Deadlock Solomon: Abilities, Build and How to Play

Deadlock Solomon is the chess master from the City Never Sleeps update who won the third player vote and arrived in the game on 9 October 2026 at 23:00 Polish time. Three days later he sits at the bottom of the ranking: a 40.7% win rate in the ranked queue and last place among 41 heroes in our tier list (as of 12 October 2026).

He fights with chess pieces: the bishop slows, the rooks immobilize, the knight gives an ally a barrier, and the queen stuns and executes enemies below 200 health. Valve labelled him on the official artwork with three tags: Strategist, Focused, Checkmate. I wrote up his abilities with numbers, what players buy, and his matchups. I play Deadlock and run coaching, so at the end I add how to use him in fights.

Base stats and weapon

• Health: 780, regeneration 2.
• Move speed 6.7 m/s, 2 stamina points.
• Weapon: 30 damage per bullet, an 8-round magazine, 3 s reload.
• He is voiced by Carl Lumbly, according to deadlock.wiki, which cites a post on the game's Discord.

The weapon is weak on purpose. Solomon wins fights by placing his pieces, not by shooting.

Solomon in our tier list

Ranked queue data from the last 7 days, from the same source as our tier list, as of 12 October 2026.

Stat	Value
Matches played	25 732
Win rate	40,7%
Tier and rank	D, 41st of 41
Average kills, deaths and assists	3,5 / 6,2 / 12,6

Solomon has a lot to learn: four pieces, each with its own move. Over 12 assists per match shows that you play him by supporting fights, not by getting kills. Check how his position changes every day in our Deadlock tier list.

Solomon abilities

1. Setup Bishop

You place a bishop that stays in place with no time limit. The move command slides it 12 m: it deals 70 spirit damage on impact and applies a 30% fading slow for 3 seconds to everyone it passes through. After a moment, the diagonal squares activate and deal extra damage to anyone who steps on them. Re-activating recalls all bishops. Cooldown 12 s, a move every 3 s.

Upgrades: +5 m move distance and +15% slow, then a second bishop and a recast within 8 s, and finally extra square range plus a 2.5% spirit resist reduction per stack, up to 10 times.

2. Kingside Knight

You promote an ally to a knight: for 7 seconds they get 80 barrier and one extra stamina charge. The move command carries them 13 m, and they are invulnerable during the jump. Cast on yourself, it makes you the king instead: double barrier, no stamina, and the king moves 7 m. Cooldown 25 s.

Upgrades: 8 s shorter cooldown, then +80 barrier and +1 stamina, and finally two targets at once, plus removing all debuffs after a move when cast on yourself.

3. Rook Battery

You release a pair of rooks that travel forward, deal 50 spirit damage and immobilize anyone they hit for 1 second. When they hit a wall, they bounce back the other way. Re-activating splits them perpendicularly, so you can change their path mid-flight. Cooldown 33 s.

Upgrades: a hit cuts fire rate by 25% for 5 s, then extra damage equal to 5% of current health, and finally an extra bounce, 12 s shorter cooldown and 0.5 s longer immobilize.

4. Develop Queen (ultimate)

The queen crashes down on the chosen spot and deals 120 spirit damage in an area. After a moment she releases squares in straight lines that deal damage again and stun for 1.25 seconds. She has two additional moves: with each one she leaps to a new spot and repeats the effect. Re-activating recalls her early. Cooldown 210 s.

Checkmate unlocks with the second upgrade: the queen executes heroes left with less than 200 health, and the threshold grows with your level. The same upgrade adds a 15% slow. The first upgrade cuts the cooldown by 40 s, the third adds two moves and a bigger square range.

Solomon build: what players buy

Items from our tier list: what players buy on Solomon over the last 7 days, with the win rate and tier of each item. The table refreshes daily with the tier list, so it shows how the build changes as players learn the hero.

The most popular ability order in the ranked queue over the last 7 days starts with Setup Bishop, Setup Bishop, Kingside Knight. 66% of players go this way, and another 11% take Setup Bishop, Setup Bishop, Rook Battery.

Matchups: who Solomon struggles against most

In our tier list Solomon does not win half of his matches against any hero. He does best against Warden (47.8%), Mirage (47.7%), Sinclair (47.2%) and Shiv (47.1%). His hardest matchups are Baba (35.2%), Rat King (35.9%) and Paige (37.6%). This is ranked queue data as of 12 October 2026. The full breakdown is in the Matchups tab of the Deadlock tier list.

How to play Solomon

• Place the bishop before a fight, not during it. It stays on the map with no limit, so set it in a passage the enemy has to come through and move it only when someone walks in.
• Play the rooks near walls. A bounce gives the same attack a second path, and splitting them mid-flight lets you hit someone who dodged sideways.
• Immobilize with the rook, then drop the queen. One second without movement is enough for the queen to land on the target, and the stun from her squares extends the control.
• The knight saves an ally. Invulnerability during the move pulls a teammate out of a stun or an ult. On yourself, as the king, it is your escape.
• Save Checkmate for the end of a fight. Use the queen's moves when enemies are already low, because then every leap can finish another hero.

You can analyze your Solomon matches for free in the Deadlock Replay Analyzer. If you want to learn piece placement faster, book 1-on-1 Deadlock coaching, and you will find the other heroes in the list of all Deadlock characters.

Solomon rewards planning: you place the pieces in advance and win the fight with the order of your moves. Three days in he closes the ranking with a 40.7% win rate in the ranked queue. The tier list will show whether that number climbs as players master him.

Frequently asked questions

When did Solomon come out in Deadlock?

On 9 October 2026 at 23:00 Polish time, as the third hero from the City Never Sleeps vote.

What is the best Solomon build?

The current build with the win rate of each item is in the table above. It refreshes daily from our tier list, because items on a new hero change with every patch.

Is Solomon strong?

Not yet. In the ranked queue he has a 40.7% win rate and is last among 41 heroes (as of 12 October 2026). Check his current position daily in the tier list.

How does Solomon's Checkmate work?

It is the second upgrade of the Develop Queen ultimate. The queen executes heroes below 200 health, and the threshold grows with your level.

What abilities does Solomon have?

Setup Bishop, Kingside Knight, Rook Battery and the Develop Queen ultimate. Each ability is a chess piece with its own move.

Who voices Solomon?

Carl Lumbly, according to deadlock.wiki, which cites a post on the game's Discord.