In the early game, Aatrox is a skill matchup since he has better wave control and sustain than you do and he can consistently E your parry. To beat him, either outscale him at one item, or Q-W into him when he uses his Q to CS to get a free stun. Or wait till he uses E then parry his next Q knockup or his W pull. You want to avoid getting used to W-ing the pull, and instead use your Q or MS to get out of it. Wasting your W on anything that isn't damage will make this matchup harder. Only W pull if it puts you in a good position in the middle of a fight, not just at the end or start of a trade to leave. You outscale at 1 item if even, 2 if behind.
Akali
Akali is an annoying matchup. You beat her the first few levels, and her lack of mobility early means that it's very easy for her to overextend and you get an all-in, especially if she runs ignite+tp. Akali hard wins this matchup. You have to just try to maintain/not lose too much till you get to sidelaning/2 items. Hexdrinker early is necessary, before or after tiamat is up to how the lane is going/how good Akali is. But a first buy long sword into null magic mantle is optimal. Buy phage as the first component in triforce, you need the HP. Oracle lens can be helpful in procing vitals in her shroud. Tiamat and Q will still proc the vitals. Keep in mind, that when she Rs you, if you are spamming auto attack move, you can get the vital facing you, then when she goes through you with her R, you can get the 2nd vital with tiamat or Q. You just have to ready for it. Also, keep in mind how you're positioned relative to where she wants to escape/go to, and make sure to not give her that angle even if your vital is there. You outscale at 3 items, 2 if the Akali didn't manage to get any lead.
Camille
"Camille is a skill matchup. Always dodge into her W inner cone or out of her W entirely using your Q. An easy way to get some good poke damage is to use your parry on her after she auto attacks you then Q-ing away, since she gets an attack damage shield. As much as possible, avoid fighting near walls since her E gets harder to react to. The only consistent way to win this matchup, besides waiting for Camille is misplay, is by fighting her in the middle of the lane, having her E away, and then you flash Q-W to the section of the wall she grappled to, stunning her. Unless she misplays, this will be the most consistent way to secure a kill without your jungler. A huge interaction to be aware of is that Fiora W blocks Camille R. So, if you’re getting ganked, be ready to W Camille’s R so you can walk out of the gank. Using your vital or R ms to kite out of her Q2 and/or her W will give you an insane edge in this matchup. The more you can dodge without needing W or Q, the better your fight will be.
"
Cassiopeia
Against Cassiopeia, you don't need Doran Shield, you can just get Doran Blade and heavy fight.. You have to dodge her Qs with your movement speed or your Qs. Getting hit by her Q is the single factor between winning or losing. This is an annoying matchup since she has the potential to 100-0 you at every stage in the game even if you start the fight melee range. You are looking for two things, her overstepping and her missing or you dodging her Q. If you get both, always and instantly force an all-in in lane. You can even flash early on her and force her flash, that's fine. No flash on Cassio means she has less room to screw up and outplay than you do. After 6, make sure to hug her in a fight, and walk through her perma, that will make her R harder to land, or if you're confident of your W/reaction, you can just W it or look away. But a best practice is to do both. Early Null magic Mantle and hex drinker is very good vs her.
Cho'Gath
The only way for Cho’gath to beat you in lane is to either kite you with his E auto attack slow in the middle of a minion wave or for him to silence you into a Q knockup then walk away. So, for this matchup, you’ll have to practice looking at his champion model to determine when he will Q and immediately side stepping or taking a step back. Also, you will have to get used to using your Q-W at the start of the fight so you can reach your vitals more easily. You are looking for Qs that put you as close to Cho'gath as possible, not just max range Qs, because if you don’t, he will just kite you easily with his E slow. Something important to note is if you’re low HP and in range of cho’gath, you need to parry his Silence and not his Ultimate. Because if you don’t parry his Silence, you will just get Feasted without counterplay. You outscale easily, and you can get the turrets from infront of him. Demolish is very nice vs Cho'gath.
The only way for Cho’gath to beat you in lane is to either kite you with his E auto attack slow in the middle of a minion wave or for him to silence you into a Q knockup then walk away. So, for this matchup, you’ll have to practice looking at his champion model to determine when he will Q and immediately side stepping or taking a step back. Also, you will have to get used to using your Q-W at the start of the fight so you can reach your vitals more easily. You are looking for Qs that put you as close to Cho'gath as possible, not just max range Qs, because if you don’t, he will just kite you easily with his E slow. Something important to note is if you’re low HP and in range of cho’gath, you need to parry his Silence and not his Ultimate. Because if you don’t parry his Silence, you will just get Feasted without counterplay. You outscale easily, and you can get the turrets from infront of him. Demolish is very nice vs Cho'gath.
Darius
Darius is one of the few champions you lose to level 1, so be careful of that. You’ll want to wait for level 3 before taking any trades with him. To win any trade after level 3, you will have to W his E or the more consistent option, W his W. If the enemy Darius player is skilled enough in this matchup, they will hold both abilities and kite you with ghost. If you believe the enemy Darius player is that skilled in the matchup (Master+ OTP), then you’ll only beat Darius after your first item. You’ll always beat Darius in the sidelane 1v1. The main issue you have to be aware of is teamfights. Even if the Darius is behind, due to the high damage on his R after he gets 5 stacks, he is always a threat to you. So, try to avoid teamfighting when there’s a Darius in the game unless your team is ahead. Darius is one of the few champions you lose to level 1, so be careful of that. You’ll want to wait for level 3 before taking any trades with him. To win any trade after level 3, you will have to W his E or the more consistent option, W his W. If the enemy Darius player is skilled enough in this matchup, they will hold both abilities and kite you with ghost. If you believe the enemy Darius player is that skilled in the matchup (Master+ OTP), then you’ll only beat Darius after your first item. You’ll always beat Darius in the sidelane 1v1. The main issue you have to be aware of is teamfights. Even if the Darius is behind, due to the high damage on his R after he gets 5 stacks, he is always a threat to you. So, try to avoid teamfighting when there’s a Darius in the game unless your team is ahead.
