Going up against a tanky team in League of Legends has lately become a real nuisance to deal with. Season 12 has been plagued by seemingly omnipotent tanks that both manage to eviscerate health bars and suck up as much damage as possible.
Thankfully, the Season is past us, and we can only hope for changes that are to come. However, I believe that the tank meta will not leave us soon, so it is best we prepare ourselves for it as best we can.
Many Champions in League can serve as anti-Tank weapons, utilizing many different HP shredding mechanics. In this list, we will cover the ADCs that deal with tanks the best at the moment.
These Champions all vary in difficulty and viability in the current patch, but they excel greatly when it comes to fighting tanks. We will also mention some of their other aspects to keep things informative and interesting to read.
So, with the introduction out of the way, let us begin with the 5 Best ADCs Against Super Tanky Teams. (Keep in mind that this list is in no particular order, and all of these are viable enough against a tank team.)
Also read: How to Play Against Blitzcrank?
1. Kog’Maw
Kog’Maw has some of the most powerful basic attacks in the entire game. His ability to shred through a health bar is scarcely replicated in any other Champion’s kit. When it comes to cutting tanks down to size, you can already figure why he’s on this list.
But first, let’s start with a spell of his. Kog’Maw’s Q reduces the Armor and Magic Resist of the target it hits. Since Kog’Maw deals hybrid damage both with his spells and basic attacks, this increases his damage on all fronts.
If you think that wasn’t good enough – the resistance reduction is percentual, meaning that it will chunk tank defenses in the late game. As we know and have covered in the how Armor and Magic Resist work guides, percentual reduction sometimes is not as good as flat, but when tanks pile up hundreds of Armor and MR, I think it becomes miles better.
Now, then, to his W and his basic attacks. His W increases his range and gives Kog’Maw bonus magic damage per attack based on the target’s maximum HP. When Kog maxes this spell, he will get 7% max HP (+1% per 100 AP) bonus magic damage on each attack.
The more HP the enemy has – the more damage Kog will deal. Couple this with his Q, and it is game over for any chunky enemy you meet on the Rift.
Kog is not difficult to play, and he is a masterful Champion against healthy teams, making him a great pick in the current patch. If you want to try out the ADC role, or even if you’re intermediate, Kog is certainly a great Champ to play.
2. Varus
Varus is a blazing fast ADC that, even if he didn’t have some parts of his kit, would still shred health bars in seconds (no matter how big they are). However, he does have those kit components that make him even stronger in this aspect, so let’s see what he’s all about.
As I’ve said, Varus hits fast, and that comes mostly from his passive that grants bonus attack speed. This passive is similar to Jinx, meaning that he gets it each time he scores a takedown. It differs in that, as Jinx only gets it for kills, assists, and towers, Varus can buff his attack speed after each minion killed (although at a lower rate).
This allows him to pretty much shred through HP with the right items without even bothering to use some of his other spells. But, as if that wasn’t strong enough, Varus has his W, which will cause the enemy tanks a whole lot of pain.
Firstly, it grants Varus bonus magic damage on every basic attack passively. It also stacks up to three times and can be activated at any time using some of his other spells. When activated, these stacks are consumed to deal bonus damage based on max HP, a powerful spell indeed.
If you want to execute a low HP enemy with Varus, activating his W and using the Q will do a ton of damage based on the target’s missing HP. As you can see, Varus is focused a lot on shredding the enemy’s HP and then swiftly executing them using his powerful sniping Q.
He’s an amazing Champion for Laning, team fighting, and everything else you can think of. He’s not that hard to learn, and I’d strongly recommend you do. Picking Varus situationally against tanks is also a good idea, as he can do a whole lot they won’t be prepared for.
Also read: Best Muramana Champions
3. Kalista
Though Kalista has lost her viability to a degree in the past few seasons, it doesn’t change the fact that she is the tank’s bane of existence. The sheer amount of damage this Champion can do in a single button press is borderline insane, among other things she can do. Most people don’t know much about Kalista due to her unpopular position, so let’s talk about her for a bit.
Kalista’s main source of damage will certainly be her E – Rend – which pulls all the spears she stacked on an enemy. She stacks spears using her Q and basic attacks, and she can stack up to 254 spears. Yes, you’ve heard it right – there’s a spell in League that stacks up to 254 times, incredible, I know.
