I’ve been playing LeBlanc ever since the good old Season 3, and I must say that I’ve had my fair share of matches against those annoying OTP Yasuo mains. Now, you should know that it’s quite hard laning against Yasuo, but if you play your cards right, you should be able to outsmart him and defeat him. LeBlanc relies on snowballing enemy champions, and because of Yasuo’s passive (Way of the Wanderer), you’ll have a hard time achieving that, but don’t worry, nothing is impossible.
You’ll have to be extremely careful in the early game when you’re playing as LeBlanc against Yasuo because if you manage to make some mistakes in the early game, you’ll fall behind, and it won’t be easy to make a comeback once he has got the advantage over you.
Another thing you should always keep in mind is that Yasuo can block LeBlanc’s Q and E, which makes a significant portion of your burst damage. So, to avoid getting your spells blocked by his Windwall, you’ll have to bait it out first. What I like to do is to jump on him with Distortion (W ability) and then immediately use the chain to stun him.
In most cases, once you land the chain on him, he’ll start to panic, and most likely, he will use his Windwall, which, in this case, is a very nice thing for us because we’ve put a rooting chain on him. Once the chain roots him, you’ll have enough time to go around his Windwall and just throw another chain, but this time also throw your Q to maximize your damage.
Once you do this, you’ll probably have your Distortion ability (W) back, and then you can use that + Ignite to finish him off. This probably sounds very easy, but trust me when I tell you this, it isn’t. He can easily kill you if he manages to block your first chain, so you’re going to have to be extremely careful when you decide to go in. Wait for the perfect moment, poke him with your basic attacks to destroy his shield and lower his HP.
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Best LeBlanc Items to Counter Yasuo in Season 12
When you’re facing Yasuo as LeBlanc, it’s essential to play safe during the early game and to harass him from a safe distance. You’ll need to do quick trades without taking any damage from him, and once you lower his HP down enough, you should go all-in for a kill.
The first item, which you’ll be buying in most cases, is Luden’s Tempest. Its passive will provide you with extra movement speed, which will help you with your escapes. However, if you’re behind and you can’t sustain Yasuo’s damage in the early game, you should go for Seeker’s Armguard as it will give you 22.5 armor (once fully stacked).
Morellonomicon is the best option for 3rd item because it will stop Yasuo’s healings, but if you’re already fed, you should just take Rabadon’s Deathcap as a 3rd item to maximize your one-shotting power. Your last item should always be Void Staff. Void Staff will give you a massive 40% magic penetration which will help you to melt down tanks in the late game.
Best LeBlanc Runes to Counter Yasuo in Season 12
If you’re confident in your LeBlanc skills, then you should always go for Domination and Sorcery rune trees. On the other hand, if you’re new to LeBlanc and you’re looking for a combination of damage and sustain, you should consider choosing Domination and Inspiration rune trees. Let’s focus on the standard runes.
These are basically the typical runes for almost every single mage assassin. In the first tree, you’ll need to pick Electrocute, Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, and Ravenous Hunter. In the second tree, you’ll need to pick Manaflow Band and Transcendence. When it comes to the bonus runes, I always like to pick +10% Attack Speed, +9 Adaptive Force, and +6 Armor.
Most new LeBlanc players usually pick 2 Adaptive Forces, but I’ve had better results with 1 Adaptive Force and 1 Attack Speed rune. That 10% attack speed is not much, but it does wonders when you’re doing quick trades. When you have that extra 10% attack speed, you’ll always be able to do a quick Q+W+AA combo (AA – basic attack), which will also proc the Electrocute. This way, you’ll be able to easily harass and force Yasuo to go under his tower.
Now that we’ve covered the standard runes allow me to explain the more defensive ones. If you decide to go for these runes, you’ll need to pick Electrocute, Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, and Ravenous Hunter from the first tree. In the second tree, you’ll need to pick Biscuit Delivery and Time Warp Tonic. You should pick +10% Attack Speed, +9 Adaptive Force, and +6 Armor when it comes to the bonus runes.
Time Warp Tonic and Biscuit Delivery will provide you with the very-much-needed mana and health sustain in the early game, so consider taking these runes if you think the game will be a short one or if you just think that you need that sustain to survive the laning phase.
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How to Counter Yasuo with Leblanc? Best Tips:
- Yasuo is weak once he mises his Whirlwind; you should always engage him when he uses it.
- Yasuo’s shield from his passive lasts two seconds. Make sure to deal damage to him with your basic attacks to trigger it, wait it out, and then engage.
- Always try to fight Yasuo away from minions or neutral monsters because this way, you’ll limit his mobility.
- To prevent him from using his ult, just try to hide in the bush because he can’t ult non-visible targets.
- Always try to double chain him (E + R) to limit his mobility.
- Take advantage of the long Windwall cooldown. Try to engage him when you know it’s on cooldown.
Conclusion
Even though the odds are in Yasuo’s favor, LeBlanc still has a very high chance to beat him in the laning phase. Remember to play safe during the early game, and if Yasuo starts to roam, always try to follow him, or at least push your lane, so he loses XP. Best of luck in your ranked games, Summoner!
