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LoL: The Best Yasuo Counters – And How To Play If You Can't Pick Them
Yasuo has been a major annoyance for the last decade. He is always dashing around, usually deals more damage than you expect, and somehow he always ends up being fed even if you put him through the worst laning phase imaginable. It is time to put his shenanigans in your League of Legends games to an end – we are here to explain how you can stop him in his tracks reliably and consistently, and which champions are the best Yasuo counters.
We have all been there – it is one of our first PvP games on Summoner's Rift. We lock in Annie, Ashe or some other simple champion that a friend has recommended to us. A member of the enemy team picks Yasuo – and turns out to be a one-trick pony with 3,000 games of Yasuo to their name. While they die a lot early in lane, they take over the game after their first two items, dashing through your team, murdering everyone in their way.
They destroy your nexus after 30 minutes, with their kills being well in the double digits. Your mind can not figure out what just happened to you. Your disappointment is immeasurable, and your day is ruined. Does this sound like you? Well, worry no longer because next time you will be prepared for him! Look no further than this article – we are here to tell you about the best Yasuo counters, and what you should do to beat him if you can't pick them!
Before We Dive Into The Best Yasuo Counters: Why Is Yasuo So Annoying To Deal With?
Yasuo is one of the first few champions designed by the infamous Riot designer Bradford 'CertainlyT' Wenban. CertainlyT is well known for extending the rules of what champion design is allowed to do. While he created some of the most iconic and memorable designs in a League of Legends champion, his creations also became some of the most frustrating champions to play against. All of this is giving him a controversial reputation among the League of Legends community.
Also, just in case you are wondering: CertainlyT will no longer terrorize you on the rift with new inventions. No guarantees for Teamfight Tactics, though, because he is now working on your favorite auto-battler.
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While CertainlyT has left the champion design team, his creations still wreak havoc in the game.
Yasuo is best described as a hybrid between a marksman and a skirmisher. He is a mobile, squishy melee fighter with a strong synergy with crit items, as his critical strike chance is artificially increased by 150% by his Passive – Way of the Wanderer. That means if he buys a single crit item that would usually grant you 20% crit chance, he instead gains 50% crit chance.
This causes him to be an effective champion much earlier than most other crit users, although this effect is somewhat reduced by his critical strike damage penalty.
However, he definitely makes up for this penalty in mobility. His E – Sweeping Blade lets him dash through an enemy unit and while the per-target base cooldown is at ten seconds, the spell itself only needs half a second to be ready again. If there are minions around, Yasuo can pretty much dash around however much he wants, much to our annoyance.
If You Can't Pick The Best Yasuo Counters: How To Stop A Yasuo Main In Their Tracks
Yasuo has clear weaknesses. As a champion reliant on crit items, he tends to be very squishy. Most times, if he is caught out of position and gets stunlocked, he will die. His laning phase is also not particularly strong, but his low cooldowns and his Passive shield will at least give him a helping hand in early trades.
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His mains will know his trading windows and try to abuse your ability downtimes while attempting to sustain through your trades. They are in and out quickly and will also poke you from far away with their tornado from Yasuo's Q – Steel Tempest. As soon as they reach level six, each landing tornado offers the chance to follow up with Yasuo's R – Last Breath, and will give the player an easy window to kill you.
However, simply sidestepping a tornado is not all you have got to look out for. If he uses his tornado while dashing, Yasuo will instead whirl and knock up all enemies around him instantly, so you will have to watch his movement as well.
As a melee champion, you can usually outtrade Yasuo with quick trades. Knock his Passive shield down, then force him into a trade and give him a taste of your full combo. Once your spells are on cooldown, take a step back and let Yasuo lick his wounds until your spells are ready again. Once his health is low enough for you to kill him in one combo, make sure that he will eat every single one of your spells if he gets just a little too close to the minion wave.
As a ranged champion, you can use your basic attacks to harass Yasuo constantly. Even a mage deals considerable damage with their basic attacks in the early game. While you may not kill him from basic attacks alone, you can give him a clear disadvantage in case he is looking to engage a fight. Consider the Perfect Timing rune to buy yourself an important couple of seconds with Stopwatch if you get hit by his R.
LoL: The Best Yasuo Counters
Yasuo is not a particularly big fan of champions that will prevent him from dashing around. One such champion that also has a solid early game is Poppy.
Poppy will beat Yasuo in any short trade. Her Passive shield and percentage maximum health damage make her considerably strong in the early game. She will lose extended trades to Yasuo as her DPS is not that strong, but whenever her abilities are available, the wind samurai is in for a bad time. Additionally, Poppy can cancel his dashes with her W – Steadfast Presence. As a result, Yasuo will be grounded for two seconds, making it impossible for him to follow you, to escape or to flash away.
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Another two champions that will make you stand still are Taliyah and Lissandra.
Lissandra has various crowd control spells that will put any Yasuo player into a world of desperation. These are easy to land as her W – Ring of Frost instantly roots down all targets in a circle around herself. Her R – Frozen Tomb is even more potent and dangerous, as it will stun her poor victim by the press of a button. Yasuo will not have a lot of room to maneuver around her – and even if he gets through to Lissandra, she can still get to safety quickly with her E – Glacial Path's blink.
Taliyah is not nearly as easy to play as Lissandra, so you will need a good bit of practice before you can go up against a Yasuo main. You will quickly learn that her E – Unraveled Earth is your most effective weapon when battling any Yasuo out there. Any unlucky soul that dashes over the rocks you laid out will immediately be stunned, which also makes it easier for you to land the rest of your combo.
Taliyah is currently the most successful solo queue champion against Yasuo at a 55% win rate in Platinum and above.
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That concludes RiftFeed's quick guide on how to beat a Yasuo main. Make sure to teach those annoying Yasuo mains out there some manners, and good luck on your climb!