Gangplank
This matchup is, and I have talked to multiple Gangplank OTPs about this, one where you have to flip it. You will need to play really aggressive at every chance before GP gets his Sheen and try to force a lead before he can back. After GP gets Sheen, you have to give all minions to not get Qed and just look to all-in GP. The reason why you have to give all minions is because if you take 2 GP Qs after he gets Sheen, he’ll just be able to dive you under turret after that. Pay close attention to GP’s passive. You always want to W him when he auto attacks you while having his passive auto available to get maximum value during a fight. You can use your E to auto-E a barrel at 2HP and oneshot it. Barrels are stronger than the entire rest of GP's kit, each one you get is an insane difference in how likely you are to win the fight. If you can bait a GP 1 or 2 barrel in lane then Q out, and he wastes them, it's a very good use of your Q even if it goes on a 13 second cooldown. Ignite is very useful to all-in. Ignite early to deny his orange healing.
Garen
Never Q melee of him, then Garen can respond with just pressing E and he wins the trade. Max range Q always so he can’t trade back. You win early, you outscale. Always use vital ms to go out of his E, if you tank his E damage, matchup becomes so much worse, so always keep in mind to bait it out. You outscale, and you beat him at every point. If he has phase rush, you can’t kill him unless he chooses to die. If he has conqueror, you can run him down the lane if you’re high hp.
Gnar
Get Second Wind, Unflinching and Doran Shield. You want to Q-W into Gnar when he’s mini with no rage AND he has no minion/wave behind him for him to E onto. This is to make sure that he can’t double jump and gain too much distance away from you. If Gnar is in mega, give him some space to hit the wave. Giving him the illusion of saftey will get him to W the wave to push, and you can Q-W into his W and get a stun off. Try to avoid fighting him next to walls when he's in mega so you don't flip his R. If he's in the last few seconds of mega after 6, you can force a fight and insta-W, most Gnars will just cast R since he has no other chance to do so, making it easy to predict.
Gragas
Champ is very annoying to kill. If you can read his E, congrats, you get a kill. If you can't read his E, then hold your W until he Rs for a free stun. You can consistently beat Gragas in lane and sidelane this way. Conserve hp, get tiamat to clear wave and not interact, once you have Ravenous, you autowin vs him. Grasp can help in surviving, but not necessary. Make sure to use your Q to dodge his poke Qs to not get low HP.
Gwen
Easy matchup. Later in the game, when she has items, she can kite and oneshot you if you play mindlessly, so keep that in mind. Early game, you just beat her. If she is looking to auto minions, make sure to zone her/fight her off so she can't stack her q for free. She can use her W as a wall by sitting at an edge of it and denying your vital. Most Gwens won't do this, but just something to keep in mind. When you see she has 4 stack Q, she will probably look to Q into you, you can be ready for this, and instead of even W-ing, you pre-emptively Q to the side of where she will E. You can also just W or Q-W it if you want to play it safer, but Q-ing it sets up for a kill most of the time. Gwen in teamfights is scarier than sidelane because she is a lot more damage you have to keep in mind that you can't dodge in a teamfight as easily as you can in a sidelane. You beat her at practically every stage of the game if you don't make a mistake.
Heimerdinger
Get Dshield second wind. Be in lane insta, don't cover. Kill any turrets he spawns instantly with q + auto. Do not let him ever spawn a turret for free even if you lose some hp for it, it's worth. Once you try to trade with him post level 3, make sure after you Q in, to walk out and in, weaving, to make him unsure of where you're going. The further away you are from him, the easier it is to W his W. After 6, if he plants his big turret when you go in, instantly click/q out unless you have a confirmed kill. Lane is annoying, but playable, side lane is easier to get a kill if he's behind or even as long as you get a flank on him. Otherwise, just maintain high CS.
Illaoi
Be in lane instantly. Kill any tentacle that spawns instantly even if Illaoi is fighting you. You don't technically have to level 1 and 2, but after, you have to. The tentacles are stronger than her. Illaoi W fighting pattern can let her damage you a lot more than you expect, don't go for any trade where you can't make sure hit her with your E/W as well, Q for Illaoi W is always bad. If She Rs and you're E-d, run away. If you didn't W her E, save your W not for her R, but her W after R, that will let you dodge the tentacle slam damage. Tip: You can Q out of Illaoi E range, and the spirit will travel to you, you can W at almost the end of Q animation and avoid the spirit debuff. You outscale, make sure to fight her in any area she has no tentacles, and if she does, kill tentacles first then fight her.
Irelia
Deny level 1 access to minions. Check if she's hiding in the bush or alcove level 1. Ignite is useful but not necessary. Hitting your W on her is very important to winning the fight. A good Irelia will bait out your W with her E, then dodge your W with her movement or Q on a minion. So, you have to get used to dodging her E with your movement or a Q. Avoid using your W to block her E, unless she's that bad. You generally want to W her R, denying her the Q reset stack and it's usually easy and unexpected to hit W on her in that animation. When you're fighting her in a wave, look at where she is relative to a minion that she can Q. When you're following her, make sure to have clicked her and not cancelled that auto attack to do a movement command. That way, when she Qs to the minion through you, you still get your auto into her. Also, not using your Q till she's used hers is important, so that you can follow her movement. Executioner is useful in this matchup early if you're not running ignite. But, if you don't get it early, don't get it at all since later on at 2-3 items, you just oneshot her without counterplay.
