Bard - League of Legends Champion
Win Rate
49.1%
Pick Rate
1.5%

BardTop Build

DSupportMage
Patch26.14
Matches134,440
LaneAll Lanes
TierAll Tiers
Last UpdatedJul 19, 2026
MethodologyData Methodology
AuthorDakota Chinnick

The patch 26.14 Bard top build uses Plated Steelcaps, Imperial Mandate, Dead Man's Plate, Locket of the Iron Solari, Bandlepipes, Liandry's Torment, Oracle Lens. This Bard build has a 4.08% pick rate and a 84.62% win rate in LoL patch 26.14. Alternatively, check out some of the other ranked Bard build choices below.

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Select a Bard Build

Best WR
Highest Win Rate Build
  • Imperial Mandate - Bard Highest Win Rate Build core itemImperial Mandate
  • Dead Man's Plate - Bard Highest Win Rate Build core itemDead Man's Plate
  • Locket of the Iron Solari - Bard Highest Win Rate Build core itemLocket of the Iron Solari
Core Items
84.6%Win Rate
+35.5%WR Diff
4.1%Pick Rate
Most Played
Most Popular Build
  • Dead Man's Plate - Bard Most Popular Build core itemDead Man's Plate
  • Locket of the Iron Solari - Bard Most Popular Build core itemLocket of the Iron Solari
  • Bandlepipes - Bard Most Popular Build core itemBandlepipes
Core Items
63.0%Win Rate
+13.9%WR Diff
8.5%Pick Rate
Alternative Build 1
  • Liandry's Torment - Bard Alternative Build 1 core itemLiandry's Torment
  • Dead Man's Plate - Bard Alternative Build 1 core itemDead Man's Plate
  • Bandlepipes - Bard Alternative Build 1 core itemBandlepipes
Core Items
53.3%Win Rate
+4.2%WR Diff
4.7%Pick Rate
Alternative Build 2
  • Dead Man's Plate - Bard Alternative Build 2 core itemDead Man's Plate
  • Locket of the Iron Solari - Bard Alternative Build 2 core itemLocket of the Iron Solari
  • Redemption - Bard Alternative Build 2 core itemRedemption
Core Items
52.6%Win Rate
+3.5%WR Diff
6.0%Pick Rate

Best Bard Build - Highest Win Rate Items

Full Build

Early Build Order

Health Potionx2
Health Potion
Stealth Ward
Stealth Ward
Amplifying Tome
Amplifying Tome
Bandleglass Mirror
Bandleglass Mirror
Amplifying Tome
Amplifying Tome
Imperial Mandate
Imperial Mandate
Boots
Boots
Cloth Armor
Cloth Armor
Plated Steelcaps
Plated Steelcaps

Top Summoner Spells

  • FlashIgnite
    Flash + Ignite
    81.8%Win Rate84.6%Pick Rate

Build Stats

84.62%Win Rate
+35.51%WR Diff
4.08%Pick Rate
13Matches

This Bard build focuses on a balanced mix of offense and defense. Build the core items first for your power spike, then adapt with situational items based on enemy team composition.

The core items for this Bard build are Imperial Mandate, Dead Man's Plate and Locket of the Iron Solari. This item combination achieves a 84.6% win rate across 13 matches analyzed.

At full build, Bard gains a total of 120 Ability Power, 1050 Health, 130 Armor, 50 Magic Resist, giving a strong power profile for magic damage.

Best Bard Runes

Domination primary rune treeDomination
  • Electrocute
  • Cheap Shot
  • Deep Ward
  • Treasure Hunter
Inspiration secondary rune treeInspiration
  • Jack Of All Trades
  • Magical Footwear
  • Attack Speed
  • Movement Speed
  • Health Scaling
View full runes

Bard Abilities

View ability details

Bard build strength based on the items chosen in the build when compared to all builds across every champion. Strongest in: Physical Resistance, Health, Magic Resistance. Lower in: Gold Efficiency, Physical Damage.

The most popular starting items for Bard are Health Potion, Health Potion, Stealth Ward with a 75.0% win rate and 30.8% pick rate.

Health Potionx2
Health Potion
Stealth Ward
Stealth Ward
75.0%Win Rate
30.8%Pick Rate
These are Bard's essential core items that you should build in nearly every game. Imperial Mandate (58.1% WR, +9.0% WR diff, 7.8% pick rate) provides 60 AP. Dead Man's Plate (50.0% WR, +0.9% WR diff, 61.8% pick rate) provides 55 Armor, 350 Health, 0.04% Speed. Locket of the Iron Solari (50.0% WR, +0.9% WR diff, 45.6% pick rate) provides 30 Armor, 200 Health, 30 MR. Rush these items first to reach your power spike and maximize your impact.
Top situational items for Bard include Bandlepipes, Liandry's Torment. These can be swapped out depending on the enemy composition and team needs.
The best boots for Bard are Plated Steelcaps. Adjust based on enemy team comp.
The recommended trinket for Bard is Oracle Lens for vision control and map awareness.

Combined statistics from all items in this Bard build.

  • Total armorArmor:130
  • Total movement speedMovement Speed:45
  • Total ability powerAbility Power:120
  • Total healthHealth:1050
  • Total movement speedMovement Speed:4%
  • Total magic resistanceMagic Resistance:50

Build Comparison

Best WR
Most Played
Alt 1
Alt 2
Bard armorArmor
130
105
75
85
Bard movement speedSpeed
45
55
55
55
Bard ability powerAP
120
90
195
90
Bard healthHealth
1050
750
850
800
Bard movement speedSpeed
0.04%
0.04%
0.04%
0.04%
Bard magic resistanceMR
50
50
60
30
When facing Bard's top counters like Seraphine, Nami, Velkoz, consider adjusting your situational items to increase survivability and match their damage output. Your core build provides strong damage output. Against tanky counter picks, consider penetration items or percentage-based damage from your situational options to maintain kill pressure. Adapt your final build slots with items like Bandlepipes or Liandry's Torment based on which counter champions you're facing and their itemization patterns. Monitor enemy builds and adjust accordingly for optimal Bard performance.
burst mageFirst Power Spike2,400g~4 min

This Bard burst mage build is optimized for players looking to maximize their impact in League of Legends. With a 84.6% win rate across 13 matches, this build has proven highly effective in the current meta. The build's key strengths include strong physical damage mitigation, substantial health pool for survivability. Choose this build when your team needs magic damage, especially if teammates are primarily AD-focused. Bard with this build can punish teams that stack armor. The armor in this build makes it effective against AD-heavy enemy compositions with champions like assassins or marksmen. However, be aware that this build limited ability haste may result in longer cooldowns. This build's moderate gold investment allows Bard to spike earlier in the game. Prioritize completing Imperial Mandate, Dead Man's Plate, Locket of the Iron Solari to maximize your mid-game impact. For optimal results with this Bard build, focus on proper itemization timing, positioning in teamfights, and adapting your situational items based on the specific challenges each game presents.

Strengths

  • Strong physical damage mitigation
  • Substantial health pool for survivability

Weaknesses

  • Limited ability haste may result in longer cooldowns

See Also

Bard OverviewBard RunesBard CountersAll Items