How to win lane as Graves against Heimerdinger · 49.55% win rate (668 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
He pokes at range where your pellets scatter — close behind smoke and win the point-blank exchange.
Track: Heimerdinger's E — CH-2 Electron Storm Grenade (11s cooldown). The stun makes his turret nest lethal — dodge it before diving.
Read from Graves's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Heimerdinger.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Heimerdinger | He plants a turret and pokes with Hextech Micro-Rockets while you have one ability and no E dash — you literally cannot reach him to trade back. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | You pick up your second ability and start contesting, but his turret zone still out-pokes a Graves who can only step in to last-hit — it comes down to dodging rockets and grenades. |
| Level 3 | Graves | With Q, E and W online you dash the turret line, fog his sight so his aim goes, and burst him before the next CH-2 grenade lands on 11s. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Your True Grit armor/MR and two E charges let you survive the turret crossfire in an extended fight, but his stun grenade can still flip it — a coin-flip you edge on his cooldown. |
| Level 6 | Graves | Collateral Damage nukes through his turret zone — R him or the wall behind him on his grenade cooldown for the kill. |
| First item | Graves | Your Eclipse/Youmuu's spike is your peak duel power, letting you blow him up faster than the turrets can punish the dive. |
| Two+ items | Heimerdinger | Turret farm and a Liandry's/Rylai Heimer out-scale you — the burn ticks through your armor stacking and he re-walls every all-in, so the lane slips away. |
Levels 1-2 are his. He plants an H-28G turret on the wave and his Hextech Micro-Rockets chip you every time you walk up to last-hit, and with only your Q (no E dash yet) you can't close the gap to trade back. Farm at max Q range, eat a little poke, and don't burn Q trying to kill his turret early. Everything flips at Level 3: now you have E to dash the turret line, W-smoke to cut his vision (the beams are hardware, never blinded), and Q to burst — your first real all-in window.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Graves's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Graves vs Heimerdinger 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.
Read the full guide — plans from $1.99/month →🔒 Secure checkout · 💰 7-day money-back guarantee on your first payment · ✋ Cancel anytime
Lane Pass $1.99/mo · All Lanes $3.99/mo · Annual $24.99/yr. Renews automatically — cancel anytime.
Nobody on paper — a 49.55% win rate over 668 games makes this a coin flip decided by play, not champion select.
Yes — Graves vs Heimerdinger is a genuine skill matchup: 49.55% win rate, and the favour swings window to window rather than being set at champion select.
No hard counter either way — the Graves vs Heimerdinger win rate is 49.55%, an even lane decided by execution.
Graves takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Coup de Grace, and Resolve secondary (Second Wind and Bone Plating) vs Heimerdinger.
Start Doran's Blade + 1 Health Potion and back for Serrated Dirk (≈1100g) — lethality spike. Build Eclipse / Hubris first, then The Collector, with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Heimerdinger vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →
More Graves top lane matchups: vs Gnar · vs Gragas · vs Gwen · vs Illaoi · vs Irelia · vs Jax