Jax
You have to practice hiding intent. If you walk up into Jax and Q, then it's an obvious Q. But if you pretend to walk slightly into q range, hit a minion, walk around, walk out and in, he has no idea when to press his E. Jax players do not react to Fiora Q unless it's mid to max range, they predict it based on when they think you will press it. Hide intent and it becomes easier to fight him. Any Q on him that he isn't able to E is a good Q. After you Q him, instantly walk out. If he Qs you, W him in his q animation and walk it out sideways to fight him after his E is over. If you W Jax in his Q animation and instantly R, you can walk out of his E and he can't do anything about it. Whoever engages first in this matchup tends to be the loser. If Jax gets ignite, you have to as well or matchup is much harder. Do not try to W his E, always try to W his Q or his W auto attack. W-ing the E is just a waste of time and brainpower. Tiamat and your W can proc vitals through Jax E, keep that in mind. You can Q when Jax is almost at the end of his E, and your Q will hit while you're stunned. In teamfights, if Jax jumps on someone else, it's a very easy setup to Q into him while he's in his E because he's not playing the mindgame, you get a pretty free stun into a oneshot with your R.
Jayce
Go Second Wind and Doran Shield. This matchup is all about letting Jayce hit you three times, proccing his phase rush, then trying to force an all-in onto Jayce when he has his phase rush down. You don’t want to take any unnecessary poke unless you’re trying to get Jayce to use his Phase Rush. When fighting against Jayce without phase rush, you want to Q-W into him then move below him or behind him so that he can’t push you away with his E. If you do that, he will always be forced to flash there or die.
Kayle
Even when behind, her R on anyone you R will be very game-changing. You always have to keep that in mind. In lane, easy to deal with. Q-W through her Q and you will always get a kill. Play bushes, deny her entry to lane. Avoid tiamat early to freeze waves on her, and all in her at every opportunity. Make sure to deprive of her exp the entire game because even if she's behind, when she scales, she will still beat you even if you're 5 items and she has 3.
Kennen
Creature. Grasp page, perma poke, get exhuast for when he engages on you with R. You will be able to beat him with exhaust. You win early until level 7, then if you get poked too much, he get the edge. Make sure to maintain your HP then to deny him any all-in opportunity. Tiamat + early merc treads are very useful. If you have 2 stacks of his passive on you, you can Q-W into his Q or his E form to get a free stun. In an all-in, I would generally not W his first stun cuz it's more unpredictable, his 2nd stun with the R procs is very easy to time and guarantee a stun. You outscale.
Kled
Easy matchup. You outscale. Play slow before he dismounts and save your burst for after he dismounts. Try to dodge his Q, if you get hit, understand if he Es behind you premetively to dodge your W, or if he tries to dodge it with movement. W accordingly. You're better than him at every point in the game. Try not to fight with all his W autos up. Careful with max range Q-ing vs him when he's mounted, he can just R to cancel your Q. You beat him at every point unless you misplay it.
Lee Sin
This matchup is pretty decent. You can walk into and out of his E range to bait him to use it. You always win all-ins into Lee Sin. The only way Lee Sin has to beat you is by poking you with E, and if he tries to do that, you can trade with him and win the trade or to try to execute you. If you’re below 40% HP, Lee Sin has the potential to Q-R-Ironspike Whip-Q2 you without you being able to control your character before dying. So that’s the one thing you need to be aware of. You can react to Lee Sin R if you’re paying close attention to your character, since Lee Sin R initially does something similar to a mini stun where you’re rooted in place without being able to do anything, and then you get kicked. While mini-stunned, you can still parry Lee Sin’s Kick and get a stun off. You outscale Lee Sin but you’re worse than him in team fights so try to play versus him in the side lane.
Malphite
Get tear early. Q to dodge comet procs if he's running it. Early, your W is best used either when chasing to Q-W into his Q, or when fighting, to predict W his E. It's usually easy to predict because they're not trying to hide when they do it in every fight. After level 6, you have to use your R to poke. The second he walks up to Q you, Q-W into his Q, use your R insta and poke him with it. That's the only way to play this lane out. You outscale at Ravenous + Muramana. Laning is annoying but perma poke with R, crash waves with tiamat, and you're chill after Ravenous Hydra sustain. You will lose team fights, so don't try to teamfight. Always stay in the sidelane.
Mordekaiser
Morde is a generally easy matchup, if the morde knows what he's doing, it's still easy, just have to respect his positioning. You win all-ins early. See whether Morde can dodge your W when he E-s you or not, if he can't, GG, easy lane. If he can, you need to be a little more cautious and use your Q to dodge his E instead. If he gets bramble, you outscale at Ravenous, if not, you outscale at spawn. When you engage, you have to make sure you're not max range Q-ing, and instead Q-ing as close as possible to prolong the fight. Q-ing max range lets him trade back and gives him more control in this situation. You can consistently W his R, it has a clear sound and animation, you can also tank it and it's fine. Use your R ms and vital ms to dodge his abilities if possible. Keep in mind, he knows where you want to go based on the vital, and you can use that info to bait an ability and dodge it as well.
Nasus
Doggo. Sick sick champion that should burn in hell. You outscale at 2-ish items, but if you make a mistake after level 9, you're kinda done for. Early game, you hard win and try to punish him. After bramble and level 5, your best option is to literally predict his W, and if you can, then all-in. Otherwise, you have to back off, and wait for wither to be over. Phase rush sounds good if you're not confident in this matchup, but I alway take conq and it's very useful. He is a better champion than you from level 9 to 2 items. You have to keep high CS, not interact with him in that period, unless you've punished him early. If he Ws you in lane, just Q out and wait it out.
