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League Classic · Season 3 · Gragas

AP Gragas build & runes

Mid Lane A · 74

Gragas buildsAP Gragas this buildJungle Gragas rank STanky Gragas rank C

Item build path

Starting items level 1 · 475 gold to spend

Boots of Speed + 3

Health Potions455 g

Doran's Ring +

Health Potion435 g

Boots dodge poke; Doran's Ring sustains his mana costs.

First back first recall

Catalyst the Protector +

Boots

Core build order buy in this order · ~15,645 g full build

Sorcerer's Shoes1,100 g

→

Athene's Unholy Grail2,700 g

→

Rabadon's Deathcap3,600 g

→

Zhonya's Hourglass3,300 g

→

Void Staff2,295 g

→

Abyssal Scepter2,650 g

Situational adapt to the game

Rod of Agesdurability and mana for extended trading

Rylai's Crystal Scepterslows on barrel and body slam

Banshee's Veilvs burst mages and hook engages

Abyssal Sceptervs AP for MR and bonus damage

Skill order & spells

Skill orderQ > E > W > R

SpellsFlash + Ignite / Teleport

Rune page (Season 3)

9× Greater Mark of Magic Penetration+7.8 Magic Pen

9× Greater Seal of Armor+12.7 Armor

9× Greater Glyph of Ability Power+10.7 AP

3× Greater Quintessence of Ability Power+14.9 AP

Best duos & synergies

Jarvan IVyour ult knocks them INTO Cataclysm

KatarinaExplosive Cask sets a perfect Death Lotus

Masteries 21 / 0 / 9

Offense 21

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Utility 9

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Standard Season 3 page — poke + burst. Hover any mastery for its name.

Counters & matchups

Who this pick beats and who beats it — pick your lane with the matchup in mind.

✓ Strong against

AnnieBody slam and drunken rage win short trades

VeigarDisplaces him out of cage with barrel and ult

KarthusSustains poke and disrupts his farming channels

Sionbody slam and drunken rage bully his melee

Ryzesustain and disrupt his short-range spell spam

✕ Struggles against

Kassadinout-mobiles your barrel zoning post-6

Fiddlesticks(jungle) drains through your W sustain in skirmishes

Ahricharm punishes your body-slam engage

Pantheonearly spears out-trade your barrel poke

Katarinadives through your zoning and resets

Quick tip: Barrel poke costs them health for free all lane; ult is a displacement tool — send them into your team, never out.

Key combo

Body Slam (E) engage → Barrel Roll (Q) → Drunken Rage (W) empowered auto → Explosive Cask (R) knockback/into your team

Power spike & playstyle

Spikes at 6 with the E→Q→R combo; a durable AP bruiser mid who scales well and uses Explosive Cask for picks and disengage.

Other builds

Gragas’s other builds

% is versus AP Gragas · how the letters are measuredEvery build →

Jungle Gragas →Played out of positionJungle · AP burst · 16,955 g

Damage rankSout-damages 14 of 14 jungle builds

Combo+autos2,803same

Burst2,546same

Auto DPS85same

Eff. HP5,102+19%

Sorcerer's Shoes

Spirit of the Spectral Wraith

Rod of Ages

Rabadon's Deathcap

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Abyssal Scepter

Void Staff

Skill E > Q > W > RMasteries 21/0/9Summoners Flash + SmiteStart Hunter's Machete + 5 Health PotionsRunes Magic Penetration marks · Flat Armor seals · Flat Ability Power glyphs · Flat Ability Power quints

Drunken Rage makes his clear trivial and his ganks unavoidable — Body Slam into Explosive Cask is a two-part gap-close that no ward line-up prevents.

When your mid lane is a scaling pick that needs the pressure taken off it. Gragas ganks land without needing a lane setup.

Against early invades. Rod of Ages is a slow first item and his level-2 clear is genuinely poor without the passive's damage reduction online.

Not modelled in this number: Summoner's Insight, Meditation, Mastermind.

