Gwen Dusk and Dawn Guide - The Hidden Powerhouse of the New Season
Gwen's win rate has skyrocketed to 3rd overall thanks to the new item Dusk and Dawn. This guide covers the quadruple Spellblade synergy, recommended item builds, and Gwen's best ARAM Mayhem augment picks.
The Hidden Powerhouse of the New Season
In the new season of ARAM Mayhem, 
Gwen's win rate has skyrocketed to the top of the server rankings thanks to a new item, trailing only 
Lillia and 
Vayne, ranking 3rd overall. However, due to her low pick rate (ranked only 64th), she remains a severely underrated sleeper pick. Just pick her and buy Dusk and Dawn for an incredibly high win rate.
Why Gwen Benefits Most from the New Season
Multiple changes in the new season have given Gwen a huge windfall of hidden benefits. First, with items and champions receiving across-the-board buffs, tank champions now have more HP and higher pick rates. And Gwen, as a renowned tank-buster with built-in percent max HP damage on her abilities, is the perfect counter to all those beefy tanks.
More importantly, the new item Dusk and Dawn has an incredibly perfect synergy with Gwen's kit. The item stats — AP, HP, attack speed, ability haste — are exactly what Gwen needs most, with a single item synergizing perfectly with three of her abilities.
Core Synergy Mechanics of Dusk and Dawn
Dusk and Dawn is the first item in the game to be built from four basic components. Beyond the four stats that perfectly suit Gwen, its Spellblade passive is the real game-changer: after casting an ability, the next basic attack triggers on-hit effects twice.
This passive creates a quadruple synergy with Gwen's kit:
**Spellblade Quadruple Synergy**: (1) Passive — double percent max HP damage (2) E — double empowered auto on-hit damage (3) Nashor's Tooth — double bonus magic damage (4) Q — one auto stacks two charges. A single E→Auto→Q combo deals **triple passive, double Nashor's, double E** for devastating burst.
Furthermore, Gwen's Q and E have short cooldowns, allowing frequent Spellblade procs for sustained damage output in fights.
Damage Comparison: Dusk and Dawn vs Lich Bane
Under the same equipment conditions, comparing Dusk and Dawn against Lich Bane (which has 30 more AP and also has the Spellblade passive), using the same combo on a 4000 HP dummy:
| Item | Combo Damage | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Dusk and Dawn | 3000 | Baseline |
| Lich Bane | 2400 | -20% |
Despite having lower AP, Dusk and Dawn deals 27.5% more damage, while also providing bonus HP, attack speed, and ability haste. Based on the data, this is Gwen's highest win rate core item. If her build rate were higher, her overall win rate could easily reach 1st place server-wide.
Recommended Item Build
| Order | Item | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guardian's Orb | Starting item |
| 2 | Dusk and Dawn | Core item, rush first |
| 3 | Nashor's Tooth | AS + AP, double proc with Spellblade |
| 4 | Riftmaker | Omnivamp + AP |
| 5 | Rabadon's Deathcap | Massive AP boost |
| 6 | Void Staff | Magic penetration |
Against full-squishy comps, you can swap Riftmaker and Nashor's Tooth in order. If survivability is an issue, consider replacing Nashor's Tooth with a defensive item.
Augment Recommendations
Gwen's augment options in ARAM Mayhem are incredibly diverse, especially augments that synergize with Dusk and Dawn.
Strong Synergies with Dusk and Dawn
**
Ethereal Weapon** (Gold): Abilities can apply on-hit effects, meaning Gwen's abilities can also trigger Spellblade, further amplifying Dusk and Dawn's value.
**
Dual Wield (Prismatic) and 
Upgrade Sheen** (Gold): Dual Wield makes basic attacks fire an extra projectile with on-hit effects, further stacking Spellblade, passive, and Nashor's Tooth damage. Upgrade Sheen directly enhances the Spellblade effect itself.
**
Typhoon** (Silver): Basic attacks fire at an additional target with on-hit effects. Similar to a Silver-tier mini Dual Wield, it also helps Gwen stack two Q charges per basic attack.
General Strong Picks
**
Back To Basics** (Prismatic): Sacrifice your ultimate for massive ability haste and damage amp, greatly boosting Gwen's percent HP damage output. The downside is losing the ultimate's slow, making it harder to stick to targets at times.
**
Marksmage** (Gold): Basic attacks deal bonus physical damage based on AP. Note that this augment currently has a known bug — the actual damage scaling is 56% AP instead of the described 75% AP, which deters many players. However, even so, Gwen still benefits nicely from it, and the bug will be fixed next patch, making it even stronger.
Additionally, **
Vampirism (Gold) and 
Goredrink (Silver) provide omnivamp for sustain; 
Giant Slayer** (Prismatic) pairs excellently with Gwen's tank-buster identity; **
Escape Plan** (Silver) provides a safety net at low HP.
Summary
Gwen is the biggest hidden winner of the new ARAM Mayhem season. Dusk and Dawn creates a perfect quadruple synergy with her kit, delivering far more damage than comparable items in a single combo. With the rise of the tank meta multiplying the value of her percent HP damage, she has abundant options in both itemization and augment picks. If you pick Gwen in ARAM Mayhem, don't hesitate — rush Dusk and Dawn.