Graves vs Solomon
Written for the Graves player. Playing Solomon? See Solomon vs Graves →
Graves is favoured. Graves wins 60.5% of 50,140 games against Solomon (+4.2 points vs Graves’s usual 56.3%).
How to win as Graves
- RuleDo not commit before
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; is gone.
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; first — threaten a teammate so he spends the save, then go for the real target - Watch outThe bishop sits on the map and slides through you for 70 damage and a slow whenever he moves it, then lights up damaging squares
- Your edgeYou recover between fights and they do not (Graves 1/3 against Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 0/3).
- Buy
Scourge
Scourge +35s Cooldown +10s Duration +0.25s Cast Delay +40% Spirit Resist +100 Bonus Health +20% Debuff Resist — Buy on supports to harden a focused ally against a caster team while adding pressure damage. What you are answering here: Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range .
The numbers: lane, whole match and Oracle and above
| Games | Graves wins | vs Graves's usual | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole match | 60.5% | +4.2 pts (56.3% overall) | 50,140 games |
| Sharing a lane | 60.4% | +4.1 pts (56.3% overall) | 16,281 games |
| Oracle and above | 58.5% | +5.8 pts (52.7% at Oracle+) | 1,794 games |
"Sharing a lane" counts only games where both were assigned the same lane — the laning matchup itself. "Oracle and above" counts only matches whose average rank was Oracle and above. Source: deadlock-api.com, refreshed daily.
Data-supported Measured: you win 60.5% of these, which is 4.2 points above your overall win rate (50,140 matches). The kit-based model reads this as moderate instead — treat the measured number as primary and the gap as a sign this matchup is more about execution than kit. Ranked against this hero's own baseline win rate, not raw win rate. Source: deadlock-api.com.
What should I do right now?
Do
- Plan for
Scourge
Scourge +35s Cooldown +10s Duration +0.25s Cast Delay +40% Spirit Resist +100 Bonus Health +20% Debuff Resist — know which tier it sits in so you are not improvising at the shop. - Know what
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; looks like. It is the cooldown this lane revolves around.
Avoid
- Walking to lane on the same path every wave against a hero with Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's engage range.
Do
- 780 health and two shots a second; a fast-firing gun hero out-trades him when his bishop is out of position
- Eight shots per clip and a 3s reload leave long gaps in his damage
-
Jar of Dead
Jar of Dead Passively banks a charge whenever something dies near Graves. Crowd Control none at base; the tier-2 upgrade adds roughly a 30% movement slow for about… Damage roughly 16 spirit per Deadhead hit at base spirit power (deadlock.one, patch… Defensive tier-1 upgrade returns a small heal (about 5 health) when a death is… 1 heals Graves a small amount for each death collected 2 Deadhead hits apply roughly a 30% slow for about 1 second 5 +2 additional Deadheads and +4 seconds of lifetime charges off every creep death, so a lane Graves is winning snowballs the ability's uptime
Avoid
- A bishop parked in lane slides through both laners for 70 damage and a slow every few seconds
-
Rook Battery
Rook Battery Solomon releases two rooks that travel forward, dealing spirit damage and immobilizing every enemy they hit. Crowd Control Immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3). Damage 50 spirit damage (+1.3 per Spirit). Defensive Rooting a diver in place stops the dive and gives him time to reposition. 1 on hit, -25% fire rate for 5s 2 on hit, +5% of current health as damage 5 +1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s immobilize roots a laner for a full second at 33s, setting up an easy trade
Do
- Their first real spike is ult unlock — respect it from that point, not before.
- Your spike is ult unlock:
Borrowed Decree
Borrowed Decree Plants a gravestone that spawns Ghouls over time. Crowd Control area slow on Ghoul detonation Damage roughly 115 spirit on Ghoul detonation and about 40 melee per upgrade tier; Defensive a gravestone placed on your own walker or guardian turns a defensive hold… 1 +25% Ghoul move speed and about -15s cooldown 2 +10s duration and faster spawn cadence (about -0.3s spawn time) 5 Ghouls deal roughly +5% of the target's current health as damage when they die converts her into permanent lane and objective pressure even while she is elsewhere on the map
Avoid
- Taking an even fight against Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. on their spike timing when you could take the same fight ten minutes later on yours.
