Samira, Marksman / Assassin
Samira, the Desert Rose, is a Marksman and Assassin champion in League of Legends. Everything below comes from Riot's Data Dragon for patch 16.21.1: ability text, base stats and Riot's tips. Counters and matchups by class are worked out from that text, and each one shows its reason.
What the kit does
Analysis read from Riot's ability text. Each line shows the words it rests on.
PHard crowd controlDaredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up"
- PKnock-up, knock-back or pull
Daredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up"
- PDash, leap or blink
Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to"
QArea damageFlair: "strike all enemies in her"
Samira's abilities
Riot's own text and preview clip for each ability, from Riot's Data Dragon, patch 16.21.1. Pick an ability and its clip plays here, muted.
PPassive
Daredevil Impulse
Samira builds a combo by hitting attacks or abilities unique from the previous hit. Samira's attacks in melee range deal additional magic damage. Samira's attacks against enemies affected by Immobilizing effects will dash her to her attack range. If the enemy is Knocked Up, she also keeps them Knocked Up briefly.
Effects in the text
Flair
Samira fires a shot or swings her sword, dealing damage. If cast during Wild Rush, strike all enemies in her path upon completion.
Effects in the text
WW
Blade Whirl
Samira slashes around her, damaging enemies and destroying enemy missiles.
Effects in the text
EE
Wild Rush
Samira dashes through an enemy (including structures), slashing enemies she passes through and gaining Attack Speed. Killing an enemy champion refreshes this ability's cooldown.
Effects in the text
RR
Inferno Trigger
Samira unleashes a torrent of shots from her weapons, wildly shooting all enemies surrounding her.
Effects in the text
Items and runes that fit Samira
Riot publishes no builds and this page invents none. Below: completed items ranked by how many of the stats Samira's kit uses they give (attack damage (AD) first), the runes whose official text matches the kit, and picks for each enemy type. A fit, not a strength ranking. No win rates.
Closest stat fit
Editorial estimateCompleted items ranked by how many of the stats Samira's kit uses they give. A fit, not a verdict: Riot publishes no builds and no win rates.
Stormrazor3,200- +50 Attack DamageSamira scales with it
- +25% Attack Speedits kit leans on basic attacks
- +25% Critical Strike Chanceits kit leans on basic attacks
The Collector3,000- +50 Attack DamageSamira scales with it
- +10 Lethalityits damage is physical
- +25% Critical Strike Chanceits kit leans on basic attacks
Yun Tal Wildarrows3,000- +50 Attack DamageSamira scales with it
- +45% Attack Speedits kit leans on basic attacks
- +0% Critical Strike Chanceits kit leans on basic attacks
Axiom Arc2,750- +55 Attack DamageSamira scales with it
- +18 Lethalityits damage is physical
Bastionbreaker3,000- +55 Attack DamageSamira scales with it
- +18 Lethalityits damage is physical
Blade of The Ruined King3,200- +40 Attack DamageSamira scales with it
- +25% Attack Speedits kit leans on basic attacks
More items with the same stat 38
Edge of Night3,000 gold
Experimental Hexplate3,000 gold
Guinsoo's Rageblade3,000 gold
Hubris2,800 gold
Kraken Slayer3,000 gold
Profane Hydra2,850 gold
Serpent's Fang2,500 gold
Statikk Shiv3,000 gold
Stridebreaker3,300 gold
Terminus3,000 gold
Trinity Force3,333 gold
Umbral Glaive2,800 gold
Voltaic Cyclosword3,000 gold
Youmuu's Ghostblade2,800 gold
Essence Reaver3,050 gold
Hexoptics C442,800 gold
Immortal Shieldbow3,000 gold
Infinity Edge3,500 gold
Lord Dominik's Regards3,300 gold
Mortal Reminder3,000 gold
Black Cleaver3,000 gold
Bloodthirster3,400 gold
Chempunk Chainsword3,000 gold
Death's Dance3,300 gold
Eclipse2,900 gold
Endless Hunger3,100 gold
Guardian Angel3,200 gold
Hextech Gunblade3,000 gold
Hullbreaker3,000 gold
Manamune2,900 gold
Maw of Malmortius3,100 gold
Mercurial Scimitar3,200 gold
Overlord's Bloodmail3,300 gold
Ravenous Hydra3,300 gold
Serylda's Grudge3,000 gold
Spear of Shojin3,100 gold
Sundered Sky3,100 gold
Titanic Hydra3,300 goldBoots
Rune fits
Editorial estimateRunes whose official text matches the most things Samira's kit does. Each line shows the words it rests on.
AftershockResolve, Keystone · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Daredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up"
Arcane CometSorcery, Keystone · Matches: 1- It deals damage with abilities: Flair: "Samira fires a shot"
Deathfire TouchSorcery, Keystone · Matches: 1- It deals damage with abilities: Flair: "Samira fires a shot"
Manaflow BandSorcery · Matches: 3- Its kit leans on basic attacks: Marksman role
- It deals damage with abilities: Flair: "Samira fires a shot"
- It uses mana: Mana
Sudden ImpactDomination · Matches: 3- Its kit leans on basic attacks: Marksman role
- It deals damage with abilities: Flair: "Samira fires a shot"
- It has a dash, leap or blink: Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to"
Approach VelocityInspiration · Matches: 1- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Daredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up"
Against each enemy type
Editorial estimateSituational picks, counted from what the champions of each class do in Riot's Data Dragon. Swap a slot when the enemy team has several of that class.
