League of Legends: 10 Best Tank Items

Tanks play a crucial role in League of Legends, serving as the frontline that absorbs damage and protects their teammates during team fights and skirmishes. To be an effective tank, having the right items in your build is essential, as they enhance your durability, crowd control, and utility. Whether you’re looking to dominate the top lane, jungle, or play a tank support, choosing the best items can make or break your impact in the game. In this article, we’ll explore the 10 best tank items in League of Legends and how they can help you withstand even the toughest battles.

#10: Warmog’s Armor

Warmog’s Armor is a must-have for tanks seeking unmatched health regeneration and durability. This item provides a massive boost to health and a unique passive called Warmog’s Heart, which regenerates 5% of your maximum health every second if you have at least 1100 bonus health. This makes it perfect for sustaining in extended team fights or quickly recovering after skirmishes without needing to recall.

Ideal for champions like Cho’Gath, Dr. Mundo, or Sion, Warmog’s Armor is especially powerful in games where poke damage is prevalent, allowing you to tank effectively while consistently staying at full health.

#9: Gargoyle Stoneplate

Gargoyle Stoneplate is a core item for tanks looking to maximize their survivability in team fights. This item grants bonus armor and magic resistance that scale based on nearby enemy champions, making it incredibly effective when diving into the thick of battle. Its Active – Fortify temporarily increases your maximum health but reduces the damage you deal, allowing you to soak up massive amounts of damage without falling.

This item shines on champions like Malphite, Rammus, or Leona, who thrive in the middle of chaotic engagements. Whether you’re initiating fights or protecting your team, Gargoyle Stoneplate ensures you can withstand heavy punishment while holding the enemy’s attention.

#8: Abyssal Mask

Abyssal Mask is an essential tank item for champions who want to bolster their magic resistance while enhancing their team’s magic damage output. This item not only increases health and magic resistance but also amplifies the damage enemies take from magic damage sources when they are nearby. The Eternity passive also restores a portion of mana and health when you take or deal damage, adding extra sustain in prolonged fights.

This item works exceptionally well on champions like Ornn, Amumu, or Maokai, who often find themselves in close quarters with multiple enemies. If your team composition relies on magic damage or you’re facing heavy AP threats, Abyssal Mask is the perfect pick to turn fights in your favor.

#7: Thornmail

Thornmail is a must-have tank item when facing teams with heavy auto-attackers or healing champions. This item grants a significant boost to armor and health while reflecting a portion of incoming basic attack damage back to attackers. Its passive, Thorns, applies Grievous Wounds to enemies, reducing their healing and regeneration, which makes it invaluable against champions like Aatrox, Soraka, or Yuumi.

The Bramble Vest component ensures that even in the early game, you can counter healing-heavy opponents effectively. Thornmail shines on champions who thrive on being in the middle of the fight, such as Malphite, Rammus, or Leona, as it maximizes their ability to disrupt and punish enemy carries while offering strong defensive stats.

#6: Randuin’s Omen

Randuin’s Omen is a staple tank item designed to counter teams with high critical strike damage and attack speed. This item provides a strong mix of armor and health, making it effective against physical damage dealers. Its Rock Solid passive reduces the damage taken from critical strikes, significantly reducing the impact of champions like Yasuo, Yone, or Jhin.

The item’s active ability, Humility, is another standout feature, as it slows nearby enemies’ attack speed and movement speed when activated. This makes Randuin’s Omen an excellent tool for peeling for your carries or disrupting an enemy dive.

It works particularly well on champions like Sejuani, Nautilus, or Malphite, who need to soak up damage while controlling the battlefield. Against AD-heavy or crit-focused teams, Randuin’s Omen becomes an indispensable addition to any tank’s arsenal.

#5: Dead Man’s Plate

Dead Man’s Plate is a versatile tank item that combines durability with mobility, making it a great choice for tanks who need to engage or chase down enemies. This item grants bonus health and armor, enhancing your ability to withstand physical damage, while its unique Shipwrecker passive adds momentum-based bonuses to movement and attacks.

As you move, Dead Man’s Plate builds stacks of momentum, granting increased movement speed. When fully stacked, your next basic attack deals bonus physical damage, slows the target, and consumes the momentum. This combination makes it perfect for initiating fights or locking down fleeing enemies.

Dead Man’s Plate shines on champions like Volibear, Shen, and Sion, who can make the most of its mix of tankiness and utility. Whether you’re closing the gap on a squishy backline or peeling for your carries, Dead Man’s Plate provides the speed and impact you need to dominate the battlefield.

