- Tether back and forth to bait out his Qs (Back&Forth movement is better than sidestepping, from experience)
- Building anti heal is optional
- Use your E to dodge out his Q2, when taking E2 when he has Q3 up, try to instantly go for a side step instead of AA (can use W ms to make it easier)
- Ideal trading pattern after 6 should be as follows: Bait out Q1 by tethering, dodge Q2 with either E1 or R1, after that kite him around (Target should be around
60~70% hp and you need to have ignite/anti heal
Akshan
TOP // - Good Akshans will abuse your level 1, you need to start w and try to soak xp in most cases
- Play safe till 6, after that you can kill him by standing in him to cancel out his grapple, doesn't matter mostly on which side he tries to go just get in him
- he needs 3 hits to proc his shield, you can short trade before his shield procs if you dodge his Q during a trade and W to prevent him from getting another auto attack started but make sure you dont force too hard so you can escape before he chases you down
-
Illaoi
- Extremely hard matchup, orb is a must her shoving potential is extremely high and you need to be permanently positioning yourself behind minions on the move as a land from her e will equal 30-60% of your hp, get out of her range as fast as possible if she lands it
- You can only go for short trades while her E is down, your best bet is to try and snowball early with the help of a jungle as being weaksided on this lane is painful
- Go for an all in after 6/obvilion orb by baiting her e on minion or trying your best to dodge it using r/e
Conq TP
Jayce
- This is currently my permaban for TOP and most likely the worst akali matchup on top, jayce lane is extremely hard due to the constant poke in lane being able to disengage and farm you for free honestly there really isn't anything that you can do in this lane if the jayce is good you can go for an all in if he doesnt build hex but after that it's G_G
- Can use e to dodge his melee q, Stand behind minions to try and prevent E+Q combo dmg.
-When going for an all in try to land an E as he will try to use his E to disengage from you but with E2 you can stick up to him
- When he is in hammer form he gains a lot of MR and Armor so it's harder to trade, try to go for short trades when he is in ranged form but dont commit too hard as you will lose them
Conq/TP
Kled
- dorans ring 2 pots with flash tp sorcery setup
- This is one of the worst Akali matchups you go for scaling as if you are able to survive up till level 7-8 you outscaled him, however before that both his q and e are true sight if they have a jungle like Elise or lee it is better to dodge as you will go 0/15 in lane the only thing you can rely on the lane is him missing qs(you could try to play frong back to dodge them) and dodging his e with yours
Mid// It is the same principles however you have more safety and easier farming.
Conq/TP
LeBlanc
Before Statikk Shiv, it was a Skill Matchup with tendencies to go LB favored.
With Statikk she outtempos you and snowballs the game while still outdamaging you. You have some kill pressure starting at lvl 6, but it will most likely end in an even trade because of her W and passive.
Ban
Lissandra
Lissandra is known for shutting down assassins. She provides so much hard cc and counter engage and disengage for her team you can't teamfight against her. She will outtempo you in lane and can freely roam while you are still farming the wavel. Although, if you play well you have kill pressure on her.
Conq TP
Pantheon
TOP // - Really hard matchup due to him being extremely opressive early. Early levels you should try to avoid as much dmg as possible as he will dive you otherwise missing out on gold is completely fine as long as you can get the XP and preserve your XP
- Use w/e to prevent him from getting 3 stacks. Your qs have almost identical range so try to bait out his q by going fron and back
-You can go for an all ins after 6 just be mindful of his e
-
Conq/ you can vary summoners depending on comps
Renekton
TOP // - Really hard matchup as you lose every trade due to stat checking and his sustain from q. Personally I go secondary sorcery with tp for the idea being if he stomps the lane just don't play for it. This playstyle is really hard to pull off as you give up all of your defences and have to give up a lot of gold, only play for XP. You do outscales and are able to 1v1 him around level 8 but before that you should not engage whatsoever
- You can e his e, try to shroud to cancel his w, try to isolate his trading outside of wave so he doesnt get extra healing from empowered q
Rumble
TOP // - Really hard matchups especially after buffs, I personally just rush negatron and try to avoid the laning phase as he wins every trade :| only opportunity to kill is after 6 if he is about to overheat and wasted W
Ahri
Ahri also has better waveclear and tempo than you, she also has so many dashes she can escape all of your attempts to kill her. If she has a good reaction time she can also easily land her E on you when you ult. Play patiently and try to punish mistakes if you find them. Go for short trades with backwards E to gapclose Q-AA-Q That also allows you to proc electro
Electro TP
Akshan
MID // Good Akshans will try to deny you as many farm as they can and pressure you off the lane. Until 6 you basically have no chance of killing him. Farm using Q W E and sustain with Second Wind, after you get level 6 make sure to always stand behind him as he will try to run away to tower but it cancels if there is someone in front of him. Be wary of where he is constantly on the map as he has very easy time getting prio and roaming.
Anivia
MID //
Anivia Is an extremely boring matchup, Early levels you have next to none kill pressure and if you do you get the egg only,, you can use your e1 to easily dodge her q, after level 6 she will just sit in lane and push every wave getting prio first.
If you have an aggressive Jungler you can get ign to try and go for kills however if you don't want to rely on someone else its safer to go TP and look for plays on Bot lane.
