League of Legends Classic brings back enough old champion kits, items, runes, and masteries to recreate some of the builds that defined early League. Good old AP Master Yi, AP Sion, AD Alistar, and full-crit Gangplank are back, and almost every major item from the game’s early years is available again.
Quick Summary
- AP Master Yi uses Alpha Strike for farming and burst before cleaning up fights with Highlander resets.
- AP Tristana uses Explosive Shot, Rocket Jump, and Buster Shot as an AP mage.
- Trinity Force and Statikk Shiv Alistar recreates the old Headbutt-auto interaction, with a specific attack-speed breakpoint making the combo possible in Classic.
- Crit Gangplank and AP Sion round out the five, using Gangplank’s old Parrrley/Raise Morale kit and Sion’s point-and-click stun plus exploding shield.
Best OP builds in League Classic
These five builds use current Patch 26.16 Classic information, including available items, runes, skill order, and masteries. We will update this guide if drastic changes happen to balance or items.
AP Master Yi mid
AP Master Yi is one of the builds Riot explicitly brought back with Classic. Alpha Strike gives him safe waveclear and poke, Meditate makes him difficult to force out of lane, and Highlander gives him the cleanup potential to chain kills once a fight starts going his way.
| Setup | Values |
|---|---|
| Role | Mid |
| Starting items | Doran’s Ring, Mana Potion, Health Potion |
| Summoner spells | Flash, Ignite |
| Ability priority | Q > W > E |
| Full build | Sorcerer’s Shoes, Deathfire Grasp, Lich Bane, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Void Staff |
| Runes | 9x Magic Penetration Marks, 9x Health Seals, 9x Scaling AP Glyphs, 3x AP Quintessences |
| Masteries | 21 Offense / 9 Utility, prioritizing AP, magic penetration, CDR, and movement/Summoner Spell utility |
Alpha Strike is your priority for both farming and damage, but AP Yi should not be played like the modern on-hit version that wants to stand and auto-attack someone immediately. Farm until the AP items begin coming online, use Q to punish bad positioning, and wait for enemy crowd control before committing in teamfights.
You also run out of mana surprisingly fast, especially if forced to use Meditate often. Deathfire Grasp gives the build its main burst tool against a priority target, while Zhonya’s helps when Alpha Strike leaves you somewhere considerably less safe than you had hoped.
AP Tristana mid
AP Tristana uses a completely different version of Explosive Shot from modern League. Her E is a damage-over-time spell, and the basic all-in is a combo of Rocket Jump, Explosive Shot, and Buster Shot for a large amount of magic damage. Deathfire Grasp fits directly into that pattern, while Rocket Jump also gives Tristana a way to commit from considerably farther away than most Classic burst mages.
| Setup | Values |
|---|---|
| Role | Mid |
| Starting items | Doran’s Ring, 2x Health Potion |
| Summoner spells | Flash, Ignite |
| Ability priority | E > W > Q |
| Full build | Sorcerer’s Shoes, Deathfire Grasp, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Void Staff, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Lich Bane |
| Runes | 9x Magic Penetration Marks, 9x Health Seals, 9x Scaling AP Glyphs, 3x AP Quintessences |
| Masteries | 21 Offense / 9 Utility |
Explosive Shot should be maxed first, followed by Rocket Jump. Rocket Jump is your engage, E continues damaging them after the initial hit, and Buster Shot provides the final burst while also creating distance if the target survives.
The build becomes much more dangerous once Deathfire Grasp and Rabadon’s are completed, but jumping into several healthy enemies remains a remarkably efficient way to rediscover why Tristana normally attacks from range.
Trinity Force and Statikk Shiv Alistar top
Top Alistar revolves around an old Headbutt interaction that lets him queue an auto attack as W knocks the enemy away. Sheen and eventually Trinity Force add Spellblade damage to that hit, while Statikk Shiv adds another burst proc and helps Alistar clear waves. Current Classic Alistar needs four points in Fury and a single Attack Speed Mark to hit the level-one attack-speed breakpoint consistently.
