You can go for any damage build and W start fight him. He cannot play unless you mess up. If he goes full damage you will out damage him, if he goes tank you build botrk and win.
Matchup tips: If he Q's > You E him into a wall
If he Q's not near a wall, W sideways and save Q, if you Q sometimes his Q will still hit.
Ulting his ult isn't that good because hes actually faster than you LOL
Irelia
JUST PLAY HER MINI GAME, she will only fight when the wave is prepped for her to max out her passive. When your minions are low back off, if she preps her E, sideways W can juke if you're fast enough. auto Q auto when she goes for farm without Q. If she W's > you E her into a wall.
Don't forget her Q puts her behind you, so backwards E can be good. Always flash her ultimate if you have it.
Cho'Gath
This matchup is a complete loss if they're halfway decent. You can cheese early game with W start, but after level 3, you perma lose. Try sideways W on his Q whenever possible.
BotRK build can win if you're ahead but generally I just go tank and out tank him.
Riven
This champion should ALWAYS win versus you, she can kite your W, buffer her damage and movement through your Q and dodge your E.
Ulting her can be good but she also can buffer Q3 and R2 into you. VERY tough, I recommend going exhaust + ignite and fighting level 1 and 2 to snowball hard.
Jax
If he EVER E > Q's you, that should be a free WALL BANG with your E. Then W and Q to trade. Unfortunately you cannot just W towards him or he will smoke you, BUT if you do accidentally hit W towards him, try to wait for him to Q then go for an E into the wall.
If he plays it perfectly, you do not get many chances to win.
Yorick
Yorick's main way to win is to kite you out and poke you down. When you're weak he will just start Q'ing you directly. Main ways for you to win is punish his bad early game, fight fast and early, W towards him, wait for him to cage then Q him to jump out.
Aatrox
You handedly win early game, but at certain points if you ever engage badly, it will set up all of his damage for free. Look for him to miss Q1, you W2 towards him passed Q2, then E his Q3 into a wall. Mid game he will usually stat check you if you don't have anti heal or deal enough damage with good interactions. Look to hit him with your team
Dr. Mundo
This matchup is FREE. Fight level 1, always sideways W to dodge Mundo's Q then Q him to break his passive. You can look to E him into the wall after this. Vampiric Scepter first to deal with the poke and minion damage. Then BotRK Black Cleaver and Lethal Tempo. Free win
Camille
This matchup is 100% camille favored because of True Damage on her Q2 ignoring your E's damage reduction. Main things to do are fight early when her passive is done and look to E her towards the wall she E's on to. After she's level 6, you cannot W towards her without other things to frenzy towards because her ult breaks frenzy
Wukong
This matchup is SUPER BAD, you cant win level 1 if he takes bone plating. At level 6 he can always one shot you and your E should never hit if he has W. BUT if you take exhaust + ignite and play SUPER WELL you can catch him lacking and snowball out of control
Yone
On paper Briar should lose, but you do have good interactions if you can force them. Level 1 Q > WQ is usually a kill to snowball. Then you can roam better / play for jg since Yone wants to scale he likely wont walk. Ignite is a must for this matchup 100%. Look to shoot your ultimate at his E snap back location, with good timing you shouldn't get punished. One huge thing to do, if you're going to get ulted by Yone, use your E towards a wall. HUGEEE disruption in his combo.
Darius
W start with combat sums can make this playable. Generally barrier and ignite is pretty good but overall this matchup is BAD. A good Darius will always E your Q and kite you out. So unless you catch him lacking with vision, he should always win. Get creative or just roam
K'Sante
This is my ban, you never have enough damage to kill him unless you win level 1 and EVEN THEN Chain Vest + Bramble = You lose. Sheen does more damage than BotRK. Play safe 24/7 and try to roam
Illaoi
This matchup could be a ban. If you ever engage in a basic way, she will E confirmed then body you. If you build damage, you aren't tanky enough. If you build tank, you aren't damaging enough.