Conq
Annie
MID// This matchup is very annoying due to the constant push with her Q being reset on minions kills and having low time to punish when her CC Is on CD, That being Said after level 6 you should try and look for all ins almost all of the time her CC is off as she is very short ranged and even if you dont get a kill it forces a reset/creates pressure for roaming,
I prefer using Conq as it gives tenacity however electro is also viable ign/tp depending on Comps
Azir
MID// Extremely pokey lane you can only go for short trades and chip him little by little with electro, try to not greed for CS too much as it will cost you a lot of HP, After level 6 you can go for an R+E combo to avoid the R as usually they will instantly ult you away when you get close to them.
Electro TP
Dr. Mundo
- Stand behind minions to avoid his Q, but you have to be careful if they are low as he will e them
- Matchup itself is mostly uninteractive as he will mostly farm with his q you should be looking to kill him level 3-4 as you have higher damage and just try to deny him cs by perma freezing as he will be missing some cds due to his q being 5 second cd
- Mid-game you are mostly looking for to collapse on him with your team as he will most likely rush anathema for you or hearsteel and will be perma split pushing
- Look to be extending your team lead as you will get outscaled by him
Fiora
- Level 1 fiora might try to cheese you as she is much stronger with the vitals, try your best to soak xp, w start is possible
- Grasp makes the matchup hard, try to avoid getting into early fights and just try to get the xp, you can reset vitals by getting out of her visions
- You can bait out her q by using e1, when going back for an e2 go sideways to avoid getting hit,
- after level 7 you start dominating the matchup unless mr is built, go for short trades
- try to always kite in one side to avoid getting all vitals getting procedd during ult
Gangplank
TOP // - Level 1 if he starts q, try to soak as much damage as possible as he will waste his mana and you can outsustain it for the most part don't give him passive procs as it will never be worth
- If he starts e you have to avoid fighting him as you will lose a lot of hp and not waste his mana, You can use your extended aa passive to get his barels as he wont expect it most of the time
-Can go for all in at level 3-4 just make sure to ignite before the w to reduce his healing after 6 as long as his flash is down you can 100 to 0 him with ign
- Can dodge his barels by using r-aa the barel or e1.
Gragas
TOP // - You can be agressive early levels as you can outsustain his damage but his passive has massive sustain as well so it's hard to get consistent dmg
- In all ins you are looking to waste his e in a short trade and then go for r+e combo as he will use ult to create distance between you but with e2 you can catch up to him if he goes for phase rush into full ap hes extremely squishy making him easy for all ins if he goes grasp into tank you just outscale him later on in the game and can chip him down bit by bit and he won't have dmg in lane
K'Sante
TOP // - Very hard matchup due to the fact that his E shield makes short trades hard and his ult extends long trades losing them as well :^)
-Early game you are looking for perma baiting out his q by walking back and forth, your Qs have very similar range so it is easy to do, when he goes for an E+q combo you can either try to hit him with E or wait out on shroud perserving your energy so his shield run out and you can get actual damage in him
-His Q3 is very slow and easy to dodge but he can pair it up by Using E on minion and leave you with little time to react, make sure to keep your distance when he has Q3 ready He can do a Q3+W+R combo to get you out of your tower, you should be very careful
- Your opening to all in is when he Used E/W to damage you, after that just play with your shorud and keep your distance (Your w can make him cancel R) In the scenario where you want to soak up his R or he was able to use it because you dont have shroud, Use E1 and run away as that will great distance in which you can dodge his Empowered w( he will almost always for for R+Q1+W combo) After his W is on CD you can use R2 as when he is ulti form all of his defensives stats drop massively and is extremely sqshy just make sure to be mindful of the E/F as he can dodge your R2 and then he WILL win the long trade
Poppy
- You have to play around your sustain a lot on this matchup, try to look out for grasp procs with her passsives. Your q is longer range then hers so you can go for short trades pretty easily, be very patient with her w as will completely nullify you both in lane and in teamfights
- Your ideal engage is when she is around 50% use r1 when she doesnt expect it and then be as patient as possible to use r2
- if she tries to r you away you can try to attach e1 and come back with e2. Standing on top of her passive destroys it
Rengar
-Really hard matchup from 1-6 levels try to stay away from Bushesh and give up as much cs as you can to keep your hp only go for XP, his E is a true sight so your shroud is mostly useless if he gets on top of you
- You can go obvilion as his W healing is quite strong
-Go for long trades only when you are planning to continue with an all in(r)
Sion
- Really difficult matchup you can usually get to kill him around 2-3 times before he becomes unkillable, after that point you will have to get another member of your team to help you out in siding
- You can dodge his q by using e and getting a free hit, if it is down you should try your best in using MS from passive and q to dodge them
-His shield explodes, you have the choice of either destroying it and sacrficing a lot of your energy or waiting it out so you can go for better trades depends on the situation
- You have really good sustain so even if you are taking a lot of poke you can survive it
Syndra
MID// Annoying lane Pre 6, after level the moment she uses her E go for an all in, In general look for short trades with backwards E to gapclose Q-AA-Q That also allows you to proc electro
Electro TP
Vex
MID// The lane itself isn't hard as you have massive sustain however this matchup gets hard as the game goes on with her movement cancelling passive, look for all ins and long trades as she will win the short ones.
