Rek'Sai is an early game bruiser who ganks with tunnel + unburrow knockup. Her tremor sense reveals enemy movement through fog, and her R execute deals true damage. She falls off late — close the game before 30 minutes.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Fury of the Xer'Sai
Passive
Rek'Sai generates Fury by Attacking and hitting with basic Abilities. She consumes this Fury while Burrowed to restore health.
Fury builds from auto-attacks. Burrowed: tremor sense reveals nearby movement through fog of war. Unburrow heals based on fury spent.
Q
Queen's Wrath / Prey Seeker
Burrowed: Skillshot · Unburrowed: AoE
Rek'Sai's next 3 basic attacks deal bonus Physical Damage to nearby enemies.While Burrowed, Rek'Sai launches a burst of void-charged earth that damages and reveals enemies hit.
CD: 4/3.5/3/2.5/2 · Cost: 0
Unburrowed Q: rapid AoE autos. Burrowed Q: long-range skillshot that reveals.
W
Burrow / Un-burrow
Burrow/Unburrow · Knockup
Rek'Sai burrows into the ground, gaining new abilities and increased Move Speed. Her vision range is reduced and she cannot use basic attacks.While Burrowed, Rek'Sai may cast Unburrow to knock up and damage nearby enemies.
CD: 4 · Cost: 0
Unburrowing near an enemy knocks them up. This is your primary CC.
E
Furious Bite / Tunnel
Burrowed: Tunnel · Unburrowed: True Damage
Rek'Sai bites her target, dealing physical damage, or bonus true damage if she has max Fury.While Burrowed, Rek'Sai creates a re-usable, long lasting tunnel. Enemies can destroy it by standing on top of either entrance.
CD: 6 · Cost: 0
Unburrowed E: bite that deals TRUE damage at full fury. Burrowed E: creates a tunnel for fast map movement.
R
Void Rush
Dash · True Damage Execute
Rek'Sai passively marks targets by damaging them. She can activate this ability to become briefly untargetable and lunge at a marked target for heavy damage based on their maximum health.
CD: 120/100/80 · Cost: 0
R marks a champion hit by abilities, then dashes to them dealing massive true damage. Use as execute on low-HP targets.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then E, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — AoE autos | ||||
| 2 | Take W — knockup | ||||
| 3 | Take E — true damage bite | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Void Rush execute | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter Items
Gustwalker Smite
MS.
450g
Long Sword
AD.
350g
Refillable Potion
Sustain.
150g
Core Build
Eclipse
Shield + omnivamp on engage.
2800g
Plated Steelcaps
Armor.
1100g
Black Cleaver
Armor shred + HP.
3100g
Death's Dance
Bleed passive + heal on kill.
3300g
Situational
Sterak's Gage
Shield when low HP.
3100g
Maw of Malmortius
Magic shield vs AP.
2800g
Guardian Angel
Revive after aggressive dive.
3200g
Eclipse → Cleaver → Death's Dance. Early game bruiser that falls off — close the game fast.
Runes
Precision Primary
Conqueror
Q rapid autos stack it fast.
Triumph
Heal on takedown.
Legend: Alacrity
AS for faster fury generation.
Last Stand
Bonus damage when low.
Domination Secondary
Sudden Impact
Lethality after tunnel or unburrow.
Treasure Hunter
Gold on unique kills.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Rek'Sai
01
Early Game
Tunnel Ganks, Invade
- Start Red → Raptors → Krugs → Wolves → Blue → Gromp. Unburrow on camps for AoE knockup.
- Tunnel + unburrow ganks are strong. Burrow → tunnel behind enemy → unburrow for knockup.
- Tremor sense (burrowed) reveals nearby enemy movement. Use it to track jungle invaders.
- E true damage bite at full fury is your execute. Build fury with Q autos, then E.
- Invade weak junglers. Your early dueling is strong with knockup + Q DPS + E true damage.
02
Mid Game
R Execute Picks
- R marks enemies you hit with abilities. R to execute them for true damage.
- Place tunnels around the map for fast rotations. They're like permanent teleport pads.
- R is a point-and-click true damage execute. No escape — use it on fleeing enemies below 30% HP.
- In skirmishes, knockup → Q autos → E true damage → R execute is your kill combo.
- Force early objectives. You're stronger than most junglers at this point.
03
Late Game
Engage and Execute
- You fall off. Focus on engaging and executing low targets with R.
- Tunnels provide macro mobility. Rotate between lanes fast.
- In teamfights, knockup the carry → Q autos → R execute. Then peel or disengage.
- If behind, play for R executes only. Don't try to frontline — you're not tanky enough.
- Close the game ASAP. Every minute past 30 makes you weaker relative to scaling junglers.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Rek'Sai
Rek'Sai engages with knockup, DPSes with Q, and executes with R.
1
Engage — Tunnel + Unburrow
Knockup
01
Tunnel from fog of war.
02
Unburrow on the carry for knockup.
03
Q rapid autos immediately.
Don't unburrow on the tank. Target the carry for the knockup.
2
DPS — Q + E Combo
Burst
01
Q rapid autos build fury.
02
E true damage bite at full fury.
03
R execute if target is low.
3
Execute — R True Damage
Finisher
01
R the lowest HP marked enemy.
02
True damage ignores armor/MR.
03
Tunnel out if needed after the kill.
R is unstoppable — you can't be CC'd during the dash. Use it to dodge abilities while executing.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Rek'Sai.
Basic
Tremor Sense
While burrowed, you can see enemy movement through fog of war. Use it to track the enemy jungler.
Intermediate
E True Damage
E deals true damage based on fury. Always build full fury with Q autos before biting. Full fury E chunks 25% HP.
Basic
Tunnel Network
Place tunnels around the map. You can re-enter them for fast rotations. They're permanent until destroyed.
Advanced
R Unstoppable
R dash is unstoppable. You can R through CC abilities. Time it to dodge game-changing stuns.
Intermediate
Unburrow Knockup
Unburrowing near an enemy knocks them up. Always engage from burrowed state for the free CC.
Basic
Close Games Early
Rek'Sai falls off hard after 30 minutes. Force objectives and end. Don't let games go late.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Rek'Sai struggles against scaling junglers who outvalue her late and kiting champions. She excels against immobile junglers she can invade early.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Graves kites your engage with E dash and his range outdamages you.
Short trades. Knockup → Q burst → disengage. Don't extend.
Kindred Q-kites you and her R negates your R execute.
Knockup Kindred, then disengage. Don't R when her R is available.
You dominate him early but he massively outscales you. If the game goes past 25 min, he wins.
Invade and end early. You MUST close before he scales.
Wins Against
Amumu can't fight you early. You invade and kill him freely.
Invade at level 3. E true damage + knockup kills him in his own jungle.
Evelynn pre-6 is helpless. You dominate her jungle.
Live in her jungle. She can't fight you at any point early.
Early game you destroy Karthus. No mobility, no dueling power.
Invade constantly and end fast. Don't let him reach 3 items.