New League of Legends Runes Series: A Guide to Domination

Our Runes Series will be covering each of the five major trees, looking at the different runes within each and discussing how they will be best used. Our experts will be analyzing which champions, items, and mentalities will likely be most effective in using each one. If you’re looking for another tree, here are Precision, Sorcery, Resolve, and Inspiration.

Domination: Roam, kill, repeat

The Domination tree will be a great choice for champions who like to roam for kills and stay proactive on the map, such as Jungler assassins and burst mages.

Keystone

Electrocute

• The replacement for Thunderlord’s Decree – its main difference is that it cannot be procced by the same spell, so it fits more of a nuke combo niche.
• Great choice for burst mages like Viktor and Syndra.

Predator

• This is a great choice for enabling and securing ganks, you’ll be able to catch most prey and some that you would normally have trouble with.
• Keep in mind that you will need boots for Predator to go into effect.
• Give it a try on assassin Junglers, like Kha’zix and Rengar.

Dark Harvest

• Good on assassin champs that hunt kills and or can auto the opponent in lane easily
• Look to collect soul essence from Siege Minions and camps like Blue/Red Buffs, Big Raptor, Giant Wolf, and Scuttler.
• Champions like Zed and LeBlanc should be ideal choices for Dark Harvest.

Malice

Cheap Shot

• Potent with mages and assassins that have CC in their kit – it’s very good on Junglers due to red buff.
• Syndra and Elise exemplify the sort of champions you’ll want to pair with Cheap Shot.

Taste of Blood

• Taste of Blood will be a welcomed choice for champs that often get bullied in lane – usually melee who have trouble against ranged.
• The sustained regen will allow you to make more trades and give you more lasting power in the early game.
• Zed and Kass will make great use of Taste of Blood.

Sudden Impact

• An awesome new tool for mobile assassins, especially from the jungle.
• Has incredible dueling and outplay potential, you’ll be able to massacre foes that aren’t expecting the additional burst.
• We’re looking forward to seeing what champs like Kha’zix and Leblanc will be able to do with this rune.

Tracking

Zombie Ward

• Meant for junglers that usually look to pick up a Sweeper early and gank a lot.
• Use it to keep up control of prime pick areas with champs such as Elise.

Ghost Poro

• Are you a Jungler who is either afraid of being invaded pre-6, or looking to heavily invade the enemy jungle? This is the rune for you.
• Ghost Poro will allow you to either farm your own jungle safely or help you to put pressure by keeping tabs on the enemy Jungler’s movements,
• Champs like Evelynn will be very happy to have Ghost Poro at their disposal.

Eyeball Collection

• On one end you have the additional safety and vision control, provided by Zombie Ward and Ghost Poro. On the other end, you have the snowballing potential of Eyeball Collection.
• Assassin Junglers who love to stay on the hunt should love this, don’t forget to clear those wards as well!
• Definitely a perfect pairing with champions like Rengar.

Hunter

Ravenous Hunter

• Does your champion often build Death’s Dance? Are they a poke assassin or a high damage bruiser? Consider taking Ravenous Hunter.
• This rune will allow you to get in, burst, heal, and then get out.
• We like this choice with builds such as Red Kayn and W-evolved Kha’zix.

Ingenious Hunter

• Used for champs that rely on item actives to secure kills or team fight, good with items, like Zhonya’s or Ghostblade.
• Elise is a great example of an Ingenious Hunter due to her regular use of Zhonya’s to amplify her kit.

Relentless Hunter

• If you’re looking for 1v1 kills or using a stealth champ, Relentless Hunter will help you keep up the pressure and get you to where you want to go.
• Champions like Evelynn and Rengar will enjoy the additional movement capabilities as they feed.

Secondary Trees

Domination + any path = +11 attack damage or +18 ability power (adaptive)

Inspiration

• Incredibly situational but we could see some Jungle players using this in an attempt to hit power spikes quicker in order to take over the game, especially with Mobi Boot rushes.

Precision

• This will be a common choice for champions looking to split push in the mid to late game. It will definitely help them scale to take towers and win 1v1’s.

Resolve

• Junglers will look for this combo if they want to tune into a more tank oriented role for the late game, but it will definitely be a less common pairing with Domination.

Sorcery

• Assassins looking to optimize the most damage possible and maximize their burst windows will want to take Sorcery.

Thanks for reading! Our next Rune Series article will be on Sorcery so stay tuned. For more discussion or questions for our coaches about Domination, drop by our Discord. To learn more about the other trees, check out Precision, Domination, Sorcery, Resolve, and Inspiration.