Try and buffer E into a wall when she ults then prayge to live and fight another day
Kayle
Kayle is a weird matchup. You will engage with W1>Q>W2 and try to E her. She will use her movement speed buff to dodge your E then it's her turn to trade damage back. Be creative with your E's to deny her movement that hurts you. After a trade, get as much farm as possible then look to roam or set up your next trade. Be careful of her having ghost and running you down. Wave states are very important here
Aurora
You can either choose to go D Shield + Second Wind + Revitalize to just scale and chill with full health OR good ole. Q PTA proc level 2 and all in when he W is down. Try to W her when you're in a minion wave so your W doesn't instantly cancel. Trying to predict where she is going then be in a bush for E > Full combo is VERY GOOD into this champion. Be careful of her just going to teamfights and being huge there, try to get big pressure in side lanes then ultimate. Not as bad as people think, but you NEED to force her W cooldown then punish it intentionally. Fast combo is INSANE HERE. W>Q>W2>R buffer is matchup winner. Mercs + BotRK is win
Jayce
Jayce technically counters Briar. Your job is to find timings between his stance swap and Melee form E. D Shield or Blade based on preference. If you want to aggro find chances, go Blade. E start and look for short trades at level 3 to set up an ignite all in. Don't take a lot of poke damage for free. It's okay to miss minions if you're getting kills
Cassiopeia
Your best chance to win is wait for her to try to Q you, dodge it with W then go for a FULL Q tons of autos and W2, then re-engage on your next W cooldown to kill. Need to catch her lacking to win. If you take too much poke on accident, your lane is pretty cooked. Try to bait her ult by R'ing her then W'ing behind her. Buffer E whenever you're in range.
Ambessa
This champion can FARM YOU but use matchup knowledge to find random kills. If she ever R's you, buffer your E to put her into the wall. Sideways W her E and Q when possible. NEVER take her Q2 for free.
Heimerdinger
Ow. Pray.
Olaf
I take Exhaust + Ignite with Lethal Tempo and always fight level 1. I always win level 1, I snowball to about 3/0. Then he hits level 6, tags me with a Q and I immediately die. You win early but need to exhaust well. AND ALWAYS dodge the first Q, because the second is your death.
Quinn
This matchup in 1v1 should be unplayable. BUT a lot of Quinn players will ADHD use E for a trade and give you a chance to win. I like BotRK / D shield Second wind and just play to scale. At some point mid game, you can ult her and its a free kill. Fast combo is super good here
Urgot
THIS CHAMP DEMOLISHES YOU. But... you can win level 1 really hard by dodging Urgot E with your W, then destroying him. This can be VERY hard to pull off. Outside of that, look to E him into walls by buffering your E backwards. Flashing before the E hits is always best. BotRK BC works pretty well
Mordekaiser
Levels 1-3 you win. 4 and onward he wins unless you are getting fast combos of W1>Q>auto>W2 buffer E into the wall trades. Focus on getting to 3 items, at 3 items Briar can start cooking hard vs him. Eclipse / Ssky or BotRK BC
Gragas
If you get really good at W'ing sideways to dodge his E. You get a HUGE punish. Be careful E'ing for free because he can ult you. BotRK and REALLY good movement wins you this matchup.
Akshan
You can cheese early levels with exhaust ignite super easily. But, if you are ever behind this matchup is UNPLAYABLE and he outscales while having the most broken kit in the game. Early snowball or BUST
Akali
Personally, I ban this champion. It's not the hardest matchup BUT my 93 year old grandma could play this champion and win SO. Looking for close up engages and short trades is best, buffer E early and try to knock her away. If that misses, try to juke Q's. Basically all you have in lane phase. Titanic can help this matchup since you can find her in the smoke by hitting other things. If she takes ignite, she basically always kills you. Try to find small outplays / habits the player has and take them a mile. Damage builds usually fair worse since she bursts faster. If you hit ult, BIG WIN FOR YOU!
