When a League of Legends champion first hits the Rift, they tend to be slightly more overpowered than the rest of the roster. With Akshan becoming available, it’s only natural for players to wonder about ways to counter him so he doesn’t get out of hand and snowball.
For many years, surviving has been one of the hardest tasks for marksman champions. Though they can deal amazing amounts of damage, even one-shotting some champions, getting caught out of position is usually the end of the road for them.
Since going for a tankier build is usually out of the question for marksmen, most rely on their side-stepping skills. But Akshan is equipped with excellent mobility tools that make him one of the harder marksmen to deal with in League. He can go invisible and can also use his E to pull off unexpected moves.
If you’re playing against Akshan, it can be wise to start thinking about whether you can lock him down in the pick and ban phase. If you head into the match without any champions that have hard crowd control (CC) abilities, the match can turn into a field trip for Akshan.
Here are some of the best counters to Akshan in League.
Annie
Considering how hard it can be to get a hold of Akshan, it’s important to have a reliable tool that can stun him. Skill shots will work too, but not many players will want to take chances in high ranks.
When it comes to laning against Akshan, Annie doesn’t struggle with any mechanics. She can clear minion waves and push Akshan under his tower or set up a gank with her easy-to-hit stun. Once she reaches level six, she’ll also have the potential to take out Akshan by herself by using her ultimate right after stunning him.
Even if Akshan decides to play passively against Annie, the difference in farm will start showing and an out-laned Akshan will have a relatively tough time coming back into the game.
Nautilus
Nautilus falls in and out of the meta depending on the trending champions. There’s one aspect that never changes about him, however, and that’s his way of putting slippery champions in their place.
Once Nautilus reaches level six, he’ll be able to lock down any champion that he sets his eyes on. During the laning phase, Nautilus’ hook can be an excellent tool to score a couple of kills on Akshan, preventing him from snowballing.
Toward the later stages of the game, Nautilus’ hook will turn into his ultimate follow-up tool, allowing you to lock down enemies even longer.
Leona
When it comes to tanky champions with lockdown abilities, Leona is one of the first to come to mind. Most tanky champions that can be considered as her competition tend to have dodgeable stuns or have harder combos to perform. Leona’s combo is relatively hard to miss, and once you correctly perform it, you’ll be able to lock down Akshan for more than 1.5 seconds.
When Leona hits level six, it’ll mean a whole world of trouble for Akshan since her ult is practically a third follow-up stun. It’ll also help Leona have the surprise factor since she can use her ultimate from a distance to catch Akshan off guard. Considering how slippery Akshan can be, this is easier said than done. But if you have other champs with stuns on your team, you can use yours to bait out Akshan’s abilities.
Lissandra
Akshan generally struggles against champions that can keep their distance. Even out-farming Akshan and making him vulnerable against potential ganks will be enough to disrupt his flow.
Akshan hates playing against Lissandra due to her lane controlling abilities. When laning against a Lissandra, Akshan will struggle to find openings and will potentially get outclassed if he doesn’t secure a lead. Though you can easily try to solo kill Akshan after level six with Lissandra, you can also sit back and passively dominate the lane to force Akshan into making a mistake.
Malphite
The Shard of the Monolith possesses one of the most iconic and powerful CC abilities in the game. Malphite’s ultimate is an incredible teamfight starter. And if you’re the target of his attack, your chances of survival will be low.
Malphite isn’t the best roamer. But if he starts the game with TP, he can easily rotate to another lane after hitting level six to secure a kill on Akshan. If Akshan is having a decent game in terms of farming, Malphite can exclusively focus him down during teamfights. A Flash-ultimate combo can catch Akshan before he even realizes what’s going on.
Nocturne
For melee champions, the real challenge will be staying on top of Akshan while dealing damage. Since Akshan has the necessary tools to keep his distance or to retreat to safety when he’s in trouble, you may find yourself having a tough time closing the distance.
That won’t be a problem for Nocturne after he hits level six, though, and you’ll be able to single out Akshan. Accompanying Nocturne with a couple of champions with CC abilities can be a great recipe for success.
Use your ultimate in sync with your team and take advantage of their stuns to secure early kills on Akshan. Toward the later stages of the game, it can be quite dangerous to use your ultimate on Akshan if you’re by yourself since he’ll most likely be surrounded by allies.
Syndra
The rest of the best counters to Akshan suggest that locking him down is the key to success. It doesn’t end there, however, since you’ll also want to take him down as quickly as possible without giving him a chance to survive.
Syndra is a complete package when it comes to bursting and locking down champions. She has a relatively easy-to-hit stun and her kit is packed with burst damage abilities. Though early ganks are always appreciated, Syndra doesn’t even need that. If she farms up, that should be enough to handle Akshan in the late game.
