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Adaptive Ward augment icon

SilverSilver augment

Adaptive Ward

Striking an enemy champion with selected ability grants you 7–12 (by level) Armor or Magic Resist based on their damage type for 6 seconds. This effect can stack.
Tier
C
Rank
#159
Rarity
Silver
Offered in
All picks
Patch
26.21

How Adaptive Ward plays

Adaptive Ward is C tier over all champions on patch 26.21: #159 of 226 augments and #49 of the 67 silver cards. That is the average over every champion; on the right one it is worth more, on the wrong one much less.

It gives health and resistances, so it pays off on champions that already use that. On a champion that doesn't, it is a wasted pick, whatever its tier.

It does best on K'Sante, Illaoi and Zac. 9 of its 15 best champions are fighters.

It gets better later: C tier as a first pick and B tier by the fourth pick, when the game runs long enough for it to pay off.

The card it pairs with best is Tank It Or Leave It: if you already have one of the two, the other jumps up your list.

Adaptive Ward tier by pick

ARAMKit ranks every card for each of the four picks of a game separately. The rank is its place among the cards offered in that pick.
PickTierRank in that pick
First pickTier C#171
Second pickTier C#169
Third pickTier B#134
Fourth pickTier B#136

Best champions for Adaptive Ward

The champions Adaptive Ward does best on, best first, with its tier on each and the champion's own Mayhem tier. Tiers only: no win rates for augments, as Riot's policy asks.
#ChampionRoleAdaptive Ward on itChampion tier
1K'Sante iconK'SanteTankTier STier D
2Illaoi iconIllaoiFighterTier STier C
3Zac iconZacTankTier STier D
4Aatrox iconAatroxFighterTier STier C
5Akali iconAkaliAssassinTier ATier D
6Zaahen iconZaahenFighterTier ATier S
7Hecarim iconHecarimFighterTier ATier A
8Nunu & Willump iconNunu & WillumpTankTier BTier C
9Dr. Mundo iconDr. MundoTankTier BTier B
10Lillia iconLilliaFighterTier BTier S
11Karthus iconKarthusMageTier BTier C
12Volibear iconVolibearFighterTier BTier A
13Viego iconViegoFighterTier BTier A
14Gwen iconGwenFighterTier CTier S
15Yasuo iconYasuoFighterTier CTier S
16Ambessa iconAmbessaFighterTier CTier A
17Nilah iconNilahFighterTier DTier A

Cards that pair with Adaptive Ward

The cards that do best next to it in the same game, best first.
  1. 1Tank It Or Leave ItTier A
  2. 2Critical RhythmTier B
  3. 3Upgrade Infinity EdgeTier B
  4. 4Double TapTier C
  5. 5Soul SiphonTier A
  6. 6The Boom and the BassTier S
  7. 7VulnerabilityTier B
  8. 8Infernal ConduitTier A

Items to buy with Adaptive Ward

The items that do best in games with this card, best first, over all champions. Check your champion's build page for its own items.
  1. Berserker's Greaves1. Berserker's Greaves
  2. Phantom Dancer2. Phantom Dancer
  3. Yun Tal Wildarrows3. Yun Tal Wildarrows
  4. Infinity Edge4. Infinity Edge
  5. Blade of The Ruined King5. Blade of The Ruined King
  6. Manamune6. Manamune

Questions and answers

What does Adaptive Ward do in ARAM Mayhem?

Striking an enemy champion with selected ability grants you 7–12 (by level) Armor or Magic Resist based on their damage type for 6 seconds. This effect can stack.

Is Adaptive Ward good in ARAM Mayhem?

On patch 26.21 Adaptive Ward is C tier over all champions (#159). It is at its best on K'Sante, Illaoi and Zac.

Which champions is Adaptive Ward best on?

Best first: K'Sante, Illaoi, Zac, Aatrox, Akali, Zaahen, Hecarim and Nunu & Willump. The full list with each champion's tier is on this page.

What pairs well with Adaptive Ward?

Tank It Or Leave It, Critical Rhythm and Upgrade Infinity Edge, best first.

Pick your cards with the tiers next to you

LazyElo is a free Windows app that sits next to the League client. In ARAM Mayhem it shows the strongest champion on your bench, and in game you type the three cards you're offered to see their tier for your champion and what each one does.

Related

Source: ARAMKit, used with permission. Patch 26.21, 23,177,263 ARAM Mayhem games, data of October 28, 2026. Riot keeps Mayhem games out of its public match API, so these aggregates come from ARAMKit. Card tiers are shown without win rates, as Riot's developer policy asks.