However, despite being able to stack that much, you’ll never need it to be that high and will one-shot enemies after a few dozen stacks. Since tanks can suck up a lot of damage, Kalista will be able to stack many spears on them before Rending for massive and likely executing damage.
In the meantime, Kalista can also shred their HP with her max HP-based W that she will activate using her Q and basic attack. It has some very niche mechanics and is too complicated for me to go into too much detail, so visit the league wiki for more information.
What you do need to know about the spell’s anti-Tank properties is that Kalista will deal bonus magic damage based on the target’s max HP. This will help her bring the tanky enemy low enough while stacking her spears for a swift execution at the end.
It can be extremely satisfying to do these things with Kalista, and her entire kit is unique. I recommend you try her out. However, I do not guarantee a perfect experience as she does fall off a bit in the current patch. Let’s just hope Riot brings her back up, as she is among the most fun Champs to play in the game.
4. Kai’Sa
In the previous entries, I’ve explained how each spell does damage in a lot of detail and even mentioned the percentages. With Kai’Sa, I’ll refrain from doing so as she is one of the most overloaded Champions in the entire game. The percentages, scaling, and everything else is so convoluted that I don’t want even to bore you with those specifics – I don’t have to, after all.
Kai’Sa is a hybrid hyper-carry and is among the most powerful ADCs currently. Though she is not that high up with her tier or win rate, it doesn’t negate that she is insanely strong. Most of her low stats stem from a slow early game and a high-skill cap.
When dealing with tanks, Kai’Sa has a lot of tools on her kit for massive DPS, but the main one against healthy opponents is certainly her passive. Kai’Sa can stack Plasma using her basic attacks and her W. Her allies can stack it up as well using their stuns. At 5 Plasma, it will rupture to deal massive burst damage.
If Kai’Sa bursts the Plasma with her W, it will deal a ton of bonus magic damage. Plasma damage is based on max HP, making it extra potent against healthy opponents. Her Q, and her kit in general, is super-fast and strong, which will help Kai’Sa shred even the tankiest enemy in split seconds.
One of her main items is the Kraken Slayer, which adds extra true damage to her attacks, making her that much stronger against tanks.
At any rate, as I’ve said, Kai’Sa has a high skill cap and is likely the most difficult pick on this list. She is my personal favorite ADC, and I’d suggest you give her a look, but it will take more than a few games to get the hang of her.
Also read: How Much Do Riot LCS Casters Make?
5. Vayne
From the hardest to the easiest, everyone’s favorite vampire huntress is also a tank huntress. There’s not too much about her, and if Kai’Sa is the most overloaded, she is among the simplest. Everything about Vayne is basic attacks, so let’s check her out.
Vayne is one of the classic ADCs built upon the formula of hitting hard (hitting fast be damned). Of course, she will also get the speed as the game progresses and builds items, but her kit is solely based on her doing as much damage as possible.
Her Q – bonus damage. Her W – bonus true damage. Her Ultimate – bonus damage. Need I go on?
Our main focus is the W when it comes to fighting tanks. Vayne will deal true damage based on the target’s max HP with every third attack. There’s also a minimum of true damage that she’ll do to less healthy opponents, making her just as strong against all enemy types.
Against tanks, she only gets stronger as they get tankier. She’s the ultimate anti-thesis to tanks, and her game presence and viability increase alongside the tanks. Vayne becomes a damage-dealing goddess with the right items and will shred every HP bar she sees. Tanks are her favorite target, but everyone fears Vayne’s snowball, not only tanks.
As I’ve said at the start, she’s easy and simple. Everyone should give Vayne a try, especially on the Top Lane, as she is one of the best up there. I recommend her, and you’ll certainly love her.
Conclusion
This has been a more detailed list than usual, and I sincerely hope it helps you learn all the important things about fighting tanks with ADCs. League is an ever-changing environment, so this list will surely be updated if things do change in this regard. As of now, these are the ultimate picks against tanks, and you should give them all a try to see which one fits you best.
These lists take time and effort to make, so leave feedback to help us improve them. Keep a keen eye out on our website for more League of Legends-related content such as lists, guides, and articles.
