
Varusvs Smolder
Varus vs Smolder is a decisive matchup in LoL patch 26.7. Smolder wins with a 55.8% win rate (+11.6%) over Varus based on 86 games. Smolder holds the advantage in both the early and late game. Below you'll find the best Varus build, runes, laning stats, and strategies for the Varus vs Smolder matchup.
Varus Matchup Breakdown
Use the dropdown to select an opponent and see a detailed breakdown of how Varus performs against them. You'll get head-to-head win rates, laning stats, the best build and runes for the matchup, and early vs late game analysis — all based on real ranked data.
Who Wins the Varus vs Smolder Matchup?

Varus vs Smolder Matchup Summary
The Varus vs Smolder matchup is a decisive matchup in League of Legends ranked play. Based on 86 recent matches analyzed, Smolder wins with a 55.8% win rate compared to Varus's 44.2%, giving Smolder a 11.6 percentage point advantage. Smolder dominates at every stage — from early laning through late game team fights. This consistent advantage makes it difficult for Varus players to find favorable windows, so team-dependent strategies and avoiding solo confrontations are essential. The most significant statistical gap is in crowd control, where Varus leads by 0.6s CC/min — a difference that heavily influences the outcome of trades and skirmishes. Smolder has a strong advantage in this matchup. Varus players should play defensively, prioritize safe farming under tower, and look for opportunities created by jungle pressure or Smolder overextending. Avoid prolonged trades and wait for team fights where positioning and coordination matter more. Understanding these matchup dynamics is essential for champion select decisions and in-game strategy when facing this lane opponent.
Varus vs Smolder Laning Phase Breakdown
Smolder is favored during the laning phase against Varus, winning 4 out of 5 key stat categories. Smolder holds advantages in farming, damage, gold income and sustain, making them the stronger laner in this matchup.
Best Varus Build Against Smolder
Ionian Boots of Lucidity is the optimal boots choice against Smolder, providing the mobility and stats Varus needs most in this matchup. The top-performing core items for Varus against Smolder are Riftmaker, Nashor's Tooth and Dusk and Dawn. This combination gives Varus an effective balance of damage, survivability, and utility for the matchup. This build performs exceptionally well, achieving a 100.0% win rate across 1 games — well above average and making it the top item path against Smolder. Adjustments may be needed based on team compositions and game state, but this build provides the strongest foundation for the Varus vs Smolder matchup.
Early Game vs Late Game
During the early laning phase (first 15 minutes), Smolder has a meaningful 51.4% win rate, outperforming Varus by 2.9 percentage points. Smolder players should look to press this advantage through aggressive trades, wave priority, and early jungle coordination.
Smolder is far superior in the late game (25+ minutes), boasting a 58.8% win rate — 17.6 points above Varus. Extended games heavily favor Smolder, whose kit and scaling make them a dominant force in team fights and objective control.
Smolder holds the advantage at every stage of the game, making this a consistently favorable matchup from lane through late game team fights. Varus players should look for outplays, team-dependent strategies, and picks rather than relying on scaling to win this matchup.
Best Varus Runes Against Smolder
The Precision and Domination rune setup gives Varus the best tools to compete against Smolder in this difficult matchup, compensating for the statistical disadvantages with optimal rune synergies.
Varus matchup data for League of Legends patch 26.7. The table below shows Varus's win rate, gold difference, and performance stats against every champion in the current meta. Click any champion name to see a detailed head-to-head breakdown including the best Varus build, runes, laning stats, and early vs late game analysis for that specific matchup.
