Sinclair

8:35 Sinclair, whom Valve introduced as The Magnificent Sinclair, is a Deadlock spirit hero who fights with stage-magic tricks: a curving Vexing Bolt, a Spectral Assistant that copies his shots, a Rabbit Hex that turns enemies into rabbits, and Audience Participation, which copies an enemy hero's ultimate for his own use (Valve, Jan 17, 2025). Valve added him to matchmaking that day together with Holliday, Vyper and Calico, and has called him simply "Sinclair" in its notes since, as in the Oct 5, 2026 update. His complexity rating in the game files is 4, and he was the least played hero in Deadlock in deadlock-api's measurement of Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026. The whole roster is on Heroes.

Quick facts

Source: the game files as of Oct 26, 2026 (heroes, abilities), which match Valve's Oct 5, 2026 changes; win rate from deadlock-api's measured hero stats, 1,566,344 normal-mode matches.

Abilities

Source: the game files as of Oct 26, 2026.

1:08 Vexing Bolt is his main damage. The bolt deals 60 damage (spirit scaling 0.93) when cast and grows to 120 (spirit scaling 1.86) over 2 seconds of flight, in a 3.25 m radius, and he can redirect it once toward his crosshair; if his Assistant is out, it casts a copy at 50% damage, per the game files. Since Oct 5, 2026 it deals half damage to objectives. T1 slows the target's fire rate by 25% for 5 seconds, T2 cuts 13 s of cooldown, and T3 adds 126 maximum damage and 50% assistant damage.

2:24 Spectral Assistant doubles his gun. The Assistant appears within 15 m for 6 seconds and fires 15 damage (spirit scaling 0.36) each time Sinclair fires, he can swap places with it up to 2 times, and casting it reloads his gun (game files). Valve raised the swaps from 1 to 2 on Nov 21, 2025. T1 cuts 10 s of cooldown, T2 adds 7 s and 5 m of range, and T3 adds 60% assistant fire rate and 12.6 damage.

3:32 Rabbit Hex is his crowd control. After a 0.9-second delay, enemies within 6 m of the target point (cast up to 24 m away) become rabbits for 2 seconds: they move 36% faster (capped at 6 m/s) but take 15% more damage and cannot do most things, though abilities already running are not interrupted, per the game files. T1 cuts 10 s of cooldown, T2 adds 1 s, and T3 adds 2 m of radius and 7% more damage taken.

Audience Participation is his ultimate. He picks an enemy hero within 20 m, copies that hero's ultimate and must use it within 9 seconds; the copied ultimate carries 60% of its own cooldown, and each of his three upgrades improves the copy (game files, Oct 26, 2026). Valve shortened the copy window from 12 s to 9 s and raised the copied cooldown from 40% to 60% on Oct 5, 2026.

How to play

9:29 Sinclair is a poke-and-escape caster who depends on aim. Mobalytics' Sinclair guide lists his strengths as very high damage, great disengage and strong poke, and his weaknesses as low health, reliance on skill shots and a niche style that is hard to pick up. In lane, a fully charged Vexing Bolt from long range is his main trade; the Laning Guide covers the basics.

11:45 His fights revolve around the Assistant and the Hex. The Assistant doubles his gunfire and gives him a swap to escape or to reposition, Rabbit Hex stops enemies from shooting or casting for 2 seconds while they take more damage, and Audience Participation lets him answer the enemy team with its own strongest ultimate.

His power comes with Spirit Power and cooldowns. He gains more Spirit Power per level than most heroes, and Dexerto's Sinclair build (Mar 4, 2026) puts the first points in Vexing Bolt, then 2 AP into Spectral Assistant; see Ability Points and Leveling.

Builds

12:32 Sinclair players build almost entirely from Spirit Items. What they bought between Oct 15 and Oct 25, 2026, as deadlock-api measured it:

Source: deadlock-api, measured item stats for Sinclair, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026.

Dexerto's build (Mar 4, 2026) runs Monster Rounds, Extra Charge, Improved Spirit, Rapid Recharge and Enchanter's Emblem early; Greater Expansion, Surge of Power, Superior Cooldown, Superior Duration and Warp Stone in the middle; Transcendent Cooldown, Magic Carpet, Echo Shard, Scourge and Lightning Scroll late. Item tiers and prices are on Items and Shop, with the gun and survival options on Weapon Items and Vitality Items; Builds and Itemization explains how to choose.