Tanks
Anti-heal 25 of 46 heal or sustain
Cleanse or tenacity 20 of 46 have two or more hard CC abilities
To cut through them Tanks stack armor and magic resist; these items give armor penetration.
Fighters
Anti-heal 40 of 60 heal or sustain
Armor 38 of 60 deal physical damage only
Assassins
Anti-heal 24 of 45 heal or sustain
Armor 23 of 45 deal physical damage only
Mages
Magic resist 53 of 75 deal magic damage only
Anti-heal 30 of 75 heal or sustain
Marksmen
Armor 14 of 32 deal physical damage only
Supports
Magic resist 36 of 43 deal magic damage only
Anti-heal 19 of 43 heal or sustain
Counted from the official ability text, League of Legends patch 16.21.1. These are counts of champions, not win rates.
Rune trees
Lit runes: their official text matches something Samira's kit does (Analysis). Select a rune to read why.
Precision4 lit
Domination3 lit
Sorcery7 lit
Resolve4 lit
Inspiration4 lit
Matchups by class
Samira against each class of champion, counted from the official ability text. Choose a class or a lane to narrow it down.
Against all 172 champions: 57 ahead, 66 even, 49 behind. Each class is read against that, so check the best and toughest tags too.
Against Tanks
WeakToughest class
5 ahead · 9 even · 32 behind of 46
- They cut your attack speed, which weakens auto-attack builds.
- Their healing or shields outlast your poke.
What to do: A risky pick into tanks. Wait for the enemy draft before you lock it, or pick it with a team that covers the gap.
Against Fighters
Even13 ahead · 25 even · 22 behind of 60
- You out-range them and can poke from a distance.
- Their healing or shields outlast your poke.
What to do: Neither side has a clear edge over fighters. Execution and the team around you decide it.
Against Assassins
Strong22 ahead · 19 even · 4 behind of 45
- Your hard crowd control stops their dashes.
- You out-range them and they have no healing to recover.
What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several assassins. Play for the fights where your edge shows.
Against Mages
Even29 ahead · 35 even · 11 behind of 75
- You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.
- They cut your attack speed, which weakens auto-attack builds.
What to do: Neither side has a clear edge over mages. Execution and the team around you decide it.
Against Marksmen
StrongBest class
18 ahead · 10 even · 4 behind of 32
- You have early pressure while they need time to scale.
- You can dive onto their squishy back line.
What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several marksmen. Play for the fights where your edge shows.
Against Supports
Even11 ahead · 18 even · 14 behind of 43
- You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.
- Their silence shuts down your dash-based kit.
What to do: Neither side has a clear edge over supports. Execution and the team around you decide it.
Source: Nexus Lab rules over the official ability text, League of Legends patch 16.21.1. Each champion of the class is compared with Samira one by one; the counts come from those rules, not from match results, so they are not win rates. Strong, even and weak compare the number of champions ahead and behind. Lanes are the lanes each class usually plays (Riot ships no lane data per champion), not play rates.
Picks that can punish Samira
Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text.
Maokai
Counters youWhy (3)
Maokai has hard CC (Bramble Smash: "Maokai knocks back nearby") that can stop Samira's dashes (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to").
Maokai can avoid damage for a moment (Twisted Advance: "becoming untargetable and dashing"), and Samira relies on burst (Assassin role).
Maokai can outlast poke with healing or shields (Sap Magic: "attack also heals him and") against Samira's ranged skillshots (Flair: "Samira fires a shot").
Watch out: Samira is ranged (Marksman role) and can poke Maokai, a melee champion (Tank role).
Xin Zhao
Counters youWhy (3)
Xin Zhao has hard CC (Three Talon Strike: "third attack knocking an opponent") that can stop Samira's dashes (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to").
Xin Zhao can avoid damage for a moment (Crescent Guard: "becoming impervious to damage"), and Samira relies on burst (Assassin role).
Xin Zhao can outlast poke with healing or shields (Determination: "damage and heals Xin Zhao") against Samira's ranged skillshots (Flair: "Samira fires a shot").
Watch out: Samira has burst or execute damage (Assassin role) that can kill before Xin Zhao's healing (Determination: "damage and heals Xin Zhao") matters.
Rek'Sai
Counters youWhy (3)
Rek'Sai has hard CC (Burrow / Un-burrow: "Unburrow to knock up and") that can stop Samira's dashes (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to").
Rek'Sai can avoid damage for a moment (Void Rush: "become briefly untargetable and lunge"), and Samira relies on burst (Assassin role).
Rek'Sai can outlast poke with healing or shields (Fury of the Xer'Sai: "Burrowed to restore health") against Samira's ranged skillshots (Flair: "Samira fires a shot").
