Is a problem for you both in, and out of the laning phase. He's just... annoying. He has less range then caitlyn but his poison is just painful to deal with, and post level-6 he has the potential to kill you from the other side of your screen.
Lulu
Commonly played with a hyper carry that will do better than you in the laning phase, and in late game. If she's with a Twitch, that gets even worse for you.
Caitlyn
She just outranges you in lane. Becomes much less of a problem when you exit the laning phase... probably.
Rammus
Let's be honest, rammus makes every ADC player cry.
Ashe
Ashe is very annoying to deal with in lane with her W, and you need to have a good reaction speed when fighting in her face, just in case she tries to ult you.
Jinx
Outranges you, but you can just ult her ult.
Darius
If your top laner fed one, good luck. Make sure you don't underestimate his movement speed and always be respectful when there is a fed Darius in your game. If you're fed you cann look to ult his pull, rather then his ult, as it gives you a huge E to chunk him down with. If you're not fed, just stay away.
Blitzcrank
One of the worst supports to lane against. I'd rather lane against a Senna than a Blitzcrank.
Tahm Kench
Very hard to kite, he's very beefy in his early levels and it only gets worse from there.
Draven
Although Xayah is a lane bully, she is nothing in comparison to Draven. His autos will do more damage, he moves faster than you, the rest is self explanatory. Also something worth of note, his E can mess up yours, so you don't really want to be holding your E.
Lucian
Another lane bully. He isn't as strong now but he can still be annoying to deal with in the earlier stages in the game.
Vayne
Deny Vayne the opportunity to pin you against walls. You can do this by staying near the middle of the lane. This tip may change if Vayne has a support that requires you to stand else where, but for the most part, standing behind minions is generally always a good idea. You can fight her early but don't underestimate her early damage. Don't in minions and don't fight without your support.
Miss Fortune
If she's going a lethality build (e.g. Tear, Eclipse, Arcane Comet) then I'm very sorry but I doubt you are going to win this lane. You want to have a shielding or healing support to help you with this lane. If you have an engage support like Leona then I doubt you'll ge the chance to hard engage, but if you do- TAKE IT.
Tristana
Out damages you at most points in the game. If you see Tristana activate Rapid Fire in a fight, stun her and try to back off until the spell dissipates. Stand away from your creeps in a lane to take less collateral damage from Explosive Charge.
Sivir
Not much of a problem for Xayah unless she holds her spell shield for your E. If she uses her shield early you can either wait for it to disappear or you can Q to poke it out. When laning against Sivir, it is possible to throw off the timing of her Spell Shield by faking an advance, then backing off.
Jhin
Jhin's attacks are quite potent, but he runs out of ammo after the 4th shot. Use this window to jump him and burst him down. You and your support can look to punish him if he tries to hit you with his 4th shot. I believe this is obvious, but you attack faster than him and he hits harder than you.
You can try and engage when he has his fourth shot up to take advantage of this, as newer jhin players tend to greed fourth shot the enemy adc. You can look to punish this.
Kai'Sa
Hitting her with your E becomes much harder late game because of her invis. Kai'Sa is very vulnerable to getting outranged by mages and long range carries. Kai'Sa is very good at picking off isolated enemies. Stick together against her to deny her isolated Q damage.
Aphelios
Each of Aphelios' weapons have different weaknesses, try to exploit the ones that work best for your champion. Watch out for the purple Gravity gun, it can root you. Don't fight him in waves when he has the red one up, and his flame thrower has the most threatening damage. When fighting him, keep your eyes open and stay aware so you can make sure to ult his ult.
Kalista
The severity of this lane mostly depends on her support and her ult. Is she going to though a Karma on top of you? Or is she going to through a Nautilus on top of you? If you can break line of sight from Kalista, including through brush, her basic attacks will miss you, falling harmlessly to the ground. Kalista cannot cancel her basic attack wind up. While she is very mobile, this offers a window to land spells on her if you anticipate when she will begin attacking. Kalista's mobility is dependent upon attacking. This means it is low when she is outside of her attack range and that Attack Speed slows reduce the amount of distance she can cover in an engagement. Consinder buying Frozen Heart, or getting your support to buy it for you.
Ezreal
Mystic Shot applies on-hit effects including the Crest of Cinders. Ezreal is a very fragile champion so take the fight to him. Ezreal is completely skill shot based, so make sure to keep minions in between you. You can win trades just by dodging abilities, but if you're not confident then minions will be your best friend!
Samira
Her biggest problem would be her W, the Wind Wall, as it is just annoying to deal with and negates all of Xayah's damage. Pray that the Samira wastes it early so you can all-in here. You really need to take notes of cooldowns on this matchup and play off of them. I think this is a fairly easy matchup for Xayah if you just outskill the other player.
