Or am I free to blind pick him in ranked every game? I know LeBlanc and Zed are difficult matchups, but I've dealt with them many times and I don't consider them direct counters. I imagine Ahri falls into this category as well.
ModAcademy Kayn1 votesAhri is a decent counter but Azir's range and poke are way ahead of Ahri's. If I had to STRETCH I might say Yasou. Early game repositioning like Yasou's dash can make positioning Azir's soilders hard. Other wise, maybe Xerath?
usul12021 votesNever done it, but I'd bet Galio is a pretty brutal lane, not that you have to worry about that.
Critmaster Garen1 votesNever done it, but I'd bet Galio is a pretty brutal lane, not that you have to worry about that.
not a bad idea. it would be funny to watch him heal up by getting stabbed by azirs soldiers.
usul12021 votesyup, plus hes got speed from his E to walk away from soldiers (towards azir), a nuke from his Q, and his ult ruins azir. Azir will have the AS to max galios damage alone (since he'll never have to walk forward) but will do no damage till he has his nashors.
Pæan1 votesI would say anyone who can all-in him immediately following his Q to zone/poke.
A 
or 
can bridge that gap very quickly and be on top of you without you being able to retaliate very much.
A lot of matchups I would say are about skill more than anything. Working around cooldowns, knowing what levels to trade at, and how much abuse you can take to make the trade "worth".
Lights And Magic1 votesI've heard that champs that bully better than Azir are good against him. (
, 
)
Or maybe champs that you can completely outrange his soliders with (
, 
, 
)
Also maybe 
because he's hard to beat in lane in general.
FHMarshy1 votesTBH I think Azir, as a champion, has been rather weak in comparison to other mids after his nerf a few patches ago.
warpenguin5551 votesZed and Lux shit on shit hard
grLKQ9ma0o1 votesAzir is a zoning mage, so anyone that he has trouble zoning will be hard. That means Lux, Ziggs, Xerath, and other long range mages. Zed, Leblanc and Katarina in particular for me are challenging, mostly because it's hard to stop them jumping around with your combo-cc. It's pretty tough to immediately stop a Kat ult with your ult (there's slight cast time) or with your W-E knockup.
