A Guide to K’Sante with DIG Licorice
Master K'Sante with pro insights from Licorice—learn his laning, itemization, and teamfight tips!
K’Sante, the Pride of Nazumah, is a formidable tank champion introduced to League of Legends with a unique kit that blends defense with unexpected bursts of offense. K’Sante thrives in prolonged engagements, using his abilities to mitigate damage, crowd control enemies, and transform into a bruiser once he activates his ultimate, All Out. This guide will teach you how to play K’Sante effectively, focusing on everything from early laning strategy to itemization and teamfighting.
To provide additional insights, we’ll use quotes from Dignitas’ top laner Eric “Licorice” Ritchie, who has shared his expertise on how to maximize K’Sante's potential at the highest level of play.
Abilities Overview
Passive: Dauntless Instinct
K’Sante’s basic attacks and abilities mark enemies for a short period. Attacking marked enemies consumes the mark, dealing bonus damage. His passive enhances his ability to trade in the lane and rewards proper ability rotation, which is key to sustained combat.
Key Takeaways:
- Dauntless Instinct provides additional damage for each hit, making K’Sante strong in longer trades where he can continuously apply marks.
- The bonus damage can add up quickly, so weaving in autos between ability casts will maximize your damage output.
Q: Ntofo Strikes
K’Sante’s primary tool for harass, Ntofo Strikes deals damage in a small area. Casting Q three times triggers a knock-up on the third strike, adding a crowd-control element to the ability.
Key Takeaways:
- Use Q frequently to poke in lane, keeping pressure on your opponent and farming safely.
- The third Q is vital for engaging or disrupting enemies, especially when combined with E – Footwork to quickly close the gap.
W: Path Maker
K’Sante charges, reducing damage taken and becoming unstoppable. Releasing the charge causes him to dash forward, knocking back and damaging enemies. The longer the charge, the farther he dashes, making it both a defensive and offensive tool.
Some matchups you can win at level 3 or 4 against tanks. As long as you use your W well to stop their CC spells, it’s pretty easy. Otherwise, you’re mostly waiting for the level 6 spike.
Key Takeaways:
- W is critical for mitigating burst damage or crowd control, so timing its use against key enemy abilities is essential.
- Look for opportunities to charge W to either engage or disengage but avoid using it recklessly, as the ability’s long cooldown makes it your primary defensive tool.
E: Footwork
Footwork is K’Sante’s mobility spell. He dashes a short distance, shielding himself or an ally. It provides excellent repositioning potential in trades or when avoiding skill shots.
Key Takeaways:
- E can be used defensively to escape or offensively to engage. It’s also a useful tool to dash to a minion and get into range to harass your lane opponent with Q.
- The shield provides extra sustain in trades, helping you absorb incoming damage.
R: All Out
K’Sante’s ultimate transforms him from a defensive tank into an aggressive bruiser. When activated, K’Sante dashes forward, shattering his armor and magic resist to deal bonus true damage and gain omnivamp. His abilities are empowered, making him a significant threat to squishy targets.
You are strong at level 6, but because so much of your strength is tied to the ultimate, you have to use it when you’re absolutely sure you can chunk them out of lane or get a kill. Otherwise, without your ultimate, you’ll be punished pretty heavily until it’s back up.
Key Takeaways:
- All Out drastically shifts your playstyle. You lose defensive stats but gain a massive damage boost, making you a hybrid bruiser.
- Timing is crucial with this ability. Activating All Out without considering your opponent’s cooldowns or escape options can leave you vulnerable.
Runes and Masteries
Most cases, you take Grasp, Demolish or Shield Bash, Second Wind or Bone Plating, and Overgrowth to help you hit the HP mark on your Q. Aftershock can work in some ranged matchups for when you E into W forward.
Primary Tree: Resolve
- Grasp of the Undying – The ideal keystone for K’Sante, giving him increased sustain and bonus damage in extended trades.
- Demolish – Helps K’Sante take down towers in the mid-to-late game, creating pressure in side lanes.
- Second Wind – Essential for surviving poke-heavy matchups, allowing you to regenerate health after trades.
- Overgrowth – Increases your maximum health, synergizing well with K’Sante’s Q and overall tankiness.
Secondary Tree: Inspiration
- Biscuit Delivery – Provides additional sustain in the laning phase, giving you more health and mana.
- Cosmic Insight – Reduces cooldowns on your summoner spells and items, offering you more frequent access to key plays.
Early Game: The Laning Phase
In the early game, K’Sante is relatively weak compared to other champions. His kit is designed for longer trades and defensive play, meaning his early levels should focus on farming, avoiding all-ins, and getting to his level 6 power spike.
For the most part, you are trying to play defensive early because there are not many matchups you are going to win in the early game. You’re really trying to get as many minions as you can, and if they run into your wave to fight you, then you can fight back.
Rumble is an example of a bad early matchup for KSante
Levels 1-5: Play Passive and Farm
- At Level 1, start with Q – Ntofo Strikes for safe farming and poking. Focus on hitting minions while trying to harass your opponent with the first two Q casts.
- At Level 2, grab E – Footwork for mobility. Use it defensively to escape bad trades or aggressively if the enemy overextends.