Kog'Maw
He has deceptively high damage, try not to fight him without your support. Bio-Arcane Barrage allows Kog'Maw to kill Baron Nashor extremely early. It can be valuable to ward Nashor when Kog'Maw completes his Blade of the Ruined King. Kog'Maw doesn't have a good escape ability, so he is especially prone to ganks.
Senna
She outranges you. You might want to stay away from minions if the Senna your versing tends to Q the minions. Keep your eyes open for her W (the root). You might want your support to play something like Karma, that can give you movement speed to dodge, or a dive champion to kill Senna and set her behind quickly. Countering Senna is purely matchup based.
Varus
If you are affected by Blight, Varus' abilities will deal extra damage to you. When he gets a kill or assist, Varus temporarily gains Attack Speed and is much more dangerous. You'll get bound in place if a tendril from Varus' ultimate, Chain of Corruption, reaches you. You can cause the tendril to die by running far enough away from it. He's less of a problem in relation to bigger threats like twitch and caitlyn.
Rakan
Obviously they were made to be together. If you can get your support to play Rakan then you have a lot more oppurtunities to play with! If you plan on diving the enemy with (any) support, then make sure to tank first, as Xayah can reset tower with her ult.
Leona
Leona pairs very well with lane bullies, as she has a very aggressive laning phase. As Xayah is an ADC with CC, she works very well with Leona and the compliment each other nicely.
Alistar
Alistar is yet another champion that can stack crowd control with Xayah. His W Q combo that knocks up a target makes it easy for Xayah to follow up with damage. Alistar is also a really beefy frontline, especially when he reaches level 6, where his ultimate grants him damage reduction to all incoming damage, making him much tankier than he looks. His passive does provide some sustain in lane, allowing him and Xayah to farm and trade more.
Soraka
She can help you stay alive for very long provided she isn't the one being targeted. This can help you get a lot of feathers from your passive on the ground for a huge E later in the fight.
Blitzcrank
Xayah really loves supports who can easily set up chain CC.
Thresh
More chain CC, very fun to play with. Helps with low mobility ADCs.
Morgana
Keeps Xayah very safe during the laning phase (with her spell shield-E), and provides consistent damage with her W, and some nice CC with her Q.
Lulu
Makes great use of ardent censer to let you rip through fights and allow you to bully other lanes/teams since they can literally reset fights if they are good.
Nami
Makes great use of ardent censer. Keeps you at a healthy HP in lane, good CC set up with her bubble and ult.
Janna
The QUEEN of peel. Will make Xayah literally undivable in the laning phase.
Zyra
Zyra allows a free E root and a ton of free damage, plus Zyra still does her own damage to help with Xayah's lower early damage. Really dangerous lane.
Bard
Bard
Brand
Will probably end up taking your kills, but at least kills are happening in a lane with Brand and Xayah! He does a load of damage which can really help pull Xayah out of the laning phase.
Braum
He keeps Xayah very safe and provides a very beefy front line. Can also carry team fights with a very good ult.
Galio
You don't see this often. His damage is deceptively good, does decent poke. Is very annoying for your enemies to deal with, can save you with his ult, taunt... all of his abilities, really.
Karma
Helps Xayah with her mobility. Karma provides a very safe laning phase, might be able to set up kills by chunking the enemy down with her Q. Her all in potential isn't that great and you'll be doing most of the work, so you'll want to focus on poking first and then going in. Consider taking aery (4th rune page) in this lane ?
Lux
Sets up good CC and has very good damage after a few items. You're wanting to poke them down, consider taking aery (4th rune page) when laning with a lux.
Malphite
He's just kind of there. Isn't that great early game and you'll be doing most of the work until level 6. Post level 6 your all-in potential becomes lethal.
Nautilus
Is very beefy. Sets up good CC, can become a very deadly chain.
Pyke
A good pyke will be very fun to play with. Give him oppurtunities to ult, but if he doesn't take them then don't hold back on killing the enemy. Has very good setup CC, and if you fail an engage then you can both get away very quickly.
Renata Glasc
I've never actually played with Renata as a Xayah, but it's seen quite frequently in pro play. Renata's ult can tear up a teamfight, and can set up a very good engage for Xayah in the laning phase. You'll want to wait for Renata to make a play before using your abilities, or you can set a sneaky root through the minions to help out your Renata.
Sett
Sett support has been in the meta for a while now and he is INCREDIBLY fun to play with as Xayah. You are given so many free oppurtunities to kill the enemy, and you should take these oppurtunities. Sett makes ranged bullies like caitlyn much easier to deal with, as he can just run up to her and... well... fist her!
Shen
I haven't played with a shen support as Xayah, but I've played with a shen as a Xayah. Is a very fun champion to play with. He can keep you safe and set up kills with his taunt.
Sona
You two are just going to be sitting in a very uneventful lane. Consider buying Cull.