Nocturne
This is a relatively easy matchup. Nocturne will outsustain you in lane because of his passive and push the wave quicker than you in the first few levels. However, once you get to level 5 and the wave is at your side of the lane, you will win any all-in into Nocturne. A big tip is, when the Nocturne fear is about to Proc, you want to Q-W into the Nocturne since he will anticipate you using your W to parry his fear and stun him. Because you Qed first, your Q will remove his spell shield and your W will stun him. You never want to small trade with Nocturne since he will just sustain it back up. Also, you can’t back away from a fight with Nocturne post 6 since he will just R you to chase you. So, keep that in mind.
Olaf
Best thing to W his E, generally they do it in the same time as soon as they walk up to you. If he ever throughs his Q too far, that's a good timer to force a trade. Max range Q is very useful here. You always want to keep an eye on where his Q is and where he is, he will want to path to it, and you want to take the fight away from his Q. After level 6, when Olaf Rs, if he's not low and you're not ahead, you can use your Q or your R ms to kite his R. There is no need to fight until his R runs out. Once it does, then you can fight. It's a pretty easy matchup, he can kill you if you screw up your Q and you're too deep in, but generally chill to play.
Ornn
Bramble creature. He beats you after level 5 + bramble. If your Ornn is better than instantly autoing a brittle proc to give you a free W stun, then you need to W his W as soon as you see it so that you don't get the brittle on you in the first place. Make sure to use your Q and vital MS to dodge his W. Keep in mind any walls while you're fighting him, he can E them to get the knockup, closer he is, the harder it is to read/react to the knockup. You outscale at Ravenous. Muramana is not needed in this sidelane. Tip: You can use his Q pillar when it comes up as a stun. If you use your W on something that does not get value (just to live or dodge damage), play very safe. In the timer you don't have W, you can get oneshot in a single combo from 70%-ish HP. There is no need to play aggressive in that window.
Pantheon
Skill/How early goes based laning. If you can bait out Panth empowered Q, then you can just all-in early and win. These matchup depends on how many Qs you can dodge in the early levels. Take barrier, use it early in the fight to deny Pantheon reaching his execute with Q. I prefer W-ing pantheon Q over W, more consistent. It's hard to W melee W, easier to W max range Panth W. You win any all-in where you don't tank the empowered Q. Avoid all-ing Pantheon at 3 or 4 stacks. All in at full or lower stacks, so he can't W+Q then empowered E to run away or W + empowered E to run away. If he can do either, you can't all-in him, he's just too fast. He wins trade then leaves. You can proxy vs this matchup when you get tiamat. Insta R always when there's an all-in, you need the R to be on the ground instantly to get the healing ASAP. You win after 1st item if even, 2nd item if a little behind. Tabi rush is safer but not ideal for proactive gameplay.
Quinn
Get Second Wind and Doran Shield. You want to play this like a normal ranged matchup, give any minions if it will cost you too much of your hp bar and play it slowly. Wait for your level 6, and then you can engage on Quinn whenever she walks a little too far up for a minion by using your Q-W and then Ring her. You will get knocked back, but you can easily follow her since she’ll still be slowed. This matchup is not favorable for you, I recommend a Steelcaps rush into Stridebreaker. A way to win this matchup, is to try to fight Quinn level 1 right after the minions spawn at 1:05. It doesn’t matter if you kill her or die as long as you force her flash and ignite early. A Quinn level 1 without flash and ignite that will now need to reset because she doesn’t have enough HP to lane, has already lost the game.
Renekton
Don’t try to push the wave level 1 against Renekton. It will never work. This matchup is pretty much a stat check unless you manage to W his stun. I would recommend just CSing and just getting sustain runes overall. Wait to outscale him at 2 items and don’t bother getting an early Grievous Wound item since you shouldn’t normally be able to kill him. Just rush your core items.
Rengar
This is a pretty decent matchup. You can contest level 1 Rengar in the bushes and you’ll win it as long as you go for the all-in and you haven’t given him the chance to stack his fury. Don’t get early Grievous Wounds versus Rengar. You will always be able to beat him at any stage in the game. At level 2, you can just Q-W into Rengar and run him down the lane. After level 3, hold your W for either Rengar’s empowered Q or for after Rengar uses empowered W. After level 6, you have to look for All-ins on Rengar, so make sure you have enough space to chase him, because if you don’t manage to kill him, he’ll use his R to run away then reengage once his cooldowns are back up.
Riven
Run Exhaust. Pretty free matchup. Biggest indicator of when you can go in or not, is her Q. If she doesn't delay her Qs, then it's a free all-in. If she does, you have to play normally. Make sure to not be close to a minion that is dying while she is, she will Q you for free poke. Any HP you lose in this matchup matters alot. Generally the person who engages first is the one who loses, but you can still win it consistently and play it aggresively. Read how the Riven uses her W. Some use it at the very start of the all in, so you can start the fight with a Q-slight delay- then W while at the end of Q animation and at Riven. Other Rivens will hold it, and then you can hold it for the middle of the fight. Some Rivens will Q3 into a minion wave that you're close to or Q3 away when you're close to them, and you can just Q-W into that for a free stun. Fighting her when she has delayed her previous Qs and has ignite up is the worst timing. Keep that in mind. You win the all-in level 1. You outscale in sidelane. This is a skill matchup.