Conq TP OR Ign
Viktor
Pokey lane, you can only go for short trades somewhat after level 4, before that try to minimize damage done to your HP and wait for level 6 where you can all in as long as you kite his W good, look for all ins around 60-70% hp
I prefer running electro TP but can vary
Kennen
TOP // - pretty even matchup whoever snowballs stat checks the other merc threads are optional but good perfect time to engage is when he wastes e or he gets the first stun off as the second one will be a lot shorter
- when he is going for an all in try to hide behind minions to avoid q dmg
Lee Sin
TOP/MID
- Stay behind minions to avoid his q try to shroud before he uses e as it only reveals if he is the first one to hit you
- The matchup itself isn't that hard but due to him having true sight and ult can be a bit challenging when going for an all in you should always try to look for an r1-e combo as he will try to ulti you away and you use the e to gap close to him after the cc duration ends.
-When he does land a q you can use your e while flying in to secure a hit (in the scenario when you both q2 and e2 your damage is output faster from experience might not be 100% true speaking from experience)
- Be mindful of the lifesteal he gets from w2
Nasus
- This matchup is mostly wave understanding control reliant, 1-3 try to abuse him when going for q stacks even if you take some dmg it doesn't matter as you will be able to sustain it( his priority will be getting stacks not yourself) after level 4 you should be permnanely looking to freeze the wave on your side of the lane and poke in a way where you don't hit the minions with your q(positioning is very important)
Qiyana
TOP/MID volatile lane, whoever snowballs bullies the other. Level 1 you are stronger and can try to zone her out of xp potentially or just get cheap poke at her . Your e true sights her however whenever you use the e2 the truesight is removed. Getting oracles early is good as you can see her in grass form.
- Try to punish her when she uses a q as she will have a bit of a downtime to trade , e backward into q poke
-When she goes for a e+q combo on you, you can get a free e hit
- Try to use as much of your aoe as possible as going for aas usually is hard due to her stealth
"
Riven
- Level 1 good rivens would try to zone you out of first wave EXP, start W it is better to get EXP and be unable to trade, rather than take q when you will deal 20% of his health and he will deal 60-70% of it
- Early try to not use q when she has her shield up, you can just wait it out on shroud or position in a way to not be in her range, You can use e to evade and counter her e. When kiting with passives and qs try to go for max distance aas to throw her tempo off. At level 6 her burst with ignite it extremely high you should do your best to respect it
-Make sure to watch out for hexdrinker and nullifying both are very annoying shields but have really short time (2.5) seconds you can wait it out
Sett
- Your Q is slighly longer than his e when used at the edges use it to your advantage. Go only for short trades early where you try to avoid giving him a lot of W stacks you can use e1 to dodge w most of the time
- Respect his auto attacks, if your shroud is down sett can land a combo that will cost you to 60-70% of your hp
-You can use r1 to dodge his w and when he is ulting you can get a free hit for e as he always lands on the same spot
-If you do get hit by e instantly shroud to avoid aa dmg
Shen
- Wait out his shield before using qs(same applies for going for aas when he uses w)
- You can use e to dodge his e and get a good trade, the matchup relies on your short trades and playing around his passive/e his whole dmg is in q
-Personally like to run the sorcery setup here as well as having tp is nice and you can get away having no resolve most of the time
Tahm Kench
- Mostly an afk lane, go only for short trades stand only behind minions
- His ultimate does a lot of dmg and can be chained into q but can only be used when he has full stacks of passives try your best to evade it by staying in shroud and waiting it out
-HIs w is really easy to dodge as you can use your e and get a free hit
Urgot
- W start, almost all urgots will try to E start and stay in bush to cheese you and deny you the XP he can easily get up to 70% of your HP if you dont respect it
- He has really short range so going for short trades is really easy just be always mindful of his e and use shroud/e to prevent it,
-When using R1 to go for an all in it usually better to either try to go for r1+e1 or instantly moving away because you will get locked into position giving him free E/R hit
- His ult Executes at around 20% so always try to dodge it using R/flash
Vladimir
TOP // - The matchups is really wave managment reliant, he has a lot of sustain so till level 4 its hard to make significant poke. After that you should try to be perma freezing and going for short trades after or before he has empowered q, your trades are better you can usually all in him at 6
- If he uses W while you E2 the dmg will get nullified, your Passive goes trough his W as it is empowered AA
Yorick
- Early levels till ~7 you are stronger then him after Maiden spawns trading starts to get hard and you should start looking for all in
- Early levels try to punish him for every minion he goes and try your best to dodge his e, your e1 oneshot his spawnlings but that only take cares of 1 of them
-ALWAYS save your e as if he lands a W on you and your E is on CD you can't get any passives and become extremely Vulnerable
Zac
- Stand on his Blops, this will destroy them. The matchup is mostly him being very healing reliant and amazing setup for jungle, anti heal is very helpful after level 5 it becomes easy to trade but be aware of jungle pressense at all times
- Use your E to dodge his E
-His Q if landed on you is a true sight
-
Zilean
TOP, MID // - Very afk lane, the reason it is ""skilled/even"" is because you can punish him in laning phase somewhat if he messes up but he will always be extremely useful to his team due to his E R
Camille
- Q Passive auto Trade her level 1
- Be patient with your Qs when she gets passive up, abuse the long CD
- Dodge her E with your own E / Use W if its too late to dodge so she can't abuse her attack speed
- Avoid her outer W since that heals her and does extra damage to you + slows
Cho'Gath
Top/MID
- He is extremely immobile so you can easily manage passives into short trades
- Always try to freeze on your side of the map, even if he's able to farm with Q he will be wasting a lot of mana (doesn't apply to mid)
Conq/sorcery with TP or Ign up to you
Darius
- Be wary of tribush and the last bush on top, he will try to cheese it in most cases can't win level 1 as his extended fight is one of the strongest in the game
- You can use your e to dodge his e, you can wait out stacks in shroud but if they are more than 3 bleed stacks its better to disengage
-Your q is slightly bit longer than his but it's much better to wait it out and then go for after it's cdtrading
- You can enter hsi inner Q circle to prevent him from healing(or ignite while the q is going off)
Garen
TOP // - One of the few matchups where d ring start is doable, matchup itself is pretty easy the only things you need be looking out for is to always use e when he tries to q+e you to avoid the e damage and be wary of the f q ign r it deals around 60% of your hp and is unavaoidable.