Swain
Funny champion. Can provide a good front line for Xayah and has good set up with his pull. He also scales very well as he has a stacking system.
Tahm Kench
I LOVE playing with Tahm Kench players! They can save you with their ult. They are very tanky in the laning phase and it will be very difficult for the enemy to kill you. Make sure he goes in first, but don't forget to follow up as he can die quickly if left alone with the enemy ADC and support. You want to punish the enemy ADC for getting free attacks on your support, but do not go for this if it is not safe to do so (enemy support is a leona, neeko, some hard engage champion that can get to you through minions).
Taric
Keeps you very healthy in team fights. Can heal you in the laning phase. Good engage. Might feel clunky to play with and will take a bit of getting used-to.
Vel'Koz
Fun lane. You need to not die, as if you die so will your support. You two do a lot of damage together, but you're the one who will be setting up engages most of the time. A Vel'Koz support will be happy just poking away and scaling up, though.
Xerath
Plays like Vel'Koz, refer to his notes.
Yuumi
Yuumi will be good into every team comp with a scaling (1v9) carry. Xayah doesn't really fit this description, but yuumi will be good for her regardless. Yuumi and Xayah will become kiting monsters as the game drags out because of the movement Xayah gets from her W and the movement speed given from Yuumi's heals.
Zilean
He's okay. If he gets jumped there's nothing much you can do. His ult is nice and he can provide you some really nice movement speed to play around with! He also gives you xp, which can help you get your upgraded abilities quicker.
Pantheon
Plays like Sett, does the same job. Very fun.
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Rakan
Obviously they were made to be together. If you can get your support to play Rakan then you have a lot more oppurtunities to play with! If you plan on diving the enemy with (any) support, then make sure to tank first, as Xayah can reset tower with her ult.
Leona
Leona pairs very well with lane bullies, as she has a very aggressive laning phase. As Xayah is an ADC with CC, she works very well with Leona and the compliment each other nicely.
Alistar
Alistar is yet another champion that can stack crowd control with Xayah. His W Q combo that knocks up a target makes it easy for Xayah to follow up with damage. Alistar is also a really beefy frontline, especially when he reaches level 6, where his ultimate grants him damage reduction to all incoming damage, making him much tankier than he looks. His passive does provide some sustain in lane, allowing him and Xayah to farm and trade more.
Soraka
She can help you stay alive for very long provided she isn't the one being targeted. This can help you get a lot of feathers from your passive on the ground for a huge E later in the fight.
Blitzcrank
Xayah really loves supports who can easily set up chain CC.
Thresh
More chain CC, very fun to play with. Helps with low mobility ADCs.
Morgana
Keeps Xayah very safe during the laning phase (with her spell shield-E), and provides consistent damage with her W, and some nice CC with her Q.
Lulu
Makes great use of ardent censer to let you rip through fights and allow you to bully other lanes/teams since they can literally reset fights if they are good.
Nami
Makes great use of ardent censer. Keeps you at a healthy HP in lane, good CC set up with her bubble and ult.
Janna
The QUEEN of peel. Will make Xayah literally undivable in the laning phase.
Zyra
Zyra allows a free E root and a ton of free damage, plus Zyra still does her own damage to help with Xayah's lower early damage. Really dangerous lane.
Bard
Bard
Brand
Will probably end up taking your kills, but at least kills are happening in a lane with Brand and Xayah! He does a load of damage which can really help pull Xayah out of the laning phase.
Braum
He keeps Xayah very safe and provides a very beefy front line. Can also carry team fights with a very good ult.
Galio
You don't see this often. His damage is deceptively good, does decent poke. Is very annoying for your enemies to deal with, can save you with his ult, taunt... all of his abilities, really.
Karma
Helps Xayah with her mobility. Karma provides a very safe laning phase, might be able to set up kills by chunking the enemy down with her Q. Her all in potential isn't that great and you'll be doing most of the work, so you'll want to focus on poking first and then going in. Consider taking aery (4th rune page) in this lane ?
Lux
Sets up good CC and has very good damage after a few items. You're wanting to poke them down, consider taking aery (4th rune page) when laning with a lux.
Malphite
He's just kind of there. Isn't that great early game and you'll be doing most of the work until level 6. Post level 6 your all-in potential becomes lethal.
Nautilus
Is very beefy. Sets up good CC, can become a very deadly chain.
Pyke
A good pyke will be very fun to play with. Give him oppurtunities to ult, but if he doesn't take them then don't hold back on killing the enemy. Has very good setup CC, and if you fail an engage then you can both get away very quickly.
Renata Glasc
I've never actually played with Renata as a Xayah, but it's seen quite frequently in pro play. Renata's ult can tear up a teamfight, and can set up a very good engage for Xayah in the laning phase. You'll want to wait for Renata to make a play before using your abilities, or you can set a sneaky root through the minions to help out your Renata.