Teemo
This little rat has a very good matchup into you, BUT it's playable if you can find their mistakes. If Teemo ever uses Q on you for free. BOOM instantly trade. Q > E combo on Briar can be good but if he knows to immediately W, don't try Q > E very often again. Sweeper is a must after level 9. Titanic feels the best versus him
Fiora
This champ is very hard from even. But if you get ahead, you can easily stay ahead. Biggest things to NOT DO. Are look for free quick trades and E's, she will always W your E. You'll lose hard. But if you W towards her and can bait her W or you early Q to stun her before her W, you can do well. Exhaust Ignite W start is win
Malphite
You HARD slam this guy level 1 with exhaust ignite but also you can scale with D shield + second wind. Up to you, play to scale or not. BotRK or Black Cleaver can be rushed to win lane. Early Mercs aren't too bad / 1 Null Magic for spirit visage later
Warwick
This matchup can be REALLY BAD if you make mistakes or do not know your own damage. If you E badly he can slide through with Q. Bad time for you. But if you E his E everytime, it gets way easier. autoQauto poke is really smart here. Exhaust Ignite is omega or TP ignite
Garen
Technically this matchup is bad but so many Garens do not know Briars damage. Look for W1>auto>Q>auto>W2>buffer E into his Q. If you hit E into the wall, your next cooldowns should kill him. Full charge E is the KEY. Learn to prep your E before he Q's for big damage. BotRK is okay but you may need to pick up a ruby crystal to live
Regular lane for 3 levels then go proxy. Hit 2 items and win. He counters you and junglers will path to you. Fast combos and ult are the only way to win
Tryndamere
Exhaust + Ignite W start is free win. All builds are usually fine when ahead. Or you can go E start and just wait for level 3. Only real way you lose is if you fight level 1-2 and get crit 3 times.
Vladimir
Hard Briar counter. W start ignite exhaust can cheese. D shield secondwind and try to scale for 100 cs. Only real way to kill is if you can get a free W out of him then ult. BotRK BC can work / so can eclipse SSky
Gwen
YOU CAN BLAST LEVEL 1 WITH W START AND COMBAT SUMS. But, if you don't sideways W her Q, you will lose. Hitting ultimate is basically free win just wait for her Ult3 + Q and W through her. Do not BRING EXHAUST SHE HAS TRUE DAMAGE. Barrier + Ignite W start is good
Kled
Kled can destroy you but I've had good times vs him so I think it's minor threat level. If you can autoQauto him then sideways W his EQ engage. IT'S FREE. You can take any sums and any build. All you have to do is dodge his Q
Sett
Sett CAN destroy you if you get hit by his E often. Sideways W to counter that if you want to fight or just sack the wave and let him push till you're ready to fight. You can buffer your E before his W to make him miss damage and put him into the wall. A well timed 1v1 with BotRK is always a free win. His burst of Q>E>R can catch you off guard. Fast combos with buffered E is really strong to not fully put up his W.
Kennen
Very tough matchup, if they ever use E for free, you can engage. It's good to wait for his passive auto to be used on a minion before going in. Buffer E into his CC to get a good trade. BotRK with early null magic can be okay. If he ever face checks you, it should be a one shot. D Shield + Second Wind can help you live with Vampiric Scepter rush
Volibear
Dodge his E with sideways W and try to buffer his Q auto animation with your E. He engages with Q, E him into the wall then fight with W if you can win. Fast combo into Ultimate is VERY GOOD here. Exhaust Ignite + Lethal Tempo is very easy win
Poppy
Black Cleaver rush and you CANNOT LOSE. I play passive till I have it then I turn it up. You hard lose early game so any runes work just make sure you're playing well. Get creative with your E's when she E's and sideways W towards her W but not IN to her W!
Tahm Kench
This matchup is VERY FREE if you can abuse him with well placed E's OR if you get to BotRK without dying too much. He will try to hit a Q on you then ghost towards you while dodging your E. This is worst case scenario, if you dodge the Q. He usually will not go in. If you see him W towards you, sideways W to dodge. Save your Q during ganks to cancel his W. BOTRK BC Lethal Tempo is very good
Ryze
This matchup is HEAVILY based on the skill of the Ryze. If he spaces really well and saves his W for your engages, you will have a rough time. DSheild Second Wind > Vampiric scepter + Mercs make this playable. Once you have BotRK you can chase him down. He will likely have a lead from lane unless you are able to trade with him and buffer E to get him away. Try a few, WQW2>E's really fast, see how he responds.
Quinn
This matchup is just QUINN E simulator. If SHE EVER, WASTES E. GO IN AND WIN THE FIGHT! If she has E, try to bait it out by getting hit. Then TRADE. Pretty much any build works vs her you just have to punish her E and that's it. Be careful of bush cheesing because of her W.