- Perma freeze he has a hard time contesting waves and will need to trade hp
-Always E when his Q is about to land, he will E right after and it will get wasted
E back in once his E ends and chain Q Passive Auto him
- If he doesnt E after his Q, you can auto a minion to consume your passive and E back in to get another
passive and run away from his E dmg with your new passive MS then chain passive auto him to death
- When trading stay in your minion wave since his E will deal less dmg
- Wait out his shield before you Passive Auto if you are in shroud and you have time on passive/shroud
Gnar
- Most cases he will go fleet and will have big sustain just free farm till 3-4 after that start holding up waves and punishing him, his damage is pretty weak unless he's in mega gnar
- Go for all ins after Mega gnar has run out,
- He is extremely sqyshy so you can cosnsitently go for short trades into all in after 6, when going for an all in position yourself in a way you don't let him double bounce on you using his e after you r1, engage only when a wave is not incoming as it will give him escape otherwise
- after level 7 you can use e backward into q passive trading as he cant really punsh you and after he get's chonked its easy all in
Gwen
- Pretty easy matchup just watch out for her e q you can avoid it by using e and going for extended trades, You can also start d ring if you are feeling cocky but good gwen might take advantage of that
- Get into her w to be able to q her, you cant e2 when she's in the circle but you aren't
- Use your mobility to evade her ults perma form freeze into all ins as she has no escape besides her ghost/f
-
Irelia
TOP // - Respect level 2, always use e/w to avoid her e stacks
- You can go obvilion if you are really strugling but not really needed
-Every time she goes for a q on the minion try to q+aa(without passive) to get most dmg
-Make sure not to waste Burst while she is in W stance
Mid follows same principles.
Jax
- Can go for level 1 trading but be wary of e try to bait it by going back and forth with passive up
- Go only for short trades early you can dodge his q+e combo using e and after that the trade is really free but something to keep in mind is that the q cd for him is very short so after you have used cds don't contest cs
-His new ult is aoe which makes it that it is dodgeable but also keep in mind he can burt you hard in shroud with e+r combo,
Karma
TOP/MID
- You get poked out early can start looking for kill after 6 the way you should play it is bait out the empowered w and go for an all in the only thing in this matchup is dicipline on usage of e and to remember to ign to reduce healing reduction, same applies for MID however be mindful of her prio and roaming
Malphite
- Try to get as many qs as possible early levels especially level 1 as your sustain is very high but his mana is limited
- The reason this matchup is pretty Akali favored is because malphite can only trade with q landing e or w is pretty hard when you have shroud and e to play around with and him stacking MR will delay his spikes
-Do not let him regenerate his shield constantly go for q pokes even if you miss out on some wave it's better for him to be low so you can zone him out from xp
Mordekaiser
- Use your Ms from passive to go short trades both his q and e are easy to dodge in most cases and he needs to hit them to get the passive proc
- Use e to dodge his e
-Can start D ring if you are confident
Quinn
TOP//
- Pretty easy matchup just need to survive early and after 6 you can perma all in her.
- You can use your e while she is using hers thay way you get a free e2
-You should try your best in tracking her, after she gets 6 she will try to perma roam
Ryze
TOP // - Nothing special about this lane, the reason it is akali favored is because on top the lane is too long so after 6 he can't run away to tower unless using ult(you can use e1 to follow him with it)
Skarner
- Free matchup d ring start into sorcery the only things you should be wary are his e which isnt that hard to dodge and that he can chain cc e+r+e into his tower which will have you cced for around 4 seconds
Sylas
TOP // - You can poke him out with q as he will need e w to gap close to you, when he uses e2 you can either stand behind minions or tank it use e to get a free hit.
