In many ways, playing against Leona is similar to playing against Nautilus. Both champions are walking threats of crowd control and can easily lock you down if you allow them.
And so, countering Leona requires a general knowledge of the laning phase, an understanding of your and her abilities, sometimes a specific ADC or support pick, or a playstyle that avoids her strengths as a champion.
If this sounds too generic, be at ease. In this post, I’ll explain everything you need to know about playing against Leona in great detail.
I’ll go over all points mentioned above and give you all the tools you need for beating Leona in lane, including recommended ADC and support picks.
Let’s start!
Here’s How to Play Against Leona in League of Legends:
1. Keep Your Distance Against Leona
Leona is a melee tank support that excels at applying crowd control. She can lock down a target for several seconds which allows her bot lane partner to destroy you.
Even on level 1, Leona players usually start the game with her E, Zenith Blade, which lets Leona dash to you and root you. The ability has a 900 range, so even more than Nami’s bubble (Q), for example.
Needless to say, you never want to be caught by Leona’s E while in lane. So, the first thing you need to do is to create and keep enough distance between your champion and Leona at all times.
If you play a marksman with long range, this will come naturally to you. For example, Caitlyn can remain in a safe position against Leona while laning since she can auto-attack from a safe distance. Cait also has her E which creates even more distance.
But if you don’t, it’s important to acknowledge Leona’s movement and position yourself accordingly. For example, you want to move back each time she moves forwards. You also want to be diagonally positioned from Leona while CSing.
And if it’s obvious that the Leona player is looking for an engage, sometimes it’s okay to give up that 1 or 2 CS and walk your champion to a safe location.
As a support, you should always keep moving your champion in an unpredictable manner, especially if you’re squishy. This will increase the chances of Leona missing her E. And if you dodge Leona’s E, you can become the aggressor instead.
2. Try to Bully Leona and Poke Her as Much as Possible
Believe it or not, poke champions are usually huge counters to Leona, both ADCs and supports. Here’s why.
Leona must get into melee range in order to apply all of her crowd control. And as I already mentioned, she mainly does this through her E. However, if you constantly poke Leona and she loses a lot of HP, she will be reluctant to engage and attack you.
The same strategy can be applied against any melee support in League of Legends, but it’s really important against Leona in particular. And no matter which ADC or support you’re playing, you want to harass Leona when she walks forward, takes a CS, or looks for an engage.
A good offense is really the best defense here. The idea is to chunk Leona’s health so much she won’t be able to play aggressively. And if Leona is playing defensively, she’s practically a useless support, at least during the laning phase.
3. Don’t Stack with Your Allies in Teamfights
This tip may sound too simple, but believe me, it’s important.
Leona’s main strategy in the mid and late game is to land her ultimate ability, Solar Flare, on as many enemies as possible and stun them. She can then apply the rest of her CC on key targets on the enemy team.
So, if you stand near your allies or you’re all grouped up in a tight spot together, there’s a good chance that Leona’s ulti will stun you. And if you’re the AD carry, you can bet that she’ll target you with the rest of her CC.
What you need to do instead is to spread out and not give Leona any opportunity for a good Solar Flare. If you do this, she’ll hit her ultimate at one or two targets at most, leaving the rest of you to collapse on her or her teammates.
4. Build a Lot of Tenacity and Always Have a Cleansing Item
As I already mentioned above, Leona’s biggest strength is crowd control. So that’s what you need to counter.
Well, tenacity is the main stat to do so in League of Legends. Tenacity reduces the time you spend in stuns and roots, so it’s an excellent way of quickly getting out of Leona’s CC.
There are many tenacity items in LoL and you should definitely include them in your build regardless if you’re ADC or support. Here I have an entire guide on tenacity items and you can check it to see which ones you should go for.
Additionally, there are runes that can help you as well. For example, Legend: Tenacity and Unflinching are always useful against Leona.
On the other hand, you can also go for CC-cleansing items and remove Leona’s crowd control instantly. These items are Silvermare Dawn and Mercurial Scimitar for ADCs and Mikael’s Blessing for supports.
5. Play a Champion with a Spell Shield
The best tool against crowd control in League of Legends will always be a spell shield. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a support or an ADC, a spell shield can help you make Leona the easiest champion to beat in lane.
