Few powerful options to counter Akali in the midlane

I Will Flash In··9 votes·25,201 views

Akali ** Has seen so much play recently, even competitively as showcased during this Flashback episode and according to Champion.gg she is the most banned champion this patch, people FEAR that champion. In this post, I hope to give you few options to beat her in lane so she cannot take over the game.**

First, let's talk about Akali's strenghts, and why she is feared :

  • Her shroud (W spell which makes her invisible), makes her invisible to EVERYTHING and most notoriously, turrets, which means her diving potential is throught the roof.
  • Her Q which throws 5 projectiles in front of her and heal her if she has close to full energy gives her a good in lane sustain.
  • She takes very short trades in lane, and then hides in her shroud which has a shorter cooldown than before, it makes it very hard to win trades, and she can heal back up if you manage to chuck her.
  • Most importantly, her kill potential post 6 with E (Gap closing ability which help her trigger her passive, a stronger AA after she has left a certain area arround the enemy) and her R (it gives very good mobility and crazy execution damage on the second part of the spell).

Counters :

Veigar is surprisingly good against Akali, his E stops all movement and two of his basic damaging abilities are not targeted, it means he can target her while she is in her shroud. This matchup will in my opinion revolve arround your E (which you should max second after Q for decreased cooldown and increased crowd control). The key is to not cast it unless she jumps on you, or play very passive when it's on cooldown since it's very easy for her to gap close. Arguably a skilled match up in your favor.

Diana is emerging as a good in lane counter at the moment. You'll have comparable wave clear but you'll pack a much greater punch in short engages (in which Akali thrives) not to mention the shield from your W (which you should max because it's just too good against melee assassins). Also, both of your damaging abilities (Q and W) can hit her in her shroud. The only problem comes from the fact that Akali brings much more than you late game especially during teamfights and that she ganks better and towerdives better when she is roaming. If she plays passiv in lane and roams for teamfights, it'll be hard.

Kassadin is very good against Akali. His ability to soak up magic damage gives him the ability to keep up with Akali's short trades pre 6 and his ability to escape makes him safe. He goes toe to toe if not better in roams and his late game is unravelled, sadely, most people who intend to play Akali midlane will ban this guy.

Malzahar is the clear winner for me, hands down. You will push much much faster (assuming you max Q) which prevents her for roaming. Your passiv is a pain for all burst champions and champions who rely on short trades in general, Silence is great also and has a comparable cooldown with her shroud so you should be able to hit it every time, and if she wants to towerdive you, just R when she shows up and that's going to be a very sad Akali. Also Malz is safe in lane, works well post 6 with all junglers. Every time I've played this, it was a clear win.

**General tips : **

Picking up an summoner 3 in the midlane is way too good against her, and generaly avoiding getting hit by her empowered AA, from her passive (which is easy to notice) is a good strategy.

**Notes and ressources : **

  • To understand Akali , I used Professor Akali's guide on YouTube.
  • All champions I advised to play are those that I played myself against Akali (since I don't ban her in ranked and pre-pick her in ranked in all of my midlane games, I have some experience).
  • I play at a mid-plat, low diamond level on my main account.

Some stats from champion.gg to try other match ups which can be interesting, and also to prove my point by statistics (yay statistics):

  • Akali wins 43.29% of her games against Veigar at Platinium + Elo, over 365 games.
  • Akali wins 38.29% of her games against Kassadin at Platinium + Elo over 717 !! games
  • Akali wins 39.45% of her games against Malzahar at Platinium + Elo over 403 games
  • Akali wins 48.85% of her games against Diana at Platinium + Elo over 217 games

Matchup that I (or you) still need to try :

  • Akali wins 39.29% of her games against AurelionSol at Platinium + Elo over 112 games
  • Akali wins 39.71% of her games against Lux at Platinium + Elo over 544 games

I suspect Galio , Poppy ,Katarina to be good against her also.

Which champions have you tried against her ? Have you tried any of which I've tried ? Did you feel the same thing ? Who else would you recommend ? Comment to let everyone know and thanks in advance for your insight on the subject if you do.

37 Comments

UnboundHades19 votes

counterpicking should never be a form of counterplay since you arent always gonna be picking last so when doing these kinds of post its better to post general knowledge which can be used on a majority of mid lanes champs or specific points for some champs rather than listing why some champs counter her

Kobold3 votes

THANK YOU. For the love of all, thank you. Not once have I seen people (before here) that actually have the brainpower to say it. I asked for what I can do against champs in help and tips and all people say is counterpick. If I as a player cannot have a way to play around a champion with anything but select champions then there is something inherently wrong with the champions design.