Do
- Watch for
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range . Move off the lines running out from where the queen lands before they activate — the delay is your window - Read the board: stay out of the bishop's sliding path, step off squares the moment they light up, and leave the queen's lines before they fire
Avoid
- Spending your own escape before
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; is on cooldown.
Solomon’s abilities
-
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range Ultimate Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's fight-ender: 1.25s Stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2).
- Move off the lines running out from where the queen lands before they activate — the delay is your window
- Keep your health above 200 against a Tier 2 queen or you can be executed outright
-
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer or a dispel saves you from the Stun; after the queen is spent, he has no ultimate for over three minutes
-
Setup Bishop
Setup Bishop Solomon places a bishop that stays where it is until he recalls it. Crowd Control A 30% slow that fades over 3s on every enemy the bishop passes through (45%… Damage 70 spirit damage on impact as it slides (+2 per Spirit), in a 2.5m radius. Mobility none for Solomon. The bishop moves up to 12m per move, with 3s between… 1 +5m move distance and +15% fading slow 2 +1 bishop, and it can be recast within 8s 5 +1 square range, and the squares reduce spirit resist by 2.5% per stack, up to 10 stacks Ability 1 Sticking power rather than damage: a 30% slow that fades over 3s on every enemy the bishop passes through (45% at Tier 1).
- Watch where the bishop is parked and don't line up in front of it — it slides in straight lines
- Step off the diagonal squares as soon as they light up; they do their damage only while you stand on them
- Spirit Resist cuts both the impact and the squares; spread out so one slide does not hit your whole team
-
Rook Battery
Rook Battery Solomon releases two rooks that travel forward, dealing spirit damage and immobilizing every enemy they hit. Crowd Control Immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3). Damage 50 spirit damage (+1.3 per Spirit). Defensive Rooting a diver in place stops the dive and gives him time to reposition. 1 on hit, -25% fire rate for 5s 2 on hit, +5% of current health as damage 5 +1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s immobilize Ability 3 Another window where you do not get to answer: immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3).
- Don't fight in narrow corridors against him — the rooks bounce off walls and come back
- After you dodge the first pass, expect the split; keep moving rather than stopping beside the line
-
Debuff Reducer
Debuff Reducer +25% Debuff Resist +90 Bonus Health shortens the Root;
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer ignores it
-
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; Ability 2 His save. It shields a teammate and gives them an extra dash, then lets Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. lift that teammate out of a bad spot. On himself it is a barrier and a short untouchable hop.
- Burst the target before the barrier lands, or wait out its 7 seconds before committing
- Don't spend your Stun the instant the knight moves — the piece is invulnerable in flight, so hit it when it lands
- Bait the knight onto one teammate, then switch to the one he can no longer save for 25 seconds
- 1
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; Kingside Knight first — threaten a teammate so he spends the save, then go for the real target
- 2
Rook Battery
Rook Battery Solomon releases two rooks that travel forward, dealing spirit damage and immobilizing every enemy they hit. Crowd Control Immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3). Damage 50 spirit damage (+1.3 per Spirit). Defensive Rooting a diver in place stops the dive and gives him time to reposition. 1 on hit, -25% fire rate for 5s 2 on hit, +5% of current health as damage 5 +1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s immobilize Rook Battery second — show yourself in a lane he can bounce rooks through, then step aside
- 3
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range Develop Queen last — spread out so the first landing catches no one
The matchup in detail
- Low health and no healing in his kit Strategic
- Very long ultimate cooldown (210s) Strategic
- Everything travels in straight or diagonal lines, so players who read the board dodge most of it Strategic
- You win by being somewhere else and Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. wins by being everywhere at once with four friends. That is a clock matchup with fixed hands: the Rift at roughly 11:00 and every 7 minutes after, and the Urn at 10, 15, 20 and 25. Your split has to be timed so that you are cashing a structure during the minutes they are grouped for one of those, and back or unreachable during the minutes they are not. Splitting on a schedule that ignores the objective clock just hands them a 5v4. Strategic