- Use your ignite to deny the healing of w. Do not be scared to extend fights, sylas early has long cds and you can run him down with AAs and passive
-Top is really long compared to mid so he has no real way of escaping after r1 unless he uses yours
For Mid it is the same but needing to lower him up to 50/60% before all in usually as he has easier time escaping
Swain
TOP/ MID / - Be passive 1-4 he has a lot of burst, after that its a free lane as he doesn't have any escapes use ignite to reduce his ultimate healing, when he goes for an E you can go for an ult as it puts u behind him
Tryndamere
TOP // - Used to be even matchup but after the New item changes he is forced to go Gale into PD, early you should try to be careful as he will perma try to e on top of you and his base stats are higher so you will always lose, after level 4 you can start consistently trading with him and maniuplating the wave
- Use your e/shroud to stall out the ult
Udyr
- Mostly a farm lane but can run you down in empower phoenix form if you are not careful try your best to evade it using w/e, after level 7 you should be able to outdamage his sustain from w and making actual damage, when going for an all in make sure to be mindful of the empowered W shield
Vayne
- Respect early level poke, W start is usually needed after level 4 you can go for short trades but always be mindful of ahead you are in lane as they will usually go ghost and if your shroud is down vayne will kill you especially because of the buff on q making it 3 seconds
- After level 6 you can always go for an all in but just be mindful of where your r1 places as you can condemed under her tower or on a wall
-Use w to cancel her Q and then go for a trade
Volibear
- Most of his damage is in e, try to look for the animation he does to dodge it. When trading wait out for the shield and go for short trades only as if you make them too long he will be able to proc his w healing
- You CAN'T cancel his q with shroud as it is empowered and will go trough however you CAN cancel his W
-Can use e to dodge r
Yasuo
TOP/MID
- Early levels he is stronger then you but after 6 the matchup becomes akali favored
- when he goes for e on the minions to gap you can use E to get a free hit(unless windwalled) Always wait out the shield after using Q/E before going back with passive/e2
-You can usually stand in the windwall to get your Q to hit or just positiong yourself better, it is very inconsistent hitbox
Yone
TOP/MID
- Similar to yasuo, he is stronger early levels but after level 6 the matchup becomes akali favored, when he goes for a Q3 it is easy to land E on him
- You can use Q before his w lands as it has a bit of an active time
-Try to save your E till he uses his E or is gurnateed to hit as when you are going for r1+e or r2+e it is very obvious and Yone can easily dodge it
- When using r1 to engage he will usually try to run away using his ult, it is usually worth tanking it to prevent the escape and get the kill
Teemo
TOP//
- Pretty easy matchup, survive till level 6 and after that you can go for perma all in,
- You can wait out his blind while in shroud to avoid wasting passives OR if you have enough energy spam qs while waiting for his blind to expire
-Teemo has no escapes so after 6 the only thing that can save him is W be patient and have E discipline as that might miss you the kill otherwise
Kayle
TOP// Just respect her level 1 all in due to lethal tempo being strong after that you can perma bully her with short trade the ult cd is 160 while yours is 100 seconds its really worth to trade ults as the next time you get it you can all in for a kill
- The matchup itself is more about wave managing properly nothing special about it
Olaf
TOP//
- Generally easy matchup, as long as you don't disrespect him. Go for short trades use your w to cancel out his e make sure to be moving a lot so you don't get hit by q and when he goes to take the q back punish him for it
- When olaf Ults his MR and Armor bonus drops, you can easily kill him then
-Watch out for the shield from W as they will use it to bait you
Singed
TOP/MID//
- Free matchup d ring start into sorcery, Singed can't lane into akali so he will try to proxy and perma roam make sure to ping your team often when he is missing
Trundle
TOP//"- Free matchup d ring start into sorcery trundle only relies on auto attacks and your shroud is the perfect counter for them unplayable matchup for him
Kennen
MID // On mid this matchup is slightly easier as you don't get poked out as much however going for solo kills is almost next to impossible so try to look for roams with TP or getting your jungle to help you snowball.
Veigar
MID/ The matchup itself isn't hard but he manages to out scale you very fast you need to look to snowball of side lanes or get your jungle to gank him, HIs E lasts shorter than your E1 so you can try to land it, gain some distance and try to go for an all in.
I prefer TP CONQ
Malzahar
MID/ The matchup itself isn't hard but he manages to outscale and has an amazing set up for jungle as the ults just locks you down, early game you can for short trades and don't let him regenerate his passive back, it is long CD. In most cases you can go for solo kills when he walks up as you can just face tank his ult but midgame and late it get's very hard to play and you might consider getting QSS
Galio
The matchup itself is pretty easy, however due to his shield on W being very persistent and being able to chain CC you down it gets harder, you can go for solo kills whenever he walks up as you can stand in front of him and that prevents the E dash however make sure to wait a bit after his W is off as he still has the resistances. Zhonya 2nd is a good purchase.
Zoe
Extremely pokey lane, even D shield and second wind sometimes isn't enough make sure to respect early levels a lot
Twisted Fate
Like most Mid laners, he will outroam and tempo you due to his R and better waveclear and range. It's hard to kill him since he will just Yellow card you, what makes it hard to dive him as well.
Taliyah
Taliyah has better waveclear, Roaming Ult and her E cancels every engage you wanna do on her, if you wanna kill her you need to bait out her E and W or dodge the W, after that she is pretty free to kill.
Neeko
Neeko is just hard to face in laning phase as she is as most midlaners out tempoing you, she has her E and R which makes it hard to engage on her. In Later game stages you have good kill pressure on her tho, when you are on sidelanes for example.
Rumble
MID // Has prio for most of the lane, after level 6 you can start to go for an all ins for your jungler, make sure to try and dodge his E as it reduces MR
Conq TP
Orianna
Aurelion Sol
Zed
With Zed the problem is, he pretty much outranges you. You have pretty good kill pressure on him tho. This matchup is pretty much decided on who snowballs better.
Vladimir
MID // On mid it is harder to punish him however you can use your W to deny his empowered Q and always remember that your PASSIVE goes trough pool so you have to be creative in the ways you all in him, look to roam usually as he will prioritize farm over everything
Diana
This matchup is pretty easy, but she can follow your disengages. Zhonyas her Ult if you can, other than that, you mostly win if youre even with her.
