Champions with Execute Abilities in League of Legends

Execute is a powerful mechanic in League of Legends that allows you to take down an enemy champion below a certain percentage of health regardless of how much armor and magic resistance they have.

In general, execute abilities have base damage and scale with health as well as AP or AD, depending on the champion that possesses the execute mechanic.

And you can always see whether you can execute an opponent based on whether their health bar is glowing red when you play an execute champion.

In this post, I’ll go through the 3 key champions in League of Legends with execute abilities.

But down below I’ll also list the champions with abilities similar to executes because they deal damage based on the target’s missing health.

So let’s begin.

Table of Contents

These Are the Champions with Executes in LoL:

1. Pyke – R, Death from Below

Pyke’s ultimate, Death from Below, is the most popular execute ability in League of Legends. And ever since he was added to the game he’s been wreaking havoc with it on Summoner’s Rift.

The way Pyke’s R works is that it’s a skill shot you have to aim at the ground. And all enemy champions below a certain percentage of HP in that area are executed upon the “X” animation.

The ability scales with Pyke’s AD and lethality.

But the great thing about Death from Below is that if you successfully execute even a single enemy champion, you reset the ability’s cooldown and you can use it again on the next enemy.

What this does is that it allows Pyke to carry teamfights only with his R button. All his teammates need to do is apply enough damage and Pyke can finish off all 5 of the opponents with Death from Below.

And because Pyke’s a support, when he executes an enemy with his R, he also grants gold to his allies. So, Pyke can never KS from his ADC!

Pyke’s execute is such a great spell that Riot Games made a special animation for it in his Empyrean skin. When Empyrean Pyke scores a pentakill with his R, he puts the entire Summoner’s Rift underwater.

And if you want to play him, here are the best ADC partners for Pyke in LoL.

2. Cho’Gath – R, Feast

Cho’Gath’s execute isn’t as spectacular as that of Pyke but it fits his ability kit perfectly.

Cho’s R, Feast, is a point-click ability that does lots of true damage to monsters and minions.

But when used against enemy champions, Feast deals high magic damage and executes targets below a certain percentage of HP.

The way the damage of Feast is calculated is based on Cho’Gath’s total AP as well as his bonus health.

So, no matter whether Cho goes for a full AP build or a full tank build, his ultimate gets stronger anyway.

Now, there’s another mechanic tied with Feast – stacks. When Cho’Gath executes enemy champions, minions, and neutral monsters, she also gains stacks. These stacks increase his size and grant him even more health.

Here’s my in-depth guide on how Cho’Gath Feast stacks work and how you can make him as big as possible.

3. Urgot – R, Fear Beyond Death

And the third champion that can execute his enemies with his ultimate is Urgot with Fear Beyond Death.

Unlike the other two champions on this list, Urgot’s R is a ranged spell that needs to be reactivated in order to execute the target. With the first cast, Urgot deals a bunch of physical damage.

And with the second cast, he executes the target if they’re on 25% HP or lower.

Now, Urgot’s execute mechanic can’t be improved by building more damage or health. The 25% ratio stays throughout the game.

However, if you have more AD on Urgot, the initial cast of Fear Beyond Death will do more damage which directly helps you lower the target’s HP more and execute them sooner.

Urgot’s R counters many tanks and it is what this champion an exceptional top lane pick.

The Best Champions with Execute-like Abilities

As I mentioned above, these champions don’t have an “official” execute ability, meaning they don’t see an indicator on their target’s health bar when they can safely execute them.

Instead, their execution abilities work based on how much missing health their targets have.

So, the lower their enemies are the more damage their abilities do. And if the target has less than 20% HP, for example, their ability might take them down instantly.

Here are the best champions with such abilities in League of Legends:

Akali – R, Perfect Execution
Akshan – R, Comeuppance
Evelynn – R, Last Caress
Garen – R, Demacian Justice
Jinx – R, Super Mega Death Rocket!
Lee Sin – R, Dragon’s Rage
Pantheon – Q, Comet Spear
Rek’Sai – R, Void Rush
Qiyana – R, Supreme Display of Talent
Riven – R, Blade of the Exile/Wind Slash
Veigar – R, Primordial Burst
Viego – R, Heartbreaker

Some champions deal so much damage when their target is on low HP that it’s not really clear why their ability isn’t categorized as execute in LoL.

For example, Veigar’s R is an ability that almost always kills an enemy champion below 30% HP.

It can even one-shot a squishy opponent when they’re around 50% health, although it doesn’t have an execute indicator like Pyke’s or Cho’Gath’s ultimates.

Riot Games might change their minds in the future and update this mechanic so that we all know when we can safely use these execute-like abilities on our targets.

Items That Execute Champions in LoL

Currently, the only item that has an execute effect in League of Legends is The Collector.

The Collector is an AD item that allows you to execute an enemy champion when you deal damage to them below 5% HP. But it doesn’t really matter whether you deal physical or magic damage since the execute mechanic works even on AP champions such as Malzahar.

5% HP isn’t much in League of Legends and the execute from The Collector isn’t always as impactful. However, this item works super well against tanks and on champions that need such execute in order to secure more kills.

The most common users of The Collector are AD mid laners such as Zed and Qiyana, and ADCs such as Jhin and Lucian.

Conclusion

As you can see, execute abilities in League of Legends are usually reserved for the “R” button. They’re the most powerful cooldowns these champions have, so it’s common that they are ultimate abilities.

I’d definitely advise you to try out these champions in solo queue because execute is a great tool for dominating in LoL!

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Guides, League of Legends,

Last Update: March 2, 2024

Champions with Execute Abilities in League of Legends