Ryze
In my experience, this matchup is completely unplayable. Get Second Wind and Doran Shield, and just try to CS and wait for jungle gank. The only way Ryze can lose this matchup is if he uses E-W on you and you parry it. However, he can just use W for the slow and kite you with his movement speed. The only window you’ll have to kill Ryze is pre-6. If he tries to fight you when his Phase Rush is on cooldown, you can potentially kill him then. Post 6, even if you find a good engage, he will just R away.
Sett
You win the all in level 1 if you get the first auto-Q from a bush. If he levels W, you have to flash the damage though. Laning, you want to only max range Q a vital then leave. If he E-s you early in the fight with no grit, force a heavy trade then W his W. That is good for you. If he doesn't, then leave. You only want to fight Sett in a situation where you can dodge his W or W it. This means you have to leave before he stacks grit or fight him outside of your wave. You can do that by fighting deeper into the enemy lane or fighting into river. A trick you can do versus Sett is after 6, you can walk behind him so that he can R you towards his tower, then you W behind yourself, stunning Sett where he lands. Another trick to this matchup is you have to instantly proc your R vitals. or delay your R on Sett. That way, either your R healing drops early enough into a fight that you can heal from it before Sett Rs, or you can use your R as an execute on Sett. You want to avoid a situation where you proc your R then he Rs you away from the healing. Standing in a direction where he Rs you into a wall and there isn't much distance travelled is helpful.
Shen
Shen with ignite beats you early game if you mess up. Avoid having his Q go through you, meaning you have to play the mini-game of dodging it, or Q-ing away to a minion so it doesn't hit you. An early tiamat is very useful and you want to permashove to force Shen to stay in lane. Demolish is very useful in this lane for when Shen Rs away even if he has TP. If you want to force a trade into Shen, make sure that he can't E through you and stay max auto range away from his body, and away from where he wants to E to (his turret). A trick you can do is to W towards his turret when you're behind him, assuming that he will dash through you, which they generally do. You can also Q behind him to get a vital, and instantly W in your Q since a good Shen will E that assuming you're going to the vital. You outscale at 1 item. When you're trying to get plates in front of him, baiting his E then q-ing away even if you get tagged by it is very good. If he has no E, he's no threat to you. Free scaling and free plates.
Shyvana
Shyvana’s weakest time is her laning, and that’s when you’ll have to abuse her. Otherwise, she’ll outscale you until about 3-4 items depending on the enemy Shyvana build and skill. You can block her E to deny her CS, if she walks up to CS, treat her as if she were a Nasus and contest her for every CS. She can only ever walk up to CS if she has her W up, and even then you can get an auto or two in. After she gets level 6, you won’t be able to kill her anymore unless you can react to her R transformation. If Shyvana hits you with your R, it displaces you. So, if you W it, you will be able to stun the Shyvana. This will be your only window post 6 to be able to kill Shyvana until you hit 3-4 items. This is because Shyvana with ignite tends to either outdamage you melee range or R away from you and spam poke you with her E.
Singed
Maintain 10CS/M. You will kill him a couple of times in lane but that doesn't mean you will kill him later on, that relies on a skillcheck even if you're ahead. You want to maintain gold advantage and economy. You can get cull in a lane like this. Make sure to deny any proxy attempt that he does, even if you lose 3 minions to block him from proxying. Singed usually has a telltale sign of when he's going to E, a way where he moves in the last second before he Es either to position himself to fling you into his W, or to fling you away from where he wants to go. Practice reading this movement and it will greatly help you predict it. If he has W on cooldown, you can just W regardless of his E, the slow is enough. If he has it already on the ground, fight in it and make sure not to be flung into it and it's fine. Practice avoiding his Q in situations where you're denying exit or not actively autoing him so he doesn't get extra damage on you for free. His only way to play the game is get 1-2 items then run around the map and annoy your team/play team fights late game. Otherwise, he does nothing. Hullbreaker is very useful versus him to deny him killing your wave then dipping.
Sion
If you're in Sion Q, you always hold your W till the last 0.75 seconds of it. You never W the instant stun Q. The reasoning being, it is better to be hit by medium damage 100% of the time, then getting hit by very high damage 50% of the time. More consistent, you can play around it. Of course, if you condition the Sion on you doing this, you can change up and get a free stun. If Sion is Q-ing the wave, you can always Q-W into it and get a free stun off. Sion beats you after bramble, loses after Ravenous. After level 6, you want to practice autoing then moving slightly back as you position to the next vital if his R will put you in an awkward spot, that way you can have more time to react to it with your W. You beat him at 1 item and you autowin vs Sion.
Sylas
Early game you win any trade into him, he's too squishy and doesn't heal enough from W. You win all-ins as well. Note, you can actually W his W, which is pretty useful because it's a pretty scripted ability that he will use as soon as he's in range of you, so you can walk up to auto or Q and instantly W him and block the healing from it. Ignite is useful but TP is better for the game vs Sylas. You have to maintain gold generation throughout the game because Sylas becomes annoying at 2 items if you're not at 2.5-3, which you can consistently be at since the lane is easy to play out. Try to put a minion between you when Sylas presses E1, or go to medium E range to bait him to hit you and you can even Q-W into his E2 if it misses you to get the stun/fight off. Executioner is nice, but not needed vs Sylas.
Teemo
If Teemo can consistently dodge your Q-W, GG. This lane is hell and you have to play grasp Doran Shield, Q poke from bush and run. But, there's a handful of Teemos that can do that in all of league, and they tend to be extremely high elo OTPs. Merc Treads vs teemo is nice, early null magic mantle is nice. Level 1, you can sit in a bush and just all in him if he walks up, especially if he starts E. At any point, you can Q-W into his auto attack and force a fight. You can try to predict when he Qs in the fight and hold your W for that, but it's more consistent to start the fight with Q-W, tank his Q blind early, and hold your E for when the blind wears off. Or if he blinds late, hold E2 crit for when it wears off. You will generally just beat him. You don't really need Doran Shield for this lane, you can just get blade and fist fight him to death and consistently win it.
