How to win lane as Aphelios against Smolder · 50.9% win rate over 3,625 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Aphelios | At level 1 you out-range and out-damage a Smolder who hasn't started stacking. |
| Level 2 | Aphelios | Level 2 stays yours since your guns online beats his weak early Q. |
| Level 3 | Aphelios | At level 3 your damage and range let you punish every CS he reaches for. |
| Levels 4-5 | Aphelios | Levels 4-5 remain dominant as his stacks are still far from online. |
| Level 6 | Aphelios | Level 6 favors you: Moonlight Vigil ends the lane while his ult is just scaling utility. |
| First item | Aphelios | At one item you massively out-damage a Smolder who still isn't scaled. |
| Two+ items | Smolder | Two-plus items flip to Smolder once his stacked Q one-shots waves and pokes from range. |
Levels 1-3 are all yours: Smolder is one of the weakest early ADCs while he stacks Super Scorcher Breath, so you out-range and out-damage him with your gun pair. Use Calibrum-marked autos and Severum to sit on the wave and punish every CS he walks up for, and look to build a CS and plate lead before he comes online. Push the tempo hard.
The full Aphelios vs Smolder report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Smolder vs Aphelios guide →
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