In League of Legends, the results of professional matches are sometimes largely determined by the drafting phase. Since drafting is extremely important in a match, it decides the outcome of the lane and directly impacts the final result. In the current meta, several champions have risen “like a kite in the wind”; if you are still struggling to find ways to counter them, you can refer to the following champions:
Top Lane Poppy – Hard Counter to Fiora
In patch 10.9, Fiora is the top champion in the lane, extremely strong in both split-pushing and team fights. To counter this champion, we can use Poppy as a tank in the top lane.
Essentially, Poppy’s skill set is already a hard counter to many agile fighters, and Fiora is no exception. Notably, her “Steadfast Presence” (W) completely blocks Fiora’s Q ability, plus this skill grants Poppy a massive amount of armor and magic resistance, doubling when below 40% health. Regarding Poppy’s “Heroic Charge” (E), if played “slippery,” you can hold on until Fiora retaliates since Poppy’s main damage comes from her Q ability, so you won’t have to worry about lacking damage.
The first two items that help Poppy dominate Fiora in lane are Ninja Tabi and Thornmail – preventing Fiora from healing and reducing damage from all sources. When trading hits early on, the combo of Steel’s Resolve passive + the Keystone rune Grasp of the Undying will ensure you always come out ahead in health against Fiora.
Jungle Kindred – Hard Counter to Graves
First, let’s talk about Graves; he is a champion with extremely high damage in both auto-attacks and abilities. However, that damage requires many conditions to reach its maximum potential, with auto-attacks being stronger the closer he is, and his ability “Buckshot” (Q) needing to hit twice. Therefore, when facing a champion with continuous mobility like Kindred’s “Dance of Arrows” (Q), it becomes very difficult for Graves to deal significant damage. Notably, Kindred’s attack range is 500 – conveniently higher than Graves’ 425, so if they keep kiting, Kindred has a significant advantage.
In the case that Kindred is caught off guard and Graves deals maximum damage, they still have “Lamb’s Respite” (R) to help turn the tide, potentially resulting in a “mutual destruction” with the enemy when the invulnerability zone expires.
Mid Lane Nocturne – Hard Counter to Fizz
Fizz is one of the most popular assassin mages in the meta due to his ability to create massive burst damage in fights, along with a time-stalling capability that surpasses Lissandra.
Because of this popularity, many players have discovered that Nocturne is a champion that hard counters Fizz. While laning, most Fizz players max their E to poke and clear minions; however, this ability can be easily blocked by Nocturne’s “Shroud of Darkness” (W). If Fizz chooses to dash in with Q first, Nocturne can use E to chase and deal continuous damage.
At level 6, Fizz doesn’t fare any better against Nocturne, as his ultimate “Chum the Waters” is a skill that Nocturne can easily block, allowing him to “hug” Fizz and then wait a few seconds before activating his shield.
Additionally, with the current Bloodthirster meta, Nocturne’s 1v1 capability is extremely strong, and with resources available in the mid lane, Nocturne becomes even scarier whenever he “turns off the lights” to hunt.
