Over the years, tanks have become increasingly hard to kill. Riot seems to be fond of this Champion class since they just get stronger and stronger with each patch. I can’t even bring myself to describe the many games where Tanks were solo carrying games. They are nigh unkillable and still manage to do obscene amounts of damage.
So how do we circumvent this ever-growing Champion class? Well, the first line of defense is the items. Items in League of Legends are everyone’s primary source of damage and buffs, and there’s no small number of anti-Tank items in the game.
I guess that Riot did think about balance after all. Or so I’m led to believe. Ah, the things we say to ourselves to feel better.
At any rate, in this list, we will detail the best anti-Tank items. This is a general list, and we’ve done specific items in our anti-Armor and anti-Magic Resist lists. You should check those out, too, so you can complete your knowledge on fighting Tanks.
So, with the introduction out of the way, let’s begin with our list.
7. Void Staff
Price: 2800g
Stats: +65 AP, +45% Magic Penetration
The Void Staff is the simplest yet insanely useful item in League of Legends. There’s quite literally nothing to be said about it. It offers no unique or overloaded passive nor does it take 30 minutes to explain.
No, Void Staff does what it says – penetrates Magic Resist. It also gives a ton of AP, which is always an excellent addition. There are many Champions in League of Legends that love Void Staff. One that immediately comes to mind is Kassadin, as he gets his most significant power spike after picking up this powerful item.
Against Magic Resistant Tanks (or any other class for that matter), Void Staff is an excellent tool that will allow you to ignore their defenses. Of course, if you add in some flat Magic Penetration in there alongside it, you will get the best results. Void Staff’s percentual penetration can’t ignore MR beyond 0, and you will miss out on the extra damage from negative modifiers.
At any rate, Void Staff is a fantastic item for any AP Champion, and it is best combined with the likes of Luden’s Tempest. Luden’s gives a ton of flat Magic Penetration with its Mythic passive that will undoubtedly give you a ton of extra damage.
Also read: How to Play Against Twitch
6. Liandry’s Anguish
Price: 3200g
Stats: +80 AP, +20 Ability Haste, +600 Mana
Liandry’s Anguish is more complex than Void Staff but still easily explainable. It is definitely one of the best anti-Tank items in general since it doesn’t focus on their defenses but the HP.
Of course, the HP is the lifeforce of every Champion in League of Legends, so having a great tool that directly impacts HP is incredible. There are two passives in Liandry’s, both of which do HP-based damage. After using a spell on an enemy, they will burn and be dealt magic damage based on AP and their max HP.
However, before the burn is applied, spells are buffed by Liandry’s, giving them extra magic damage based on the enemy’s bonus HP. Since Tanks will have the most bonus HP from their builds, Lidanry’s will make you deal the most damage to them, effectively invalidating their defenses entirely.
You can already see how powerful this can get, especially on Champions with an insane AP Damage base. Liandry’s is a mythic item and will give your Legendary items an extra 5 Ability Haste. With that extra Haste and the Haste it gives you by purchasing it, you will be casting spells at an insane rate. This further allows you to constantly apply the excellent passives of Liandry’s Anguish, a genuinely fantastic anti-Tank item.
5. Divine Sunderer
Price: 3300g
Stats: +35 AD, +20 Ability Haste, +400 HP
Divine Sunderer is the best Fighter anti-Tank item in League of Legends. It is best suited on fast and heavy-hitting Bruisers and Duelists such as Jax and Fiora. I won’t spend too much time explaining its unique Spellblade ability since the numbers and details get a bit tedious. If you really want to know, check out the League wiki, which explains all the specifics.
Anyhow, Sunderer will give you the ability to heal and do extra damage based on the enemy’s max HP. When playing Fighters, especially those that hit fast, Sunderer becomes a beast of an item and an immediate power spike.
For example, Jax will become nigh unkillable for a certain period after he completes Divine Sunderer. Similar is true for Fiora. Both of these Champions will shred through just about any Tank’s HP only by utilizing the fantastic passives of Divine Sunderer.
It also grants some extra goodies to your Legendary items as a Mythic item. These just happened to be extra Armor and Magic Penetration. If the other passives weren’t strong enough, giving you the ability to penetrate through both Armor and MR at the same time is insane.
Play a game with Jax and buy this item. You’ll know all you need without me boring you with the details.
