Vayne has dominated the bottom lane ever since season 12 and the implementation of mythic items. Items like Immortal Shieldbow and Kraken Slayer give her the damage or survivability that she needs. These Items counter assassins and tanks alike, thus giving Vayne an even higher winrate. Even though these items give her the edge she needs, it’s not all about the items that decide the winners of games. Vayne can still be countered with playstyle, map rotation, and champion picks, and some champions can do just that. Today I will give you some support champions that Vayne struggled against.
1. Pyke
Vayne is a glass cannon, which means despite her very serious damage output, she can be easily put down simply because she has very little defensive stats; in short, she is a squishy champion that is very susceptible to bursts from assassin champions. It only makes sense that Pyke counters her as he is an assassin champion with very high burst damage.
How Pyke counters Vayne in the laning phase
Pyke has a lot of tricks up his sleeves to surprise an enemy Vayne especially when he and his ADC get the brushes’ control. When a Pyke gets control of the brushes, it would be hard for Vayne to continue taking cs. Vayne relies heavily on cs because her power spikes depend on items.
First, Pyke can zone Vayne out of the lane by hiding in bushes with the threat of his Q ability. This way, Vayne will be afraid to get in range for minion exp, and she would not be able to take cs. Pyke’s Q is also perfect for setting-up fights in the bot lane, which can be perfectly used when hidden under a brush.
Pyke is a champion that can really give your ADC a scare. To top it all off, he has his W ability which he can use in many different ways. He can use it to simply scare the Vayne away from the minion range, or he can use it to position for his perfect Q pull, which can then be followed by his E stun dash. With this combo alone, Vayne would surely lose lots of her HP, forcing her to recall back or ask for a gank from her jungler.
How Pyke counters Vayne in mid to late game
During mid-game, Pyke usually roams the map and finds kills to help his teammates. Suppose a Vayne decides to rotate to the top lane and switch with the top laner. In that case, Pyke can still continue harassing her with his basic combo. Vayne’s weakness is getting locked down in one place because she relies so much on her kiting ability. With Pyke, Vayne can be locked down in one place, which would spell her death, especially with Pyke’s ultimate ability to execute champions that reach a certain health threshold.
Also read: Best Supports for Vayne
2. Senna
Another thing that Vayne struggles against is attack range. Champions can easily bully Vayne out of a lane with long attack range and skill shots, and Senna specializes in that aspect. To even extend Senna’s bullying of Vayne, she can use the Glacial Impact keystone, which slows down basic attacks. With this keystone, Vayne will surely think twice before walking up to last hit one minion.
How Senna counters Vayne in the laning phase
As for Senna, you can pay close attention to the health bars of your own minions. Every time you see a champion low enough for the last hit, Vayne will surely walk up to last hit that minion. This is the perfect moment to walk up and throw a hit Q hit combo against Vayne, which would surely take a huge chunk out of her health, making her think twice before walking up again. When you establish lane dominance against a Vayne, and she realizes she can’t simply walk up to last hit a minion, that would be the perfect time to work against your ADC to control the wave to be always pushed at your side, denying both Vayne and her support exp and gold.
Another thing you can do to counter Vayne in the laning phase is to completely go aggressive on her. Every time you see that your skills are not on cooldown, walk up to Vayne and throw your damaging skills at her. This would force her to always recall to base and fall behind on level and gold.
How Senna counters Vayne in mid to late game
Senna might be a support in the early game, but she can slowly build damaged items as the game goes on. Senna can build lethality items that can burst down Vayne in the late game, slowly snowballing out of control because of your laning phase strategy against Vayne; Senna could grow the strong late game. So strong that she can take on Vayne on 1v1 or burst her down during team fights. As for Senna, you can also use your W ability if your team wishes to surprise Vayne with a 5 man pick.
3. Pantheon
Hyper aggressive playstyle is the very weakness of Vayne during the early game. Pantheon’s kit gives just that, Pantheon can get the press the attack keystone and stack on his passive, and he can cast his empowered W stun on Vayne to quickly proc press the attack and follow it up with a Q and hit. This is also a very safe trade for Pantheon. He can finish this trade with his E ability to back away safely without being damaged.
How Pantheon counters Vayne in the laning phase
Pantheon can either spam cast his Q on Vayne to poke her and slowly whittle down Vayne’s health bar, or he can stack on his passive and move closer to Vayne. This way, Pantheon gives Vayne a kind of a warning that if she goes near the minion wave, she might get caught in Pantheon’s leap combo. During the laning phase, continue zoning Vayne out of the minion range until your ADC has a lead, and you can go all-in on her, which would guarantee a kill on Vayne.
How Pantheon counters Vayne in mid to late game
Pantheon has excellent roaming capabilities. He can use his ult or simply build mobility boots to roam around the map and find kills for your teammates. Pantheon can build lethality items during the late game, which would spell doom for Vayne as he can literally one-shot her with a basic combo. If Vayne decides to catch up to the game and farm for solo exp and gold, Pantheon can surprise her with his ultimate ability.
Also read: How to Counter Vayne?
4. Leona
Nothing scares a kite-dependent champion more than CC supports. Leona is a champion with the most crowd control abilities in the game, and this is just perfect for locking Vayne down in one position so your ADC can simply kill her. Leona can also play either offensively or defensively during early or late games.
How Leona counters Vayne in the laning phase
Leona’s presence alone would scare Vayne because of the threat of her E ability. Establish your lane dominance by walking up to Vayne as though you are threatening her that you would go all-in on her with your abilities. Leona can partner with Ashe or Caitlyn to even further this lane bullying. As Leona, you can tell your ADC to prepare to go in when you cast your E ability on Vayne. With this type of communication, you will surely get a kill on her, or if not, Vayne will surely lose the trade against you and your ADC.
How Leona counters Vayne in mid to late game
As Leona, you can build up on armor and even a bramble vest to counter Vayne’s late-game lifesteal. Countering Vayne with this champion is as simple as hitting R, and it’s a guarantee that Vayne would be locked down in one place, giving a sure kill against her. The exhaust would also be perfect in this situation as it would reduce Vayne’s late-game damage output. During late game, you can either play offensively against Vayne or focus on keeping her away from your ADC, thus making Vayne frustrated and eventually for you to win the game.
5. Xerath
When you pick Xerath as support against Vayne, she basically is out of the game. It is very much cast Q to win with Xerath against Vayne, and it is all the same from early until late game. You can pick the Dark Harvest keystone and build as much AP as possible and just cast your Q away on Vayne. If she decides to go all-in on you and your ADC, you have your stun ability to keep her under control and burst her down along with your ADC. If a trade goes bad and Vayne survives, you have your ultimate ability to finish her off.
Also read: 5 Best Bot Lane Duos in League of Legends
Final thoughts
Now, these are the 5 champions perfect to counter Vayne when you are playing the support role. Again, just like everything in League of Legends, there really is no counterplay if you know what you are doing. You do understand the basics of the game and be true to it. You can counter Vayne with any champion so long as you understand the map and how a champion works. Also, a gentle reminder, if you wish to climb to the top, all you have to do is practice nonstop, watch your replays and view the moments where you made a mistake, and come up with an alternative in your mind so when that moment comes again in your next game, you’ll know what to do then. As for now, contemplate on these tips and enjoy the game. See you on the Rift Summoner and GLHF on your next game.