Trundle
You need to know your damage. If you don't oneshot him with your ability rotation, and you keep trading auto for auto, he will win it. You have to poke him down with max range Q vitals, or small trade + W into walking out. You can't force an all-in until he's 60-65% HP, or he'll just fistfight you to death early levels. Level 5, you get enough damage to start fighting at higher HP numbers, but after 6, his R comes in clutch for him. When he Rs you, you want to disengage, and wait for it to run out, then fight after. This matchup comes down to practice and knowledge of how many vitals you can proc while not getting damaged too much, take your time with it, you have more movement speed, more control over the fight. But, if you play it too fast and mess up, you are instantly dead. Tip: When Trundle is disegnaging and hasn't used Pillar yet, it is a very easy predict to W him after he walks 2-3 steps away and that is generally a stun. They generally use it in the same pattern when disengaging.
Tryndamere
Do not let him touch the wave level 1. You hard win if he has no fury. Do not let him stack it for free. Level 2, and 3, you win. Fist fight, do not let him breathe. Level 4, when he finally has the wave and fury stacked, he will annoying to deal with because he will just Auto+E away. You need to make sure when you fight him, you either max range Q and not give him the opportunity for that, or you play from an angle to his side and chase him when he Es away. Bonus points if you're holding Q/got Q back up, and chase him with Q+W when he Es away. You just beat Tryndamere at level 6, he doesn't have enough damage. Later on, when you're at 1-2 items and so is he, what you want to do is not press W. Fight him, burst him, force his R, then when he finally Rs, you press W. That lets you kite him, and chase him down after and he has no choice but to run away because he's too slow in MS and AS. Ignite is nice in this lane but not needed. You can ignite as R is fading from him, and always get the fadeaway kill.
Akshan
A good Akshan will always be able to dodge your W since the most obvious time for you to use your W is when he attempts to proc his passive + pta on you.
The only way you can win this early is to wait for him to walk close enough to the point where when you Q him, you will be able to stop him from E-ing. If you're 70% hp and are that close, then you will be able to oneshot him. You will have to give a lot of cs in this matchup though. Preserve HP, wait for him to slightly overstep when autoing and all-in. No other way to win this, but most Akshans don't have the mechanics to avoid this all-in. Exhaust will be useful versus him but not necessary. Make sure to block his E or he will always be able to win the trade/fight.
Urgot
How likely you are to win a fight depends on how many shotgun knees he has used before the fight starts. Generally in lane, you want to dodge his Q poke, because if you get Q-ed, that's Q + 1 or 2 autos. If you need to Q to dodge his Q, do it. Do not get chunked for free like that. Any time he walks up to auto you, especially after missing Q, and a vital is facing you, you can look for the fight if he isn't full shotgun knees. A good Urgot will always E slightly to the side of you to bait your W out. You can Q into his E then W (make sure to W accordingly to where he meets you since if you W ahead, you might just miss him since your Q was too deep). Or, you can just fight normally and that will work as well. After bramble, it gets a little annoying. You come back after Ravenous. When you fight Urgot later, it's more important to use your Q/R MS or even W but preferably the first two, to dodge his R. Dodging his R or W-ing it gives more value than doing to the same to his E the majority of the time. Urgot kind of beats you at 2-3 items if he's ahead or close in gold, unless you play well/he misplays. But, you come back at 3-4 items.
Vayne
Play bush, Doran Blade, fist fight. Get PTA. You don't need to W the condemn, you can just Q-W into Vayne. Anytime in lane before level 6 Vayne Qs into you for an autoattack, you always want to Q-W into her and force a fight. If you land the W, which you should if you do it in the auto animation, it is a hard winning fight. Play the bushes, and do not let vayne walk up for free. After 6, matchup becomes easier. After around level 9 or 11 for Vayne + first item, it becomes better for her again, but still playable for you. Oracle lens is very useful for tracking the vayne, so is ignite. Exhaust is also good. TP works. It all depends on player preference. Cyclosword second is useful versus her but not needed.
Viego
This matchup can be a little annoying since Viego Q has such high range. You will want to run Second Wind and Doran Shield versus a high elo OTP (Master+), but otherwise, most Viegos will fail to kite you with their E movement speed and Q range. While you can W Viego’s W to get a stun, normally, a Viego will never W into you and instead play with their higher range. You want to CS normally and avoid losing health as much as possible. You can only look for all-ins in your side of the lane or if Viego wastes a cooldown like W or E. You outscale him at 1 item, and while executioner has high value against Viego, you don’t want to get it until after your first item is completed, since finishing your core item gives you more value versus viego.
Vladimir
Doran Blade. Fist fight. Get PTA. You don't really care about W-ing the Vlad. You really only use it as a way to say "Hey, pool now". And when his pool is down, you can then fight him for the all-in. Bonus points if he goes phase rush and you use that opportunity to bait it out. Anytime he doesn't have phase rush + pool, he's dead. If he has both up, you can just Q+auto+e1+e2 and walk it out, getting a lot of damage. Make sure not to trade when he has empowered Q up, you can use that chance to Q-W into him if he looks to empowered Q you. Don't make it obvious that's what you want to do, bait it out a bit, because the Q timer is a bit long, if he knows what he's doing, he can just hold it and empowered Q after your W ends. Vlad is a little stronger than you in components/first item, especially if he's running ignite, but it's nothing you can't sustain through or win the fight through as long as you follow the baseline I've set in the matchup. You can't force an all-in if he has phase rush up, only a heavy winning trade, that you then back off, and force all-in when your E is back up. Don't be afraid to fight and test limits to get more experience in this matchup.