Show the damage math

Ability	How it is calculated	Raw	After resists
Q Barrel Roll rank 5	285 base + 0.9 × 633 AP	855	847 −1% after MR
E Body Slam rank 5	240 base + 0.66 × 113 AD + 0.5 × 633 AP	631	626 −1% after MR
R Explosive Cask rank 3	450 base + 1 × 633 AP	1,083	1,073 −1% after MR
AA Auto-attack	97.3 per hit × 0.88 attacks/sec	97 / 163	85 dps

Level 18AD 113AP 633Target 1,900 hp · 75 ar · 50 mrAfter pen 75 ar · 3 mr

Combo 2,546 + 3.0 s autos 256 = 2,803, 134% of target HP.

Only the QER rotation is counted.

Tanky Gragas →New role, new buildTop Lane · Frontline · 15,280 g

Damage rankCout-damages 3 of 16 top lane builds

Combo+autos1,094-61%

Burst924-64%

Auto DPS57-34%

Eff. HP11,246+161%

Mercury's Treads

Rod of Ages

Frozen Heart

Sunfire Cape

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Warmog's Armor

Skill E > Q > W > RMasteries 0/21/9Summoners Flash + TeleportStart Cloth Armor + 5 Health PotionsRunes Magic Penetration marks · Flat Armor seals · Magic Resist glyphs · Flat Health quints

Body Slam and Barrel Roll still bruise off Rod of Ages while he becomes the disruption frontline Explosive Cask was always designed around.

When your team already has damage and what it lacks is someone who can walk in first and live through the follow-up.

When you are the only damage threat — this build tickles, and a Gragas who cannot threaten a kill is a Gragas who gets ignored.

Not modelled in this number: Unyielding, Block, Defender, Summoner's Insight, Wanderer, Meditation, Mastermind.

Show the damage math

Ability	How it is calculated	Raw	After resists
Q Barrel Roll rank 5	285 base + 0.9 × 140 AP	411	274 −33% after MR
E Body Slam rank 5	240 base + 0.66 × 113 AD + 0.5 × 140 AP	385	256 −33% after MR
R Explosive Cask rank 3	450 base + 1 × 140 AP	590	393 −33% after MR
AA Auto-attack	64.7 per hit × 0.88 attacks/sec	65 / 129	57 dps

Level 18AD 113AP 140Target 1,900 hp · 75 ar · 50 mrAfter pen 75 ar · 50 mr

Combo 924 + 3.0 s autos 170 = 1,094, 49% of target HP.

Only the QER rotation is counted.

Guide

How to play Gragas in League Classic

Classic Gragas is the lane bully mids pretend not to fear. Barrel poke costs them health and you nothing — W sustain refunds your mana-health math every wave. At 6, Explosive Cask is a fight-winner in both directions: send their carry into your team, or eject their diver out of it. Body-slam through walls to escape ganks or start picks. Athene's solves mana forever; after that every rotation chunks half a health bar. Displacement decides Classic fights, and you carry the biggest displacement button in mid.

FAQ

Gragas in League Classic

What is the best Gragas build in League Classic?

The standard build is AP Gragas: Sorcerer's Shoes, Athene's Unholy Grail, Rabadon's Deathcap, Zhonya's Hourglass, Void Staff, Abyssal Scepter. Skill order Q > E > W > R, summoner spells Flash + Ignite / Teleport. Gragas also has 2 measured off-meta builds: Jungle Gragas, Tanky Gragas.

What runes and masteries does Gragas use in League Classic?

Marks: Magic Penetration. Seals: Flat Armor. Glyphs: Flat AP. Quintessences: Flat AP. Masteries: 21/0/9 — poke + burst.

Is Gragas good in League Classic?

Gragas is rated A-tier mid lane in the launch consensus (score 74/100 across 3 published rankings). Strong into Annie, Veigar, Karthus, Sion, Ryze; struggles against Kassadin, Fiddlesticks, Ahri, Pantheon, Katarina.

What does Gragas start with and build first in League Classic?

Open with Boots of Speed + 3 Health Potions or Doran's Ring + Health Potion. Boots dodge poke; Doran's Ring sustains his mana costs. First back: Catalyst the Protector + Boots. Then build in order: Sorcerer's Shoes → Athene's Unholy Grail → Rabadon's Deathcap → Zhonya's Hourglass → Void Staff → Abyssal Scepter.

Editorial build based on documented Season 3 (2013) meta. Counters and duos are historical projections rather than live win-rate matchup data. (Tier ranking above does mix in live data where sources publish it — see the tier list for details.)

Mid Lane tier list ← Consensus tier list