burst form. Shadow Step lets him walk through walls, Blade's Reach hits a long line, and Umbral Trespass hides him inside a recently damaged enemy before bursting out. His clear is fast, his ganks come from unexpected angles, and his form choice lets him adapt to the enemy team.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Kayn build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Gustwalker Hatchling and a Health Potion. The standard Shadow Assassin build is Axiom Arc, Voltaic Cyclosword, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Eclipse, Lord Dominik's Regards and Endless Hunger; Hubris suits a big early lead, Serpent's Fang counters shields, and Guardian Angel helps the one-shot and scaling builds. For Rhaast, Axiom Arc with Voltaic Cyclosword still works, while Black Cleaver, Spear of Shojin, Death's Dance and Sterak's Gage make a sturdier frontline; take Plated Steelcaps or Mercury's Treads there. Run Stormraider's Surge with Axiom Arcanist, Celerity and Gathering Storm, plus Sudden Impact and Treasure Hunter, which lets you chase and escape after a single hit; Dark Harvest is the main snowball alternative for the Shadow Assassin, and Conqueror suits Rhaast. Take Flash with Smite. Max W, then Q, then E.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Shadow Step's wall-walking gives him unpredictable ganks and escapes.
Two forms let him adapt: Shadow Assassin against squishy teams, Rhaast against tanky or melee-heavy teams.
Fast clear and very high mobility with Q and E.

Weaknesses

Very weak early before his transformation, and many junglers can invade and outfight him.
Little crowd control unless you play Rhaast.
The Shadow Assassin falls off later in long games.

Laning Phase

There are two optimal clears, starting from the Crimson Raptors or the Blue Sentinel: reach the river before 2:55 for the Scuttle Crab, or recall after one side, buy a Long Sword and finish the clear by 2:55 for a gold lead at Scuttle. Before your transformation Kayn is weak, so avoid early duels against strong invaders and use Shadow Step to gank from angles the enemy has not warded. Decide early which form you want: hit the enemy's ranged champions for the Shadow Assassin when they have three or more squishies, or melee champions for Rhaast against tanky teams.

Mid & Late Game

As the Shadow Assassin, look for picks on isolated backliners and use Umbral Trespass to burst a target and dodge damage at the same time. As Rhaast, fight in the middle of the enemy team, where his healing and Blade's Reach knock-up keep him alive. In both forms, use the jungle walls to flank fights and escape, and turn picks into objectives.

Key Tips

Shadow Step lets you walk through walls; use it to gank from unexpected angles.
Umbral Trespass can only target an enemy you recently damaged, and it makes you untargetable while inside them.
Damage ranged champions to unlock the Shadow Assassin and melee champions to unlock Rhaast.
Recall after one side and buy a Long Sword if you cannot reach Scuttle Crab in time.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.