As the League’s 137th character, Kayn is the only champion that has a permanent transformation lasting throughout a game and the ability to completely ignore walls. Since his release last week, many players have been actively experimenting with the Shadow Reaper. Though it’s a given whenever a new champion enters the Rift, things aren’t looking good in terms of the his win rate.

So, we approached him step by step to figure out the most popular build for him. Additionally, we looked at how top players are using him to the maximum efficiency.

*This article focuses on Kayn’s primary role as a jungler as officially described by Riot. He can also be played in top lane.

Kayn in the extreme early game is quite weak because he doesn’t have access to his signature two forms and his skill damage is on the lower side despite its potential. As such, it’s in your best interest to set the runes and masteries to supplement his jungling, which is what most people are doing at the moment.

Runes

Marks (Red) - Attack Damage x 9
Seals (Yellow) - Armor x 9
Glyph (Blue) - Magic Resist x 9
Quintessence - Attack Damage x 3 or Attack Speed x 3

Since Kayn’s attack speed is slow, it’s not uncommon to see players filling the deficit with attack speed runes. However, maximizing his damage is more widely used because his skill damage scales exceptionally well (keep in mind that people in the highest tiers prefer attack speed over attack damage).

Masteries

1. Darkin Form: Standard masteries

Players usually invest 18 points in Ferocity to pick up Fervor of Battle. The other 12 points tend to have more options, but those in the highest tiers are more inclined to put them in Resolve.

2. Shadow Assassin: Strategic masteries

These are masteries for a nuking type of play with Thunderlord’s Decree. They work well with the Shadow Assassin but can also be used with the Darkin form when you need burst damage.

Both masteries tend to be divided on whether people go for Double Edged Sword or Battle Trance. If you think teamfights will be long and sustained, pick up Battle Trance. Otherwise, Double Edged is the better bet.

Kayn starts out in his normal form and can choose between the two transformations depending on the type of champions he damages more: the Shadow Assassin, a melee assassin and nuker, or the Darkin form, a fighter with limited tanking capacity. So, which one should you choose to best contribute to victory?

That decision is based on your team and the enemy’s team compositions. Below are a few things to consider for your transformation.

- Do the enemy ADC and mage pose a considerable threat and need to be taken out as quickly as possible?
- Do your allied champions have enough tanking capability?
- Do your allied champions have a decent amount of CC?

If there’s a high threat champion with a weak body that has to be eliminated quickly, the Shadow Assassin would be a good choice. The range on Blade’s Reach (W) as well as Umbral Trespass gets increased. Once Kayn is equipped with enough items, a simple combo like W-Q-AA-R can send squishy champions to their base.

However, since the Shadow Form sacrifices the CC and survivability that the Darkin form has, the assassin version will be largely ineffective if allies can’t tank damage or enemies are too tanky. In the case of the Darkin form, it performs well in close combat, thanks to its high health regeneration, AoE airborne every 5.4 seconds (with 40% cooldown reduction), and health percentage damage.

To recap, if your team has solid CC with decent tanks, go with the Shadow Assassin. If you don’t have those or it’s hard to assess the situation, use the Darkin form. Generally speaking, the latter stance with its superior CC and survivability is favored regardless of tiers.

For the jungling item, players usually opt for Enchantment: Warrior. 60 attack damage is very attractive on Kayn, whose skill-scaling value is high. People in higher tiers sometimes take a more tanky approach with Cinderhulk probably because, in higher levels of play, effective damage becomes more important as does the balance between attack and defense.

Of course, the main offensive item of choice is Black Cleaver. Nothing from armor and cooldown reduction to attack damage and health is wasted on Kayn. It should be noted that some aggressive high tier players prefer Duskblade of Draktharr instead. It is mostly paired with the Shadow Assassin to maximize ganking potential by dealing massive physical damage on the first hit with a powerful slow effect.

For the third core item, most people favor Titanic Hydra since it increases both attack damage and health. Depending on the circumstances, players tend to focus on defense with a third core item. Here are the most common item builds up to three items.

Enhancement: Warrior and Black Cleaver are more or less the norm. The extra space is usually filled with Duskblade of Draktharr. For the third core item, you can stick with Duskblade if you need more damage or you’re in the Shadow Assassin form; Youmuu’s Ghostblade for more mobility; or stack defense items if there’s a big assassin threat on the opposing team. If you’re not sure, Titanic Hydra is a well-balanced choice.

After the fourth item, pick up more defense items according to the situation. If you’re the main nuker as the Shadow Assassin, take up Guardian Angel and some attack damage items.

Start out with Hunter’s Talisman and Refillable Potion. If you’re on the blue side, red buff – wolf – blue buff – Gromp is the usual path. On the red side, it’s blue buff – wolf – red buff – Krug, then to go for a gank on top.

You should keep track of which essence you’re collecting because you need to primarily gank melee champions if you aim to pick the Darkin form. Say you end up collecting all the essence required to become the Shadow Assassin first. Then you will be unable to turn into the Darkin form for 4 minutes. Since normal Kayn is pretty weak, it could take a toll on your team.

In fact, the first ten minutes determine the success of Kayn. If you’re often invaded or repeatedly fail to gank, it means that you won’t be able to transform early, which translates to a deficit against the enemy jungler. This is one of the reasons people can’t highly rate him. Common sense dictates that Kayn’s normal form should be on par with other champions, while either transformation should make him more powerful. As it stands now, Kayn’s normal form is weak and he only becomes comparable to other champions after picking one of his two forms. That’s why you should avoid picking unnecessary fights against enemy junglers and stick with ganks using Shadow Step (E).

Skill order priority is Q-W-R-E. It’s imperative to max out Reaping Slash (Q) because it meaningfully reduces the cooldown depending on the skill level. In the Darkin form, Q also deals percent health damage to enemies, so it’s one of your main attacks aside from autos. The Q skill can also be used offensively or defensively to jump over narrow walls.

Blade’s Reach (W) is Kayn’s only CC skill and is maxed after Q. Sometimes Shadow Step (E) takes priority over the W skill, especially when allies have powerful CC and your survivability is key. When that happens, the game is probably past the early phase, so adapt accordingly. Whether you max W or E is entirely up to each situation.

▣ Gameplay Tips

- Kayn requires good coordination with your team, especially when his CC is negligible. Communicate to your solo laners to pick champions with hard CC.

- Compared to most other champions, Kayn’s early game is weak. Additionally, he suffers more penalty than other champions do when he gets invaded or dies in failed gank attempts. Play safe until you’re at a comfortable point to prevent falling behind.

- Shadow Step (E) is not invincible. Any skillshot ability that pierces through walls can hit Kayn. Don’t let your guard down just because you’re inside a wall.