Counters and matchups

Movement and silences are the usual answers to Sinclair. Mobalytics advises jumping and bouncing off walls while hexed, dodging Vexing Bolt's slow projectile with a jump or dash, and using Slowing Hex and Silence Wave on him; see Counter Items.

Measured matchups are hard for him. Between Oct 15 and Oct 25, 2026, deadlock-api measured his lowest win rates against Graves (38.6%), Victor (38.7%) and Paige (39.4%), and his highest against Mina (51.0%), Pocket (49.8%) and Solomon (49.7%).

Patch history

Recent Valve changes to Sinclair, newest first:

• Oct 5, 2026: base regen from 2 to 1; bullet damage from 17.76 to 16.5; gun and Assistant falloff from 25 to 61 m down to 20 to 60 m; Vexing Bolt deals half damage to objectives; Rabbit Hex radius from 6.5 m to 6 m (T3 from +3 m to +2 m); Audience Participation copy window from 12 s to 9 s and copied cooldown from 40% to 60%.
• Jun 30, 2026: every ultimate's cooldown raised by 15%.
• Nov 21, 2025: health from 700 to 650 and regen from 3 to 2; Spectral Assistant swaps from 1 to 2; Audience Participation copied cooldown from 50% to 40%.
• May 8, 2025: fixes, including the Assistant's teleport while climbing ropes and missing Rabbit Hex voice lines.
• Feb 25, 2025: a new model with a wand weapon, a new animation set and new Spectral Assistant effects.

The game files list 730 health on Oct 26, 2026; Valve's Steam posts do not show the change from 650. All of Valve's updates are listed on Patches and Updates.

Lore

Sinclair is Henry, a boy whose parents gave him a deck of cards instead of real magic; he became a sleight-of-hand performer and met Savannah through their shared love of stage magic, according to his biography in the game files. Valve's May 8, 2025 notes name Henry and Savannah as the voices heard when Rabbit Hex lands. The wider setting is on Lore and Setting.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sinclair good in Deadlock? In Deadlock, Sinclair had a 44.82% win rate between Oct 15 and Oct 25, 2026, 43rd of 44 heroes, and appeared in only 9.58% of matches, the fewest of any hero, in deadlock-api's measurement. Outlets split: Mobalytics' expert list ranked him A (Oct 22, 2026) and Dexerto D (Oct 9, 2026).

Is Sinclair the same as The Magnificent Sinclair in Deadlock? Yes. Valve added the hero to Deadlock as The Magnificent Sinclair on Jan 17, 2025 and calls him Sinclair in its Oct 5, 2026 patch notes and the game files.

What does Sinclair's ultimate do in Deadlock? Audience Participation copies the ultimate of an enemy hero within 20 m, which Sinclair must use within 9 seconds, with 60% of its normal cooldown, per Deadlock's game files on Oct 26, 2026 and Valve's Oct 5, 2026 notes.

What is the best Sinclair build in Deadlock? Deadlock's Sinclair players most often buy Extra Charge and Extra Spirit in lane, Greater Expansion and Rapid Recharge mid game, and Superior Cooldown and Boundless Spirit late, as deadlock-api measured for Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026.

How do you counter Sinclair in Deadlock? Dodge Vexing Bolt's slow projectile, keep jumping while hexed, and silence or slow him with items such as Silence Wave and Slowing Hex, as Mobalytics advises for Deadlock.

Sources

• Holliday, Vyper, Calico, and The Magnificent Sinclair, Valve, Jan 17, 2025
• Map Rework Update, Valve, Feb 25, 2025
• Shop Rework Update, Valve, May 8, 2025
• 11-21-2025 Update, Valve, Nov 21, 2025
• Minor Update - 06-30-2026, Valve, Jun 30, 2026
• Minor Update - 10-05-2026, Valve, Oct 5, 2026
• Heroes (data read from the game files), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Items and abilities (data read from the game files), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero stats, normal-mode matches Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026 (measured), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero counter stats, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026 (measured), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Item stats for Sinclair, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026 (measured), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Deadlock Sinclair Guide, Mobalytics, undated, read Oct 26, 2026
• Best Sinclair build in Deadlock, Dexerto (Cande Maldonado), Mar 4, 2026
• Deadlock Tier List: Best characters to pick in the 2026 meta, Dexerto, Oct 9, 2026
• Expert Deadlock Tier List, Mobalytics (RinaVX), Oct 22, 2026
• The ULTIMATE SINCLAIR Guide For Deadlock, HyperNovaa22, Dec 19, 2025 (video)