Vayne
This matchup is only extreme because most Vaynes will play to perma split push. Unless you're ahead or hitting ult everytime she SHOULD win the fight. Try some WQW2> E's and if you hit the E, you will win the matchup. But if they just aren't hitting, go for fast combos to try and hit. Good luck, any build is good
Zac
Zac matchup can be very tough if you do not know his damage. HE DOES MORE THAN YOU THINK and the disruption of him hitting E>Q>R buys so much time. It's a very tough fight, BotRK and 2 ruby crystals can be huge. Always try to sideways W his E or Q. When ult's, reset the situation or ult back in to win.
Sylas
Briar HARD counters Sylas, she out fights him perma. Ignite + PTA = Free win. The only big thing to be careful of is that his E2 (the chains) can cancel your Q animation. THIS IS A HUGE DAMAGE LOSS FOR YOU. So be careful with the situation of:
You W towards him, he E's backwards, if you try to Q, he will E2 if he's good
Udyr
This champion is FREE, when you bully them with W start and build botRK. If he goes full AD build, always try to E his empowered Tiger stance. If he goes AP, short burst combos then E him away. Reset the situation. BotRK is always good here.
Swain
Swain only bullys you when he gets free spells. Use creative movement to bait his spells then go in and punish him. If you can bait his ult, E him away then RUN. Reset the situation, he's a cannon minion after that. BotRK gaming but any build works. Ignite is GAMING
Karma
CAN ONLY PUNISH IF SHE MESSES UP, THIS MATCHUP SUCKS! If she perfectly spaces her W on to you, then punishes with Q. You will ALWAYS have a bad time. Look for fast combos into ultimate to kill. You can cheese her with good short combos but it can be risky. Farming with Cull then scaling into a demon is a good strat.
Maokai
CANNON MINION AFTER BOTRK. You can also go Black Cleaver first if you want to scale up vs other tanks too. Main thing to worry about is his gank setup, they could camp you hard. Destroy him, W start is also good. Ignite is op
Elise
Generally it's good to go D Shield Second Wind because she will stay in human from to poke you out, but you can win early if you can get in range! This champ always has an answer to you. She will human E you, if that misses she will spider E. Her range forces you to make a move which sucks. She has better 3 camp gank potential. Play for cross mapping and teamfights. You can Q her spiderlings to get a faster W2 if need be!
Taliyah
This matchup is sad at times because you ALWAYS have the damage to kill her. The problem is trying to GET TO HER to deal that damage! If she ever wastes her E (the rocks) or W ( the knock up). RUN AT HER QUICKLY and collect the free kill. Outside of that, it's pretty tough. Use creative movement to bait her spells. D shield second wind to survive. BotRK first can be good to slow her down and kill her if she messes up!
Fiddlesticks
Top lane Fiddle usually just tries to get VERY TANKY and abuse his W (the drain) on you and your minions. Save your Q for his W. BOOM countered that. If you have to engage on him with W-Q because of the sheer distance to travel, that's okay. Just use your E on him to break the W. Other than that, build anything and do anything. BotRK is crazy good and Mercury Treads as boots!
Graves
Lane Graves can be VERY tough for Briar. Basically Graves wants to PERMA push the minions and harass you under turret! He will likely Q the wave and then auto you. Try to sideways W to dodge the Q and fight him while he's down a spell! If he gets really far ahead go ahead and just start roaming or call for ganks. Very tough matchup, buy Plated Steelcaps ASAP! BTA build and fighting level 1 is really good for Briar though!
Diana
Lane Diana tries to engage on you after she lands her Q (the crescent spell) because she can dash to you with her E for FREE. So THE BIGGEST THING TO DO IS DODGE HER Q! If you sideways W her Q. BOOM SHES NOTHING! Wooo!
Any build and any sums works. It's all about dodging that Q!
Jarvan IV
Lane Jarvan likes to poke you down with his Q and E spells. Then when you're weak, he will go for the kill. You win early levels REALLY HARD with aggressive runes and summoner spells! So either fight him early or scale up. It's no big deal! Use your E on his ultimate and it's a great counter! If he goes into your team punish him hard! BotRK is really good here!
