5 Champions Who Counter Jax
Jax is a strong top laner who seems to always snowball in their lane. Thanks to his E, he can be challenging and frustrating to play against as his E will block a lot of incoming damage. Mixed with his Q, he can also effortlessly chase you down and kill you over and over again.
In this Mobalytics guide, we will discuss 5 champions that counter Jax in the top lane. If you see the Jax being picked up in an early rotation, try and pick one of these champions to make the laning phase much easier for you.
If you like to run the enemy down over and over again, and split push in the mid or late game, why not check out Jax’s champion page? It has tons of tips for Jax, including Jax Runes, items and much much more.
What champions counter Jax?
- Akali
- Pantheon
- Malphite
- Gangplank
- Gragas
The best champions that counter Jax are Akali, Pantheon, Malphite, Gangplank and Gragas. You can find all the matchup tips we use in this guide on the Mobalytics App. For plus members, you can get specific matchup tips for the champion you’re playing versus the enemy laner at your fingertips while you load into the game. We have tens of thousands of different, highly specific matchups curated by our challenger level players to help you lane against the enemy champion.
1. Jax vs Akali
Jax is a pretty straightforward champion. You’ll tend to know what he wants to do because his gameplay is scripted. Akali can counter him easily by always preventing him from playing aggressive with her E. If he is never able to CC you- he will never be able to kill you. This is one of the many reasons as to why Akali is a good pick into Jax.
4 tips to counter Jax as Akali
- In this lane you want to slow push the wave and contest CS.
- Once you’re level 6 you can look for an all-in on Jax if he uses his E or if he uses his Q.
- Between levels 2 to 5 save your E for when Jax engages on you to look for a trade or if he uses his E you can use your Eto disengage.
- Level 1 poke Jax a bit with your Q and Passive procs while farming.
2. Jax vs Pantheon
Pantheon’s early game is stronger than Jax’s. Pre 6, you should win this matchup as you can be more aggressive than him. Post 6, the Jax does have more all-in pressure as his Ultimate is stronger than yours, but you should still do well against him.
4 tips to counter Jax as Pantheon
- After level 6, Jax will have some extra damage and more resistance. It may not seem much, but in a trade the damage mitigation will add up. Make him waste his R or poke him out before you go for an all-in.
- Keep the minion wave even or somewhat closer to your side of the lane early. This will allow you to look for trades and prevent him from running you down. You will also be able to set up ganks for your Jungler.
- Engage onto Jax when his E is down and go for short trades during this time. His E is one of his main trading tools and once it’s down he is easier to trade with.
- At level 1, use your Q} and auto-attacks to bully him as much as possible. He is at his weakest point early, so you need to abuse it. Gaining a health advantage can make his early game very bad for him.
3. Jax vs Malphite
Malphite is the safest champion on our list. Jax lacks the kill pressure early to really kill the Malphite, and as long as you understand that Jax will want to play aggressive and Malphite wants to play safe- you should have no trouble staying alive in this lane. Also, you can poke him with your Q before looking for an all-in.
4 tips to counter Jax as Malphite
- Try to push Jax away from the minions and the tower and deny him any gold you can, as he scales immensely from items.
- Jax is weak early game, but you need to not let him get extended trades, because the damage he can do increases in time.
- At level 1, use your Q and auto-attacks to bully him as much as possible, because it is his weakest point of the game.
- After level 6, Jax will have some extra damage and more resistances, but you have a lethal threat in your Q. Poke as much as possible, and threaten him with your Q.
4. Jax vs Gangplank
Gangplank can stop Jax from ever landing his stun. If Jax isn’t able to land his E on someone, it will be much harder for him to kill the enemy in lane. Gangplank will also out scale the Jax, and be better in team fights too. As long as you don’t give the Jax an early kill, you will do well into Jax as Gangplank.
4 tips to counter Jax as Gangplank
- Try your hardest to poke Jax down with your Q whenever possible. If you can stay out of his Q range and poke him down from afar, it will be very hard for him to farm and he will be forced to back. Avoid trading, just poke!
- Jax may look for an all in at level 1 and 2. Try not to trade blows with him as he will come out ahead. Get level 2 first (which is the first 7 minions) or back off if he gets it first.
- Jax’s Counter Strike must be baited out before looking for an all-in since it dodges the basic attacks and can CC you. If he activates his E, be prepared to fall back away so he cannot land the stun.
- Keeping a live Barrel behind you will make it dangerous for Jax to jump on to you with his Q. Keep one Barrel behind as a deterrent and blow it up if he jumps on you.
5. Jax vs Gragas
Gragas can interrupt Jax’s engage with ease. Post 6, he will also never be able to get on to you either (or at least threaten to kill you) as you can knock him away with your Ultimate. Gragas is also way stronger and better suited in team fights than Jax.
4 tips to counter Jax as Gragas
- You can easily outrun Jax if you don’t want to fight him. Slow him with your Q and then E away or into him, depending on whether you’re running away or initiating a team fight.
- Dueling Jax for extended periods is a big no-no. He can easily out damage you due to his Passive and your dependency on cooldowns.
- Post-six, you should always try to displace essential carries on the enemy team with your Ultimate. This will also come in handy when dealing with neutral, objective fights.
- Bait out Jax’s E before looking for an all-in. If you E, he can easily E you and turn the exchange around.
Conclusion
Jax is a formidable champion and one of the best split pushers in the game. If you can set him behind early, or counter him directly, you will increase your chances of winning. Pick one of these champions to make it harder for him to get an early lead.
For more tips and tricks, check out Mobalytics!
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