Quick answer (22 October 2026, Patch 2.2.16a, Season 42 "Starward Decade"): A strong community-backed Kagura build right now is Arcane Boots, Lightning Truncheon, Divine Glaive, Holy Crystal, Wishing Lantern and Blood Wings, with Genius Wand as the swap against tanky lineups. Run the Mage emblem with Rupture, Weapon Master and Lethal Ignition, and take Flameshot as your battle spell. Max Skill 1 first, and treat Skill 2 as your commit-or-escape button, never as your opener.
Kagura sits at a 51.72% ranked win rate (A-tier) on mlbbhub for Patch 2.2.16a, with a 0.68% pick rate and a 1.11% ban rate. She's rarely picked and rarely banned, and the win rate holds across every rank bracket the tracker splits out.
Is Kagura good in Season 42?
Yes, if you can execute her. She's a reliable A-tier mid laner whose win rate holds steady from Legend all the way to Mythical Glory.
Kagura got a small, targeted buff in Patch 2.2.16, the Season 42 patch that went live on 16 September 2026. Here's the designers' note and the change, quoted from the in-game patch text mirrored on Liquipedia:
"Improved the feel of controlling the Seimei Umbrella when Kagura repositions in battle."
"New Effect: The Seimei Umbrella's Movement Speed now increases based on the distance traveled per movement."
In practice, long umbrella throws now arrive faster, so enemies get less time to step out of a long Skill 1 poke and your reposition-then-teleport sequence comes together sooner. Patch 2.2.16a (14 October 2026) didn't touch her. It only changed Aulus, Hirara, Eudora, Rafaela and Kalea (full list in our MLBB patch notes).
Her current numbers, split by rank on mlbbhub (refreshed 22 October 2026):
| Rank bracket | Win rate | Pick rate |
|---|---|---|
| Epic | 51.10% | 0.30% |
| Legend | 52.19% | 0.46% |
| Mythic | 51.87% | 0.60% |
| Mythical Honor | 51.89% | 0.76% |
| Mythical Glory+ | 51.23% | 1.04% |
| All ranks | 51.72% | 0.68% |
mlbb.io (data updated 21 October) agrees: A-tier, 51.7% win rate, 0.6% pick and 1.0% ban. Look at the pattern: her pick rate more than triples between Epic and Mythical Glory+. High-rank players pick her far more often, and they still win above 51%. In our mid lane heroes ranking she sits just behind Valir and Gord among the control mages. The current MLBB tier list places her in the same band.
How does Kagura's kit work?
Kagura, "Onmyouji Master", is a Mid Lane Mage (specialty Poke/Finisher) who uses mana. Her whole kit hinges on one object, the Seimei Umbrella. Skill 1 always sends it out, but Skill 2 and her ultimate do completely different things depending on whether the umbrella is in her hand or out on the ground. The values below come from the official skill text, which Liquipedia's Kagura page and mlbbhub show identically.
| Skill | Umbrella in hand | Umbrella on the ground | Key numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yin Yang Gathering (passive) | — | When she retrieves the umbrella: shield, 0.5s stun and 60% slow for 1s on nearby enemies | CD 4.5s |
| Seimei Umbrella Open (Skill 1) | Sends the umbrella to a target spot, damaging and slowing (60%, 0.5s) everything in its path | Same, which repositions the umbrella | 365–590 (+105% Total Magic Power), CD 5s → 3.5s, deals 130% to non-heroes |
| Rasho Umbrella Flee (Skill 2) | Removes all debuffs and leaps, leaving the umbrella behind | Teleports to the umbrella and retrieves it, damaging nearby enemies | 300–400 (+90% TMP) on the teleport, CD 12s → 9.5s |
| Yin Yang Overturn (Ultimate) | Damages and knocks back nearby enemies, 60% slow | Resets Skill 1's cooldown, damages and slows around the umbrella, then after 1.5s pulls enemy heroes into it | Pull hit 480–720 (+155% TMP), CD 36/33/30s |
The shield value on her passive isn't printed above because the trackers disagree on it, and we won't publish a number we can't confirm.
Her current ultimate numbers date from Patch 2.1.61 (11 March 2026), when Moonton rebalanced mid-lane mages. Kagura's line read: "enhanced early-game laning and wave clearing; reduced Ultimate cooldown and damage." Skill 1 base damage rose from 315–590 to 365–590 and its mana cost fell. The ultimate's cooldown dropped from 43–33s to 36–30s, while the pull's extra damage fell from 550–800 (+170%) to 480–720 (+155%). You get more umbrella fights per game, each one slightly less lethal.
