Popol and Kupa

ATier

Jungle Marksman whose wolf companion tanks, stuns, and enrages.

MarksmanJungleGold LaneDeals physical

Popol and Kupa is a jungle Marksman built around Kupa, a companion wolf that lunges onto whoever Bite 'em, Kupa! spears and shields Popol on the way back with Kupa, Help!. We Are Angry! puts Kupa in Alpha Wolf Form, upgrading the spear into a one-second stun and the recall into a knock-up, letting the pair burst down a single target early before scaling into a supporting hypercarry role.

Difficulty: Moderate
Specialities: PushBurst

Managing Kupa's positioning and health separately from Popol's, and keeping the wolf alive through the Alpha Wolf Form window, takes real practice — especially in the jungle.

Beaten by: 94 hard
Strong into: 19
Best duos: 9
Builds: 2

At a glance

Damage	7 of 10
Durability	5 of 10
Crowd Control	5 of 10
Mobility	4 of 10
Utility	4 of 10

Rated against the whole roster, not against their own class.

When Popol and Kupa is strong

Attributes

Damage: 7
Durability: 5
Crowd Control: 5
Mobility: 4
Utility: 4

Strengths

Bite 'em, Kupa! becomes a full-second stun in Alpha Wolf Form, a rare Marksman lockdown that starts fights instead of only finishing them
Kupa, Help! calls the wolf back for a shield, area damage and a brief slow — and a knock-up once Alpha Wolf Form is up
We Are Angry! upgrades both skills at once, turning a poke rotation into a stun-and-knock-up chain for a decisive fight-ending window
Kupa's high HP pool and self-revive via Popol's prayer make them resilient to a single burst combo

Weaknesses

Falls off in the late game compared to hyper-scaling Marksmen who out-damage them by minute 15
Losing Kupa mid-fight (before Popol can pray it back) removes half the kit's damage and CC
No mobility skill at all — Kupa, Help! recalls the wolf, not Popol, so a committed engage leaves him standing where he threw the spear
Bite 'em, Kupa! only stuns while We Are Angry! has Kupa in Alpha Wolf Form; outside that window the pair has no lockdown whatsoever

Skills

Level Bite 'em, Kupa! first for the burst and the Alpha Wolf Form stun, max Kupa, Help! second for the shield uptime, and take We Are Angry! at 4, 8, and 12.

Passive

We Are Friends

Buff

Popol's good care allows Kupa to recover 10% Max HP per second after not taking damage for 5 seconds. When Kupa is down, Popol can pray for 3 seconds to bring it back to the battlefield. Cooldown: 30 seconds. After launching 3 consecutive attacks on the enemy, Kupa will enhance Popol's next attack, allowing him to deal (+220% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage on hit.

Our source cuts this description off mid-sentence — the rest is not shown.

Always active — no cooldown

Skill 1

Bite 'em, Kupa!

Physical DamageStunChase

Popol throws a spear at the target enemy for Physical Damage while commanding Kupa to lunge at the same target and keep attacking it for several seconds. If Kupa is dead or away, only the spear throw lands. While Popol's ultimate is active, Kupa fights in Alpha Wolf Form and this skill instead stuns the target for 1 second and bites it three times in quick succession.

With KupaBite 'em, Kupa!

Popol throws a spear at the target for Physical Damage while Kupa lunges in and continues attacking the same target for several seconds. If Popol's ultimate is active, Kupa is in Alpha Wolf Form and instead stuns the target for 1 second, biting it three times in quick succession.

Without KupaBite 'em, Kupa!

With Kupa dead or away from the fight, Popol still throws the spear for Physical Damage, but there is no wolf to lunge in and follow up, so only the initial spear hit lands.

Cooldown not recorded

Skill 2

Kupa, Help!

