Vex, the all-new champion that just got released in Season 12, was designed to completely shut down hypermobile champions dominating as of late, punishing every dash and flash that she sees in the field. Aside from that, she has the standard burst mage power that can delete every squishy champion that her trusty companion, Shadow, would touch. If she kills someone after using her ultimate, she gets to recast it again, allowing her to snowball a single kill into a pentakill. However, like every champion in the game, she can still be countered with the right tips and champions.
Before proceeding to detail how to counter the latest yordle on the Rift, let’s go on and understand her kit first.
Vex’s Abilities Explained
- Passive – Doom ‘n Gloom – The first part of her passive, Doom, periodically empowers her basic abilities to fear enemies that get hit. The second part of her passive marks nearby enemies who blink or dash with Gloom. Vex’s next basic attack and some of her basic abilities consume this mark to deal extra magic damage and refund Doom’s cooldown.
- Q – Mistral Bolt – Vex releases a wide wave of mist to the target direction that accelerates but reduces in width after a short while, dealing damage to all enemies hit. This ability consumes Gloom.
- W – Personal Space – Vex gains a shield and releases a shockwave around her, dealing damage. This ability consumes Gloom.
- E – Looming Darkness – Vex commands Shadow to the target location, slowing and dealing damage to enemies upon arrival.
- R – Shadow Surge – Vex commands Shadow to launch itself in the target direction, dealing damage to all enemies hit. Upon hitting a champion, the champion is marked with Gloom, and Vex can recast this ability to dash to that champion. If the marked champion dies within 12 seconds, Vex can recast Shadow Surge at no additional cost for the next 12 seconds.
Also read: How to Counter Riven?
Best Champions that Counter Vex in Season 12
1. Vladimir
The resident vampire champion, Vladimir, is a great counter to the gloomy yordle. His abilities allow him to have some sustain to keep up with Vex’s poke and harass. His Sanguine Pool is also very crucial in helping him evade a good amount of Vex’s damage when she starts her combo. Come mid to late game, Vladimir’s burst damage is greater than Vex’s, and Vladimir becomes more of a bigger threat than Vex as he scales better. By focusing on teamfights, Vladimir easily gains an advantage over Vex.
2. Annie
Annie is a burst mage that has a similar kit design to Vex. However, this little girl has shown to win out the match-up because Annie has a longer auto-attack range than Vex, allowing Annie to stay away from Vex, who mostly has short-range abilities, while poking her with Disintegrate. Annie also enjoys a certain level of mobility in the form of her Molten Shield, granting her movement speed that allows her to dodge Vex’s abilities easily. At level 6, Annie’s Summon: Tibbers is a lethal starter to her burst combo that she can perform in a safer range than Vex.
3. Xerath
Another mage rounds up the Vex counters, this time coming from Shurima’s resident artillery mage, Xerath. As an artillery mage, Xerath has few to no problems poking Vex from a very safe distance. The immobile Vex will have a hard time dodging all the Arcanopulses and Eyes of Destruction that a competent Xerath will send toward the yordle’s way. If Vex decides to come up close, a Shocking Orb can stop her right away, then Xerath can again drop another barrage of harassing skillshots.
Also read: How to play against Zed?
How to Beat Vex? Best Counter Tips
- Avoid staying near the minion wave. Vex has great waveclear with Mistral Bolt and Looming Darkness, so you need to force her to choose between clearing the wave or harassing you.
- Never go into melee range against Vex. Her Personal Space provides her with a good shield, and if Doom-empowered, she can completely disrupt you and allow Vex to drop her full combo at you while you’re feared.
- Consequently, try to bait out her Personal Space. Aside from losing a part of her damage, she also loses her only defensive ability, leaving her vulnerable.
- At level 6, be on the lookout for Vex’s Looming Shadow. This skillshot is very long, and she can snipe you while you’re recalling.
- As a burst mage, she scales better with items. Her combo is lethal if she drops it all together and even more lethal when she has her Mythic item. Keep tabs on your relative strength against her at all times.
Best Items to Counter Vex in Season 12
- Mercury’s Treads – This boot item can be underwhelming as an item that counters Vex, but the stats it gives, and its passive actually provides you with the right protection against Vex. With magic resistance and tenacity, you gain protection from both Vex’s damage and crowd control.
- Wit’s End – This item has been gaining popularity, especially among ADCs, providing both offense, defense, and utility all in one item. The magic resist is welcome to any champion planning to survive Vex’s burst, the passive can help you dodge her abilities, and the offensive stats give your champion more power to kill her.
- Edge of Night/Banshee’s Veil – These two items provide a similar and strong defensive passive to the two classes of champions, Edge of Night for AD champions and Banshee’s Veil for AP champions. Their passive gives you a spell-shield, nullifying a part of Vex’s combo and completely shutting down her pick potential.
Also read: How To Counter Tryndamere?
Conclusion
Vex counters hypermobile champions and champions who happen to have just around the same HP as her. However, this does not make her completely undefeatable. Couple the tips we gave here in the guide with proper positioning, and Vex can become easier to handle, allowing you to stop her from doing what she does and stomping the game to a resounding victory.