Sett
Sett support has been in the meta for a while now and he is INCREDIBLY fun to play with as Xayah. You are given so many free oppurtunities to kill the enemy, and you should take these oppurtunities. Sett makes ranged bullies like caitlyn much easier to deal with, as he can just run up to her and... well... fist her!
Shen
I haven't played with a shen support as Xayah, but I've played with a shen as a Xayah. Is a very fun champion to play with. He can keep you safe and set up kills with his taunt.
Sona
You two are just going to be sitting in a very uneventful lane. Consider buying Cull.
Swain
Funny champion. Can provide a good front line for Xayah and has good set up with his pull. He also scales very well as he has a stacking system.
Tahm Kench
I LOVE playing with Tahm Kench players! They can save you with their ult. They are very tanky in the laning phase and it will be very difficult for the enemy to kill you. Make sure he goes in first, but don't forget to follow up as he can die quickly if left alone with the enemy ADC and support. You want to punish the enemy ADC for getting free attacks on your support, but do not go for this if it is not safe to do so (enemy support is a leona, neeko, some hard engage champion that can get to you through minions).
Taric
Keeps you very healthy in team fights. Can heal you in the laning phase. Good engage. Might feel clunky to play with and will take a bit of getting used-to.
Vel'Koz
Fun lane. You need to not die, as if you die so will your support. You two do a lot of damage together, but you're the one who will be setting up engages most of the time. A Vel'Koz support will be happy just poking away and scaling up, though.
Xerath
Plays like Vel'Koz, refer to his notes.
Yuumi
Yuumi will be good into every team comp with a scaling (1v9) carry. Xayah doesn't really fit this description, but yuumi will be good for her regardless. Yuumi and Xayah will become kiting monsters as the game drags out because of the movement Xayah gets from her W and the movement speed given from Yuumi's heals.
Zilean
He's okay. If he gets jumped there's nothing much you can do. His ult is nice and he can provide you some really nice movement speed to play around with! He also gives you xp, which can help you get your upgraded abilities quicker.
As an Essence Reaver user, Xayah enjoys using her abilities A LOT. The majority of her damage comes from her abilities, so you don't want to waste them before a fight. Just a general tip I like to tell new Xayah players, simply DON'T use her abilities on the minion wave or to poke unless you have taken the aery rune page (4th rune page) for better sustain. This will 1: give you enough mana to fight with, and 2: you'll always have your abilities up to fight. As you start playing Xayah more, you can decide when to ditch your abilities and make better guesses for when and when not to use them.
Breakdown of Lethal Tempo (pg.1&3)
DISCLAIMER: this is copied and pasted from the rune notes in this guide, if you have read them already, you can skip this.
You can change Triumph to Presence of Mind if you find yourself struggling with mana.
Second, you'll take bloodline or alacrity depending on what build you go. If you go an attack speed oriented build take bloodline, but if you're going attack damage or life-steal oriented take alacrity.
Take cut down if the enemy team has 2 or more tanks, though cut down will never be a bad option even if the whole enemy team are squishies.
You can select anything from the bottom line in the domination tree, all are good options and it is totally based on personal preference!
Treasure Hunter: You'll take when you think you're going to get a lot of early kills in lane or if you want to get your first few items very quickly.
Ingenious Hunter: ONLY take this if you are going to use items with actives or passives that have cooldowns (e.g. Galeforce, Shieldbow, QSS, Maw, etc)
Relentless Hunter: By far the least usbable for Xayah, but it works if you need to dodge a lot of abilities from the enemy team.
Ultimate Hunter: I like this one the most because it gives me more oppurtunies to use my ult in skirmishes.
For rune page 3, you can refer to the notes from rune page 1, as it is just an adapted version of the Lethal Tempo variant. You want to take scaling runes (gathering storm and transcendence).
Breakdown of Hail of Blades (pg.2)
Hail of blades is just generally better right now because fights only last 5 seconds when you're in lane, the longer attack speed boost from Lethal Tempo is wasted.
When to take Hail of Blades: if you're going for the CRIT "burst" build mentioned in this guide, which you would genuinely take into a team full of squishies or people you want to kill quickly/root quickly.
Breakdown of Aery (pg.4)
DISCLAIMER: this is copied and pasted from the rune notes in this guide, if you have read them already, you can skip this.
This is the rune page you'll see a lot of higher elo Xayahs use. I personally don't like it because it takes away the attack speed from lethal tempo, and turns Xayah more into a Poke-based champion (with your Q-E combo), rather than an all in champion.
I like getting my hands dirty and this rune page isn't for me, but if you want to use it then go ahead!
It's very good for carrying Xayah out of the laning phase with biscuit delivery and manaflow band, so if you struggle with mana and don't enjoy fighting early then I really recommend you use this page!
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