Sylas vs Riven Counter Pick
Matchup Summary
What the Data Means
Sylas is a mage/assassin hybrid, Riven a fighter/assassin hybrid, and they meet in the Mid lane. Over 582 ranked games on patch 16.13.1, Sylas closes out 44.2% of them. A deficit of 5.8 points is what earns Riven its counter flag in this matchup.
Damage types split — magic from Sylas, physical from Riven — making that first resistance a real decision. Level-one bases: Sylas 600 HP / 29 armour / 32 MR, Riven 630 / 33 / 32. Level 18 armour lands at 117 for Sylas and 108 for Riven.
The exchange usually opens with Abscond / Abduct (E) or Broken Wings (Q). Hijack and Blade of the Exile are the two buttons that end the exchange outright. Note the resource bars too: Mana versus None.
Both champions are melee (Sylas at 175, Riven at 125), so the lane is decided by cooldowns rather than reach.
A 8/10 difficulty rating on Riven, against 5/10, means the sample includes plenty of players still learning it. The 582-game sample behind Sylas versus Riven is data rather than opinion.
FAQ
No — current data marks this as a counter matchup: Riven has the statistical edge. Sylas wins 44.2% of the recorded games.
44.2% from Sylas's perspective, measured on patch 16.13.1.
582 ranked games at Emerald rank and above, across all regions.
The current Sylas build — items, runes and skill order from the same data set — is on the Sylas build page.