6 Counters to Ambessa in LoL
Ambessa will be released on the next patch of League of Legends. She is already on the PBE, so you may or may not have seen her in action. She is a champion with a lot of all-in potential and mobility tools. This makes her quite challenging to play against.
This is why you must understand how to counter her and what to do against her. Here at Mobalytics, we have already created an article that provides tips and tricks to counter Ambessa, but in this guide, we will list six champions that can be good against her and whom we recommend you pick against.
If you’re looking for updated stats to help counter her, head over to Ambessa Mobalytics Champion Page, which has live and up-to-date win rates and data regarding Riot Games’ latest champion.
PS: These champions may not be statistically the best, but you’ll have an easier time playing against her during the laning phase and in team fights. Having an easier time and picking somebody who counters her will make the laning phase much easier for you.
1. Poppy
The first recommendation is Poppy. Poppy is an underrated champion in League of Legends. She is one of the strongest top laners in the game, as her kit allows her to exploit mobile champions, which makes her perfect against a mobile champion like Ambessa.
During the laning phase, look to keep the minion wave closer to your side of the map. When she comes forward to harass you, try pinning her against the wall with your E, or use your W to counter her all-in.
Knocking her up and interrupting her combo will make it difficult for her to trade back effectively. Also, as her trades are quite scripted, you can abuse this to land Q poke on her consistently. Your goal during the laning phase is to basically make her overextend and then trade back with her whenever she goes too far forward.
How to play Poppy
- Guide
- Counters
- Combos
2. Renekton
The second champion on our list is Renekton. Renekton is one of the stronger Top laners at level 2 thanks to his level 2 combo, which allows him to go for a quick all-in. If you get the level up first (first 7 minions), you can quickly gain a significant health advantage from the get-go.
As Renekton, you should use your strong skirmishing power to be a major nuisance to her in the lane. By that, you need to keep playing aggressively whenever she walks up to trade or last hit. A good time to trade is after she has used one of her abilities, as it gives you a clear advantage.
Your goal is to really set her behind early so she cannot be strong in the mid or late-game. This can also be achieved by freezing near your turret and playing aggressively or harassing her whenever she walks up to the farm. By getting a gold and XP advantage, you will naturally come out ahead in the laning phase.
How to play Renekton
- Guide
- Counters
- Combos
3. Darius
Darius is our third recommended pick. Darius is a powerful melee champion, especially in the lower ranks. He can trade back with her and often out-trade her thanks to his Passive bleed. This makes it quite difficult for her to try and fight you.
The first step to abusing his play style is by keeping the minion wave closer to your side of the map. Darius is notorious for chasing enemies down, so if you can keep them close to your side of the map, you have a lot of chase-down potential. You can use your E to interrupt her, and then all-in her and chase her down.
The main thing to remember about this champion is that you must be aggressive to shine on them. If you are scared or don’t like fighting often, then Darius is not the champion for you. You will not win this match-up without abusing your Passive and your auto-attack bleed.
How to play Darius
- Guide
- Counters
- Combos
4. Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser is a flex pick, so you can still pick him to counter her if she is picked in the middle lane. Mordekaiser has a very versatile kit so no matter what she does, you have tools to counter her. This makes him one of the better champions to pick against her.
While Mordekaiser may not be the best in those 1v1 skirmishes early, once he has some items under his belt, he can fight her really well thanks to his E, W and Q. He can also use his E to pull her back into him, so he can extend the fight.
Another benefit to picking Mordekaiser is that you could honestly just Ult her in team fights, so she isn’t on your allies anymore. Taking her out of the fight will force her to focus you and not your carries. You don’t have to Ult her, though. You can Ult a different enemy if you’re ahead and can one-shot the enemy carry.
How to play Mordekaiser
- Guide
- Counters
- Combos
5. Jax
The fifth champion on our list is Jax! Jax is a direct counter to Ambessa because his E can directly counter her empowered auto attacks, which prevents her from restoring energy and enabling her to go for trades.
Jax is a really strong champion vs enemies who like to all-in and fight. He can directly counter her by blocking her autos, making her deal reduced damage. This keeps him alive for longer in trades. He can turn the fight around if he times his E right.
Like some of the other champions on our list, Jax also has good all-in/turnaround potential. So if you want to extend the trade after she has made a mistake, you can just E>Q or Q on her and chase her down the lane. Finally, let’s not forget that Jax is also a strong split pusher, so he can apply pressure during the mid like her.
How to play Jax
- Guide
- Counters
- Combos
6. Shen
Shen is the next champion on our list. Shen has good skirmishing power and can directly counter her in the mid and late game thanks to his ultimate ability, which can be used to peel and protect his allies.
During the laning phase, he can block auto-attacks with his W. He can use this to his advantage to win trades and maintain a health advantage over her. He can also use his Q to empower his autos to make him deal more damage while fighting her, making the trades more balanced. She will traditionally deal more damage as she builds more AD items than Shen.
Outside the early game, he can continue to apply pressure with his Ultimate while she is forced to group with her team. Shen can just press his Ultimate on the person who is at the back of his team being focused by her.
How to play Shen
- Guide
- Counters
- Combos
Why Shen and Mordekaiser?
While some champions like Mordekaiser and Shen are on our list, they do not have the best win rates versus her. However, a sub 50% win rate doesn’t mean they’re bad against them. Shen can counter her Ultimate with his own. Furthermore, Mordekaiser can also take her out of the fight with her Ultimate. It cannot be denied that these two abilities are hard counters to Ambessa’s strong kit.
In Conclusion
That sums up our recommendations for champions who are good against Ambessa. Please remember that these may not be statistically the best champions in the game when you read this guide, but they are very potent picks and good against her.
We recommend you only pick these champions if you can play them and understand how to use their kit effectively. If not, pick a champion you like and can perform well on instead. It’s better to pick someone who you are good at and enjoy rather than somebody who might be statistically the best but you can’t play.
If you’re looking for tips and tricks to counter Ambessa or any other champion in general, head over to the Mobalytics Champion Page for more!
