Is Sima Yi good in Honor of Kings?

Current HOKMeta data lists Sima Yi as Tier A, with 52.7% win rate and 0.8% pick rate. Sima Yi is worth playing if your team needs reliable Jungling pressure, but you should avoid blind-picking into Alessio, Arli, Lady Zhen without peel or defensive item planning.

How do you play Sima Yi in teamfights?

In teamfights, Sima Yi should respect enemy engage range first, then play around the hero's Assassin job: dealing damage, protecting carries, or entering after key control is used. When behind, clear waves and preserve cooldowns instead of face-checking fog.

AJungling

Sima Yi Build, Items, Arcana & Counters

Sima Yi is a Tier A Jungling pick. Get the best build, core items, arcana, battle spell, counters, and tool-backed item decisions.

WR 52.7%Pick 0.8%Ban 0.2%

Build answer

Sima Yi best build for S15 (June 2026)

International server

Updated: 2026-07-20

Reviewed by: HOKMeta

Role, lane, difficulty

Jungling · Assassin · Tier A · Medium

Current patch rates

52.7% WR · 0.8% Pick · 0.2% Ban

Core 3 items

Augur's Word, Runeblade, Staves of Sorcery

Best arcana

Lvl 5: Fate, Lvl 5: Nightmare, Lvl 5: Avarice

Battle spell

Smite

Best into

Lu Bu, Wuyan, Menki

Watch out for

Alessio, Arli, Lady Zhen

Sima Yi TL;DR

Tier A52.7% WRJungling

Sima Yi: Gains vision of casters within a range of 2000.

Fast conclusion

Sima Yi is a Tier A Jungling pick with 52.7% win rate.

Shadow Stings → Barren Lands → Death Descends → weave basic attacks

Core 3 items

Augur's Word

Runeblade

Staves of Sorcery

Pick when

Enemy carries lack reliable peel, and your side lanes can help secure early jungle tempo.

Avoid when

Main threats: Alessio, Arli, Lady Zhen.

Open full counter pageMatchup notes, strong targets, and heroes that punish Sima Yi.

Current patch decision guide

How to decide if Sima Yi is the right pick

Pick Sima Yi if

Pick Sima Yi when your team needs a Tier A Jungling option and the draft gives this hero enough space to play around core cooldowns.

Avoid Sima Yi if

Avoid Sima Yi when the enemy composition directly attacks the hero's main weakness or your team cannot support the Jungling game plan.

Power spikes

First completed core item: check whether the hero can now contest lane or jungle tempo.
Two to three item point: decide whether to group for objectives or keep farming toward the late-game plan.
Final defensive or damage item: adapt to the enemy threat instead of following the build blindly.

Build decision

Start from the recommended build, then adjust based on whether the enemy is forcing burst survival, anti-tank damage, anti-heal, or safer positioning.

Matchup logic

Use the counter page and build compare tool together: first identify the threat, then test whether damage, defense, or utility gives the better answer.

Common mistakes

Following the build without checking the enemy draft.

Taking fights before the first meaningful item spike.

Ignoring wave state and vision before rotating.

30-day trend

Last 30 days of win rate, pick rate, and ban rate

Use daily snapshots to see whether this hero is heating up, cooling down, or simply staying popular without converting that attention into wins.

Win rate

Current 52.66%

7d change +0.10 pts

30d change +1.37 pts

Pick rate

Current 0.77%

7d change -0.11 pts

30d change +0.16 pts

Ban rate

Current 0.18%

7d change -0.05 pts

30d change +0.09 pts

Trend read

Sima Yi currently sits at 52.66% win rate, with a 30-day move of +1.37 pts and a 7-day move of +0.10 pts.

Win rate is climbing by +1.37 pts.

Pick rate is climbing by +0.16 pts.

Ban rate is climbing by +0.09 pts.

Patch reason

S15: Skill Mechanics Upgraded

Tools

Test Sima Yi damage and item builds

Use the calculator for combo damage, or compare two item builds side by side before changing your ranked setup.

Damage calculator Compare builds

Best Build for Sima Yi

End-game item order with gold costs and slot notes. Purchase path may differ in-match.

Build philosophy

Sima Yi benefits from Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration — match items and runes to kit scaling.

Passive: Gains vision of casters within range. Using this skill will enhance his Basic Attack and deal damage.

Physical attackCooldown reductionPenetration

Arcana: Prioritize runes that boost Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration for this hero's passive and skill scaling.

4 presets — switch by draft, lane, or CN meta. Default matches Jungling when available.

Recommended item build order
#	Item	Gold	Stats	Why
1	Augur's Word	2,150g	MATK +140, MP +450, HP +900 Offense & defense	Fits Magic attack priority — Passive - Hero's Reward — Leveling up restores 20% of max Health and max Mana over 3s. After reaching max level, this effect triggers once every 45s.
2	Runeblade	2,160g	MATK +130, CDR +10%, MSPD +5% Monster kills boost MATK	Fits Cooldown reduction priority — Requires Smite to purchase. Reduces damage from monsters by 25% and grants 30% more EXP and 20% more Gold from monsters.
3	Staves of Sorcery	2,080g	MATK +180, HP +600, MSPD +7.5% Enhances BAs	Fits On-hit priority — Passive - Savagery — The next Basic Attack within 5s after casting a skill deals (180–360 + 40% {ap}) extra magical damage.
4	Void Staff	2,040g	MATK +210, HP +500, CDR +5% Anti-tank	Fits Cooldown reduction priority — Passive - Devastation — Magical Pierce +45%
5	Destiny	2,060g	PATK +75, ASPD +15%, HP +500 Negates fatal damage	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Dark Curtain — When taking fatal damage, instead of dying immediately, the hero gains invincibility and a 15% Attack Speed and Movement Speed increase for 1s (0.75s for ranged heroes). After equipping this item, its effect duration increases by 0.01s every 5s, up to a maximum of 0.5s.
6	Insatiable Tome	2,060g	MATK +160, Magical Lifesteal +24%, HP +750 Lifesteal increases CDR	Fits Cooldown reduction priority — Passive - Arcane Conversion — Every 2% Magical Lifesteal grants an extra 1% Cooldown Reduction.

