Solomon

Early guide. Solomon was released on October 9, 2026, so this is an early guide. His abilities and numbers are current for the October 9 update. The build comes from what players bought in his first three days, before anyone had mastered him, so expect it to change as his best builds settle. Check back after the next patch.

Strengths and weaknesses

Abilities

1

Setup Bishop

12s cooldown

Place a bishop up to 20m away. It hits for 70 spirit damage on landing and stays on the board until you recall it. Alt-fire slides it up to 12m (every 3s), damaging and slowing enemies it passes through by 30% for 3s. After a short delay, the squares on its diagonals deal 25 spirit damage to enemies who step on them. Press it again to recall, which starts the 12s cooldown.

Tier 1 1 point	+5m move distance and +15% slow
Tier 2 2 points	+1 bishop, recast within 8s
Tier 3 5 points	+1 square range, and squares stack -2.5% spirit resist (up to 10 times)

2

Kingside Knight

25s cooldown

Turn an ally up to 28m away into a knight for 7s, giving them an 80 barrier and 1 extra stamina, then jump them up to 13m. They can't be hurt during the move. Cast it on yourself and you become the king instead, with double the barrier and a shorter 7m move, but no stamina.

Tier 1 1 point	-8s cooldown
Tier 2 2 points	+80 barrier and +1 stamina
Tier 3 5 points	Hits two allies in range; on yourself, the move cleanses debuffs (not stuns or ultimates)

3

Rook Battery

33s cooldown

Fire a pair of rooks that deal 50 spirit damage and root enemies in place for 1s. They bounce off one wall. Press it again while they travel to split them sideways and cover more ground.

Tier 1 1 point	Hit enemies lose 25% fire rate for 5s
Tier 2 2 points	Hits also deal 5% of the target's current health
Tier 3 5 points	+1 wall bounce, -12s cooldown and +0.5s root

ULT

Develop Queen

210s cooldown

Drop the queen up to 30m away for 120 spirit damage around her. After a short delay, lines of squares shoot out from her in every direction, hitting again and stunning for 1.25s. You get two more moves (up to 16m each, every 5s), and enemies she passes through are slowed by 15%.

Tier 1 1 point	-40s cooldown
Tier 2 2 points	+15% slow, and checkmate: executes heroes under 200 health
Tier 3 5 points	+2 moves and +1 square range

Ability order

Spend points in this order. Each ability's tiers cost 1, 2 and 5 points.

1. Unlock Setup Bishop
2. Unlock Rook Battery
3. Unlock Kingside Knight
4. Setup Bishop T1
5. Rook Battery T1
6. Unlock Develop Queen
7. Develop Queen T1
8. Setup Bishop T2
9. Rook Battery T2
10. Develop Queen T2
11. Kingside Knight T1–T2
12. Setup Bishop T3
13. Rook Battery T3
14. Develop Queen T3
15. Kingside Knight T3

Item build

A starting build that works in most games. Swap pieces based on the enemy team; the notes explain what each stage is for.

WeaponVitalitySpirit

See the most played Solomon builds, with win rates → The community builds Solomon players actually use, and how often they win.

Rate this build in the build rater (early beta) → See its grade, and the heroes it does well and badly against.

How to play

Solomon is a zone-control disruptor who plays the map like a chessboard. Setup Bishop leaves pieces that keep damaging and slowing whoever walks over their diagonals, Kingside Knight shields and repositions an ally (or himself), Rook Battery roots enemies from range, and Develop Queen sets up a team-wide stun.

He isn’t a gunner. His shots are slow and explode on impact, so they’re good for chip damage, but most of his damage and all of his control come from his pieces.

His unique mechanics

• Right click moves pieces. Solomon can’t zoom. Alt-fire slides a placed bishop or queen, and he floats for a moment while you aim. Every move damages and slows what the piece passes through.
• Squares light up after a delay. Bishops and the queen threaten squares along their lines a moment after they land. Enemies who stand there take damage (and from the queen, a stun), so think about where people will walk, not where they are.
• Bishops don’t expire. They stay until you recall them or die, and the cooldown only starts once they’re gone. Leaving one in a doorway is free zone control; recalling it on purpose gets the ability back.
• Knight on an ally, king on yourself. Kingside Knight is a save for a teammate or a short, barrier-backed escape for you.