- Neither of you can disengage well, so fights between you tend to go to completion. That makes the decision to start one much more important than anything you do inside it — commit only when you already have the advantage, because backing out is not available to either side. Strategic
- The bishop sits on the map and slides through you for 70 damage and a slow whenever he moves it, then lights up damaging squares Strategic
-
Rook Battery
Rook Battery Solomon releases two rooks that travel forward, dealing spirit damage and immobilizing every enemy they hit. Crowd Control Immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3). Damage 50 spirit damage (+1.3 per Spirit). Defensive Rooting a diver in place stops the dive and gives him time to reposition. 1 on hit, -25% fire rate for 5s 2 on hit, +5% of current health as damage 5 +1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s immobilize roots you for a second and bounces off walls, so corridors are dangerous Strategic -
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range crashes for 120, stuns along its lines, and leaps again up to twice more; at Tier 2 it executes heroes below 200 health Strategic -
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; turns your kill into a barrier and an untouchable escape for his target Strategic
- Read the board: stay out of the bishop's sliding path, step off squares the moment they light up, and leave the queen's lines before they fire Strategic
- Buy Spirit Resist and
Debuff Reducer
Debuff Reducer +25% Debuff Resist +90 Bonus Health early — the slides, squares, roots and stuns are all Spirit Damage or debuffs Strategic - Dive him while the knight is spent: 780 health, no healing and only two shots a second Strategic
- Fight in the open, not in corridors, where the rooks cannot bounce back Strategic
- Make him use
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range early; then you have more than three minutes without it Strategic - Wait out the knight's 7-second barrier, or burst the target before it lands Strategic
- Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. contributes through abilities, which makes a hard Silence worth more against them than any amount of resist.
Focus Lens
Focus Lens +45s Cooldown +4.5s Duration +0.1s Cast Delay +35% Damage On Expire +10% Fire Rate -9% Spirit Resist -30 Spirit Power +12s Resist Reduction Duration Builds from Spirit Sap is the sharpest version: 4.5 seconds of single-target Silence at 20m, plus 30% of all damage dealt during the window applied when it expires, on a 45-second cooldown. Against a caster that is not a defensive purchase — it deletes their entire fight participation and then charges them for it. Strong evidence
- The 25 seconds after
Kingside Knight
Kingside Knight Solomon promotes an ally to a knight, giving them a barrier and an extra stamina charge for a few seconds. Damage none. Barrier: 80 (+0.8 per Spirit) on an ally for 7s, 160 on himself. Game… Mobility Moves an ally 13m or himself 7m (both grow with his power level)… Defensive A barrier, an extra stamina charge for the ally, and a move that dodges… 1 -8s cooldown 2 +80 barrier and +1 stamina 5 targets two allies within range; — no barrier, no protected escape Strategic - The 33 seconds after a missed
Rook Battery
Rook Battery Solomon releases two rooks that travel forward, dealing spirit damage and immobilizing every enemy they hit. Crowd Control Immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3). Damage 50 spirit damage (+1.3 per Spirit). Defensive Rooting a diver in place stops the dive and gives him time to reposition. 1 on hit, -25% fire rate for 5s 2 on hit, +5% of current health as damage 5 +1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s immobilize — he has no Root Strategic - The reload: 3 seconds with no gun after only 8 shots Strategic
- More than three minutes after
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range Strategic - Being stunned by Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. now pauses your reload rather than restarting it, as of 09-16-2026. That quietly changes when it is safe to reload in this matchup: a reload caught by their Stun resumes where it left off instead of costing you the whole cycle, so the old rule of never reloading inside their engagement range is too conservative now. The compensating change is that parrying also pauses your reload, so a defensive parry no longer buys you free reload time. Documented
- You have real objective damage, which makes the Guardian your win condition in this lane rather than Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's health bar. Guardian resistance scales from +50% down to −50% across roughly the first twelve minutes since 05-22-2026 — it gets softer, not harder, so the pressure you can apply grows every minute from about 6:00. Guardians also have no ability-damage reduction, so spirit works on them at full value. Older guides claiming Guardians toughen over time are wrong. Documented
