How to win lane as Ryze against Locke · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
He dives a point-and-click root with a shield behind it — survivable, if you hold W like it's your pulse.
Track: Locke's Q — Ritual Nails (10–6s cooldown). The nail marks are his whole engine — without 2-3 stacks on you his blink-in barely dents; sidestep the recasts and punish the ten seconds of nothing.
Read from Ryze's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Locke.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Locke | Locke has the range and tempo at level 1 while your mana pool is too shallow to trade back. |
| Level 2 | Locke | At 2 you still cannot afford to chain abilities, so Locke keeps poking you off the wave. |
| Level 3 | Locke | Level 3 gives you all three spells but no mana to fuel them, leaving Locke ahead in trades. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | By 4-5 your Spell Flux waveclear catches up and the lane reads even. |
| Level 6 | Locke | Your level 6 Realm Warp is a roam tool that does nothing in the 1v1, so Locke keeps the lane edge. |
| First item | Even / skill | At first item your Tear stack finally funds chained casts, pulling the matchup back to skill-based. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | With two items you match his control and either player's execution decides it. |
Locke owns levels 1-3: you have no mana pool to trade with and every Q you throw drains you toward empty, so you concede the poke war and simply catch minions. Hold your W entirely unless you can guarantee it lands into a jungle gank. Expect to eat some chip and just keep farm parity. Track Locke Ritual Nails (Marks): matchup-defining — The nail marks are his whole engine — without 2-3 stacks on you his blink-in barely dents; sidestep the recasts and punish the ten seconds of nothing. Track it before every step-up.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Ryze's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Ryze vs Locke 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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No sample yet — Ryze vs Locke has no Emerald+ win-rate data for this patch; Locke pressures 4 of the 7 stage windows, so Locke sets the tempo.
Not exactly — Locke pressures 4 of the 7 stage windows, so Locke sets the lane's tempo.
Ryze takes Phase Rush on the Sorcery tree with Manaflow Band, Transcendence and Scorch, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Locke.
Start Doran's Ring + 2 Health Potions and back for Oblivion Orb (≈800g) — cuts his sustain. Build Rod of Ages first, then Seraph's Embrace, with Sorcerer's Shoes / Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Locke vs Ryze guide →
All Ryze mid lane matchups →
More Ryze mid lane matchups: vs Katarina · vs LeBlanc · vs Lissandra · vs Lux · vs Malzahar · vs Mel
Also played in: Top Lane