Lillia is one of the newer champions in League of Legends who was pretty dominant upon her release. She has since simmered down but is still a pretty powerful pick especially in the Top Lane. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started playing the Bashful Bloom.

As is the case with most new champions, Lillia was very broken upon release. Thanks to her AoE crowd control and percent health magic damage, players were often at their wit’s end trying to counterplay Lillia at the height of her powers. What really sets her apart is the mobility she has. Thanks to the passive from her Q, she’s very difficult to catch and pin down. She can easily capitalize on even the smallest mistakes the enemy team makes to gain a distinct advantage over them. Apart from this, her massive presence during team fights make her a very strong champion.

Abilities

Lillia is a mage so her kit is all about dealing magic damage with some solid crowd control thrown in.

Passive – Dream-Laden Bough

Lillia’s abilities apply Dream Dust, dealing [+6% enemy’s max] (+1.5% per 100) magic damage over 3 seconds. Lillia heals when Dream Dust damages large monsters and champions (she can only heal against 1 monster at a time).

Dream-Laden Bough is the reason why it’s difficult to fight Lillia for an extended period of time. It deals sustained damage over time that can really take a huge chunk out of her opponent’s health if they’re not careful. 

Q – Blooming Blows

Passive: Lillia gains a Prance stack granting movement speed whenever she hits a target with a skill for 6.5 seconds. Prance stacks up to 4 times and falls off one at a time after 1.5 second.

Active: Lillia swings her branch in the air and deals magic damage to nearby enemies, dealing the same damage as bonus true damage to those at the outer edge of the circle.

Blooming Blows is Lillia’s most important ability. It’s what allows her to remain extremely mobile and is the primary source of her damage. Being very mobile makes it easier for her to dodge skillshots and reposition in the heat of battle. You’ll also be using this ability to apply stacks of Dream-Laden Bough.

W – Watch Out! Eep!

Lillia winds up for a huge strike with her branch, dealing magic damage to enemies. Enemies at the center of the impact receive triple damage.

This is Lillia’s source of burst damage. It’s a pretty straightforward ability that you can weave into all of your combos. Most players use this to lead and initiate when in a fight.

E – Swirlseed

Lillia lobs a Swirlseed overhead, dealing magic damage to enemies, revealing, and slowing them by 40% for 3 seconds. If Lillia’s Swirlseed misses, it’ll continue to roll until it hits an enemy or collides with terrain.

Swirlseed is Lillia’s source of poke. It’s a skillshot that has a pretty long range. You can use this to hit enemies from afar and it will deal pretty high damage once you have your items.

R – Lilting Lullaby 

Lillia casts a lullaby over her enemies and those affected by her Dream Dust become slowed by 10% before falling asleep for a duration of time. When awakened by damage, enemies will take additional magic damage.

Lilting Lullaby is Lillia’s primary source of crowd control. It’s a game changing ultimate that can turn the tides of a team fight and be the deciding factor on who wins the match. It’s utility cannot be understated and the impact it has when your team follows up is simply astounding.

Runes and Item Builds

When it comes to items, your focus on Lillia should be to increase her ability power and her sustained damage over time.

Starting Items

When it comes to your starting items, go with Doran’s Ring if you’re playing in the Top Lane and Hailblade if you’re playing in the Jungle. Doran’s Ring gives you all the stats you need while also giving you enough sustain to make it out of the laning phase. Hailblade, on the other hand, turns your Smite into Chilling Smite after five uses. This is useful since you can use it to slow enemies down which can open up opportunities whenever you gank lanes.

Mythic Item

Since Lillia has strong sustained damage, it makes sense that the best Mythic item for her is Liandry’s Anguish. With this item, she gets all the stats she needs plus a passive that increases her damage over time. If you’re looking for an alternative, Crown of the Shattered Queen is a decent option. It gives her great stats and the safeguard passive enables her to be a great initiator for her team.

Full Build

For your first item on Lillia, you need to rush your tier 2 boots. This gives you a bit of a damage boost early on. Since she is a mage, go with Sorcerer’s Shoes. Next, it’s time to purchase your desired Mythic item. Afterwards, you’ll need Demonic Embrace for the stats it gives and the passive percent health damage. Once you’ve purchased that item, go for Zhonya’s Hourglass for the damage and stasis active. Top off your build with a Morellonomicon for its anti-healing properties and Rabadon’s Deathcap for even more ability power.

Other Viable Items

While the full build we’ve shown above is generally considered the standard for Lillia, it is not set in stone. There are plenty of other items that you can purchase depending on your preference or what your situation currently needs. Items like Void Staff, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Cosmic Drive, Shadowflame, and Banshee’s Veil are all good items to have especially if you’re leaning towards dealing more damage. Try to mix and match these item sets to see what works best for you. Doing so will help you develop a better understanding of the game’s deeper mechanics.

Runes

For runes, go with the Precision tree and take Conqueror as your keystone. This will increase both your sustain and overall damage in extended fights. Next, take Presence of Mind for the mana sustain, Legend: Tenacity to help you with crowd control, and Last Stand to give you more damage when you are low on health. For secondaries, take Bone Plating and Unflinching from the Resolve tree. Bone Plating increases your resistance against damage from an enemy champion while Unflinching helps you stick closely to your target. For rune shards, take double Adaptive Force and Armor.

Useful Tips

1. Lillia has tons of healing when played right. If you want to be a bit tankier, you can swap out some of her items with Spirit Visage so that you’ll both be durable and have insane survivability.
2. Lillia is countered by Gangplank, Renekton, Darius, Riven, and Irelia. If you’re matched up against these champions, try to play it safe instead of being aggressive.
3. For summoner spells, always take Flash and Teleport. Flash gives you extra mobility while Teleport gives you a better overall presence around the map.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Lillia in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!