Volibear
Do not let him touch the wave for free. Do not let him stack passive. Level 1, he starts E, and that makes him useless in a fight. If he walks in and Es, you can just stay behind him, wait for shield to expire, then fight. If he levels another ability, just hit him, he loses it. Early laning, you chunk him hard, if he's below 50% him, he can't play. He just gets oneshot. Later in the lane, if you're both full hp and he has passive, you'd prefer to wait for the next wave, his passive drops, then you trade with him. Do not stay in the fight for his W2, you have to leave before he gets it. Generally, you just want to not get hit by his E. You can get stunned, and everything, but you're fine as long as you don't tank E. Either buffer his Q with your Q if you mess up your W, or when you hear his E sound, wait half a second, then W. Even if he doesn't stun you, you don't tank it. You can also just maintain range when you hear the sound so he can't reach you for Q in the first place. You hard win after 1st item. You can use your R ms to just walk out of his R damage area, or you can Q out of it. Keep in mind, you can hit him midair and hit vitals while he's in the R jump. Later, it's hard to dive him in sidelane, I might recommend Muramana in this matchup just to have enough damage for the dive.
Warwick
There is no point in trading with WW after he's 50% hp, he will just heal it back up. Any auto on him after that point is useless, unless it's a max range vital Q that heals you (but that's unlikely that he won't Q you back). So, at that point, you force an all-in when he's 50% hp. To force an all-in, either you fight at your side of the lane, kite his E then all-in or you W his E. Otherwise, you can't get the kill. Laning against this creature is hard. Ignite is needed or buy executioner's right after 1st item. Proxying is very useful. He's useless against you later on, but his laning is very oppressive. Later in the game, you just oneshot him and he can't deal with you.
Xin Zhao
This is a really easy matchup. You can all-in Xin Zhao at any stage of the game. You want to either W Xin Zhao at the very start of the fight, or count the amount of Q-empowered autos that Xin Zhao has done, and W his 3rd Q empowered auto. Q-empowered autos have a different animation, and that’s how you will be able to tell that he has cast his Q. Good Xin Zhaos will try to bait your W by holding their third auto attack, so don’t use W until they have started the auto attack animation. Even better Xin Zhaos will cancel their auto attack to bait out your W, and that’s why I prefer using W at the start of the fight, to avoid that mind game skill check. You will be more useful than Xin Zhao in the side lane and the team fights. A small tip is that if Xin Zhao Rs without autoing you first, you can W it and use it to get a free stun either on Xin Zhao or a nearby enemy champion.
Wukong
Technically, Wukong is a hard lane, especially if he runs ignite, but I haven't really met good Wukong players yet. I take ignite into Wukong, to chase him after W and to have enough damage. Not needed but nice to play aggressive and match his ignite which he usually gets. Wukong will look for Q poke, you can walk slightly into range and pre-emptively W it then Q in for a trade. After you Q into Wukong, he will W away, and you have to practice walking where you think he will W before he even does it. When Wukong Ws, the vital will instantly despawn from his model, which is a clear indication of when he does it. Wukong's clone can tank your W, keep that in mind, especially for when he Ws away. Make sure you have enough space to chase/finish the trade after he Ws for distance. You win early vs wukong, but when he reaches 6, you have to play smart. You cannot fight him next to his W, or he'll get too much damage off. The second you see his W, put some distance between you and it, so you don't take multiple R or increased auto+q damage. Winning in this section of the laning is hard but possible. You can just Q away when he engages like that, and fight him after when you both have R on cd. If Wukong is R-ing and he didn't hit you, or he's R-ing someone else, you can Q-W into his R or his clone's R, and get a free stun off. You beat wukong after 2 items, and after 3, he can't do anything. He has a small section of the game he can play, and even that you can win.
Yasuo
The more skilled this Yasuo is, the more he can kite your vitals, and trade well with you. I would take ignite from this lane to limit skill expression. Yasuo W blocks your W. You can Q-W Yasuo torando for a stun. Always look at your minions to see where Yasuo can E away to when he's fighting you, you need to be positioning accordingly and ready to chase him. Any area without minions (deeper into his side of the lane, river or after he's killed your wave). You generally win vs Yasuo unless he can kite you/space you really well. If he has Q3 up, he will take his time with it, do not be nervous. You can walk into his max E range, especially after he's been holding it for a few seconds, assume he will E-Q you and W his E. If he doesn't, instantly Q away to dodge his Q3. You outscale Yasuo heavily, but he wiil be a threat if you get CC-ed because he has high damage if you're not careful.
Yone
Easy lane, you generally win all trades and fights. Yone can only beat you in two scenarios. Max Range Q poke or E movement speed letting him kite you and you still try to fight while he's kiting you and vital. Any other type of fight or trade, you win. When he Q3s a wave, you can Q-W into hit. If he Rs you, you can W behind you and get a free stun off. You win at every stage of the game, except in those two scenarios. Don't be afraid to heavy trade against him. Keep in mind, his E no longer cleanses your W, so the matchup is a lot worse for him now than it was before. Yone in his E has to either build space between his spirit E and himself, or get Q3 to be able to escape after he Es back. You can either deny the fight, wait for him to E back with Q3 and W it, or trade in his E and leave him, getting a good trade. You hard win in sidelane adn there's not much yone can do.