ShieldSlowSummon

With Kupa present, Popol calls it back to his side for a Shield and Physical Damage to nearby enemies with a brief slow, and Kupa fights alongside him for several seconds; in Alpha Wolf Form this instead knocks nearby enemies airborne with a stronger shield and damage. Without Kupa, the skill becomes I Need You, Kupa!, a channel that resummons Kupa to the battlefield if left uninterrupted.

With KupaKupa, Help!

Popol calls Kupa back to his side, gaining a Shield and dealing Physical Damage to nearby enemies while briefly slowing them; Kupa then fights alongside Popol for several seconds. While Popol's ultimate is active, Kupa is in Alpha Wolf Form and instead knocks nearby enemies airborne on its return, with the shield and damage increased.

Without KupaI Need You, Kupa!

Popol channels for a few seconds to call Kupa back onto the battlefield; the cast is interrupted if Popol is disabled or moves too far before it completes.

Cooldown not recorded

Ultimate

We Are Angry!

Buff

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Cooldown: 38s
Mana: 100 → 140

Signature combo

Bite 'em, Kupa! to send Kupa in → Basic Attacks to burst → Kupa, Help! to shield and slow; open teamfights with We Are Angry! first so the spear stuns and the recall knocks airborne.

Popol and Kupa builds

Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.

Early Burst Jungle

6,740g total

Default pick to clear jungle fast and gank lanes before minute 10.

Emblem

Marksman

T1Fatal
T2Weapons Master
T3Killing Spree

Battle spell

Retribution35s CD

A 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

Sea Halberd — Against enemy sustain or lifesteal out-healing the burst combo.
Queen's Wings — Against burst dive comps since he engages first with Bite 'em, Kupa!.
Wind of Nature — Two full seconds of physical damage immunity when an enemy carry turns on him before the stun combo lands.

Gold Lane Carry

7,050g total

When played in the gold lane instead of jungle, farming toward a scaling hypercarry curve.

Emblem

Marksman

T1Fatal
T2Weapons Master
T3Killing Spree

Battle spell

Flicker120s CD

The 'Flicker combo' — blinking in right as a hook or stun lands, or blinking out the instant an enemy ultimate is cast — is the single most common high-elo outplay moment in the game.

Swap in when needed

Blade Armor — Against crit-reliant Marksmen threatening to out-trade them in extended fights.
Queen's Wings — Extra durability when forced to engage without a frontline.
Dominance Ice — 40 Physical Defense and Lifebane's anti-heal against attack-speed carries trading with him at range.

Who counters Popol and Kupa

The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.

Full counter page

Items to build against Popol and Kupa

Popol and Kupa is strong into

Heroes whose own counter list names Popol and Kupa — the same matchup, read from the other side.

Who to pair Popol and Kupa with

Duo partners whose kit completes this one.

Playing Popol and Kupa well

1
Clear jungle camps efficiently early to get We Are Angry! online before contesting Turtle fights
2
Lead with Bite 'em, Kupa! to stun before committing Kupa, Help!'s shield, not the reverse
3
Use Kupa, Help!'s shield and slow defensively to buy space when a diver closes in, not only offensively
4
Time We Are Angry! for a full team engage — the empowered stun and knock-up are wasted on a single skirmish

Popol and Kupa — common questions

Is Popol and Kupa good for beginners?

Popol and Kupa is moderate difficulty — the core loop of stunning with Bite 'em, Kupa! and shielding with Kupa, Help! is intuitive, but managing Kupa's positioning separately takes practice.

What is the best build for Popol and Kupa?

An early burst jungle build with Hunter Strike, Malefic Roar, and Blade of the Heptaseas covers most games, giving fast clears and burst damage for early ganks.

Which heroes counter Popol and Kupa?

Atlas and Carmilla counter them hardest — both isolate Popol away from Kupa's shield and burst him down before he can recover.

What lane does Popol and Kupa play?

Popol and Kupa is primarily a jungle Marksman, clearing camps for early gold and using Bite 'em, Kupa!'s stun to gank lanes, though they can flex to the gold lane.

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