- You get value from moving around the map and Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. does not, but the 09-16-2026 patch made that harder to convert early: tunnel breakables Crates Streets, rooftops and tunnels — about 500 of them Ordinary breakables. Each has a 60% chance to drop souls; a Tough Crate always drops, for double. Souls 23 souls a crate, 60% of the time +2 a minute now spawn and respawn on 5 minutes rather than 3. The off-lane income that used to make a rotation pay for itself is roughly 40% less frequent, so before 6:00 a rotation has to be justified by pressure on Solomon or on the Guardian, not by the breakables you pick up on the way. Documented
- A bishop parked in lane slides through both laners for 70 damage and a slow every few seconds Strategic
-
Rook Battery
Rook Battery Solomon releases two rooks that travel forward, dealing spirit damage and immobilizing every enemy they hit. Crowd Control Immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3). Damage 50 spirit damage (+1.3 per Spirit). Defensive Rooting a diver in place stops the dive and gives him time to reposition. 1 on hit, -25% fire rate for 5s 2 on hit, +5% of current health as damage 5 +1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s immobilize roots a laner for a full second at 33s, setting up an easy trade Strategic - 780 health and two shots a second; a fast-firing gun hero out-trades him when his bishop is out of position Strategic
- Eight shots per clip and a 3s reload leave long gaps in his damage Strategic
-
Jar of Dead
Jar of Dead Passively banks a charge whenever something dies near Graves. Crowd Control none at base; the tier-2 upgrade adds roughly a 30% movement slow for about… Damage roughly 16 spirit per Deadhead hit at base spirit power (deadlock.one, patch… Defensive tier-1 upgrade returns a small heal (about 5 health) when a death is… 1 heals Graves a small amount for each death collected 2 Deadhead hits apply roughly a 30% slow for about 1 second 5 +2 additional Deadheads and +4 seconds of lifetime charges off every creep death, so a lane Graves is winning snowballs the ability's uptime Strong evidence
- The first Unstable Rift lands around 11:00 and then every 7 minutes, and Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. beats you in exactly the fight it creates. Use the telegraph: a world-only visual appears on a random side-lane bridge roughly 60 seconds before the global announcement and map marker, which is the single biggest piece of free information in the mid game. Spend those 60 seconds either grouping or deliberately taking something elsewhere — the one thing you cannot afford is arriving at a Rift bridge late and alone. Strong evidence
- Your objective damage is the lever in this matchup and the Walker timing is where it pays. Walkers sit around 65% damage resistance early and decay toward −65% by minute 18, so the same rotation that accomplishes nothing at 12:00 kills one outright at 17:00. Each Walker your team destroys also unlocks an extra item slot for the whole team, so the take is a build spike for five other people, not just souls. Remember a Walker is invulnerable unless someone is within 22m. Strong evidence
-
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range unlock — Adds 120-damage crashes and Stun lines that he can move twice more Strategic -
Setup Bishop
Setup Bishop Solomon places a bishop that stays where it is until he recalls it. Crowd Control A 30% slow that fades over 3s on every enemy the bishop passes through (45%… Damage 70 spirit damage on impact as it slides (+2 per Spirit), in a 2.5m radius. Mobility none for Solomon. The bishop moves up to 12m per move, with 3s between… 1 +5m move distance and +15% fading slow 2 +1 bishop, and it can be recast within 8s 5 +1 square range, and the squares reduce spirit resist by 2.5% per stack, up to 10 stacks T2 — A second bishop on the board doubles his zone and his slide damage Strategic -
Rook Battery
Rook Battery Solomon releases two rooks that travel forward, dealing spirit damage and immobilizing every enemy they hit. Crowd Control Immobilize for 1s on hit (1.5s at Tier 3). Damage 50 spirit damage (+1.3 per Spirit). Defensive Rooting a diver in place stops the dive and gives him time to reposition. 1 on hit, -25% fire rate for 5s 2 on hit, +5% of current health as damage 5 +1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s immobilize T3 — 21s cooldown, a second wall bounce and a 1.5s Root make picks reliable Strategic - Spirit items — Bishop impact scales at 2x Spirit and the queen at 1.4x, so his damage climbs steeply with Spirit Strategic
-
Borrowed Decree