| Setup | Value |
|---|---|
| Role | Top |
| Starting items | Crystalline Flask, 2x Health Potion, Mana Potion |
| Summoner spells | Flash, Ignite |
| Ability priority | W > Q > E |
| Full build | Boots of Mobility, Trinity Force, Statikk Shiv, Frozen Heart, Spirit Visage, Randuin’s Omen |
| Runes | 8x AD Marks, 1x Attack Speed Mark, 9x Health Seals, 9x Glyphs of Scaling Cooldown Reduction, 3x AD Quintessences |
| Masteries | 21 Offense / 9 Defense, including 4/4 Fury |
The single Attack Speed Mark is unusually important here. Four points in Fury plus that rune increase Alistar’s attack speed enough for the Headbutt-auto to connect reliably, letting you W an opponent and immediately right-click them to apply the auto attack while they are being knocked back. The old Trinity Force/Statikk Shiv build then converts that mechanic into repeated short trades until he scales and is able to 1v1 even a fed Master Yi.
Trinity Force and Statikk Shiv are the two offensive purchases, followed by defensive items because Unbreakable Will already lets Alistar function as a frontline champion without building six damage items. Frozen Heart is strong into physical damage, Spirit Visage adds magic resistance and improves his sustain, and Randuin’s Omen can take the final slot against heavy crit or auto-attack teams.
Full crit Gangplank top
Classic Gangplank has his pre-rework kit, so there are no Powder Kegs to manage. Parrrley generates additional gold when used to last-hit, Raise Morale provides attack damage and movement speed, and Cannon Barrage uses the older randomized cannonball pattern. While his Meta Golem build is safer, it’s also much more boring and less spiky.
| Setup | Value |
|---|---|
| Role | Top |
| Starting items | Brawler’s Gloves, Mana Potion, Health Potion |
| Summoner spells | Flash, Ignite |
| Ability priority | Q > E > W |
| Full build | Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Trinity Force, Statikk Shiv, Infinity Edge, Last Whisper, Phantom Dancer/Bloodthirster |
| Runes | 9x Critical Chance Marks, 9x Scaling Health Seals, 9x Mana Glyphs, 3x AD Quintessences |
| Masteries | 9 Offense / 21 Defense |
Trinity Force into Statikk Shiv and Infinity Edge is essentially the full build, you will rarely see all six items. Phantom Dancer/Bloodthirster and Last Whisper are good if the games go long. Parrrley is maxed first and should be used aggressively for last-hitting because the extra gold accelerates an otherwise expensive crit build. Raise Morale is maxed second, while Remove Scurvy is still a one-point-wonder.
The rune page is also much more entertaining than anything modern League permits, with nine Critical Chance Marks giving Gangplank a chance to crit even before any crit items are built. It’s profoundly not fun for the opponent, however.
AP Sion mid
AP Sion uses his original kit, including Cryptic Gaze as a point-and-click damage and stun spell and Death’s Caress as a shield that can be manually detonated around him. Max W first and Q second, then combine Boots of Mobility with Deathfire Grasp and heavy AP to turn Sion into a roaming burst mage.
| Setup | Value |
|---|---|
| Role | Mid |
| Starting items | Doran’s Ring, Mana Potion, Health Potion |
| Summoner spells | Flash, Ignite |
| Ability priority | W > Q > E |
| Full build | Boots of Mobility, Deathfire Grasp, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Lich Bane, Void Staff, Abyssal Scepter |
| Runes | 9x Magic Penetration Marks, 9x Health Seals, 9x Scaling AP Glyphs, 3x AP Quintessences |
| Masteries | 21 Offense / 9 Utility |
AP Sion’s combo is simple because Cryptic Gaze is a point-and-click ability. Use Deathfire Grasp and Q, then detonate Death’s Caress once the target is trapped in range. Boots of Mobility support the other half of the build by letting Sion leave mid and bring a point-and-click stun into either side lane, while the Utility mastery investment adds more movement and Summoner Spell support.
Sion has trouble laning against long-range mages, so beware the likes of Lux, Nidalee, and Ahri. Delay leveling up your ultimate, as it’s entirely useless for AP Sion, and prioritize W and Q instead.
FAQs
Can AP Master Yi be played in jungle?
Jungle in League Classic is much more difficult to clear, so AP Yi struggles there.
Can AP Tristana be played bot?
AP Tristana thrives on solo lanes, and several supports outright cancel her burst.
When will League Classic end?
Riot hasn’t announced the date when League Classic will go away.
