The only anti-shield item in LoL is Serpent’s Fang, and it only works for AD champions. Anti-heal is a different item family. Seven items apply Grievous Wounds, and all of them cut healing by the same flat 40% for 3 seconds. Most “lol anti shield item” answers blur the two, and it costs games: Grievous Wounds does nothing to a Lulu shield, and Serpent’s Fang does nothing to a Soraka heal. Below you get every item with its current cost and exact values, which classes should build which, a matchup table that tells you what to buy against which enemy and when, and the patch changes behind the current numbers.
Numbers come from Riot’s Data Dragon item files for patch 26.19, cross-checked against the League Wiki, last checked September 2026. Item stats move a few times a year, so the patch history section shows what changed and when.
Anti-shield vs anti-heal: two different problems
Grievous Wounds only touches healing and regeneration, and half of every champ select seems to forget it. It never reduces a shield. Riot’s League Wiki’s Grievous Wounds page spells it out: 40% healing reduction, and shields are listed as the one way to add temporary health that the debuff cannot reach. So a Mortal Reminder into Janna, Lulu and Karma buys you armor penetration and very little else.
The reverse holds too. Serpent’s Fang’s Shield Reaver cuts shields and ignores healing completely. Most enemy comps have some of both, so the real question is which one wins fights for them. A Seraphine or Sona heals and shields in the same cast. Yuumi’s heals and her passive shield both go on the same carry. The rule we use on orders: if the enemy frontline or carry is getting back up mid-fight, that’s healing. If your burst keeps disappearing into a bar that pops and fades, that’s shielding.
Two more mechanics before you spend gold:
- Grievous Wounds does not stack. A second source gives you another 40%, not 80%. The durations just overlap.
- It lands through shields. Since patch 13.7, damage that a shield fully absorbs still applies the debuff, so an enemy that shields and heals still gets cut.
Every anti-shield and anti-heal item on the current patch
Eight items cover both jobs, plus one summoner spell. Costs and stats below are from the patch 26.19 Data Dragon files, last checked September 2026. Every Grievous Wounds source is 40% for 3 seconds, so what you’re really choosing between is the stats bundled with the debuff.
| Item | Cost | Stats | Effect | Who builds it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serpent’s Fang | 2500g | 55 AD, 15 lethality | Shield Reaver: shields gained cut by 50% (melee) or 35% (ranged) for 3s, and active shields cut by the same amount on first hit | Lethality assassins, AD skirmishers, lethality supports |
| Executioner’s Calling | 800g | 15 AD | 40% Grievous Wounds on physical damage, 3s | Any AD champion, as a component |
| Mortal Reminder | 3000g | 35 AD, 30% armor pen, 25% crit | 40% Grievous Wounds on physical damage, 3s | Crit marksmen |
| Chempunk Chainsword | 3000g | 45 AD, 450 HP, 15 ability haste | 40% Grievous Wounds on physical damage, 3s | AD fighters and bruisers, AD junglers |
| Oblivion Orb | 800g | 25 AP | 40% Grievous Wounds on magic damage, 3s | Mages, AP junglers, mage supports |
| Morellonomicon | 2850g | 75 AP, 350 HP, 15 ability haste | 40% Grievous Wounds on magic damage, 3s | Burst and battle mages |
| Bramble Vest | 800g | 30 armor | Thorns: 10 magic damage to attackers plus 40% Grievous Wounds, 3s | Tanks and bruisers vs auto-attackers |
| Thornmail | 2450g | 150 HP, 75 armor | Thorns: 20 (+10% bonus armor) magic damage plus 40% Grievous Wounds, 3s | Tanks vs lifesteal or on-hit carries |
| Ignite (summoner spell) | Free | None | True damage burn plus healing reduction for the full burn | Lane bullies, assassins, some supports |
One myth to clear up: Chemtech Putrifier is not on Summoner’s Rift. It left the SR shop in the 2024 item overhaul and the current Data Dragon file still lists it as unpurchasable. Older “best anti-heal items” lists keep recommending it. Enchanter supports have no Grievous Wounds item of their own on the current patch.
Serpent’s Fang: the only anti-shield item
Serpent’s Fang is excellent on lethality champions and wasted gold on most others. At 2500 gold for 55 AD and 15 lethality it is priced like a normal lethality item, so an assassin buying it into an enchanter loses almost nothing. Per the Serpent’s Fang wiki entry, the details that matter in a fight are:
- 50% for melee, 35% for ranged. A Talon or Qiyana halves a Lulu shield. A ranged user only takes about a third off.
- The first hit also cuts shields that are already up. That matters against Janna and Karma, who shield before the fight starts.
- The debuff does not refresh while it’s active. The venom runs 3 seconds, then your next hit reapplies it.
- Magic-damage-only shields are untouched: Kaenic Rookern, Maw of Malmortius and Hexdrinker all ignore it.
That ranged cut is why you rarely see marksmen on it. The community has been arguing about it for years (an r/leagueoflegends thread on the ranged Shield Reaver cut makes the case that the 35% is why the item sits unbought). AP players have no answer at all. If you’re a mage staring down a Lulu, the counterplay is burst timing: wait out the shield, or hit the target when the shield is on cooldown.
Our rule on orders: Serpent’s Fang goes second or third item on lethality champions when the enemy has two or more shield sources, or one strong enchanter glued to their carry. Against a single Sterak’s Gage fighter it’s usually not worth the slot. That shield only procs at low health and your burst should be finishing the job anyway.
The Grievous Wounds items, by class
Every class gets an 800-gold component with the full 40% debuff, and that component is usually all you need. Whether to finish the legendary is its own decision.
Marksmen: Executioner’s Calling into Mortal Reminder
Crit ADCs complete Mortal Reminder as a late armor-penetration slot that happens to carry anti-heal. Buy Executioner’s Calling early when the enemy bot lane or diver heals (Soraka, Yuumi, Nami, or a Vladimir diving you), then finish it into Mortal Reminder around item three or four. Since 26.1 it costs 3000 instead of 3300, which made finishing it much easier to justify.
Fighters: Executioner’s Calling into Chempunk Chainsword
Chempunk is the tanky option: 450 health and 15 ability haste on top of the debuff. Riot called it “the weakest and least popular of the grievous wounds options” when they cut its price in 26.6, and our read is that it still only earns its slot into a specific healer. Top laners into Aatrox, Warwick, Dr. Mundo or Fiora get the most out of it.
Mages: Oblivion Orb into Morellonomicon
Oblivion Orb is the best-value anti-heal in the game for anyone who deals magic damage with abilities that hit several targets. A Brand, Zyra or Karthus applies it to half the enemy team per spell. Morellonomicon at 2850 gold gives 75 AP and 350 health, so finishing it is reasonable on battle mages. Burst mages can often sit on the Orb until late.
Tanks: Bramble Vest into Thornmail
Bramble Vest only triggers when you get auto-attacked, so it answers lifesteal carries and on-hit fighters. A Soraka healing from 550 range never touches it. Against a Master Yi, Tryndamere or Bloodthirster marksman, a tank jungler or support finishing Thornmail is one of the most efficient buys in the game.
For free anti-heal, Ignite reduces healing for its full burn duration. It’s the default pick into a lane where you need Grievous Wounds at level 1. Our summoner spells guide covers when it’s worth giving up Teleport or Exhaust.
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What to buy against which champion
This is the reference we use on orders. Match the enemy’s sustain source to the counter and the timing. “Component” means the 800-gold piece. “Finish” means completing the legendary.
| Enemy has | What they do | Buy | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lulu, Janna, Karma, Milio | Shields on their carry | Serpent’s Fang (AD); burst timing (AP) | Item 2-3 on lethality users |
| Seraphine, Sona | Heal and shield together | Oblivion Orb or Executioner’s for the heals, Serpent’s Fang only on assassins | Component after first item |
| Yuumi | Heals plus passive shield on one carry | Grievous component on whoever hits the carry most | By 15 minutes |
| Soraka | Big ranged heals, and her healing hits the whole team | Two sources: one AD, one AP or Ignite | Early, component on first or second back |
| Aatrox | Heals off his damage, more with his R | Executioner’s, Chempunk on fighters | Component on first back if he’s your laner |
| Vladimir | Pool and Q sustain | Oblivion Orb (mid), Executioner’s (others) | Component before first item vs lane Vlad |
| Dr. Mundo, Warwick, Briar | Huge self-heal in extended fights | Chempunk or Executioner’s, Thornmail for tanks | Before they finish their first tank item |
| Sylas, Swain | Heal from ability damage | Oblivion Orb or Executioner’s | Second back |
| Fiora, Master Yi, Tryndamere | Lifesteal, omnivamp and on-hit healing | Bramble Vest into Thornmail on tanks, Executioner’s on damage | When their core item lands |
| Bloodthirster or lifesteal marksman | Lifesteal and overheal shield | Thornmail on the frontline, Mortal Reminder on your ADC | Mid game, around their item 2-3 |
| Kaenic Rookern, Maw of Malmortius | Magic-only shields | Nothing counters these directly; do not buy Serpent’s Fang for them | n/a |
Timing is the second half of the call. For how the 800-gold component fits around your lane purchases, our breakdown of starting items and first-back buys by role shows where the gold usually is.
Recent patch changes to these items
The change that matters most is Mortal Reminder in the patch 26.1 notes: 300 gold cheaper, which makes it a real mid-game option on crit marksmen instead of a luxury buy.
| Item | Patch | Before | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortal Reminder | 26.1 | 3300g (450g combine), 35% armor pen | 3000g (150g combine), 30% armor pen |
| Chempunk Chainsword | 26.6 | 3100g (350g combine) | 3000g (250g combine) |
| Moonstone Renewer | 26.11 | Bounce heals double-dipped on heal and shield power and on Grievous Wounds or Shield Reaver | No double dip, so Grievous Wounds and Shield Reaver apply once to the bounce |
| Serpent’s Fang | 26.13 | Shield Reaver damage applied Omnivamp (bug) | Bug fixed |
| Morellonomicon | 25.10 | 2950g (500g combine) | 2850g (400g combine) |
Everything else, including the 40% Grievous Wounds value, the 3-second duration and Serpent’s Fang’s 50/35 split, hasn’t moved in a long time. Grievous Wounds has been a flat 40% since patch 13.3. Shield Reaver has sat at 50% melee and 35% ranged since patch 11.11.
When anti-heal is a trap
Grievous Wounds is the item every chat asks for, and plenty of the time it’s the wrong buy. The mistakes we see most on orders:
- Buying it before your first item when nobody in lane heals. An early 800-gold component delays your first item spike, and that spike is what wins lane. If the healer is in another lane, it can wait a back.
- Stacking three sources. It doesn’t stack. One source per damage type is plenty, and two total is the most a team needs. We took a Plat game where our team had Mortal Reminder, Morellonomicon and Thornmail into one Soraka, and nobody on our side had a real damage item at 25 minutes. The Soraka didn’t need to heal anyone.
- Buying it into out-of-combat sustain. Garen’s passive, Warmog’s and similar regen kick in after combat, when the 3-second debuff has already expired. The wiki calls this out directly. The answer is to keep them in combat.
- Buying it into shields. See the first section. Mortal Reminder into Lulu and Janna is paying for a debuff that never triggers on what’s saving their carry.
Where this guide falls short: the matchup table assumes a normal game. If the enemy healer is 0/6 and your team is 20 kills up, the best anti-heal is closing the game, and a damage item does that faster than any Grievous Wounds item. The counter is right most of the time, and a snowballing lead is the usual exception.
Frequently asked questions
What is the anti-shield item in LoL?
Serpent’s Fang, and it’s the only one. It costs 2500 gold for 55 AD and 15 lethality, and its Shield Reaver passive cuts shields by 50% for melee users and 35% for ranged users for 3 seconds. There is no AP anti-shield item on the current patch.
Does Grievous Wounds reduce shields?
No. Grievous Wounds reduces healing and health regeneration by 40% and nothing else. Only Serpent’s Fang reduces shields.
Does Grievous Wounds stack?
No. Two sources still give 40%. The durations overlap, so a second item on another player only helps if the first source can’t reach the healer.
What is the cheapest anti-heal item in League?
Executioner’s Calling, Oblivion Orb and Bramble Vest are all 800 gold and all apply the full 40% Grievous Wounds. Ignite is free, but it costs you a summoner spell slot.
Does Serpent’s Fang work on magic shields?
No. Shields that only block magic damage, like the ones from Kaenic Rookern, Maw of Malmortius and Hexdrinker, are unaffected. It works on every other shield type, including physical damage shields.
When should I buy anti-heal in League of Legends?
Buy the 800-gold component on the back after your first core item, or before it if the healer is your direct lane opponent. Finish the full item only when the healer is winning fights for them, usually from item three onward.
Serpent’s Fang answers shields, Grievous Wounds answers healing, one source per damage type covers it, and the component is usually enough. Buy it against the enemy whose sustain is deciding fights. If you’d rather hand the whole ladder grind to someone who makes these calls every game, our boosters run Emerald, Diamond and Master climbs on your schedule, with solo or duo queue options.