Borrowed Decree Plants a gravestone that spawns Ghouls over time. Crowd Control area slow on Ghoul detonation Damage roughly 115 spirit on Ghoul detonation and about 40 melee per upgrade tier; Defensive a gravestone placed on your own walker or guardian turns a defensive hold… 1 +25% Ghoul move speed and about -15s cooldown 2 +10s duration and faster spawn cadence (about -0.3s spawn time) 5 Ghouls deal roughly +5% of the target's current health as damage when they die unlock — Converts her into permanent lane and objective pressure even while she is elsewhere on the map Strong evidence -
Grasping Hands
Grasping Hands Raises a line of undead hands out of the ground that damages and immobilizes anyone passing through, spawns a Ghoul, and leaves a lingering rift behind. Crowd Control immobilize (root) on enemies who pass through; Damage roughly 90 spirit at base, +90 more at tier 2 (metabot.gg, deadlock.one) Mobility none for Graves 1 +90 damage and +10m wall length 2 +1 Ghoul, about -14s cooldown and +0.75s immobilize tier 2 — +10m wall length turns it from a spot-block into a lane-wide cut, which is when her zoning starts controlling teamfights Strong evidence
- Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. brings enough lockdown that Stun sequencing matters. Community reporting describes Stun diminishing returns of roughly 10% then 30% inside an 8-second window, applying to stuns only and not to silences, slows, disarms or hexes — so their follow-up chain may be shorter than the first one felt. Treat this as unconfirmed, but it is worth knowing before you burn a cleanse on the opening Stun. Uncertain
- Riding a zipline in Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's line of sight is worse than walking. Enemy hero damage while you are riding knocks you off for 15% of your max health, a 2.5-second Stun and a fall — for a hero with your health pool that is most of a death handed over for free. You gain knockoff immunity only after 3 consecutive seconds of riding, signalled by a blue particle effect, so the dangerous part is the first three seconds. Mount out of their sight line, not near it. Documented
- Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. wins by choosing where the fight happens. Take your position before the zoning goes down, not after — once the area is committed you are fighting on their terms, and walking in to contest it is exactly the mistake the kit is built to farm. Strategic
- Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. has to lead you and you are too slow to make that hard by strafing, so buy the miss with geometry instead of movement. A corner, a pillar or a doorway edge means the projectile has to be in flight before you are visible — travel time works against them the moment the sight line is short-lived. Hold positions where your exposure is measured in fractions of a second per peek, and never cross an open space on a straight line at a constant speed, which is the one input their weapon is designed to punish. Strategic
- When you go for their Walker against a team with Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. peeling, the 22m rule is your positioning constraint: a Walker is invulnerable while no enemy is within 22m, so somebody has to be inside that ring for any of your damage to count. Being that body is a commitment, not a poke. Backdoor protection also gives the Walker 65% damage reduction and 65 HP/s regeneration until your trooper wave arrives, so going without the wave is not a faster take, it is no take at all. Strong evidence
- Against Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's crowd control, understand what Debuff Resist actually buys you: it shortens duration, never magnitude. It is excellent against long disables and close to worthless against a short hard slow. Two things it explicitly does not shorten at all are the parry Stun and the
Knockdown
Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius item's Stun. Documented -
Scourge
Scourge +35s Cooldown +10s Duration +0.25s Cast Delay +40% Spirit Resist +100 Bonus Health +20% Debuff Resist (spirit T4) — Buy on supports to harden a focused ally against a caster team while adding pressure damage. What you are answering here: Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range . Documented -
Majestic Leap
Majestic Leap +45s Cooldown +5s Interrupt Cooldown +100% Air Control +50% Air Control +32% Move Speed +2.5s Slow Duration +8s Barrier Duration (vitality T3) — Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range — that is the zoning and area denial this answers. Buy to escape ground-based lockdown and to rotate across the map quickly. Documented -
Stamina Mastery
Stamina Mastery +2 Stamina +18% Stamina Recovery +23% Air Jump/Dash Distance Builds from Extra Stamina (vitality T3) — Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range — that is the stuns and Hard CC this answers. Buy when dodging telegraphed abilities and disengaging is how you survive. Strong evidence
- The instinct here is to buy
Dispel Magic
Dispel Magic +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate as your answer to Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. and then find it greyed out at the exact moment you need it.