Also read: Best High Damage Supports
4. Kraken Slayer
Price: 3400g
Stats: +65 AD, +25% Attack Speed, +20% Critical Strike Chance
If Divine Sunderer is the primary anti-Tank tool for Bruisers, then the Kraken Slayer is the primary tool for ADCs. With the extra attack speed, damage, and critical chance, you’ll attack a whole lot more and with more potency than you usually would, giving the Tanks less leverage over you when soaking up the attacks.
Of course, it doesn’t end there. Kraken Slayer will give you true damage on every third attack, which will shred through any health bars, not just the Tanks. The item makes you attack incredibly fast, and the extra true damage will make health bars feel like butter.
Since it is a mythic item, it will empower your Legendary items with some extra passives. In this case, the extra is even more attack speed. If you weren’t already fast, now you’re going over that 2.5 threshold with ease. The new Lethal Tempo changes are also insane, and the ADC is the best class against Tanks right now. In my opinion, anyway.
Just pick up an ADC and try the new runes and items out. You won’t be disappointed.
3. Lord Dominik’s Regard
Price: 3000g
Stats: +30 AD, +20% Critical Strike Chance, +35% Armor Penetration
Void Staff is the most straightforward item, but Lord Dominik’s comes in as a close second. There’s not much to be said about it. It will give you damage and critical strikes, as well as Armor Penetration. It is a percentual penetration, meaning that you won’t be able to go through their entire Armor. It would be best to combine this with some other source of Armor penetration that has a flat penetration mechanic – like Lethality.
Apart from this, it will give you extra damage against enemies that have more HP than you. This is perfect for, once again, ADCs. They will most often be quite squishy and low on HP, especially when compared to a Tank. Giving them extra damage is always a good idea, and when combined with some other items of this nature, the Tanks are done for.
Lord Dominik’s isn’t reserved for ADCs only, however. All AD Champions are suited to pick this item up, and you shouldn’t overlook it whenever you face a high Armor Tank.
2. Serylda’s Grudge
Price: 3200g
Stats: +45 AD, +20 Ability Haste, +30% Armor Penetration
Serylda’s Grudge is vastly similar to Lord Dominik’s, only without passive extra damage. Instead, Serylda’s gives you some good slows if you deal ability damage, which is always nice to have. However, since it is more expensive than Lord Dominik’s and lacks the extra goodies, I believe it’s not as good nor worth it.
But it has its uses whenever you want to maximize Armor Penetration and maybe throw in some Ability Haste there. As there are few options in the percentual Armor Penetration sphere, combining Serylda’s with Lord Dominik’s would perhaps be the best idea. (https://www.top5.com/) I’d opt for some other combinations, but that’s up to you.
Serylda’s is not a bad item by any means, I just believe that the alternatives are much better. If Riot would decrease the price of this item by about 300 gold, then it would be a good purchase. At the current state, it’s too expensive to bother.
Also read: Best Support Champions That Counter Ashe
1. Riftmaker
Price: 3200g
Stats: +80 AP, +15 Ability Haste, +300 HP, +8% Omnivamp
For the same price as Serylda’s Grudge, you can purchase Riftmaker, a mythic item that is leagues above what Serylda’s offers. I know that they cannot be directly compared since one is AD and the other AP, but it does raise the question of Riot’s consistency in pricing items fairly and correctly.
Riftmaker is definitely one of the most potent AP items in the game currently. For each second in combat, you’ll get more damage. Since Tanks are well known to soak up a lot of damage and fight for prolonged periods, you’ll be hitting them harder and harder as the fight goes on. They will die eventually, and that’s what Riftmaker does best. It makes sure that you do enough damage to bring the fight to its end.
The bonus damage turns into true damage after some time, which will make you eat up health bars. You can, after removing the Tank from the fight, proceed to swallow up all the rest of their team. I mean, what’s there to stop you now?
It’s a mythic item and will empower your Legendaries with omnivamp and AP, a super-powerful combination. Omnivamp, in general, is a great mechanic, and Riftmaker is a substantial source of it. Be sure to have this item in mind whenever playing an AP Fighter like Gwen.
Conclusion
The Tanks are a formidable Champion class, able to withstand thousands upon thousands of damage before dying. It can sometimes take way too much to kill a Tank, and these items are here to help you. I hope you’ve found the list interesting and insightful, and I wish you all the best with your endeavors on the Rift.
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