Laning phase (0–10 min)

• Bishop on the minions, then move it through the laner. The landing hit, the slide and the squares all poke, and the slow sets up your shots.
• Keep a bishop parked in front of your guardian. Enemies who push into you have to walk over its diagonals.
• Save Rook Battery for their all-in or a gank. The 1-second root stops a dash or lets your team catch them.
• Mind your stamina. With 2 dashes and modest health, a dive is your biggest danger. Buy Extra Stamina early.

Mid game (10–25 min)

• Prepare the board before objectives. Drop bishops around the Urn path, the Mid-Boss pit or a Walker before the fight starts.
• Knight your frontline in, or your carry out. The jump is untouchable, so it can carry an ally through a stun or out of a collapse.
• Rush Develop Queen T1. It takes 40 seconds off a 210-second cooldown.

Late game and team fights (25+ min)

• Queen where they’re going, not where they are. Drop her in a choke, behind a group that is backing off, or on top of an objective they have to stand on.
• Use your extra queen moves to chase the stun lines onto runners. Each move slows the enemies she passes through.
• Finish with checkmate. With T2, anyone under 200 health caught by the queen is executed, so pair her with your team’s burst.

Combos

1. Team-fight lockdown: Rook Battery into the group (split it to hit more) → Develop Queen on the rooted targets → move the queen onto whoever escapes the stun.
2. Lane trade: Setup Bishop on the enemy laner → slide it through them for the slow → shoot while they’re stuck on the squares.
3. Save and turn: Kingside Knight your ally out of a dive → Rook Battery on the chasers → bishop on the path they have to take.

Matchups (early read)

• Likely good against: slow, grounded heroes who fight in tight spaces, since bishop squares and queen lines punish standing still.
• Likely hard against: fast divers and assassins who reach him before his pieces are set up, and long-range snipers who outrange his pieces.
• Debuff removal hurts him. Heroes and items that cleanse slows and roots blunt a lot of his kit.

Pro tips

• Bishop T2 gives you a second bishop, recast within 8 seconds. Two bishops cover twice the board and make lanes very hard to push.
• Bishop T3 squares lower spirit resist by 2.5% per stack, up to 10 stacks, which boosts everything else you and your team throw.
• Rook Battery T3 is a huge spike: 12 seconds off the cooldown, an extra bounce and a 1.5-second root.
• Kingside Knight T3 on yourself cleanses debuffs, but not stuns or ultimates.

Counters and teammates

Since the last balance patch, Solomon has won 45.1% of 310,123 Standard games at all ranks, which puts them in D tier (43.2% and D tier at Oracle and above).

These lists compare each pairing with what the two heroes' overall win rates predict. A strong enemy lowers anyone's win rate, so a matchup can be "better than expected" and still be one Solomon loses more often than not. "Versus expected" is that difference in percentage points. Small samples are pulled toward zero, and only differences of at least one point are listed. Matches from 2026-10-06 to 2026-10-15 13:00 UTC.

Better than expected against

Hero	Win rate against	Versus expected	Matches
Dynamo	44.8%	+1.8	40,920
Paige	40.0%	+1.6	69,693
Deadman Danny	58.2%	+1.3	29,375

Worse than expected against

Hero	Win rate against	Versus expected	Matches
Baba	38.0%	−4.5	92,125
Rat King	37.6%	−1.5	120,005

Best teammates

Hero	Win rate together	Versus expected	Matches
Baba	51.8%	+4.1	88,812
McGinnis	44.2%	+1.1	15,947

Lore

Solomon is the man in the park who will always stop for a game. Over the years he has played chess with tourists, crooks and company bosses alike, and to him the board is the great equaliser: everyone sits down on the same terms. He listens more than he talks, gives advice when it's asked for, and approaches the war over New York the way he approaches a match, several moves ahead.

Ability numbers are checked against the game and the community-run Deadlock Wiki after every patch. Builds are our own recommendations. Spotted something out of date? Tell us in #site-feedback on our Discord.