How to win lane as Graves against Lucian · 60.81% win rate (74 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: Lucian's E — Relentless Pursuit (16–14s cooldown). His dash — lock him down while it is on cooldown.
Read from Graves's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Lucian.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Lucian | Lucian's Lightslinger double-shot and Piercing Light poke win the Level 1 range war while you have one ability and no Quickdraw charge to close on him. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | You pick up a second ability and start contesting, but without your full Quickdraw/Smoke Screen kit it's still even — neither of you commits. |
| Level 3 | Graves | With Q, E and W online you Quickdraw in for the point-blank shell spread and drop Smoke Screen for the impact slow — his single Relentless Pursuit can't kite a gap you've closed. |
| Levels 4-5 | Graves | True Grit armor and two stacked Quickdraw charges let you win the extended trades he tries to dash out of in this window. |
| Level 6 | Graves | Collateral Damage turns any caught Piercing-Light animation into a kill — the R blast plus your shell spread deletes a squishy ADC. |
| First item | Graves | Eclipse or Youmuu's is your peak duel power and his only escape is one Relentless Pursuit dash — all-in the moment it's down. |
| Two+ items | Graves | You still beat him 1v1, but force the all-in now before his 2-3 item crit kiting and Lightslinger shred take over teamfights. |
Level 1 is his — Piercing Light poke and the Lightslinger double-shot chunk you while you have one ability and no Quickdraw to close, so last-hit and accept the chip. The lane flips hard at 2-3: once End of the Line, Quickdraw and Smoke Screen are up, dash in, drop Smoke Screen on him so the impact slow holds him there, and unload the 4-shell spread point-blank where it actually hurts. His only escape is one Relentless Pursuit — and Lightslinger attacks shorten its cooldown, so deny him attacks and it stays down longer than the sixteen seconds on paper.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Graves's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Graves vs Lucian 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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Graves — a 60.81% win rate vs Lucian in top lane over 74 games is a real advantage.
Not really — Graves holds a real statistical advantage (60.81% win rate), so Lucian is the one working uphill.
Statistically yes — Graves counters Lucian in top lane, winning 60.81% of 74 Emerald+ games.
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 Lucian.
Start Doran's Blade + 1 Health Potion and back for Serrated Dirk (≈1100g) — lethality spike. Build Eclipse / Hubris first, then The Collector, with Plated Steelcaps.
Playing the other side? Lucian vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →
More Graves top lane matchups: vs Kled · vs Lillia · vs Locke · vs Malphite · vs Maokai · vs Master Yi