Jayce
MID //
Karma
MID //
Kassadin
Fizz
Pretty much skill match up again. Whoever snowballs better wins the game. Try to always use ur E to disengage him. if you bait out his E he is easy to kill.
Gangplank
MID //
K'Sante
MID //
Talon
Pantheon
MID//
While this matchup is much easier on mid as you aren't getting poked out as much, his ultimate provides roaming potential to both Bot and Top so you should always keep mind of where he is on the map, after level 6 you can all in him the moment he walks up in lane if he is bellow 70% hp
Conq TP/Ignite
Sion
MID //
Seraphine
Xerath
Mid// Pokes a lot but you can sustain it with D shield/second wind
After level 6 try to go for an all in if shes bellow 70% hp or 50% + barrier Xeath E while sometimes hard to dodge the closer you are to him the lower the duration, so if you are in his face the stun will be around 0.3 seconds and you can go for all ins. After the buffs to his ult its bit harder to punish him but just remain patient
Runes and Summoners are up to you.
Cassiopeia
Corki
Corki is also pretty easy, you can kill him early and you alwayaxs have kill pressure on him. The only problem will be when he has package, so don't waste your abilities on him because he will just escape your combo and can kill you afterwards if he is good. So keep your abilities and be patient, wait until he doesn't have the abilities to escape and kill him.
Ekko
As most midlaners ekko has better waveclear than you and will try to outroam you. You can kill him in most gamestates except late lategame when he has fullbuild.
When he uses his W you can play around it by W'ing, E'ing out of it or R1 -> E when he tries to reach/stun you.
Kayle
MID // While this matchup is a bit more annoying on Mid then top you can still just go for short trades with shroud and she can't really trade back, usually you look to roam as it is hard to punish her after 6
Karthus
MID // You can't really do much level 1-3 after that you can perma trade as he will try to shove out the waves but he is very sqyshy and easy to kill,
Conq ign
Katarina
Mid// Very easy matchup, Kata on her own only has small potential of outplay if she plays with Electro and goes for short trades, Just be patient with your e1 and r2 as she will use her E out of them and it's free, also make sure to track her on map as she will always try to snowball of roams
Runes and Summoners are up to you.
Lux
Mid// Pokes a lot but you can sustain it with D shield/second wind
After level 6 either wait for her to use Q or try to R1 into doging it,
Runes and Summoners are up to you.
Ziggs
Mid// Pokes a lot but you can sustain it with D shield/second wind
After level 6 try to do and R+E combo as he will try to W away but sticking the E in will ensure your gapclose.
Runes and Summoners are up to you.
Heimerdinger
Mid// Pokes a lot but you can sustain it with D shield/second wind
After level 6 always go for an all in but make sure to shroud instantly as he will grenade you and if you are not shrouded the turrets will tear you down. Do not use E1 unless you are very confident you will hit it, the turrets can easily block it and it is easier to run him down with Qs AA
Vel'Koz
Mid// Pokes a lot but you can sustain it with D shield/second wind
After level 6 try to do and R+E combo as he will try to E you however as it has decently long CD (16 s level 1) You can bait it out in a short trade into prolonging it into an all in.
Runes and Summoners are up to you.
Garen
MID // Very easy matchup, go D ring with sorcery for scaling, garen has no way to gap close to you if you are tethering well, when he goes for a Q make sure to E it as he will usually continue with E and when it runs out u can E2 and prolong the trade.
Runes and Summoners are up to you.
Sorcery 2nd ign or tp
Renekton
MID//
While this matchup is much easier on mid as you aren't getting poked out as much, his ultimate provides roaming potential to both Bot and Top so you should always keep mind of where he is on the map, after level 6 you can all in him the moment he walks up in lane if he is bellow 70% hp
Welcome to the most in-depth Akali guide
My name is Daito. I have been consistently hitting Rank 1 Akali EUW since I started maining her in S9. In this Guide I will show you what you need to take into account if you want to climb with Akali.
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Pros / Cons
PROS
+ Extremely fun to play + Able to try out many builds + After mastering the mechanics Akali is rewarding + High mobility + Great Gank-escape + Able to split fights in 2 and has lot of self utility
CONS
- Squishy - Weak early game - Hardcountered by CC and True Vision such as Kaisa W - Terrible wave clear
FAQ
FAQs
"What are your Peak Ranks in each Season?"
"s9 Dia 3
s10 Masters around 100 LP
s11 Grandmaster around 350 LP
s12 Grandmaster 866 LP
s13 Challenger 1011 LP"
"Why did you start playing Akali Top?"
"Personally I started playing akali since her rework and just found the laning phase much more fun due to being able to manipulate the wave the 1v2s with jungle and people generally ignore the lane much more and as it is a very long lane it feels much more controlled"
"How do you win the Game through Top?"
