Counterplay
Patch 26.16SketchCounter Leona
The opponents who give Leona trouble, and how to handle each one.
Where these numbers come from
They are pulled from the mode's own files for patch 26.16, the one currently live. The source is community-run rather than an official Riot API, and the game shifts with community votes, so a gap with your own game is always possible.
Her spell shield cancels your entire kit and you have nothing else to offer. Never fire Zenith Blade into a shielded target: you lose the engage, the cooldown and the lane in one go. Wait until she's spent it on her carry, or engage on Morgana herself to force it out, then play the wave for pressure and let your jungler arrive while the shield is down. Buy Mercury's Treads early, her root lasts forever on you.
Her spell shield cancels your entire kit and you have nothing else to offer. Never fire Zenith Blade into a shielded target: you lose the engage, the cooldown and the lane in one go. Wait until she's spent it on her carry, or engage on Morgana herself to force it out, then play the wave for pressure and let your jungler arrive while the shield is down. Buy Mercury's Treads early, her root lasts forever on you.
She exists to refuse you. Her tornado cuts your approach and Monsoon pushes you out of range at the exact moment your stun would land. Hunt the windows where her buttons are gone: engage after she releases Howling Gale, never before. Force her to stand forward by shoving the wave under their turret, and save your ultimate to cut off her escape rather than to open. A jungler arriving from behind solves this lane far better than any frontal engage.
She exists to refuse you. Her tornado cuts your approach and Monsoon pushes you out of range at the exact moment your stun would land. Hunt the windows where her buttons are gone: engage after she releases Howling Gale, never before. Force her to stand forward by shoving the wave under their turret, and save your ultimate to cut off her escape rather than to open. A jungler arriving from behind solves this lane far better than any frontal engage.
A tank duel where whoever engages second wins the trade. He has the longer stun and a heal, you have the better entry and a ranged ultimate. Don't commit into a fight while his stun is up: fire Zenith Blade at his carry instead of at him, your passive detonates either way. Most of his damage is magic, so take magic resist on your first real item and let your carry decide when to press.
A tank duel where whoever engages second wins the trade. He has the longer stun and a heal, you have the better entry and a ranged ultimate. Don't commit into a fight while his stun is up: fire Zenith Blade at his carry instead of at him, your passive detonates either way. Most of his damage is magic, so take magic resist on your first real item and let your carry decide when to press.