Opponent | Win Rate | Matches | CS/min | DMG/min | Gold/game | Early WR | Late WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50.00% | 208 | 6.5 | 902 | 13,929 | 59.8% | 43.0% | |
| 54.23% | 142 | 6.6 | 907 | 13,394 | 62.9% | 45.8% | |
| 49.65% | 141 | 6.4 | 908 | 13,983 | 55.2% | 45.8% | |
| 50.38% | 133 | 6.1 | 827 | 12,981 | 53.0% | 47.8% | |
| 37.60% | 125 | 6.5 | 823 | 13,302 | 42.9% | 33.3% | |
| 44.19% | 86 | 6.5 | 884 | 13,789 | 48.6% | 41.2% | |
| 44.87% | 78 | 6.5 | 867 | 13,797 | 40.6% | 47.8% | |
| 49.33% | 75 | 6.5 | 867 | 13,553 | 58.1% | 43.2% | |
| 42.65% | 68 | 6.5 | 929 | 14,119 | 44.0% | 41.9% | |
| 40.68% | 59 | 6.7 | 834 | 14,155 | 40.9% | 40.5% | |
| 65.12% | 43 | 6.3 | 893 | 13,767 | 75.0% | 56.5% | |
| 43.59% | 39 | 6.2 | 809 | 14,493 | 36.4% | 46.4% | |
| 42.11% | 38 | 6.5 | 903 | 13,589 | 50.0% | 36.4% | |
| 54.05% | 37 | 6.0 | 959 | 13,494 | 55.6% | 52.6% | |
| 51.35% | 37 | 6.9 | 816 | 12,268 | 47.6% | 56.3% | |
| 43.75% | 32 | 6.6 | 918 | 14,301 | 54.5% | 38.1% | |
| 46.67% | 30 | 6.6 | 879 | 11,823 | 42.9% | 50.0% | |
| 57.14% | 28 | 6.8 | 920 | 13,381 | 53.3% | 61.5% | |
| 50.00% | 26 | 6.5 | 896 | 15,065 | 75.0% | 28.6% | |
| 65.38% | 26 | 6.8 | 1,021 | 14,669 | 70.0% | 62.5% | |
| 38.46% | 26 | 6.0 | 779 | 13,231 | 36.4% | 40.0% | |
| 50.00% | 24 | 6.3 | 773 | 12,428 | 36.4% | 61.5% | |
| 50.00% | 22 | 6.2 | 886 | 10,770 | 38.5% | 66.7% | |
| 36.36% | 22 | 7.0 | 1,046 | 14,701 | 20.0% | 50.0% | |
| 40.00% | 20 | 6.3 | 1,058 | 15,047 | 28.6% | 46.1% | |
| 50.00% | 20 | 6.7 | 859 | 13,045 | 63.6% | 33.3% | |
| 42.11% | 19 | 6.0 | 929 | 12,449 | 57.1% | 33.3% | |
| 33.33% | 18 | 6.5 | 1,033 | 13,221 | 33.3% | 33.3% | |
| 61.11% | 18 | 6.3 | 1,066 | 16,881 | 75.0% | 57.1% | |
| 62.50% | 16 | 6.3 | 747 | 11,648 | 66.7% | 57.1% | |
| 43.75% | 16 | 6.3 | 760 | 11,132 | 22.2% | 71.4% | |
| 62.50% | 16 | 6.5 | 940 | 12,451 | 71.4% | 55.6% | |
| 50.00% | 16 | 6.5 | 1,118 | 13,823 | 80.0% | 36.4% | |
| 46.67% | 15 | 6.7 | 1,186 | 12,788 | 33.3% | 55.6% | |
| 42.86% | 14 | 6.7 | 1,008 | 15,175 | 25.0% | 50.0% | |
| 42.86% | 14 | 6.6 | 874 | 12,292 | 33.3% | 60.0% | |
| 35.71% | 14 | 6.4 | 1,048 | 11,442 | 20.0% | 44.4% | |
| 21.43% | 14 | 6.3 | 859 | 9,804 | 11.1% | 40.0% | |
| 46.15% | 13 | 6.4 | 933 | 10,433 | 66.7% | 0.0% | |
| 50.00% | 12 | 5.9 | 1,011 | 13,294 | 100.0% | 33.3% | |
| 36.36% | 11 | 6.3 | 917 | 14,908 | 33.3% | 37.5% | |
| 27.27% | 11 | 6.5 | 759 | 14,199 | 0.0% | 33.3% | |
| 54.55% | 11 | 6.3 | 696 | 9,869 | 55.6% | 50.0% | |
| 80.00% | 10 | 6.6 | 1,092 | 14,957 | 50.0% | 87.5% | |
| 40.00% | 10 | 6.1 | 777 | 11,567 | 57.1% | 0.0% | |
| 30.00% | 10 | 7.2 | 992 | 13,612 | 0.0% | 75.0% | |
| 66.67% | 9 | 6.8 | 852 | 12,190 | 80.0% | 50.0% | |
| 44.44% | 9 | 7.1 | 1,123 | 11,312 | 50.0% | 33.3% | |
| 55.56% | 9 | 7.3 | 1,087 | 12,011 | 40.0% | 75.0% | |
| 44.44% | 9 | 6.7 | 869 | 10,625 | 60.0% | 25.0% | |
| 62.50% | 8 | 6.0 | 781 | 12,789 | 50.0% | 66.7% | |
| 25.00% | 8 | 6.0 | 951 | 11,400 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 75.00% | 8 | 5.8 | 878 | 15,036 | 75.0% | 75.0% | |
| 62.50% | 8 | 6.6 | 922 | 13,259 | 60.0% | 66.7% | |
| 62.50% | 8 | 6.2 | 983 | 12,873 | 66.7% | 60.0% | |
| 50.00% | 8 | 6.7 | 1,274 | 13,953 | 25.0% | 75.0% | |
| 42.86% | 7 | 5.7 | 1,309 | 15,583 | 100.0% | 20.0% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 5.9 | 825 | 12,212 | 66.7% | 50.0% | |
| 57.14% | 7 | 6.7 | 928 | 10,887 | 60.0% | 50.0% | |
| 42.86% | 7 | 7.3 | 954 | 15,503 | 50.0% | 40.0% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 5.1 | 817 | 12,552 | 100.0% | 50.0% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 7.0 | 694 | 9,344 | 60.0% | 100.0% | |
