Dash-chaining assassin who dodges burst with his own invincibility frames
Lancelot is a jungle assassin who strings together dashes rather than committing to a single burst window. Puncture resets its cooldown on a successful mark, Thorned Rose and Phantom Execution both grant brief invincibility, and Soul Cutter stacks bonus damage every time he blinks or charges — turning constant movement into constant scaling.
Chaining Puncture's mark reset and using his invincibility frames to dodge incoming burst rather than just for damage takes real practice.
Max Puncture first for the cooldown reset and mobility, level Thorned Rose for damage, and take the ultimate at levels 4, 8 and 12.
Each time Lancelot charges, his damage is increased by 7.5% for 4 seconds, up to 30%.
Always active — no cooldown
Lancelot charges in a designated direction, dealing 100–250 (+50% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies along the way and applying a Sword Mark to the first unmarked enemy hit. The Sword Mark lasts 3 seconds. If Lancelot successfully applies a Sword Mark to an enemy, the cooldown of this will reset.
Lancelot strikes in the target direction 3 times, each time dealing 225–400 (+100% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies hit (damage reduced to 30% when multiple enemies are hit). He's untargetable and invincible during this process. Enemies in the center of the area will take all 3 hits and are slowed by 20% for 0.5 seconds. The slow effect can stack. This skill only benefits from 50% of Lancelot's Spell Vamp.
After a short period of charging, Lancelot performs an executioner's strike in the target direction, dealing 350 (+170% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage. He is invincible throughout the process.
“I become one with the sword.”
Signature combo
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
7,810g total
Default pick for a standard jungle-assassin game plan.
Battle spell
Retribution35s CDA well-timed Retribution on a low-HP objective — a 'smite steal' — can snatch Turtle or Lord away from a team that appeared to be securing it, often the single biggest swing play of the early-to-mid game.
Swap in when needed
Immortality — Insurance for diving deep into the enemy backline.
Wind of Nature — A window of physical damage immunity, plus attack and lifesteal, against the physical carry he dives.
Blade Armor — Against enemy crit-reliant marksmen dueling him early.
7,130g total
When ahead early and looking to chain kills across the map off Puncture's reset.
Battle spell
Retribution35s CDA well-timed Retribution on a low-HP objective — a 'smite steal' — can snatch Turtle or Lord away from a team that appeared to be securing it, often the single biggest swing play of the early-to-mid game.
Swap in when needed
Blade of Despair — Swap in once ahead for maximum late-game burst.
Immortality — Insurance against a pick-off ultimate that can catch him overextending.
Beyond the swaps listed in the builds above.
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
AlucardFighter · AssassinHardFission Wave gives Alucard permanent Hybrid Lifesteal and strips Hybrid Defense off everyone it catches, while Pursuit dashes him back onto Lancelot after every skill — out-dueling Lancelot's burst in an extended 1v1.
CyclopsMageHardStardust Shock's twin disks and Planets Attack's homing spheres threaten Lancelot's low HP before he can even close the distance with Puncture.
SaberAssassinHardSaber's ultimate locks onto Lancelot directly and drags him through a stun-lock burst combo that his invincibility frames can't interrupt once it starts.
CiciFighterSoftCici's Yo-Yo Blitz locks onto him and deals max-HP-percent damage the longer she stays attached, punishing Lancelot's low HP pool during his low-durability dive.
AngelaSupportSoftHeartguard shields a dived ally from anywhere on the map and attaches Angela to them, so her healing rides through Lancelot's burst window and Puppet-on-a-String immobilizes him before Phantom Execution finishes.
UranusTankSoftRadiance regenerates more HP the harder Uranus is being hit and Transcendent Ward's shield explodes on whoever is next to him, so he out-sustains Lancelot's burst and punishes him for staying in melee range.
FlorynSupportSoftFloryn's Sow heals her allies on every poke, topping them off faster than Lancelot's dash-and-strike combo can burst them down.
MathildaSupport · AssassinSoftGuiding Wind shields a target Lancelot is diving and guides them straight out of his combo range.
SuyouAssassin · FighterSoftSoul Sever scales its damage with Lancelot's lost HP, punishing him hard once his own dive has already chipped away at his health.Heroes whose own counter list names Lancelot — the same matchup, read from the other side.
AlphaFighterHardSimilarly superior mobility and burst let Lancelot dodge and punish Alpha before he ever lands his ultimate combo.
AuroraMageHardLancelot's dash-chain combo grants brief immunity frames that let him close through Aurora's slows and burst her before Pride of Ice can matter twice.
BaxiaTankHardLancelot's dash-reset combo dodges Baxia-Shield Unity's stun and bursts his low personal damage down in a duel.
ValeMageHardHis multi-dash combo, including Thorned Rose's invincibility frames, lets him weave in, burst, and escape before Windstorm's 1.6-second detonation ever resolves, dodging the CC meant to punish his all-in.
AtlasTankSoftHis high mobility and dash-heavy kit let him escape Fatal Links' channel radius before the drag actually triggers.Duo partners whose kit completes this one.
AngelaSupportAngela's Heartguard can attach to Lancelot mid-dive, shielding him through a bad trade and keeping Love Waves healing him while he fights his way back out.
EudoraMageEudora's Ball Lightning stun holds a target still long enough for Lancelot to land a full Puncture-into-Phantom Execution combo.
HarithMageHarith's burst combo can soften a target from range before Lancelot closes the gap with Puncture to finish them off.FlorynSupportFloryn's Sow heals him from range on every poke and Flower of Hope shields him each time, letting him dive again sooner despite his low natural durability.
MashaFighter · TankA target Lancelot marks and slows with Thorned Rose gives Masha the uninterrupted seconds she needs to grind them down with Wild Power's max-HP damage.CyclopsMageStardust Shock's twin disks can soften a grouped enemy line before Lancelot dashes in with Puncture to pick off whoever survives.
DyrrothFighterDyrroth's own execute-style burst pairs with Lancelot to double up on a single squishy target, overwhelming their escape options at once.
BrodyMarksmanTorn-Apart Memory detonates Brody's Abyss Marks for lost-HP damage, finishing off targets Lancelot has already opened up with Puncture and Thorned Rose.MathildaSupport · AssassinMathilda's Guiding Wind can extract Lancelot after a dive goes wrong, and the move speed it shares with him helps him reposition for a second engage.
ValentinaMageA second Shadow Strike terrifies the target for a full second, stopping them fighting back long enough for Lancelot to close the distance and finish the combo.Chain Puncture onto unmarked targets to keep resetting its cooldown and repositioning across a fight
Use Thorned Rose's invincibility frames to dodge an incoming skillshot ultimate rather than saving it purely for damage
Stack a few charges or dashes worth of Soul Cutter before committing to Phantom Execution for the extra damage
Target the enemy backline first — his kit has almost no way to punish a tank that simply eats the combo
He's a difficult pick — chaining Puncture's mark reset and using his invincibility frames correctly to dodge burst takes real practice before he becomes reliable.
Swift Boots into Haas' Claws, Malefic Roar and Blade of Despair covers the standard burst-assassin build, shifting into Endless Battle early if he's snowballing off kills.
Alucard and Saber are the hardest counters since they can out-duel or lock him down through his own burst window, while Cici, Cyclops, Suyou, Angela, Uranus, Floryn and Mathilda all deny or out-sustain his combo in softer ways.
Soul Cutter increases his damage by 7.5% every time he blinks or charges with a skill, stacking up to 30% bonus damage, so a full combo of dashes hits noticeably harder than his first strike.
