Graves is a short-range marksman who becomes unusually durable while Quickdraw stacks armor and whose shotgun pellets hit hardest at close range. Beat him by denying point-blank access, respecting Smoke Screen, and forcing him to spend Quickdraw defensively before committing.
Quick Counter
Best counter type: Range control, anti-dive spacing, Quickdraw tracking, and avoiding point-blank trades
Biggest danger: Fighting him at close range where multiple shotgun pellets connect while armor stacks are active
Best defensive response: Create distance and leave Smoke Screen instead of fighting blind inside it
Best punish window: After Quickdraw is used and he cannot immediately reset spacing
Fight plan: Stay outside point-blank range, exit Smoke Screen, force Quickdraw, then lock him down before he rebuilds armor and distance.
What Graves wants
Close-range fights where multiple shotgun pellets hit the same target.
Repeated Quickdraw usage that both repositions him and builds defensive armor.
Smoke Screen placed on a carry so vision disruption prevents clean retaliation.
Opponents who treat him like a fragile conventional marksman and commit into his strongest short-range damage.
How to beat Graves
Do not volunteer for point-blank trades. Graves loses a meaningful part of his shotgun advantage when forced to fight from less favorable distance.
Leave Smoke Screen immediately when possible. Fighting while nearsighted makes target selection and spacing much worse than simply stepping out first.
Track Quickdraw as both mobility and durability. If he spends it aggressively, that is a better time to use hard crowd control or commit a gap closer.
Magic damage and mixed damage can be especially useful when he has accumulated armor through repeated Quickdraw usage.
Best counter tools
Range that forces Graves to cross space before reaching point-blank shotgun distance.
Magic or mixed damage that is less affected by armor-heavy durability.
Hard crowd control timed after Quickdraw is spent.
Disengage that prevents him from maintaining close-range pellet pressure.
Power spikes
Early: His close-range trading is already strong, especially when terrain and spacing let several pellets connect.
Mid: Mobility, armor stacking, and burst combine to make careless dives into him surprisingly difficult.
Late: His damage remains high, but range control and magic or mixed damage continue to punish the durability profile he prefers.
Key abilities to track
Quickdraw: This is not only a dash; repeated use contributes heavily to his physical durability. Punishing after it is spent is much better than engaging into a fully prepared Graves.
Smoke Screen: The nearsight effect can ruin a fight even without high damage. The correct reaction is often to leave the zone before trying to continue the duel.
Best items into Graves
Plated Steelcaps: A practical defensive choice against his physical damage when the rest of the enemy composition supports armor boots.
Randuin's Omen: Useful for durable champions facing heavy crit-based physical pressure and expected to stand in Graves’s effective range.
Stasis Enchant: Can deny a finishing burst or buy time after Graves closes distance and commits his dash.
Common mistakes
Treating Graves like a fragile long-range marksman and diving directly into point-blank range.
Continuing to fight inside Smoke Screen instead of stepping out.
Using the main engage while Quickdraw is still available and his armor is fully prepared.
Relying entirely on physical burst into repeated armor stacks without considering target selection.
Fight them in this order
1. Maintain enough distance that his shotgun cannot repeatedly hit at point-blank efficiency.
2. Exit Smoke Screen before committing important abilities or target selection.
3. Force Quickdraw with pressure or a lower-value threat.
4. Once the dash is spent, layer crowd control and finish the exchange before he rebuilds spacing and armor.