In the right hands, Vayne is one of the most problematic champions in League of Legends, especially late game. And if you don’t play the right champions and build the right items against Vayne, chances are that she’ll beat you.
But countering Vayne is never easy. She has everything – damage, mobility, and self-healing. Vayne has no skill shots and all of her damage comes from auto-attacking. And since auto-attacks can’t be dodged, you have to be very careful when playing against Vayne in LoL.
In this post, I’ll go over the best items you can buy versus Vayne in League of Legends and explain why they work well as counters.
Let’s begin!
Top 10 Best Items Against Vayne in League of Legends
Here’s what to build against Vayne in LoL.
1. Frozen Heart
Frozen Heart is the best item you can build against Vayne in League of Legends. It directly counters her damage, so let me explain how it actually works in-game.
Frozen Heart has two passives – Winter’s Caress and Rock Solid.
Winter’s Caress allows you to slow the attack speed of all enemy champions within 700 unit radius by 20%. This means that if you have Frozen Heart on you, Vayne will have 20% less attack speed and deal less damage to you overall.
Rock Solid is an effect that allows you to reduce all auto-attack damage by 7 plus 3.5% per 1000 maximum health. In theory, you can reach a maximum of 40% damage reduction for Vayne’s basic attacks.
With Frozen Heart, the more HP you have the bigger your reduction of Vayne’s damage is. This will also help you lower the power of Vayne’s W – Silver Bolts which deals 4 / 6.5 / 9 / 11.5 / 14% of your maximum health as true damage.
However, you shouldn’t also build too much HP against Vayne since she’ll do more to you if you do!
2. Thornmail
Next on the list is Thornmail. Thornmail is another tank/armor item with a useful unique passive against Vayne. Here’s what it does.
Thornmail reflects 10 magic damage (increased by 10% of your armor) back to the attacker when you’ve been hit with an on-hit effect. Vayne’s W is also an on-hit effect, so Thornmail is always active against her.
Additionally, Thornmail will apply the 40% Grievous Wounds effect to Vayne when she attacks you. And if you manage to stun or snare her, you’ll increase it to 60%.
Countering Vayne’s self-healing through lifesteal is essential in League of Legends. Since she doesn’t have any defensive abilities herself, her only option is to heal back while fighting. Denying her makes Vayne a very vulnerable target in team fights.
So, that’s why Thornmail is one of the best items against Vayne in LoL!
Read Also: The Best Items Against AD Champions
3. Randuin’s Omen
Randuin’s Omen isn’t the most popular item in League. But building it should be a must if you’re having problems dealing with Vayne.
Randuin’s Omen also has two passives, one of which is Rock Solid. And just like with Frozen Heart, Rock Solid will reduce the overall damage of Vayne’s basic attacks. However, the effect is a bit weaker here than in Frozen Heart because it only blocks damage by 5 plus 3.5% per 1000 maximum health.
On top of that, Randuin’s Omen has an active ability that’s pretty handy against Vayne, especially if you don’t have hard CC. When you activate Randuin’s Omen, it slows all enemies around your champion.
Additionally, you reduce all attack damage by 10% and critical strike damage by 20% for 4 seconds. This directly counters all of Vayne’s power since her only damage source is auto-attacks with critical strikes.
So, Randuin’s Omen is a must-have item against Vayne!
4. Death’s Dance
Death’s Dance isn’t a counter item for Vayne in the same sense that the other items on this list are. It doesn’t have an offensive effect that harms Vayne in any way, but it helps you receive less damage for her and survive much longer.
Ignore Pain is one of the unique passives that Death’s Dance has. This effect simply means that 30% of Vayne’s damage won’t be dealt to you immediately. Instead, you’ll take it over 3 seconds but as true damage.
Now, if you manage to slay Vayne or score an assist in a team fight, this DoT/burning effect will be removed from you and you’ll get healed. In other words, Death’s Dance allows you to block 30% of Vayne’s physical damage if you manage to kill her or get an assist.
Death’s Dance is an item tailored for fighters and not necessarily tanks. Yasuo, Yone, and Irelia are one of the best champions to build Death’s Dance on. But if you are on an AD tank and you need extra survivability against Vayne, then definitely go for this item!
Read Also: Top 10 Best Items Against Tanks in LoL & How to Use Them!
5. Anathema’s Chains
Anathema’s Chains is a newer item in League of Legends. And in my opinion, it’s very underused, especially against champions like Vayne.
Here’s how Anathema’s Chains works in LoL.
Once you buy this item, you can activate it on an enemy champion. This enemy champion then becomes your Nemesis and you start to build stacks. And after 60% seconds, you reach 30 stacks of the Vendetta unique passive.
At 30 stacks, Anathema’s Chains reduces all damage by 30% from your Nemesis. So, if you use this item on Vayne and wait one minute, you’ll receive 30% less damage from her overall. This is such a powerful effect against Vayne that you simply must build!