Watch out: Samira has burst or execute damage (Assassin role) that can kill before Rek'Sai's healing (Fury of the Xer'Sai: "Burrowed to restore health") matters.
Lissandra
Counters youWhy (2)
Lissandra has hard CC (Ring of Frost: "damage and rooting them") that can stop Samira's dashes (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to").
Lissandra can avoid damage for a moment (Frozen Tomb: "while becoming untargetable and invulnerable"), and Samira relies on burst (Assassin role).
Watch out: Samira has burst or execute damage (Assassin role) that can kill before Lissandra's healing (Frozen Tomb: "healing herself while") matters.
Taric
Counters youWhy (3)
Taric has hard CC (Dazzle: "damage and stuns enemies") that can stop Samira's dashes (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to").
Taric can avoid damage for a moment (Cosmic Radiance: "making them invulnerable for a"), and Samira relies on burst (Assassin role).
Taric can outlast poke with healing or shields (Starlight's Touch: "Heals nearby allied") against Samira's ranged skillshots (Flair: "Samira fires a shot").
Watch out: Samira is ranged (Marksman role) and can poke Taric, a melee champion (Support role).
Xayah
Counters youWhy (3)
Xayah has hard CC (Bladecaller: "damage and rooting enemies") that can stop Samira's dashes (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to").
Xayah can avoid damage for a moment (Featherstorm: "air becoming untargetable and throwing"), and Samira relies on burst (Assassin role).
Samira needs time to scale (Marksman role) and Xayah has early pressure (Bladecaller: "damage and rooting enemies") to punish that.
Watch out: Xayah needs time to scale (Marksman role) and Samira has early pressure (Daredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up") to punish that.
Who Samira is good against
The same rules, read the other way.
Locke
You pressureWhy
Samira has hard CC (Daredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up") that can stop Locke's dashes (Ashen Pursuit: "location before dashing to attack").
Quinn
You pressureWhy
Samira has hard CC (Daredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up") that can stop Quinn's dashes (Vault: "Quinn dashes to an").
Kassadin
You pressureWhy
Samira has hard CC (Daredevil Impulse: "enemy is Knocked Up") that can stop Kassadin's dashes (Riftwalk: "Kassadin teleports to a").
Graves
You pressureWhy
Samira can dive in (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to") on Graves, a squishy ranged champion with no hard CC to stop it (Marksman role).
Karthus
You pressureWhy
Samira can dive in (Daredevil Impulse: "effects will dash her to") on Karthus, a squishy ranged champion with no hard CC to stop it (Mage role).
Counter picks are Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text, each with the words it rests on. They are not win rates, and no League of Legends matchup list has been reviewed by hand yet.
Official story
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Champion video guide
Video by 3 Minute League of Legends · Watch on YouTube The player loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only after you press play.
Measured numbers
Numbers published or counted by a named source. Each row names the source and the patch.
| Stat | Level 1 | Per level | Level 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 630 | +108 | 2466 |
| Mana | 349 | +38 | 995 |
| Armor | 26 | +4.7 | 105.9 |
| Magic resist | 33 | +1.1 | 51.7 |
| Attack damage | 57 | - | 57 |
| Attack speed | 0.658 | +3.3% | 1.027 |
| Attack range | 500 | - | 500 |
| Move speed | 335 | - | 335 |
| Health regen per 5 seconds | 3.25 | +0.55 | 12.6 |
| Mana regen per 5 seconds | 8.2 | +0.7 | 20.1 |
Riot data Riot's Data Dragon, patch 16.21.1. Level 18 is calculated from Riot's growth formula on the same numbers.
Editorial estimates
Our reading of the data. These are not measured rates and they change when the rules or the data change.
- Counter picks
- 6 Editorial estimateNexus Lab rules over Riot's ability text, patch 16.21.1
- Good against
- 5 Editorial estimateNexus Lab rules over Riot's ability text, patch 16.21.1
- Typical lanes
- Jungle, Mid, Bot Editorial estimateLanes of the class; Riot ships no lane data per champion
- Best class (relative)
- Marksmen Editorial estimateWins minus losses over the class, compared with the other classes; counts of champions, patch 16.21.1
- Toughest class (relative)
- Tanks Editorial estimateWins minus losses over the class, compared with the other classes; counts of champions, patch 16.21.1
What no source gives us
- Win rate, pick rate and ban rate. Riot publishes none we may print (the Riot API cards are switched off) and no third-party statistics site is read, so none is shown.
- Popular builds. Riot publishes no builds: the items and runes in Build & Runes are a fit to the kit, not a popularity ranking.
Sources
- Riot Games Data DragonOpen
Names, ratings, base stats, ability text, cooldowns, costs, range, items, runes and art.
Patch 16.21.1, file generated 2026-10-26 - Riot ability preview clips
Played from Riot's own server when you press play; never copied here.
Each clip checked with a request before it is offered - League of Legends WikiOpen
Release dates and skin prices in RP (CC BY-SA).
Committed data, see the skins page - Nexus Lab rules
Counters, matchups by class, item and rune fit: rules over Riot's ability text, each with the words it rests on.
Patch 16.21.1 - Riot UniverseOpen
The official story of Samira (a link, nothing copied).
