Caitlyn
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Excellent (8/10)
High Investment Required
Epic Relics
Paid Relics
Caitlyn is a high-tier control champion whose effectiveness scales directly with investment. While she can feel inconsistent at lower star levels due to the inherent randomness of trap triggers, her maximum potential at 6 stars—especially when equipped with her signature relics—allows her to trivialize even the most difficult nightmare adventures. She offers a unique playstyle that rewards patient setup and but rewards a significant payoff.
The Definitive Control Build
Essential for eliminating the variance of her main mechanic; by replanting missed traps, it ensures that every trap generated eventually provides value, allowing for consistent board clear.
Provides a reliable method to trigger traps during the action phase via the Terrify keyword, while granting the board Overwhelm and stat buffs as the enemy deck is depleted.
Refills spell mana upon summoning or leveling Caitlyn, ensuring resources are available to immediately cast high-impact spells like Ace in the Hole.
Strategy
This build focuses on absolute board dominance. Use early turns to plant a critical mass of traps. Once Caitlyn is deployed, the refill from Hidden Tome allows for an immediate removal spell or defensive maneuver. The combination of Hextech Rifle and Harmless Scarecrow ensures the enemy board is constantly under pressure from automated trap triggers.
The Item Stacking Engine
Increases deck consistency by creating multiple champion copies and reduces the cost of champion spells, facilitating frequent usage of Piltover Peacemaker.
Generates a fleeting champion spell every round, which is the primary engine for stacking items on Caitlyn and seeding the enemy deck with Flashbombs.
Draws a high-impact card and grants it an Epic item. When this targets Caitlyn's champion spell, it can create overwhelming value through repeated item applications.
Strategy
This strategy prioritizes long-term scaling over immediate burst. By repeatedly casting Piltover Peacemaker, the player stacks rare and epic items on Caitlyn, eventually creating a champion that provides massive stats and utility every time she is played or her spell is used.
Other Relic Options
A strong defensive and offensive option that allows Caitlyn to strike on summon, instantly contributing to her level-up progress and board removal.
Allows Caitlyn to strike the enemy Nexus directly on play, which—when she is leveled up—converts triggered traps into direct lethal damage.
Adds Poison Puffcaps to the enemy deck whenever damage is dealt, complementing the Flashbomb mechanic and providing an alternate win condition through milling.
Provides protection against aggressive removal and enables 'printer' strategies where Caitlyn can be repeatedly summoned to trigger strike or summon effects.
For players without signature relics, a combination of Stalker's Blade and The Grand General's Counterplan is highly effective for maintaining board control and progressing the champion's level-up condition.
Constellation
Caitlyn's constellation is designed to solve her early-game consistency issues. While her base kit relies on RNG, the extra nodes significantly increase the density of traps planted per action, making the 'whiffing' of traps much less likely. The support stars are not just fillers; they are necessary to make her viable in 5-star+ content.
Caught In My Trap
Your traps deal double damage.
On the Case
+1 Starting Mana. When an ally is summoned or attacks, plant a Flashbomb Trap in the top 8 cards of the enemy deck.
Caught In My Trap II
Your traps deal triple damage.
Officer Backup
Game Start: Summon Sting Officer.Review
A significant upgrade for deck consistency. Summoning a Sting Officer provides a reliable low-cost unit that seeds the enemy deck with Flashbombs, which is crucial for surviving early aggressive encounters.
Manaflow
Game Start: Get a mana gem.Review
The additional starting mana is vital for a control champion who needs to deploy units and reactive spells early to avoid being overwhelmed by enemy tempo.
Perfect Aim
Round Start: Create an Ace in the Hole in hand if you don't have one. When one of your traps activates, reduce its cost by 1.Review
This power fundamentally changes her identity. Generating Ace in the Hole provides a targeted nuke that can bypass SpellShield and deal massive damage. The inclusion of a critical strike mechanic makes her one of the most explosive finishers in the game, capable of ending matches instantly once her setup is complete.
Gameplay Tips
- Prioritize Trap Density Over Immediate Damage
In the early rounds, focus on using units and spells that seed the enemy deck. Caitlyn's level 2 power is only effective if the enemy has a high volume of traps to trigger. Avoid trading Caitlyn off until she has reached a critical mass of traps.
- Leverage the 'Miss' Mechanic with Replanting
If using Hextech Rifle, do not fear an empty enemy board. Traps that trigger on an empty board count as 'missed' and will be replanted into the top cards of the deck. This allows you to accumulate a massive density of traps for the moment the AI attempts to rebuild its board.
- Mortal Marks Synergy
In adventures where the Mortal Marks power is available, Caitlyn is exceptionally dominant. Since Flashbombs deal 1 damage to multiple units, setting all enemy health to 1 ensures that a single trap trigger can wipe an entire board, regardless of its size.
- Drafting for Support and Draw
Caitlyn excels when paired with other trap-based champions like Teemo or Fiddlesticks. Additionally, drafting cards that force the enemy to draw, such as Insider Knowledge, is a primary win condition, as it forces the immediate activation of all seeded traps.
- Defensive Blocking with Quick Attack
While Caitlyn has Quick Attack, she is often too valuable to risk in combat early. Use relics like Corrupted Star Fragment or Guardian Angel to make her a more resilient blocker, allowing her to survive and continue planting traps through multiple rounds.