On top of that, Anathema’s Chains will also reduce Vayne’s Tenacity. So even if she has Mercury Treads or Legend: Tenacity, you’ll still be able to stun her or root her for longer.
Anathema’s Chains was introduced as a support item in LoL. However, it can be useful for any tanky champion in the game. So, don’t hesitate to try it out!
Read Also: How to Counter True Damage in League of Legends?
6. Quicksilver Sash / Mikael’s Blessing
We’ve all played against a skilled Vayne that never missed a stun. Condemn is a great tool for countering all types of champions in the game. And if you want to deny Vayne that, you need to remove her stun effect completely.
One of the best ways to cleanse crowd control in LoL is Quicksilver Sash – QSS. All champions can buy QSS and use it to instantly get out of Vayne’s stun. And if you’re an AD champion, you can upgrade it later too.
Another way is Mikael’s Blessing. This is an active support item that cleanses all CC from a chosen target. You can either use it on yourself or one of your teammates.
Of course, you can also take Cleanse as your Summoner’s Spell. But if you want to keep your Ignite, Teleport, or Heal, it’s best to go for one of these items!
7. Guardian Angel
If worse comes to worst and the enemy Vayne gets too fed, you might want to consider building Guardian Angel. It’s a great item for playing offensively against Vayne.
Guardian Angel has one purpose – revive you with 50% base health and 30% maximum mana after 4 seconds of being slain. It gives you a second chance at fighting Vayne, which is a pretty good deal.
Aside from that, Guardian Angel also grants a lot of AD and armor. And if you’re on an AD champion such as Irelia or Yasuo, you’ll definitely want to get Guardian Angel in the late game.
Believe me, this is one of the best items you can ever build against Vayne in LoL!
Read Also: The Best Items Against Mordekaiser
8. Zhonya’s Hourglass
And lastly, we have Zhonya’s Hourglass. Just like Guardian Angel, this is a defensive item that allows you to play aggressively against Vayne.
When you activate Zhonya’s Hourglass, you enter Stasis. During this time of 2.5 seconds, Vayne can’t attack you in any way. You can use Hourglass to trick dodge Vayne’s stun or simply protect yourself while waiting for your cooldowns.
Zhonya’s Hourglass can be a really useful item during team fights. Depending on how you use it, you can outplay most of your opponents, including Vayne.
The only problem is that Zhonya’s Hourglass is mostly built on AP champions. However, you can only purchase a Stopwatch in the late game and use it once to save yourself.
Read Also: LoL Items That Increase the Size – How Do They Work?
What Other Items Can Counter Vayne?
Vayne’s biggest power is her W – Silver Bolts. As I mentioned above, this ability deals 4 / 6.5 / 9 / 11.5 / 14% of your maximum health as true damage. In other words, building more HP items only results in Vayne dealing more damage to you.
However, Vayne is a physical damage champion. So, building armor to reduce this physical damage is the right thing to do against Vayne. Any armor item will help you, even
But what are some other items that you can build against Vayne in LoL?
Morellonomicon is a great choice, especially if you don’t have Thornmail. It gives you the Grevious Wounds effect and allows you to reduce Vayne’s overall healing.
Shadowflame is another interesting option because Vayne always builds Immortal Shieldbow (a shield item). Shadowflame will grant you more magic penetration against Vayne’s shields, so it’s a good thing to have on you.
Similarly, Serpent’s Fang is an anti-shield item in League of Legends that will reduce Vayne’s shield from Immortal Shieldbow. So if Vayne becomes a problem, go for Serpent’s Fang.
Items like Banshee’s Veil and Edge of Night can also help you against Vayne’s stun. They block the first magic spell effect. But since Vayne doesn’t have anything except her E to trigger the magic shield, she can never stun you while you have Banshee’s Veil or Edge of Night.
Lastly, Crown of the Shattered Queen can be a good mythic item against Vayne. It will reduce her initial damage and give you enough time to get away or retaliate.
Those are all the best items you can buy against Vayne in LoL!
Useful Runes Against Vayne in LoL
When it comes to runes, there aren’t too many of them that are especially good against Vayne. All defensive runes will increase your durability and make you tankier against her. And the best of them is Bone Plating which can reduce Vayne’s initial damage.
Legend: Tenacity can give you an upper hand because it will lower the time you sit in Vayne’s stun. Unflinching does this too, so they might be helpful.
And lastly, Perfect Timing will give you a free Stopwatch after 12 minutes in the game. So if you’re planning to build Guardian Angel or Zhonya’s Hourglass, then definitely pick this rune up.
Conclusion
Vayne is an ADC/marksman champion that’s specifically designed to counter tanks. It’s difficult to stop a good and skilled Vayne player from carrying the game. But these items should be your starting point. Build them in every game against Vayne and you’ll see just how powerful they are. I promise you more winnable games overall!
That said, check my other item guides here on Runetarium and learn more about countering different champions in League of Legends, not just Vayne.
Good luck and have fun!