Kayn
Kayn is VERY EASY TO PUNISH! Because of his early game. You have about 10 minutes to run him down BUT if you mess up and he gets form and gets ahead. You're cooked.
Make sure to always use your W to dodge his W. You can always use your E when his ultimate is about to expire and it reduces his damage a ton! Any summoners and build here!
Master Yi
MASTER YI IS A VERY TOUGH MATCHUP! Short trades favor you and long trades favor him! He does HIGH DAMAGE and can mess up your W with his Q. The biggest thing to do is make plays around your team and if he uses his Q, the moment he shows up USE YOUR Q! Yi is a 1v1 MASTER so you really have to choose your spots well. If he EVER Q's you, make sure to E and aim it towards a wall! Generally speaking look to fast combo W1>Q>W2>E for a quick trade and win the matchup like that.
Varus
THIS MATCHUP IS TERRIBLE! He has BUILT IN ANTI HEAL. He's RANGED with CC and burst? This champion is broken. Dorans Shield + Second Wind and ACCEPT the bad laning phase but try to scale. Build whatever's best for your team! If you can sideways W his E (the aoe slow) then sometimes you can fight. Try to dodge his spells this way if you want to fight and flash his ultimate EVERYTIME. You need to outplay him or just call for ganks!
Nocturne
Lane Nocturne likes to Q the wave for prio and use his AOE auto attack to push. When he has more minions than you he will look to fight you. If you can fight him levels 1-3, you win HARD! But after that, once he has all spells. It gets very tough. Top lane Briar does not have smite to help out the matchup. So, try to W to break his E and if you cant. Just use your E at the last second to atleast reduce his damage during the fear. Very tough, but BotRK feels really good!
Nidalee
AD Nidalee top is VERY tough matchup. She will stack Grasp for free on you and poke you out. So, you need D shield and Second Wind UNLESS you take W start with Dorans blade and fight her level 1.
Other than that, try to dodge spear and scale up into a BotRK. Once you have 1 item, you should win hard! JUST SURVIVE!
Lillia
Lillia is a scaling champion. So bring the fight her to early game before she can poke you out. BotRK is really good for the slow and ALWAYS E her R (the sleep) to try and mess up her combo!
Rammus
Rammus in lane is harder than jungle. He can basically just ignore you and farm since he will always have his cooldowns. Try to buffer your E into his E (the taunt) He will ALWAYS have his jungler so good defensive play will be GREAT! Black Cleaver RUSH ASAP! If he goes to proxy, you do the same and try to take enemy camps between camps!
Renekton
You win VERY HARD level 1 with W start but he will start to get better trades by using his E to dodge yours. Look to always E his W (the stun). If you get this interaction down correctly it's free. Then W to win the fight or reset the situation. Exhaust Ignite is very good here
Gangplank
Can be a very tough matchup, depends on the skill of the gangplank mostly. You can always cheese him with exhaust/ignite BTA setup and hard fight level 2. OR you can go DShield + Second Wind + Cull and farm up till Titanic, after Titanic you hard kill him. Ulting him is a free win also, try to dodge his barrels with sideways W. Q to barrel can be useful but most of the time its worth just Q'ing him. Be careful not playing the lane bushes and taking too much free damage from his Q. Saving your health matters more than his mana
Gnar
BTA setup with Exhaust Ignite is best to me. The moment he doesn't have mega, hard force an engage BUT DO NOT EVER EARLY E UNLESS YOU KNOW IT WILL HIT. Gnar gets a lot of movement speed for procing his passive. So, if he dodges your early E, he will RUN YOU DOWN. Only take fights that you're committed to. Titanic is a really good rush here but snowballing with Eclipse SSKY can work really well too. NEVER FIGHT when mega UNLESS you buffer your E into his ultimate. Use his long animations to get free E hits.
