How to win lane as Vayne against Graves · 51.7% win rate (3,420 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Bait his key tool — kite him apart with tumble + true damage.
Track: Graves's E — Quickdraw (16–12s cooldown). His dash + armor stacks. Engage when it's down.
Read from Vayne's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Graves.
This is Vayne's own plan; across 3,420 pooled games the lane is leaning Vayne.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Graves | At Level 1 Graves has one ability and reloads — your autos win the first exchange. |
| Level 2 | Graves | At Level 2 Tumble's auto reset lands your third Silver Bolt before he finishes reloading. |
| Level 3 | Graves | Quickdraw armour stacks and his burst combo keep Level 3 firmly in Graves's favour. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | By Levels 4-5 it's even skill — Vayne can dodge his lines and punish the cooldown gaps between his bursts. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | At Level 6 Collateral Damage on a 100s cooldown threatens a one-shot on a poked Vayne, and Smoke Screen cuts your sight first. |
| First item | Vayne | With her first item Vayne's Blade and Silver Bolts start winning even trades as Graves's burst sits on cooldown. |
| Two+ items | Vayne | With 2+ items Vayne's Final Hour kiting and %-health Silver Bolts hard out-scale Graves's front-loaded burst. |
Levels 1-2 are yours — he has one ability and must reload after four bullets, so Tumble in, land three Silver Bolts, and step out before End of the Line (Q) is back.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Vayne's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Vayne vs Graves 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.
Vayne, slightly — a 51.7% win rate edge over 3,420 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Vayne has a small statistical edge (51.7% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Vayne has a slight edge (51.7% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Vayne takes Lethal Tempo on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Bone Plating and Unflinching) vs Graves.
Start Doran's Blade + Health Potion and back for Core component + boots (≈1300g). Build Blade of the Ruined King (%HP duel spike) first, then Phantom Dancer, with Plated Steelcaps.
Playing the other side? Graves vs Vayne guide →
All Vayne top lane matchups →
More Vayne top lane matchups: vs Garen · vs Gnar · vs Gragas · vs Gwen · vs Heimerdinger · vs Illaoi