Dispel Magic
Dispel Magic +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate cannot be cast while you are stunned or asleep, and it cannot remove a Stun at all — it purges what comes with the Stun, not the Stun itself. Against Solomon the item you actually want is the pre-cast kind (
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer , which also cannot be activated once you are already stunned) or the automatic kind (
Indomitable
Indomitable +55s Cooldown +10s Duration +10% Bullet Resist +10% Spirit Resist +20s Cooldown On Apply +2 Out of Combat Regen Builds from Reactive Barrier , which cleanses the next Hard CC with no input from you). Documented - The reflex buy against a hero who keeps deleting you is
Metal Skin
Metal Skin +24s Cooldown +5s Duration +12% Bullet Resist -20% Dash Distance , and against Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. it does nothing.
Metal Skin
Metal Skin +24s Cooldown +5s Duration +12% Bullet Resist -20% Dash Distance is bullet-damage immunity only — Spirit Damage, abilities and every status effect pass straight through it, and you pay −1.5 m/s move speed and −20% dash distance for the privilege. The three big defensive actives are deliberately orthogonal:
Metal Skin
Metal Skin +24s Cooldown +5s Duration +12% Bullet Resist -20% Dash Distance stops bullets,
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer stops statuses,
Ethereal Shift
Ethereal Shift +37s Cooldown +4s Duration +5s Buff Duration +30% Spirit Resist +20 Spirit Power stops everything but disables you. Solomon is a spirit threat, so it is the last two you are choosing between. Documented - The losing pattern against Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. is deciding to leave, walking to the zipline and finding you cannot attach. Any damage from an enemy hero or objective blocks zipline attachment for 3 seconds, and Solomon has the chip range to keep that 3-second timer rolling indefinitely. Break line of sight first, wait out the lockout, then attach — do not walk to the rope while still taking fire. Documented
- Players buy
Dispel Magic
Dispel Magic +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate for Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. and then discover it does nothing about
Develop Queen
Develop Queen Solomon summons a queen that crashes down on an area for spirit damage. Crowd Control 1.25s stun from the lines, plus a 15% slow for 1.5s (30% at Tier 2). Damage 120 spirit damage (+1.4 per Spirit) on the crash and again on the lines. Mobility The queen leaps up to 16m per move, with 5s between moves; 1 -40s cooldown 2 +15% slow, and the lines checkmate heroes below 200 health, executing them 5 +2 moves and +1 square range .
Dispel Magic
Dispel Magic +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate purges non-ultimate negative effects only — anything sourced from an ultimate is outside its scope entirely. Work out which of Solomon's disables come off abilities and which come off the ult before you spend 3,200: the ability-sourced ones are purgeable, the ult is not, and for the ult you need either
Unstoppable
Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer pre-cast or the discipline not to be there. Documented - The specific error is walking into Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. 's area denial after it is already down, because your team is in there and you feel late. You are slow enough that entering a committed zone is a one-way decision — you will be inside it for its full duration, not for the two seconds you intended. Arrive before the zone or arrive from the other side of it; arriving into it is how this matchup is lost even when your team wins the fight. Strategic
- The Unstable Rift capture point is a 20m circle on a bridge, capture only progresses when no enemy is inside it, and everyone standing in it is revealed on the minimap. That is a purpose-built trap for Solomon Solomon Released 9 October Released 9 October. A chess-themed strategist whose kit is a set of pieces: Setup Bishop plants damage dealers ahead of him and slides them along the street, Kingside Knight protects allies and pulls him back, Rook Battery charges forward and stalls enemies, and Develop Queen is a lock-down ultimate. . The mistake is treating the circle as the objective: you do not need to stand in it, you need them not to. Contest from outside the radius, deny with a single body at the edge, and let their Area Damage land on empty bridge. Strategic
Next
Graves’s other hard matchups
- vs Rat King -8.4 pts
- vs Paige -8.1 pts
- vs Seven -6.3 pts
- vs Haze -5.2 pts
All of Solomon
Who beats Solomon, the items that shut Solomon down, and every ability.
Facing more than Solomon?
Add the other five enemies: who to focus first and what to buy against the whole team.
Sources and method for this page
Everything on this page is generated for Deadlock patch 09-29-2026 from Solomon's current kit, measured match results and a mechanics rule base. Each line carries its own confidence label.
Solomon's kit and counterplay were compiled from 5 sources, cross-checked for patch 09-29-2026. Threat ratings compare this pairing against Graves's own baseline win rate rather than a flat 50%, because ranking by raw win rate produces the wrong answer for heroes whose overall win rate is not 50%.