Adrenalinn Rush1 votes

{quoted}

THANK YOU. For the love of all, thank you. Not once have I seen people (before here) that actually have the brainpower to say it. I asked for what I can do against champs in help and tips and all people say is counterpick. If I as a player cannot have a way to play around a champion with anything but select champions then there is something inherently wrong with the champions design.

Most Champions don't have a counterpick and the damage is so high and turrets are so useless so you cant even farm safely under them. Assassins like Fizz , Zed , Leblanc , Talon and some mages like Annie , Syndra , Malzahar make it almost impossible to cs when they reach lvl 6 as they can 100 to 0 you under turret. The assassins are so mobile that ganks are meaningless. So how do you play against them? let me know when you find out. What i do know is that assassins not so good in 5v5 so if you don't feed them in lane then you have a chance of winning.

ShadWooo2 votes

As a mage player I always had problem playing vs assassins. But really if you pick assassin into assassin the matchups are handleable and sometimes even easy. These champions have counterplay potential unlike mages. So I suggest to learn some assassin to be ready to counter enemy Zed/Lb/Fizz, at least if you will be able to pick after enemy.

TheSingularity2 votes

Had the same struggle up to about a month ago.

Broadened my champ pool and pick either hyper passive/safe laners or ppl who can roam.

First group Anivia Heimerdinger Velkoz Orianna Second group AurelionSol TwistedFate Taliyah Ekko Then there's this guy who wins jst cos Gragas

I take barrier over ignite every time and aim not to die and eventually jst win (see latest anivia game, didn't die until they 3v1'd me 16:00 in)

Slythion1 votes

Syndra, Annie, Talon, and Annie all have loads of counterpicks wtf? I feel like you're confusing "oppressive laner" with "uncounterable". Just because you're an oppressive laner doesn't mean literally no one beats you...lemme know how playing Zed into Vlad goes for instance.

That being said, I do hate when people only say "pick X to counter Y" rather than give actual gameplay tips

TheSingularity2 votes

You change your build. Get executioners and hexdrinker, then build Botrk like Zed's used to. That gives you dps, allows you to shred the health he buys and gains via passive and cuts his healing down constantly. That's if you want to kill him.

The other solution is to buy early item 3117 and roam roam roam. Get tiamat early so you can match his wave clear, then run away and devour bot lane. He won't be able to keep up and he doesn't hit towers hard enough to kill them b4 a jungler stops him.

Obviously isn't as simple as 1, 2, 3. Still need to execute properly but it works despite sacrificing some burst (you'll still delete people with 2-3 items assuming you/bot don't feed the enemy bot/jg)

Slythion1 votes

Zed simply has no kill pressure on Vlad. Yes he can roam, but any champion can do that and hope to get fed. Vlad will outscale Zed and has a safe laning phase against him, therefor Vlad counters Zed.

You can always do things to improve the matchup, aka changing builds and roaming, but this is simply not a matchup Zed wins nor is it one he outscales. Being countered doesn't mean the rest of the enemy team won't feed you.

My point is not to argue specific matchups and little details, the point is every champion has counters no matter how op you consider them to be.

(unless you're kassawin or a select few other champions during very specific periods of league)

MrHaZeYo1 votes

Take Quinn into Kass, I tried that a few times and omg I dumpstered him so hard he couldn't make it to the mid game, let alone the late game lol.

agac42341 votes

tbh u just need to bait akali W to be able to kill her in a gank same with all these champions expect talon. make ur laner enagage a bit before the jungler then boom the enemy is dead becuase they used all there abilitys

Doge20201 votes

{quoted}

THANK YOU. For the love of all, thank you. Not once have I seen people (before here) that actually have the brainpower to say it. I asked for what I can do against champs in help and tips and all people say is counterpick. If I as a player cannot have a way to play around a champion with anything but select champions then there is something inherently wrong with the champions design.

If you really want some general counterplay tips try learn as much about the champion and maybe even play him or her into multiple matchups, it’s so you know how to play against that champ and even play that champ good if you have to play it.

RavenMagus1 votes

I unfortunately feel I must disagree with you.

While it feels bad to get into game and discover your champion is naturally bad against another champion and picking someone else would have made for an easier time, such a situation is a necessary byproduct of variety.

The only way to ensure counterpicking does not exist is to ensure that all champions have the same basic set of tools with nothing unique. When unique abilities are added and variety is introduced, it is natural for some champions to be better against certain kits than others.

