If you find yourself in a tough spot whenever you’re up against tanks in the top lane, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I’ll go through 5 champions that are known counters to most tanks in League of Legends so you can choose the right one for you.
Tanks are always strong in LoL, regardless of the patch or the meta.
The problem is that they deal more than enough damage to you while you can’t always do the same to them. Their inventory is full of defensive items, making it almost impossible to solo-kill them.
But before I get into the 5 recommended top lane picks against tanks, know that it’s possible to defeat tanks with a good strategy on almost any champion.
And with the right itemization you can exploit some of the tanks’ biggest weaknesses.
That said, I really recommend you check the top 10 best anti-tank items in League of Legends first and then scroll down to check the champions.
The 5 Best Top Lane Champions to Counter Tanks in LoL
5. Fiora
Fiora is one of the best champions you can play in the face of any tank on Summoner’s Rift. Her biggest advantage is that she deals true damage thanks to her passive – Duelist’s Dance.
And this makes Fiora one of the greatest 1v1 champions in LoL, especially against tanks.
Fiora is easy to learn but hard to master champion that works well in every elo. Her kit allows you to win duels versus most champions in the game, including tanks such as Ornn.
With Fiora, you can easily exploit her passive to trade with your lane opponent until they’re low enough for you to go all-in.
And besides the enemy jungler, there’s nothing else that can stop Fiora from destroying the tanks in the top lane.
Key strengths:
- Deals bonus true damage based on the target’s maximum health
- Can dash and trade using her Q, but also chase or escape when needed
- Can deny enemy CC with her W as well as apply a stun effect
Read Also: 7 Best Mid Laners Against Tanks
4. Darius
Darius is a powerful top lane pick in every possible aspect, including slaying tanks during the laning phase.
He’s an aggressive champion with an insane damage output that’s constantly looking to fight tanks and doesn’t let them farm and scale.
Many tanks in League of Legends lack mobility, especially in the early game. Well, Darius has a low-range grab through E and a slow effect through W.
Combined with his stacking passive, Darius’ ability kit is really designed to shred and torment tanks.
But everything sounds fair until you notice that he can deal a lot of true damage as well. His ultimate is a sort of execute effect that can take up to 30 or 40% HP even from the tankiest champion in League.
So, he’s fantastic when it comes to countering tanks!
Key strengths:
- Great passive to harass tanks in the lane
- Hard to escape from without any mobility
- A lot of true damage
Read Also: Top 5 Best Top Laners for Clash
3. Camille
Most of the champions on this list can deal huge amounts of true damage which is a super efficient way of taking down tanks.
And Camille has one of the best true damage abilities in the entire LoL which is her Q – Precision Protocol.
The great thing here is that Camille’s Q has a relatively short cooldown and the true damage can be exploited all the time.
On top of that, this champion has great mobility and a defensive passive, making her one of the safest top laners you can play.
Camille also has enough CC to engage and harass tanks. And in the late game, she’s perfectly comfortable at split-pushing in the side lane and dueling any tank that comes to stop her.
Key strengths:
- Huge true damage on her Q ability
- CC & slow during the laning phase with extra sustain thanks to her passive
- Can lock down targets and create good gank opportunities for her jungle
Read Also: Top 5 Best Top Laners to Get Out of Bronze
2. Trundle
Trundle is one of my favorite champions thanks to a thousand different reasons. And one of them is his efficiency when it comes to dealing with tanks and taking them down.
Trundle is a viable top lane pick and he’s generally good against all tanks there. He is definitely strong during the laning phase but what makes him a good pick against tanks is his ultimate – Subjugate.
Subjugate is an amazing effect that allows Trundle to steal a portion of the target’s resistances for a short period of time.
It also drains the target’s HP based on their maximum HP, so it’s always a good spell to use on tanks.
Key strengths:
- His abilities give him a noticeable amount of bonus stats, such as movement speed & attack speed.
- Using Trundle’s ultimate on tanks for stealing grants him 40% of their resistances and makes them easy targets to kill
Read Also: Top 15 Best Off-Meta Top Lane Champions
1. Vayne
Even though I’m personally not a huge fan of playing ranged top laners, I can’t deny Vayne’s brilliant effectiveness when it comes to countering tanks.
She’s literally an anti-tank machine, a champion specifically designed to shred tanks.
And you should definitely abuse her!
The key thing to understand here is Vayne’s W – Silver Bolts.
Every third basic attack allows Vayne to deal true damage instead of physical and this scales with the target’s maximum health too.
On top of this, Vayne’s a ranged marksman and can endlessly harass melee tanks in the top lane.
Playing a tank into Vayne feels like a nightmare so if you’re looking to counter tanks in League, there’s no better champion to do it with than Vayne.
Key strengths:
- Deals constant true damage and scales insanely well against tanks
- Can kite and go invisible with her ultimate, so no tanks can 1v1 her if played correctly
Read Also: 5 Best Supports for Crushing Tanks in League of Legends
Conclusion
Every season brings new changes to both champions and items. And nowadays, dealing with tanks is not as hard as it used to be.
You just need the right champion and the correct set of items in order to defeat most tanks in League of Legends.
That said, don’t hesitate to try some of the champions I showcased here and explore their strengths against tanks in LoL!
