Overview
The Sorcery tree is the primary path for mages, poke champions, and spell-reliant champions. It enhances ability damage, mana sustain, and mobility through spellcasting. If your champion wins by landing abilities from range and controlling space, Sorcery is your home. Learn more about League of Legends rune paths and how Sorcery empowers mages.
Sorcery runes are versatile enough to be taken as a primary tree for control mages or as a secondary tree for almost every champion class. The utility runes in Sorcery — Manaflow Band, Transcendence, and Gathering Storm — are among the most popular secondary picks in the game.
Keystones
Arcane Comet fires a comet at the target location after you damage an enemy champion with an ability. It has a reduced cooldown if it hits. Comet is the poke mage standard for champions like Lux, Xerath, and Brand who can reliably land skillshots from range. It provides consistent damage throughout the laning phase. The Sorcery page on the LoL Wiki covers all rune mechanics and keystone interactions.
Summon Aery sends a fairy to either damage an enemy or shield an ally on your next hit. It is the choice for supportive mages and enchanters like Orianna, Lulu, and Karma. Phase Rush grants bonus movement speed and slow resistance after hitting an enemy with three separate attacks or abilities. It is taken by battlemages like Ryze, Cassiopeia, and Vladimir who need to stick to targets or kite away.
Slot 1
Manaflow Band restores mana on ability hit every 25 seconds, permanently increasing your maximum mana after several procs. It is the most popular Slot 1 rune for almost every mage, solving mana issues in the laning phase. Nimbus Cloak grants movement speed after casting your summoner spell, useful for aggressive flashes or escaping.
Nullifying Orb provides a magic damage shield when you take damage that brings you below 30% health. It is a survival tool against AP assassins and burst mages in lane. Against AD matchups, Nullifying Orb is less valuable, so stick with Manaflow Band or Nimbus Cloak.
Slot 2
Transcendence grants ability haste and resets your basic ability cooldowns on takedown after level 11. It is the default choice for scaling mages and any champion that values CDR. Celerity converts bonus movement speed into AP or AD, taken by champions that build movement speed items or have mobility in their kit.
Absolute Focus grants bonus adaptive damage while above 70% health. It is a snowball rune for champions who can stay healthy through careful positioning. It falls off when behind or against poke comps but provides excellent value in winning matchups.
Slot 3
Scorch burns enemies with bonus magic damage on your next ability hit, with a short cooldown. It amplifies early game poke and is ideal for aggressive laners. Waterwalking grants bonus movement speed and adaptive damage in the river, making it the go-to for roaming mid laners and junglers.
Gathering Storm grants increasing adaptive damage every 10 minutes, stacking infinitely. It is the scaling choice for champions who plan to reach late game. A 30-minute Gathering Storm provides approximately 48 AP or 28 AD — a significant amount of free stats. Choose Scorch for early pressure or Gathering Storm for scaling.
Sorcery is the most common secondary tree in the game. Manaflow Band + Transcendence is a universally strong pairing for any champion that uses mana. Even AD assassins and tanks occasionally dip into Sorcery for these two runes, Nimbus Cloak, or Gathering Storm.