Now, it is possible for counterpicking to become so necessary as to hurt the game, when you must play one of a very small set of champions or you lose automatically. I don't believe that is necessarily the point Akali is at right now, though, and I don't believe counterpicking is inherently unhealthy.

Kobold1 votes

The reason for my post is that Counter picking has become more necessary and counterplay has been on the decline. While before counter picking gave you an advantage it did not nullify the laning phase. Previously (back when it was the forums) when people asked how to deal with champions they were given information like how build against them, how to space against them, and hop to abuse an opponents ability cooldowns correctly. At the present the "Counterplay" that is shown is always counter picks and does not provide the information that a player would actually be able to utilize if they are not the picked champion. This has become more and more the case since season 6 (maybe even earlier) wherein champions have less "windows" to deal with them outside of direct counters.

While a necessary byproduct (as you say) was also true in the past Riot did decently well with having Counters be only Soft counters in 90% of cases. Exceptions being in ranged tops which they even said was a huge issue they wanted to correct, and they attempted to.

At the present we are at a point wherein champions are being played for how few options you have to deal with them instead of the options they themselves bring to the table.

Dotrix2 votes

When the champion's kit itself requires you to be playing a specific champion in order to answer what she does, she has a problematic kit.

UnboundHades1 votes

akalis kit isnt too bad and can be beat if you arent playing a champ with 0 cc or mobility which is a rare occurrence in mid lane, the problem is the op just focused too much on counterpicking rather than counterplay

TheSingularity1 votes

She does lack counterplay how ever despite the fact that she can be beaten. Generally it's down to the akali being bad/stuffing up and less so you out playing her.

Her laning is obscenely safe with an easy farming/sustain tool. That also serves as strong poke as it matches many AA ranges and of course can be relentlessly spammed through minions. People say predict her in her shroud but there's no proper way to do that, and even then the akali can dodge within the shroud. Her shroud grows outward making it harder and harder to find her, and it gives her energy for some obscene reason.

Her ult has a sizable hitbox and obscenely fast animation making it both hard to miss and hard to dodge, and landing her main dash, which is silly (resting success on one spell is always bad idea, see zoe and sleep). So you have to flawlessly dodge and evade, otherwise she bursts you through barrier in a way that towers can't even assist in.

chipndip12 votes

Wait

You guys want League to be a strategic game...

...but you also say match-ups shouldn't be favorable to any one individual?

That's contradictory.

Outside of that, general game play knowledge would help flesh the post out, I agree, so I'm upvoting your post.

Adrenalinn Rush6 votes

These options are reactive tho plus akali can build qss vs malz. There really aren't any counters that can shut her down like how pantheon, jayce and rumble shut down teemo (i'm a teemo main). These are champs that she cant beat so easily. Akali either wins lane or goes even but never lose and that's why she is perma banned. This isn't an akali problem btw. I cant remember the last time riot released a champion with a counter.

chipndip13 votes

Lux's whole kit isn't negated by Akali W, save passive, and if she hits E, you can land your whole combo for free if she takes the engage. Even if she's in W, an Arcane Comet or Aery will point to where she is when you hit Q for your E and R to land, and you can farm from forever away during laning phase.

If you guys haven't thought of it, try Lux. Orianna has a similar shtick of having almost all her damage be non-targeted.

Kelko3 votes

Morgana also ruins akalis day. Fyi even of shes in shround if shes close to morg,morg can ult her and instantly know her location due to the tether. Makes landing a follow up snare and pool laughable, and morg can shove lane better and keep up with sustain.

SnugglePuggle941 votes

Good pick! I need to remember that. :)

Xion The XIV2 votes

People don't fear Akali because of her damage. NONE want to deal with her bullshit shroud. It's because she can trade against you go into her shroud fully heal up with Qing a minion wave and come back at almost full health with you playing guess where she is now.

chipndip11 votes

...playing "Guess where she is now"

...isn't that the point of a massive smoke bomb? So you don't know where she is in the smoke bomb?

Solidair32 votes

I've found that Syndra is very good against Akali, though admittedly Syndra is my most played champion, so this could be an experience thing. However, shoving her away with an E, then following up with massive burst. I find the key is to save E ONLY for when Akali engages, and of course manage your mana, because if you run out while Akali sits on her Energy and sustains herself, you'll be in for bad a bad lane.