"Winning trough top revolves around you winning the lane, as top lane is an extremely isolated lane you are stuck in 1v1 for most of the game as junglers tend to ignore you. That means that you have to understand fundamentals of every matchups, how to manage waves and form freezes and how to extend your lanes. I have tried to put up tips on how to win most of the matchups, there are a lot of videos for freezing and wave macro so I wont be going trough with that. How to extend leads? For the most part you usually want to stay on your lane up till 14 minutes as that is plate falling timer, if you run Teleport you could contest the first drake after level 6 but its too risky as that might set you too behind. After 14 minutes I am gonna divide it into scenarios Team is ahead and you can kill your solo laner:
Stay on lane and look to splitpush to draw pressure you should only look to roam for objectives, being on side creates immense pressure on map forcing people to go 2v1 or 3v1 on you, making your team get better fights. Team is behind but you are ahead:
Here you are looking for getting the wave pushed out and always looking to roam when you have your R Perfect Execution UP, if your R Perfect Execution is down keep being on side. You need to look for opportunities to bring your team back into the game so you will sacrifice a lot of farm for that usually.
Team is behind and you can't match your solo laner. This is usually the case with splitpushers like Sion, Yorick in those cases you just try to get your time to gang up on the splitpushers or you perma stay with your team. This is one of the worst situations to be in so you are just looking for plays of comeback, staying on side wont get you victory so dont bother"
You are usually looking to take Conqueror into comps with a lot of CC are tankier or you just need to go for extended fights as electro wont get the job done, Conqueror provides consistent DPS and allows you to take Presence of Mind which is one of the best runes on Akali as it allows you to provide more DPS with Q as you have more energy, people commonly think that Conqueror is good for the healing but generally the healing is very irrelevant, you are looking to take it for consistent ramping up DPS.
This rune is just so important to keep your DPS up. Since you're reliant on skirmishing anyways, getting more abilities off faster by hitting enemies is just OP.
This rune is just very good into hard/heavy CC comps, since you have a lot of dashes and your Twilight Shroud, it's important to never getting shut down mid-combo. If you play against comps with little to no CC, you can take Legend: Alacrity.
Personally I prefer running Last Stand instead of Coup de Grace as my playstyle in laning phase and later in the game always revolves around being low HP, I can always control my HP being low and taking short fights while I regen it back up with Base Regeneration and Second Wind, while enemy being on low HP is usually affected by other factors that are out of your control I suggest trying both and seeing what feels better for you.
Electrocute should be taken into Squishy Comps or matchups you are looking to snowball from, it provides great laning DMG and its very easy to proc with E backward -> Q -> AA -> Q - > E2 back to original place, those short trades start to ramp up hard on the poke vs mages who don't have sustain, the problem with Electrocute comes when there are a lot of tanky enemies and because of the lack of Presence of Mind your energy runs out after 1 full rotation and you just have to back off no matter what. It is also great rune if you are looking to be playing with your jungle often or roaming to bot/usually run with Teleport Flash.
Sudden Impact is what you should take into ranged matchups primarily since you cannot proc Taste of Blood very often. Taste of Blood is what you should take into melee matchups, because you proc it frequently, which helps your sustain.
I personally take Ultimate Hunter because it gives you a lot of CD on your R Perfect Execution and since you want to skirmish a lot against squishy comps it gives you the best option to do so. Relentless Hunter is also viable, if you wanna focus on roaming and personally like movement speed as a stat better, you should go for it.
Akali's weak early game makes this rune a must go. You 90% just cannot take any other seconadary tree other than second wind since it's sustain with Doran's Shield is just too insane.
Only take those Summs if you really feel confident enough. Flash can be important on Akali especially on Matchups like Aatrox. But basically this setup allows you to keep your kill pressure + having the tempo + reset.
Champion Info
Abilities
PASSIVE ABILITY
Assassin's Mark
✦ When Akali damages an enemy champion with an ability, she creates a ring around them for 4 seconds, refreshing on subsequent damaging abilities against champions. For 2 seconds, she gains 30 / 40 / 50 / 60% (based on level) Movement speed icon bonus movement speed while moving away from the center of the ring. Only one ring may be active at a time. ✦ When Akali exits the ring, for 2 seconds, she regains the bonus movement speed while facing nearby enemy champions and becomes empowered with Swinging Kama for 4 seconds, during which she cannot create another ring. Swinging Kama: Akali's next basic attack is empowered to have its Range icon range doubled and deal 35 − 182 (based on level) (+ 60% bonus AD) (+ 55% AP) bonus magic damage.
Q
Five Point Strike
✦ Akali unleashes kunais in a cone in the target direction, dealing magic damage to enemies hit. ✦ Targets at maximum range are also Slow icon slowed by 50% for 0.5 seconds.
W
Twilight Shroud
✦ Akali's ability " Twilight Shroud" restores 100 energy and grants her a brief burst of movement speed. She throws a smoke bomb, creating a shroud that expands over 5 seconds into a ring, providing her invisibility unless she uses a dash or performs certain actions. Basic attacks or abilities break the invisibility temporarily. ✦ If you hit the Twilight Shroud with your Shuriken Flip it will make a section that persists even after the shroud fades. Akali's maximum energy is increased while the shroud is active.
E
Shuriken Flip
✦ Akali's ability " Shuriken Flip" allows her to flip backward and throw a shuriken that damages the first enemy hit. The shuriken marks the enemy and grants True Sight, revealing them for 3 seconds. ✦ The ability can be recast to dash towards the marked target or the Twilight Shroud if you hit it, dealing magic damage upon arrival. Akali won't flip if immobilized, and other abilities can be used during the recast dash.