| 0.00% | 6 | 5.9 | 785 | 8,470 | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| 50.00% | 6 | 6.4 | 766 | 12,371 | 66.7% | 33.3% | |
| 83.33% | 6 | 6.9 | 1,081 | 14,624 | 100.0% | 66.7% | |
| 50.00% | 6 | 7.2 | 971 | 12,655 | 25.0% | 100.0% | |
| 66.67% | 6 | 3.9 | 828 | 12,145 | 50.0% | 100.0% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 6.6 | 823 | 12,914 | 50.0% | 100.0% | |
| 40.00% | 5 | 6.2 | 917 | 13,851 | 100.0% | 0.0% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 7.1 | 971 | 12,185 | 50.0% | 100.0% | |
| 0.00% | 5 | 6.7 | 1,254 | 16,383 | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 6.5 | 983 | 13,262 | 100.0% | 33.3% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 7.5 | 850 | 11,873 | 66.7% | 50.0% | |
| 20.00% | 5 | 7.2 | 896 | 12,502 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 20.00% | 5 | 5.9 | 985 | 12,745 | 33.3% | 0.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 6.9 | 1,370 | 15,979 | 100.0% | 66.7% | |
| 40.00% | 5 | 6.1 | 1,267 | 18,259 | 0.0% | 40.0% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 6.6 | 671 | 10,664 | 50.0% | 100.0% | |
| 40.00% | 5 | 5.3 | 857 | 15,480 | 0.0% | 50.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 6.0 | 938 | 14,081 | 100.0% | 50.0% | |
| 80.00% | 5 | 6.8 | 1,016 | 17,843 | 50.0% | 100.0% | |
| 60.00% | 5 | 5.9 | 775 | 11,521 | 75.0% | 0.0% | |
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Varus vs Smolder - Frequently Asked Questions
How does Varus do against Smolder in League of Legends?
Smolder wins the Varus vs Smolder matchup with a 55.8% win rate compared to Varus's 44.2%, a 11.6 percentage point difference. This data is based on 86 recent ranked games in patch 26.7.
How does Varus do against Smolder in the early game?
In the early game, Smolder has the advantage against Varus with a 51.4% win rate versus 48.6%. Smolder players should look to press their lane advantage through aggressive trades and wave control during the first 15 minutes.
How does Varus do against Smolder in the late game?
In the late game, Smolder takes over the Varus vs Smolder matchup with a 58.8% win rate compared to 41.2%. Smolder scales better into team fights and objective contests after 25 minutes.
Who wins the Varus vs Smolder matchup?
Smolder wins the matchup against Varus with a 55.8% win rate in League of Legends patch 26.7. The 11.6 percentage point advantage means Smolder is significantly favored in this lane matchup based on 86 games analyzed.
What is the best Varus build against Smolder?
The best Varus build against Smolder includes Riftmaker, Nashor's Tooth, Dusk and Dawn with Ionian Boots of Lucidity. This build achieves a 100.0% win rate in the matchup. Check the matchup breakdown above for the full item path and build order.
What are the best Varus runes against Smolder?
The best Varus runes against Smolder use the Precision primary tree with Domination secondary. This rune setup achieves a 60.0% win rate in the Varus vs Smolder matchup. See the full rune breakdown in the matchup comparison above.
Does Varus counter Smolder?
No, Varus struggles against Smolder with only a 44.2% win rate. Smolder has the advantage in this matchup. Varus players should focus on safe farming and avoiding extended trades to minimize Smolder's lead.
How do I play Varus against Smolder?
When playing Varus against Smolder, play cautiously and avoid Smolder's power spikes. Look for jungle assistance and team-dependent plays since Smolder has the statistical advantage at most stages. Use the matchup-specific build and runes above to optimize your chances.