Best Arcana & Spells

Arcana and battle spell setup
Slot	Choice	Effect
Primary	Fate	Recommended for Assassin Jungling
Spell	Smite	Adjust Purify/Execute based on enemy dive.

Abilities

Skill Order

Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Death Descends (max Skill 2 first)

Barren Lands provides mobility or stick—max first. Shadow Stings second for damage. Death Descends on every level.

Passive

Quiet Whispers

Gains vision of casters within range. Using this skill will enhance his Basic Attack and deal damage.

Skill 1

Shadow Stings

Summons an untargetable spirit to increase Movement Speed, gaining crowd control immunity and dealing damage after passing through an enemy.

Skill 2

Barren Lands

Sima Yi damages and silences enemies in the surrounding area. Passive: Upon taking damage, Sima Yi recovers Health in proportion to the damage.

Ultimate

Death Descends

Releases a shockwave over the target area, dealing damage to enemies upon landing.

Combos

1. Standard trade
Shadow Stings → Barren Lands → Death Descends → weave basic attacks
When: Jungling skirmish or objective fight
2. All-in
Death Descends after full rotation when Flash is down
When: Gank or backline dive with team CC

Counters & Matchups

🏛️ Camp Official Counter Data

Official counter reference from Camp HOK rank statistics.

Sima Yi is strong into

Pick Sima Yi when the enemy drafts these heroes.

Sima Yi struggles into

Avoid Sima Yi or ban these when they appear on the enemy team.

Full counter analysis →

vs Similar Heroes

Sima Yi vs Wukong (Assassin, Tier S): Wukong is 1.3% pick / 49.7% WR. Wukong wins 3.5% more often globally. Choose Sima Yi when you need Jungling identity; choose Wukong for Jungling comfort.
Sima Yi vs Musashi (Assassin, Tier A): Musashi is 1.1% pick / 50.7% WR. Musashi wins 4.5% more often globally. Choose Sima Yi when you need Jungling identity; choose Musashi for Jungling comfort.

Playstyle & Ranked Tips

Laning Phase

Clear to level four, then gank the lane with the least escape. Secure Tyrant when your bot or mid has crash wave.

Teamfight Role

Wait for CC from your team, then dive carry with full combo. Exit with reset or flash if focus fired.

High Rank (Diamond+)

Sima Yi sits at Tier B globally (46.2% WR). In high rank, pick only into favorable matchups or when you have a dedicated pocket pick. Below 49% global WR — high-rank players often avoid unless compensating for team comp.

Related decisions

Keep researching Sima Yi

Sima Yi full guide

Lane plan, teamfight rules, ranked mistakes, and matchup notes.

Sima Yi counters

Best counter picks, matchup notes, and draft risks.

Sima Yi damage calculator

Test item damage against marksman, mage, fighter, and tank templates.

Sima Yi build compare

Compare two item builds and get matchup-specific conclusions.

Best Assassin heroes

Compare this pick with other heroes in the same role.

Sima Yi Build 2026 FAQ

Quick answers for Sima Yi builds, arcana, counters, lane choice, and ranked value.

What is the best Sima Yi build in 2026?

The best Sima Yi build in 2026 uses Augur's Word, Runeblade, Staves of Sorcery, Void Staff, Destiny, Insatiable Tome. Play Sima Yi in Jungling, take Lvl 5: Fate, Lvl 5: Nightmare, Lvl 5: Avarice arcana, and usually run Smite. This recommendation is aligned with S15 (June 2026) and the 2026-07-20 HOKMeta data snapshot.

What is the best arcana for Sima Yi?

The best Sima Yi arcana setup is Lvl 5: Fate, Lvl 5: Nightmare, Lvl 5: Avarice. Keep the core damage arcana first, then adjust movement speed, pierce, or sustain only when the matchup makes your lane unsafe.

What should Sima Yi build first?

Sima Yi usually wants Augur's Word first because the first item should stabilize Jungling clear speed, trading power, or tempo. If the lane is unsafe, adjust boots or a small defensive component first, but do not delay the core damage curve too long.

What should Sima Yi build against tanks?

Use the HOKMeta damage calculator or build compare tool to test penetration, sustained damage, and survivability against tank templates. The best anti-tank item choice depends on whether Sima Yi can keep attacking safely or needs a defensive item to survive the first engage.

Who counters Sima Yi?

Sima Yi is most vulnerable to Alessio, Arli, Lady Zhen. Draft peel, respect engage range, and adjust items when the enemy lineup can dive or chain crowd control.

What lane does Sima Yi play?

Sima Yi is mainly played as a Assassin in Jungling. In ranked games, prioritize a stable farm pattern and only rotate early when the wave state keeps your economy safe.