I have yet to try Twisted Fate, but I suspect that would be a skill matchup, perhaps more in Akali's favor. I'm not even bothering to try Karma until she gets some work done.

And finally, I assume Lissandra would be pretty good against Akali. Unlimited poke, save yourself with your ult if she dives, push her into oblivion. Good ol' Lissy the anti-assassin.

Oleandervine2 votes

Akali folds like a soggy tissue against tanky characters. So if you midlane as someone like Swain Vladimir orLissandra, you'll ruin her day.

TekkenPlayer2 votes

I actually had a lot of success with

Anivia : soft counter: really strong aoe zoning tool and she'll run out of energy trying to kill egg (it's hilarious)

Annie : hard counter: either she lands the rotation or she doesn't. Shroud is meaningless if you are practically spamming Q with stacks Kennen : soft counter: Early game is a bit weak but post 6 its basically, if akali E's onto you, then ult. If you don't have ult, then gl Swain: hard counter: if you can land your rotation well then you'll force akali to try to sustain. Really hard for her to all-in because of your ult

ModKnightsKemplar1 votes

Approved!

Ranmaru1 votes

Akali loses to syndra fizz leblanc malzahar and somewhat to annie. along with galio that ok

Stray Kat1 votes

Funfact with Diana/Akali interaction - Hitting her with Diana's Q causes the "Moonlight" debuff to keep her visible within her W. No, she's not FULLY visible - But the "Moonlight" stays visible above her, following her around the shroud.

Or at least it did in the last matchup I played against her. Had never noticed it previously, but hadn't really cared previously - I usually just blow her up.

MegaHuff1 votes

You don't counter her. She's broken. You wait for her to be changed or removed.

Nhifu1 votes

Best counter to Akali? Anivia

Moon Mom1 votes

Diana should never, in any case, max shield first. An extra point is fine, but it costs way too much mana, and most of your damage comes from Q. You need that maxed for waveclear and a good chunk of your all in damage comes from it.

Lunar ArcS1 votes

Just wanted to add this real quick, Please Don't Max w first on Diana. Ty

BlinkZZ1821 votes

akali already sucks at midlane. 47% win rate or something if i remember correctly

SnugglePuggle941 votes

I played Karma against her last night. I wasn't able to kill her but she wasn't able to kill me even when she went all in plus ignite. When she would try, she would use all her abilities plus ignite. I would R+W to heal myself, shield myself to get away from her shroud, use Q if I had enough health to zone her away and get back under turret and still had health to survive to farm under the turret for a bit.

And when I eventually got a few items, I turned the teamfights around with huge ulted shields :) And packed a punch with RQ too!

Von Brohenheim1 votes

Gameplay+ Guidelines Posts must have a clear and specific title that provides an introduction to the topic of the thread. Titles that are insufficiently clear may be altered by moderation prior to post approval if the post is otherwise satisfactory. Posts must provide a thoughtful analysis or other meaningful starting point for discussion. Data should be cited where possible, and hyperbole is not appropriate. Do not let your passion about some aspect of the game cloud your ability to present your views, and do not let your views get in the way of having a respectful discussion. Posts must offer a direction for conversation that is not shared with other recent or active posts. If you wish to partake in a discussion already ongoing, do so in the thread for that discussion. Posts must genuinely invite discussion, even if others take another viewpoint or support another side of an argument.

So why are there two discussions on Akali, when this one is older, healthier, and not some salty hardstuck support player bumping their thread every time midlaners who consistently win more often than they lose (something can be overpowered and broken without being an autowin button) offer more evidence and explanations? Can someone lock the other one and let this one thrive? The other thread keeps getting bumped to the top because everyone finds it objectionable except the topic creator, who has yet to offer any kind of evidence or personal experience to support their outrageous bias.

Gilgayu1 votes

From some personal experience, I know a few counters to akali

Lissandra Surprisingly, she does quite well against akali due to her range and ability to survive Leblanc AOE w, useful if you can perdict akali's location Ahri Hit your charm, you simply win trades unless you into melee range DrMundo Mundo against melee ap mid is actually OP, but only few tried it due to team comp. Ryze I know this seems dumb, but a good ryze can win against even his hardest counter TwistedFate Push then roam, you are almost certainly ganna lose your lane, but its a team game after all. Irelia w through her shroud, rush hexdrinker, ez lane Vladimir Just ignore her, sustain baby! Post-6 is hard, though Velkoz Skill matchup, dont get into her q range and poke her down Xerath Same thing as Vel

More from [ARCHIVED] Gameplay+

More by I Will Flash In