- At Level 3, unlock W – Path Maker. At this point, you can start looking for opportunities to trade if the enemy engages. Be mindful of your cooldowns and try to use W to absorb critical crowd control spells.
Your most common trade pattern is to E to a minion and Q into auto on the enemy. That’s the standard pattern.
Trading Strategy:
- Trading Combo: Dash in with E, cast Q, auto-attack, then disengage.
- Always look for opportunities to cast Q from a safe distance, keeping the enemy pressured without putting yourself in danger.
- If the enemy commits, use W to mitigate incoming damage and turn the trade around.
E to an Ally before trading!
Levels 6+: The Power Spike
K’Sante’s true power unlocks at level 6 when All Out becomes available. With your ultimate, you can turn from a defensive tank into a bruiser capable of chunking down squishy opponents or securing kills in extended trades.
You are strong at level 6, but so much of your strength is tied to the ultimate. You have to use it when you’re absolutely sure you can chunk them out of lane or get a kill.
Key Tips:
- Use All Out only when you have a clear opportunity to secure a kill or force your opponent out of lane.
- If your ultimate is on cooldown, play defensively as your ability to win trades diminishes without the added damage and mobility from All Out.
Mid Game: Roaming and Teamfights
In the mid-game, K’Sante becomes a versatile tank who can contribute to both teamfights and skirmishes. He can engage with W – Path Maker, zone enemies with Q, and use R – All Out to assassinate squishy targets or disrupt the enemy formation.
Roaming and Skirmishing
Once you’ve pushed the wave, consider roaming mid or helping your jungler secure objectives. K’Sante’s mobility with E and tankiness allows him to survive most skirmishes, while his crowd control tools make him valuable for locking down key targets.
In solo queue, it’s really about killing the carries. And it doesn’t have to be some flashy ultimate through a long wall, but even if you’ve been fighting for a while and you ult their support to get next to their carry to finish them off, then you just do that and start killing the carry.
Fighting as K’Sante
- In teamfights, position yourself in the front line. Use Q to poke and apply pressure.
- Look for opportunities to use W – Path Maker to engage or peel. Knocking enemies back or interrupting key abilities with W can turn a fight in your favor.
- Use E to reposition and shield yourself or an ally.
- Once you see an opportunity to kill a squishy target, activate All Out and go in for the kill. Remember, the ultimate refreshes your W, allowing you to get two casts off during your engage.
The biggest thing is that your ultimate refreshes your W. So you want to make sure you always use it before your ultimate so you get two uses out of it.
Late Game: Teamfighting and Decision-Making
In the late game, K’Sante becomes a crucial part of teamfights due to his crowd control, tankiness, and ability to burst down squishy targets with All Out. The key is to engage wisely, peel for your carries, and use All Out when you can turn the tide of a fight.
Teamfight Positioning
- Stay in the front line, using your Q to disrupt the enemy team.
- Use W to tank important cooldowns, and don’t be afraid to charge in when the enemy is grouped near a wall.
- Look for opportunities to dive into the backline with E and R, focusing on eliminating high-priority targets like the enemy ADC or mid laner.
Ashe is an example of an easy Marksman to target with All Out.
You don’t want to go in super early in a teamfight so you don’t get one shot. Fighting too much early, using your ultimate—it’s a champion that rewards a lot of patience.
Itemization
K’Sante’s itemization should focus on enhancing his defensive capabilities while amplifying the damage from his Q and ultimate. His kit scales off armor and magic resist, making tank items particularly valuable.
In most cases, you’re generally going Iceborn or Kaenic Rookern depending on whether you’re against an AD or AP matchup. Because your damage scales directly off armor and magic resist, you almost always want to build the flat MR or armor items before building the other pieces.
Core Items
- Iceborn Gauntlet – Provides tank stats and crowd control. Excellent for kiting and sticking to opponents.
- Kaenic Rookern – A solid option for magic resist and survivability when facing AP-heavy teams.
- Zeke’s Convergence – Licorice highlights this as a strong snowball item. Its passive adds burn damage to your attacks, which synergizes well with K’Sante’s ability to stay in extended trades.
I think Zeke’s Convergence is a pretty good snowball item. You can rush it in some cases or even build it second. The slow when you ult someone is pretty nice.
Situational Items
- Thornmail – Against heavy healing compositions or auto-attack-based champions, this item helps mitigate incoming healing while dealing reflected damage.
- Spirit Visage – Provides additional healing, which synergizes well with K’Sante’s omnivamp from All Out.
- Gargoyle Stoneplate – A great choice for when you need additional tankiness in teamfights. The active shield makes you even harder to kill while diving into the enemy team.
Conclusion
K’Sante is a champion who rewards patience, careful positioning, and well-timed engages. As Licorice points out, the key to success with K’Sante lies in managing his cooldowns, maximizing the use of his ultimate, and focusing on playing defensively in the early game to reach your power spikes. By mastering his crowd control, managing your resources, and knowing when to commit with All Out, you can dominate games and become a reliable frontline force for your team.
We’d like to thank Licorice for taking the time to sit down with us right after the LCS playoffs to share his insights on K’Sante, the Pride of Nazumah!
If you’d like to hear and see more of Licorice, check out his socials:
