MacroMind matchup data: real ranked games, not opinions
Varus vs Swain
How often does Varus beat Swain in ADC?
Varus into Swain in ADC: 44% observed win rate across 486 ranked games.
Global ranked sample: games from every region and every rank pooled together, not one server's stats. Data runs through patch 26.12; curves updated 2026-08-07.
By 15 minutes the median game has Varus ahead by 157 gold.
Varus at 15:00
- Gold: +157
- CS: +4
- XP: -92
Typical gap to Swain, from 486 games that reached 15:00.
Does Varus counter Swain?
The count says no. Swain holds 56% of 486 ranked ADC games here. The lane is still winnable. Varus wins it back from the spots below, so learn which ones swing it before you lock in Varus against Swain, and play for those first.
Beating Swain: the Varus game plan
A gold lead at 10:00 puts Varus at 53% across 262 games. Flip the lead and Varus falls to 34% across 224.
| The spot | Win rate | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Ahead in gold at 10:00 | 53% | 262 |
| Behind in gold at 10:00 | 34% | 224 |
| First blood | 50% | 232 |
| +kills at 10:00 | 54% | 225 |
| +CS at 10:00 | 49% | 289 |
| 0 deaths at 10:00 | 61% | 88 |
Someone usually dies here around 4:51 in the median game, and level 6 lands near 7:33. Until your spike is online, respect the all-in.
Varus's ADC build, with receipts
Into Swain specifically, Varus finishes Youmuu's Ghostblade first most often: 50.0% over 80 games of this matchup.
The most-finished Varus core is Statikk Shiv, Guinsoo's Rageblade, Terminus: 52.3% across 4,612 games when all three got done. All matchups, patches 26.1-26.12.
Most games start Doran's Blade + Health Potion; the first finished item is usually Youmuu's Ghostblade (10,588 games).
Skill plan: Varus players max Q first and take E at level 1.