Trundle
This matchup isn't always extreme. But I'm putting it extreme because if you make ONE SINGLE MISTAKE. Lane is generally over. BTA, Exhaust Ignite and hard fight level 2 is a DUB but be careful of his summoner spells. If he immediately flashes after your W Exhaust, he will destroy you. autoQauto is a decent trade, but he will hard force his EW onto you. Be creative with your E. Titanic for short trades or BotRK if you want the fights to go longer. Good luck my son
Ornn
Ornn does a TON of damage, killing him is really tough until 2 items. Once you have that you should outsustain him. Big things to do are use his spells against him, try to E him during his E or R. It can net you a lot of value, you don't really need BotRK against him, mostly just Black Cleaver alone makes this playable. All in all, don't try to fight him unless you have a good read on how he uses his spells
Pantheon
Pantheon likes to poke you with Q then all in with ignite. If he spaces well and proceeds with this gameplan you do not have many options other than forcing him to misplay or let him push then fight him under turret. Best things Briar has in the matchup is to buffer your E at the start of his W leap, this will always confirm if timed correctly and you get free wall stun and don't get outtraded. Try to do this a few times paired with some autoQauto's and you have a good chance
Rumble
Rumble is a weird matchup, sometimes you drop 20 kills on him, sometimes he does on you. Things I like to do are W1 his E's. His E is such a huge slow, its a must dodge. If he is Q'ing the wave then let it push, take a good wave position do NOT stand in it for free. Looking to buffer your E when he goes red is usually good, that's where most of his damage is. I like Titanic PTA in this matchup
Shen
Shen matchup is VERY TOUGH till Black Cleaver, once you have BC is GG. Shen players have gotten really good at lane bullying early game but it's okay. Just look to buffer E into his E and W2 the wave whenever you can. Get 3000 gold for BC rush and then you don't lose anymore. Don't W2 into his W or you will lose the damage
Nasus
Nasus is a scaling champ that beats you the moment he gets level 6. I like to go exhaust ignite with botrk rush and just fight perma. Look for level 1 W start or Q start then W. You need to press the issue and demand a lead or you will soon be outscaled. Always try to E his empowered Q's and do not fight on his E.
Anivia
Knowledge check on Anivia's side. She has stun that will get you if you engage from TOO far. Try to walk up with creative movement and get a W1>Q in one fluid motion. This can make her unable to reactive the Q stun. Your ultimate stops channeled abilities so it's a good idea to send this if you're out of cooldowns. Try to get close without taking much damage, E for minions and W1>Q>W2>Ultimate for solo kills.
Malzahar
The only real way he "beats" you is by not interacting with you until teamfights, then ulting you. Try to W1>Q him, get your damage then walk away. His spell shield can be gotten for free with Titanic damage spread. I like to try to predict when he will ultimate me after my engage and buffer E. This will cancel his ultimate, be aware of this and you can get BIG gains. Regularly just try to farm without taking much damage and find small combos that lead to solo kills. Ward enemy camps for jungler knowledge.
Azir
Extreme matchup since it's Azir skill based. If he does NOTHING but poke and E away from you, then set up ult ganks. There really isn't much for you to do in lane phase if they play perfect (they won't). Do your best to farm without taking damage and look for timers to just W1>Q the minion wave (to lock onto them) then look for a roam. Don't take too long or he DELETES TURRETS. Now in side lane 1v1, this matchup is pretty free, he can't do much with the longer lane and 2 items damage you deal. So, all in all, farm safely, look for quick roams, go to side lane and win.
Zaahen
Matchup is almost always Zaahen favored, champ is just strong. I like looking for short trades level 3 and figuring out the best E angles to deny him trades. Be very aware of his W (the pull.) If you combo him, he will likely try to W you during your E. Try to predict this and cancel early and move or use the pull to push him further. This matchup has a lot of interaction variance to learn and be prepared for. Never try to all in through his passive without hitting ult. Get his passive, disengage. Then try again after that once you've healed
Hi my name is Logan (L0ganJG) Jungle! I have been playing Briar since her release and been one of the highest ranked Briar mains in the world consistently every season. My motivation for learning Briar has given me the peak rank of over 900 LP Challenger in jungle BUT this guide is all about TOP lane since I'm currently Masters in my free time as a side project! This in depth guide will show you the mind of a Briar TOP Main and all the knowledge to succeed in playing Briar.
If you have any questions join me in my stream on twitch where I answer all questions live!
I will link some good videos that will help you too!
{26.03} L0ganJG Briar TOP Guide! LEARNING IS WINNING...
Build Guide By L0ganJG
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