#4: Jak’Sho, The Protean

Jak’Sho, The Protean is a must-have tank item for champions who thrive in extended team fights. This mythic item provides an excellent mix of durability and scaling power, offering bonus health, magic resist, armor, and ability haste to make you a solid frontline presence. What sets Jak’Sho apart is its unique Voidborn Resilience passive, which rewards you for staying in combat.

As you fight, Jak’Sho gradually stacks up, increasing your resistances for each second spent in combat. Upon reaching max stacks, the item unleashes an aura that drains nearby enemies’ health while healing you for a portion of the damage dealt. This makes Jak’Sho an excellent choice for champions who excel in prolonged skirmishes or need to soak up massive amounts of damage in chaotic fights.

Jak’Sho is particularly effective on bruiser tanks like Zac, Ornn, and Dr. Mundo, who can stay in the thick of battle while benefiting from the item’s sustain and resistances. With Jak’Sho, you’ll be able to anchor your team during crucial fights, outlasting opponents and creating opportunities for your carries to shine.

#3: Force of Nature

Force of Nature is a staple tank item for champions who need to mitigate heavy magic damage while maintaining mobility. This item provides a significant boost to health, magic resistance, and movement speed, making it an excellent choice for tanks and bruisers alike.

The defining feature of Force of Nature is its passive Absorb, which grants stacks each time you take magic damage from enemy abilities. At maximum stacks, the item’s second passive, Dissipate, reduces incoming magic damage by a substantial percentage, making you exceptionally durable against ability-reliant champions.

Force of Nature is particularly effective against magic-heavy team compositions or when facing powerful AP champions like Cassiopeia, Ryze, or Viktor. It’s also an excellent complement to tanks like Malphite, Cho’Gath, and Sejuani, who thrive in the frontline but need extra magic resistance to withstand poke or burst damage.

By incorporating Force of Nature into your build, you’ll not only gain the resilience to survive high-pressure team fights but also the speed to reposition effectively, making it a well-rounded defensive choice for most tanks.

#2: Kaenic Rookern

Kaenic Rookern is a versatile tank item designed to bolster survivability and provide utility during extended team fights. This item grants substantial health, armor, and magic resistance, making it an exceptional all-around choice for frontline champions who need to endure both physical and magic damage.

Its unique passive, Bulwark, amplifies your ability to protect your team. When nearby allies are targeted by crowd control effects, Kaenic Rookern provides a brief shield to mitigate incoming damage. Additionally, its Fortified Barrier effect reduces all incoming damage for a short duration when you are surrounded by multiple enemies, allowing you to thrive even when outnumbered.

Kaenic Rookern is ideal for champions who excel in protecting their teammates, such as Leona, Braum, and Alistar, as it allows them to mitigate threats while providing added durability. It’s especially effective in scenarios where you’re diving into the enemy backline or shielding allies from burst-heavy champions.

By equipping Kaenic Rookern, tanks can transform into unyielding protectors, absorbing damage and turning the tide of team fights, ensuring both themselves and their team survive critical moments.

#1: Hollow Radiance

Hollow Radiance is a premier tank item in League of Legends, offering an unrivaled mix of survivability and team-focused utility. This item provides significant health, armor, and magic resistance, making it an essential choice for champions who aim to endure prolonged battles and shield their team from harm.

The standout feature of Hollow Radiance is its Radiant Core passive, which emits an aura that grants nearby allies bonus resistances and a gradual shield that scales with the user’s maximum health. This allows tanks to act as both a defensive anchor and a source of protection for their teammates during intense team fights. Its active ability, Light of Redemption, provides a burst shield to nearby allies, mitigating burst damage and turning the tide of critical engagements.

Hollow Radiance synergizes perfectly with champions that thrive in the middle of fights, such as Maokai, Nautilus, and Sejuani, offering them the tools to withstand focus fire while keeping their team alive. It excels in situations where the enemy team relies heavily on burst damage or sustained team fight pressure.

Equipping Hollow Radiance ensures that you become an unshakable frontline presence, protecting allies and disrupting enemies with unparalleled resilience and game-changing utility. It is the ultimate choice for tanks who want to lead their team to victory.

Conclusion

In League of Legends, tank items are essential for creating durable champions capable of absorbing damage, protecting their teammates, and controlling the flow of battles. From sustain-focused items like Warmog’s Armor to utility-packed options such as Hollow Radiance, the right tank items can significantly impact your performance and your team’s success.

By selecting and building these top-tier tank items strategically, you can become an unstoppable force on the Rift, shielding your team from harm and turning the tide of team fights. Whether you’re a frontliner engaging the enemy or a peeling tank protecting your carries, these items ensure you remain a cornerstone of your team’s strategy. With these powerful tools at your disposal, you’ll dominate as the unyielding wall your team can always count on.