What is the best Kagura build in Season 42?
mlbbhub's curated Kagura builds are flagged on the site as reviewed on Patch 2.1.67 (May 2026), which is now old. The live picture comes from the five community Kagura builds submitted to mlbb.io between 13 August and 20 October 2026. Five builds is a small sample and the submissions carry no match results, so treat this as a community-derived starting point, not proof of what wins. Where they agree, though, they agree hard:
| Slot | Item | Cost | Why it's there | Community builds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcane Boots | 690 | +10 Magic Penetration, +40 Movement Speed | 4 of 5 |
| 2 | Lightning Truncheon (power spike) | 2,250 | +75 MP, +400 Mana, 10% CDR; Resonate: every 6s your next damaging skill deals 120% of Magic Power as bonus damage to up to 3 enemies | 4 of 5 |
| 3 | Divine Glaive | 1,970 | +60 MP, 40% Magic Penetration, plus up to 20% more against high Magic Defense | 4 of 5 |
| 4 | Holy Crystal | 3,000 | +165 MP and 21–35% extra Magic Power, scaling with level | 5 of 5 |
| 5 | Wishing Lantern | 2,250 | +75 MP, +400 Mana, 10% CDR; every 800 magic damage to a hero summons a hit for 10% of their current HP | 4 of 5 |
| 6 | Blood Wings | 2,100 | +90 MP and a regenerating shield that also grants Movement Speed | 3 of 5 |
Total: 12,260 gold. Item stats and costs come from mlbbhub's item pages, fetched 22 October 2026: Lightning Truncheon, Divine Glaive, Holy Crystal, Wishing Lantern and Blood Wings.
Two things stand out in that list:
- Holy Crystal is the only item in all five builds. Its 21–35% Magic Power multiplier is the one purchase every submitter agreed on.
- Wishing Lantern replaces the old Clock of Destiny slot. mlbbhub's older curated build ran Clock of Destiny second, but four of the five current community builds take Lantern instead. Lantern's current-HP hits punish the tanks and fighters who dive Kagura, and it still carries the mana and CDR that Clock used to provide.
Situational swaps
- Genius Wand (2,000 g) instead of Wishing Lantern when the enemy stacks Magic Defense. It shreds Magic Defense with every hit, stacking up to 3 times. mlbb.io lists it as the swap "vs stacked resistances" (40% of builds).
- Clock of Destiny (2,030 g) as your second item if you keep running out of mana or getting picked off in lane. It adds 400 HP and a self-heal below 50% HP. This is mlbbhub's curated "Mid Clock Burst" path.
- Winter Crown (1,910 g) instead of Blood Wings against a single burst threat. Its active freezes you, untargetable, for 2s on a 100s cooldown, which is enough to waste a full assassin combo.
- Enchanted Talisman as a temporary third item if your mana runs dry in the 12–18 minute window. mlbbhub suggests selling it later for Holy Crystal.
What emblem and battle spell should Kagura use?
Emblem: Mage, with Rupture, Weapon Master and Lethal Ignition. That's mlbbhub's curated pick. The mlbb.io community sample runs the same three talents most often (in 3, 4 and 4 of the 5 builds), though its most common emblem set is Assassin, in just 2 of the 5 builds. The sample is split, so Mage stays the default here and Assassin is a valid alternative.
- Rupture (Tier 1) adds penetration, which stacks with Arcane Boots and Divine Glaive.
- Weapon Master (Tier 2) amplifies the stats you get from items, which is why it fits a build this item-heavy.
- Lethal Ignition (Tier 3) fires extra damage when you land several big hits in a short window. A single Kagura rotation (Skill 1, the pull, the Skill 2 teleport and the passive stun) can trigger it on one target in a few seconds.
Our MLBB emblem guide explains how the three talent tiers work.
Battle spell: Flameshot. All five community builds on mlbb.io take it. It finishes low-HP targets after a pull and adds poke from long range. mlbbhub's curated build takes Flicker instead. Switch to Flicker into dive-heavy drafts (Lancelot, Ling, Saber), because Skill 2 is Kagura's only other escape and its cooldown is long. The battle spells guide covers the trade-off in more detail.
How do you play Kagura? Combos, lane and teamfights
Skill order: Skill 1 > Ultimate > Skill 2. Skill 1 is your wave clear, poke and damage, and its cooldown drops to 3.5s at max level. The official skill-priority tip, mirrored on mlbbhub, says the same thing: "Prioritize Seimei Umbrella Open and Yin Yang Overturn in order to maximize the damage can be dealt."
The core pick combo (umbrella on the ground):
- Skill 1 to place the umbrella where you want the enemies gathered: between two targets, or on the side of them closest to your team.
- Ultimate with the umbrella on the ground. It slows everything near the umbrella and resets Skill 1. After 1.5s it pulls enemy heroes into the umbrella.
- Skill 1 again (the ultimate just reset it) to adjust the umbrella's position before you commit. The official combo tip mirrored on mlbbhub uses exactly this reset to line up the teleport.
- Skill 2 to teleport onto the umbrella. Retrieving it triggers the passive: shield, 0.5s stun and slow.
- Flameshot to finish.
Why does placement matter so much? The pull drags enemy heroes toward the umbrella, so the umbrella's position is where the fight ends up. Put it beyond the target and you pull them away from your team. Put it between the target and your allies and your tank's crowd control lands on a pre-grouped target.