Dr. Mundo
Mundo Q poke early is very annoying, try not to tank any Q for free, only to block cannon. You hard win if you take a specific fight where he walks far enough up where you can end up behind, if you have to max range Q just to get into vital range, it's a bad trade. After he gets bramble vest, matchup is harder. If Mundo throws a scripted Q when a vital is facing you (will be clear frrom the HP of low minions), Q-W into him and it's a hard winning trade. When Mundo presses W, delay vital hit, or R vitals to after he gets his W2, otherwise he will heal back most of the damage. Muramana is a very good buy this lane, get 10CS/M, Muramana, and you will demolish him in the sidelane under tower.
K'Sante
Creature. A good k'sante will always beat you after bramble vest. Early game, you have to see how he uses his Q, does he predict where you're going? Does he consistently get his Q on you after you Q cuz he's ready for it? Depending on that, you need to take your time with the fight and play it slightly slower to dodge his Qs. W-ing his Q3 while he has W is bad because you can't get any value or force anything after. Save W for his W or after he Rs, his W then. If he presses W on you, it's a fixed range, if you're very close, you have to W behind you to hit him, keep that in mind. If he ultis you without W, you are oneshottable. You have to use your R and use the MS to move around and dodge his abilities, most importantly, dodge his empowered W. He is a threat, and you have to play the fights smart and patiently, otherwise he wins.
Yorick
Hard trade early, don't let him breathe. If he Ws you, you can stand on the edge of the cage, and press W, that will give you a free stun. Use your Q to dodge his E, the poke is a bit too much. After 6, focus maiden down. A man without his mistress is useless. If he has maiden and you can't kill, he is stronger than you until you have Ravenous. After that, you can freely kill maiden and freely kill yorick. You hard outscale in sidelane and not much he can do.
Zac
You win. GG. Easy matchup. Muramana is nice. You outscale. GG. If he Qs you or minion then you, you lose control of your HUD and there's a clear indicator of when he presses it again before you actually can't press W, making it really scripted and easy to W. You can Q-W into him when he Rs for a stun. If he Es into a wave, you can Q-W into it for a free stun. Poor Zac.
Alistar
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Ivern
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Skarner
Insane CC duration + engage + side lane pressure
Zilean
Movement Speed + R lets you dive easily and his E can create a catch opportunity by slowing enemy.
Lulu
If your jungle is playing engage, Lulu helps you survive and gives you so much free stats that you can just win fights for free.
Yuumi
It's the cat.
Lissandra
Very easy catches with her E-R
Twisted Fate
Very easy catch with his R + stun card
Leona
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Nautilus
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Sejuani
You can always force a late invade with sejunai, and you can instant proc her E with your auto + q + e. Good early skirmish + good invade + good hovering in the side lane + good team fighting.
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Alistar
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Ivern
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Skarner
Insane CC duration + engage + side lane pressure
Zilean
Movement Speed + R lets you dive easily and his E can create a catch opportunity by slowing enemy.
Lulu
If your jungle is playing engage, Lulu helps you survive and gives you so much free stats that you can just win fights for free.
Yuumi
It's the cat.
Lissandra
Very easy catches with her E-R
Twisted Fate
Very easy catch with his R + stun card
Leona
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Nautilus
All short range CC supports that you can easily follow their engage, work well with Fiora since you can very quickly proc your R while the enemy is still CCed
Sejuani
You can always force a late invade with sejunai, and you can instant proc her E with your auto + q + e. Good early skirmish + good invade + good hovering in the side lane + good team fighting.
I've written 10 thousand words about different Fiora matchups and that's where the meat of the guide is. Before any game, look at the notes for each matchup + the correct item set + runeset.
If you have any questions, come over to the Discord or Stream and ask. I'm always more than happy to help someone improve and become a better version of themselves.
Qualifications
Hey guys, my name is Sad and I'm a Challenger top laner.
I've also hit rank 1 on Fiora.
Fiora's fantasy is built around a few things
1. Heavy outplay potential against multiple enemies
2. Kiting your enemies with your movement, essentially dancing around them, and getting rewarded for playing your dance mini-game
3. An insanely strong late-game champion that can beat anyone 1v1
4. A side laner that forces the enemy team to respond to her or she'll just solo end the game
5. An early skirmisher that can easily snowball if played well
High skill ceiling
Pros/Cons
Pros:
1. No matchup is ever truly unwinnable or unplayable
2. You can cheese a lot of kills early even though you're a scaling champion
3. You're good in skirmishes
4. You're good in splitpush
5. You have a very high skill ceiling
6. You're always useful even when behind compared to other champions
7. You're a tankbuster that can always shred frontline.
8. You have insane healing
9. You have insane outplay potential
Cons:
1. You're very weak into most forms of disengage (slows and non commital CC)
2. You're very weak into poke
3. You can never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever teamfight pre 3-4 items
4. Due to your outplay potential, it's hard to consistently judge the outcome of a fight
5. You need to constantly relearn matchups since the higher you climb and the better your opponent becomes, the more differently you're forced to play the matchup to win it.
Summary
1. Know this fact: You can only splitpush. You can never teamfight so only ever try to splitpush through the entire course of the game.
2. Look at the matchup notes for each champion so you can easily get the quick rundown on how to play the matchup.
3. Play the correct runeset/items according to the matchup.
4. Come ask me questions on stream about how you can improve your gameplay/play better around various different matchups/ lane rotations/ macro, etc... I'm more than happy to answer your questions whenever and however many questions you have.
Hop onto Discord and ask me whatever you want.
At the end of the day, nothing can beat watching and asking questions of someone who plays the champion at a high level.
[25.21] Rank 1 Challenger Fiora Matchups Comprehensive Guide
Build Guide By JustSad42
28,394
Views
2
Comments
Thank You!
Threats
Synergies
Show All
Twitch
You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.