R
Perfect Execution
✦ Akali's ability " Perfect Execution" allows her to dash 750 units towards an enemy champion, damaging enemies she passes. If she hits an enemy, she can flip over them to extend the dash by at least 150 units ✦ The ability can be recast within 10 seconds, dashing 800 units and dealing more damage based on the target's missing health. The recast has a 2.5-second cooldown.
Vrow's Akali Combo Guide
E cancel Protobelt
R2 return to same position
Trading with Electrocute
Items
Items
First backs:
You should always be looking to back either on around ~1k gold or 1600.
with 1000, you can either get Dark Seal 350, Amplifying Tome 400, and Refillable Potion 150 or you could save up to 1100 gold for Sorcerer's Shoes if you wanna roam a lot.
The reason being that Dark Seal is your most valuable item as you can gain a lot of ability power with it and keep it safe with your high mobility. Refillable Potion are also incredibly gold efficient because 2 pots of Refillable Potion to 250 HP, a ruby crystal is 400 gold for 200 hp you basically get a ruby crystal of value for cheaper and you get it every time you reset.
As for 1600 gold this is my favorite point to back on as it allows you to rush Sorcerer's Shoes at 1100 Gold, Dark Seal at 350 and pots at 150.
Most important thing is looking at your comps and how ahead/behind your AD users are. In most cases you would take Shadowflame second into Zhonya's Hourglass(unless they don't have CC then you can rush Rabadon's Deathcap or Void Staff if they have mr)
However If you are 3/4 AP you should almost always rush Void Staff 2nd and completely disregard Shadowflame as an item in your build path.
Playing from behind:
If you are really behind or the enemy has a lot of CC that you can't avoid with your mobility you should look to get Zhonya's Hourglass 2nd, another situations where Zhonya's Hourglass 2nd is good is when you are extremely behind on resources so what you are looking for is to just stall time and be a "distraction" for the enemy team stalling as much time as you can with your Twilight Shroud/ Zhonya's Hourglass as your time wipes them out. And a last situation for Zhonya's Hourglass 2nd is when you are not sure if the enemy team will start building MR or just keep going, so you buy Zhonya's Hourglass 2nd in order to prevent messing up your build later on into the game and be patient with your purchases.
Playing when you are ahead:[/color
If you are really ahead and confident you can do a storm surge into Mejai's Soulstealer to try and takeover the game however I recommend pairing it with Zhonya's Hourglass so you can keep your stacks safe, as for the rest of the build it remains to standard with Banshee's Veil being situational item and Lich Bane for 6th item(after you are selling boots)
Gameplay
Early Game
Early Game
Akali has one of the weakest laning phases from level 1-6, your energy costs are way too high to get consistent trading and your cds are too long. However the redeeming part of Akali is her high base health regen starting at 9 level 1 that combined with second wind means you can survive most of the poke.
Usually after level 4 into some matchups you can start looking to trade more consistently or get all ins however that applies only for some matchups.
After level 6 gets to the fun part, Akali has very high base dmg and her multiple dashesh and MS make her very hard to evade, pair this with a Sorcerer's Shoes rush and you have one of the best all ins, if you are running Ignite you can try to chip down on the enemies till you get them low enough to like 60-70% after that look for an all in with R Perfect Execution + E Shuriken Flip combo, however be mindful as using your E Shuriken Flip incorrectly or being impatient with it could lead to being in a worse position then the one you originally started with. After you have secured some lead (or you are playing vs matchup that you can never kill) you should look around to pair up with your jungle or get roams on bot whenever your Perfect Execution is ready.
Mid Game
Mid Game
After Laning phase is over (usually after 15-20+ min into the game) you are looking to just soak waves on side and permanently group up with team. (if you are top laner please check the FAQ top lane question) As midlaner you are kind of playing like a guardian and accelerator for your team always look for fights in jungle or flanking mid you need to feel present on the map as if you spend too much time on a side lane your bot lane will get collapsed on (This could vary depending if your team is looking to just scale instead of fighting also you and the top laner can switch roles on who is protecting team and who is side laning).
Personally what I like to do especially in mid game is what I call "fishing" It is basically when you are trying to intentionally take seemingly bad fight for yourself being disadvantaged however if you are ahead that draws pressure making enemy team clump up on you or use ults or summoner spells as exhaust. Do not be afraid to fall back a fight even if it didn't go well, Akali has a very easy disengage and low CD Perfect Execution if a fight is looking unwinnable and you are ahead just fall back and try once more.
However that being said, your teammates do not have as easy time to disengage from a bad fight as you, be wary of positioning and not baiting your team into their death while you can just escape freely, make sure to always look at map before starting up a fight.
Another thing that I wanna add is that if you have an engager or someone who can set you up, you should wait for them to begin the fight. However if you do not make sure to get zhonya ASAP as you can R1 into enemy into instant Twilight Shroud Zhonya's Hourglass or just Zhonya's Hourglass in general as when the Zhonya's Hourglass finishes your animation the R2 will be enabled to use and either continue the fight deeper or fall back depending on the situations.
Late Game
Late Game
Late Game for the most part plays exactly like Mid Game. The only thing worth mentioning is that you don't scale anymore. That's means you fall off the game pretty hard, your only options are trying to kill the enemies carry or trying to engage a winning teamfight.
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[14.15 | UPDATE IN PROGRESS] Challenger MID/TOP Akali Guide by Daito (IN-DEPTH)
Build Guide By daitolol
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