For example, if you play Sivir, you can time her E and use it to block Leona’s Q or R. It’s important to not use it against Leona’s E because you can only block the snare part of the ability, not the dash. And once your shield is down, Leona can simply stun you.
And if you’re a support, Morgana is your best choice. She counters Leona because her E, Black Shield, can nullify all of Leona’s crowd control abilities. Black Shield can be used both on yourself and your bot lane partner, so it’s the perfect answer to Leona’s engage.
Read Also: Top 5 Best APC (AP Carry) Champions for Bot Lane
6. Play a Champion That Can Push Leona Away
Besides spell shields, abilities that can push away other champions also allow you to counter Leona. They can help you create more distance and keep Leona away.
For the support players, a good example here is Alistar. Whenever Leona engages with her Zenith Balde, Alistar can simply push her away with his W, Headbutt. This way, he denies Leona the necessary range for her Q so she can’t be as useful.
But if you’re an ADC, Vayne is a good choice as well. Her E, Condemn is a great counter to Leona’s engage. If have excellent reflexes, you can use Vayne’s E while Leona’s dashing toward you. And if you position yourself accordingly, you can even stun her against a wall.
Read Also: Top 5 Best Synergy ADC Picks for Pantheon Support
The 5 Best ADC Picks Against Leona
These ADC champions are great counters to Leona:
- Sivir – her E, Spell Shield, can block all of Leona’s crowd control abilities but should be used only for Leona’s Q and R. Sivir can push minion waves extremely quickly and avoid getting caught by Leona. On top of this, Sivir’s R grants movement speed to her and her allies so they can dodge Leona’s CC.
- Ezreal – his E, Arcane Shift, allows him to blink away from Leona’s E and R and dodge their effects. Ezreal has a long range on his abilities and can poke Leona constantly as well as keep a good distance between them.
- Tristana – her W, Rocket Jump, completely counters Leona’s E. Tristana’s jump always finishes even if Leona stuns her in the process. Additionally, Tristana’s R, Buster Shot, can push Leona away.
- Vayne – has great kiting potential thanks to her Q, Tumble, and R, Final Hour. Thanks to them, Vayne can easily dodge Leona’s CC during a teamfight. But Vayne’s E, Condemn, can also be used to push away Leona whenever she engages.
- Caitlyn – her long range playstyle allows her to harass Leona and play super aggressively. Caitlyn’s traps can deny Leona access to some spots on Summoner’s Rift. And her E, 90-Caliber Net, can slow Leona down and let Caitlyn escape.
Read Also: The Best ADCs and Supports Against Zyra
The 5 Best Support Picks Against Leona
The best supports to play against Leona are:
- Alistar – counters Leona because he can push her away with W, Headbutt. He can also trick Leona when she engages by knocking her up first with Q, Pulverize, and then pushing her on his turret. Alistar is a great tank and can break Leona’s CC with his R, Unbreakable Will.
- Morgana – has her E, Black Shield, which prevents Leona from applying her crowd control. On the other hand, Morgana’s CC comes from a great range and can control Leona’s aggression throughout the game.
- Xerath – his extremely long range allows him to remain in a safe spot while dealing lots of damage to Leona. Xerath’s damage is super high early on and Leona really struggles to reach him because he can always stun her with his E, Shocking Orb.
- Tahm Kench – counters Leona with his R, Devour. He can swallow his teammate when they’re under Leona’s CC and protect them from being collapsed on. Tahm Kench is also a pretty good tank and can survive Leona’s all-ins.
- Thresh – his E, Flay, counters Leona’s Zenith Blade if used at the right time (it pushes her back). His Q, Death Sentence, is a constant threat for Leona. And Thresh’s lantern allows his teammates to get away from Leona’s range and crowd control.
Read Also: How to Counter Veigar? (Full Guide)
Conclusion
If you think about it, Leona isn’t the most difficult champion to deal with in the bot lane. Her kit can be exploited by a lot of champions. But even if you don’t have the right pick in your hands, knowing how to position against Leona is all you need to really counter her.
That’s why I really hope this guide helped you understand how Leona can be countered and how you should approach her as an ADC or a support. Good luck!
Read Also: 6 Best Synergy ADCs for Thresh in LoL