The escape (umbrella in hand): Skill 2 removes every debuff and leaps away, leaving the umbrella behind. You can teleport back to it with Skill 2 once the cooldown is up, or just walk away: the umbrella returns to you automatically when you get too far from it. If you only remember one rule, make it this one: don't throw the umbrella away before a fight starts. Once it's on the ground your Skill 2 stops cleansing you, and the umbrella becomes the only place you can teleport to. Both versions of Skill 2 share the same cooldown, so spending it on a teleport also spends your cleanse. And even the cleanse has limits: mlbbhub's guide warns that it won't get you out of Franco's ultimate, which is a suppression.
Laning, minutes 0–6:
- Skill 1 deals 130% damage to minions, so once it has a few levels a throw through the caster line clears most of the wave and can poke the enemy laner too. Throw it across the wave so it passes through minions and hero in a single cast.
- Hold Skill 2. Until you've put a point in it you have no escape, so respect the first jungle rotation around the river bushes.
- After the third wave, shove and rotate. Kagura out-clears almost every mid, so use that tempo to help a side lane or contest Turtle.
When to pick her: your team has a hard engage tank. mlbbhub names Atlas as a top synergy and lists Tigreal, Khufra and Franco as allies who can lock targets for her pull. The enemy backline is squishy. She does her best work early: mlbbhub's phase analysis, built from 10 measured matchups, has her strongest at 0–10 minutes and weakest past 16, so press the advantage early.
Who counters Kagura, and who does she beat?
Two trackers, two sets of numbers, but they overlap where it matters:
| Counters Kagura | mlbbhub (2.2.16a) | mlbb.io (21 Oct) |
|---|---|---|
| Phoveus | +1.9 | +2.3 |
| Esmeralda | +1.8 | +2.0 |
| Thamuz | +1.7 | +1.4 |
| Harith | +2.5 | +0.9 |
| Odette | +2.2 | not listed |
| Chip | not listed | +1.3 |
Numbers are the win-rate edge (percentage points) the counter has against Kagura in ranked matchups.
Phoveus, Esmeralda and Thamuz appear in both top lists, and they share a trait: they're durable and keep walking at her. Phoveus is the clearest case: Astaros' Gaze, part of his Demonic Force passive, cuts his cooldowns whenever an enemy hero nearby blinks, dashes or is displaced (Liquipedia), and a Kagura teleport is exactly that. Esmeralda shrugs off poke with her shields and sustain. Harith's mobility lets him dodge the umbrella and reach her once Skill 2 is down. If you're drafting into Kagura, pick a mobile diver or a sustain frontliner and drag the game past 16 minutes.
Kagura beats (mlbbhub, win-rate edge): Lolita +3.8, Sun +1.9, Valir +1.9, Hanabi +1.7, X.Borg +1.7. Hanabi is also Kagura's close friend in the lore, which makes it a fun mirror if you play both. If you play Hanabi yourself, our Hanabi build guide covers that side of the matchup.
Want Kagura on a ranked-ready account, or a Mid Lane climb handled for you? timesaver.gg covers both, and the build above works the same either way.
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FAQ
Is Kagura still good in MLBB Season 42? Yes. She's A-tier on Patch 2.2.16a with a 51.72% ranked win rate on mlbbhub, and her win rate stays above 51% from Legend through Mythical Glory+. Patch 2.2.16 buffed her umbrella's travel speed, and Patch 2.2.16a didn't change her.
What is the best build for Kagura? Arcane Boots, Lightning Truncheon, Divine Glaive, Holy Crystal, Wishing Lantern and Blood Wings (12,260 gold). Holy Crystal is the one item every community build on mlbb.io includes. Swap Genius Wand in against high Magic Defense, and Winter Crown in against a single burst assassin.
What is Kagura's best combo? With the umbrella on the ground: Skill 1 to place the umbrella where you want enemies gathered, then the ultimate (which resets Skill 1 and pulls enemies in after 1.5s), Skill 1 again, Skill 2 to teleport in and trigger the passive stun, then Flameshot to finish.
Why does Kagura's Skill 2 not cleanse me sometimes? Skill 2 only removes debuffs when the umbrella is in your hand. With the umbrella on the ground, Skill 2 becomes a teleport to the umbrella and doesn't cleanse. Keep the umbrella in hand when you expect to be caught.
Who is the best counter to Kagura? Phoveus, Esmeralda and Thamuz appear in the top counters on both mlbbhub and mlbb.io for the current patch. Harith has the biggest single edge on mlbbhub (+2.5). Long games also favour her opponents: mlbbhub's matchup sample has her weakest past the 16-minute mark.
Is Kagura hard to learn? Yes. Moonton rates her difficulty 9 out of 10, and mlbbhub lists her as Hard. Every skill has two versions depending on where the umbrella is. Practise her in Classic before taking her into Ranked. On mlbbhub's rank split her pick rate climbs more than threefold from Epic to Mythical Glory+ while her win rate stays above 51%, so experienced players keep choosing her.
