So far in season 13 of League of Legends, we’ve seen a new ping system, champion buffs and nerfs, and surprising champions coming out of the woodwork to dominate the Rift.
One of these champions is Annie, The Dark Child. Even though she was technically nerfed in Patch 13.3, the changes to Annie have made her one of the strongest champions in the game.
She is currently dominating the mid-lane and bot lane as support. According to U.GG, she has a mid lane win rate of 54.24 percent and a support win rate of 54.23 percent across all ranks.
With such a high win rate, facing Annie on the Rift in the mid lane or bot lane may seem daunting. But there are champions that counter her.
The best League counters to Annie
In the current meta, Annie’s build relies heavily on AP damage. To counter this, MR items like Gargoyle Stoneplate can help counter this.
One of Annie’s disadvantages is that she doesn’t have a lot of mobility— her kit doesn’t offer dashes or ways for her to engage or disengage unless Flash has been taken.
Related: Annie defies hotfix nerfs in League, continues to excel in more than just intended role
So, some of the best Annie counters are champions with a lot of mobility, such as dashes or passives that offer movement speed. Or champions that are long-range and can stay out of Annie’s stun range.
So, what are the best Annie counters in League?
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia is an excellent counter for Annie, regardless of rank. Her passive offers movement speed at every level, and by building her with Precision and Sorcery runes, you can also benefit from Gargoyle Stoneplate. So you can easily engage, disengage, and reduce incoming magic damage.
Even though she isn’t a long-range champion, she can consistently provide poke with her abilities and stay a reasonably safe distance away from Annie. Laning against Cassiopeia can be very oppressive as she can clear waves relatively quickly, which forces Annie to stay in lane, ensuring she can’t roam as often.
Anivia
Not only is Anivia doing incredibly well this season, but she is also a good counter for Annie. Her kit has several long-range abilities, meaning she can generally stay out of Annie’s reach.
Flash Frost (Q) is perfect for stunning and engaging, and her ability, Crystallize (W) can be used for defense, sieging towers, or as a way to disengage. And as Annie doesn’t have the best wave clear, Anivia can push Annie under the tower or out of the lane, denying her experience and gold.
Lux
Even though Lux lacks mobility, she can be a decent counter for Annie because of her long-range abilities and slows. Lux can harass Annie with Lucent Singularity (E) and even Light Binding (Q), which means that she can quickly clear waves and push Annie back.
And the further away Annie is, the better, especially if she has her ultimate and wants to go all in. If you notice Annie building AP items, you can purchase MR items like Banshee’s Veil to help counter those.
Malzahar
After his buffs in season 12, Malzahar has become easier to play. With Void Swarm (W) and Call of the Void (Q), Malzahar can consistently poke and silence Annie from a safe distance and be an oppressive lane bully.
Malzahar’s passive is also very helpful because he gains damage reduction and crowd-control immunity if he hasn’t recently taken damage or been crowd controlled. And the best part is that if Malzahar’s passive is up, it lingers for a short while after he takes damage. So, it can help reduce incoming damage if Annie goes all in.
Xerath
Xerath is an incredibly annoying champion to lane against, which is why he’s an excellent counter for Annie. Not only are his abilities long-range, but they can be pretty spammable if you have Ability Haste items. He can essentially harass and poke Annie and push her back, which means you deny her experience and gold.
It also means you’re giving her fewer opportunities to go all in. And because Xerath’s ultimate has such a long-range, he can safely use it for whittling down Annie’s health.
Blitzcrank
Blitzcrank is an excellent and easy-to-play support champion against Annie support. As Annie lacks mobility, Blitzcrank can provide game-changing setups with his Rocket Grab (Q). And because Annie is so squishy, this hook could be a free kill for his ADC.
He is also quite tanky and can build many MR items to help counter Annie. Even if she does go all in, it would take a lot to kill Blitzcrank.
Rakan
Rakan is another tanky champion that counters Annie support quite well. He can build MR items like Turbo Chemtank and create strong engage opportunities with Grand Entrance (W) and The Quickness (R).
When he has items like Shurelya’s Battlesong and Redemption, he can help his teammates disengage from team fights or Tibbers or provide life-saving healing. And he can help tank a lot of damage from Annie for his ADC or teammates.
Zilean
While he may not have the highest pick rate, Zilean is a fun counter to Annie. Zilean’s Time Bomb (Q) is an excellent way to push back your enemies, and they’re a great engage tool if you can land two of them on a champion to stun them. And if you have items with Ability Haste, you can throw your bombs out more often.
He can also use Time Warp (E) to help his ADC or teammates escape from Annie and Tibbers. But if they can’t run, he can use his ultimate, Chronoshift (R), to teleport them back in time if they were killed.
Sona
Sona is a somewhat easy-to-play champion that can be useful against Annie support. Her ability, Song of Celerity (W), can help increase movement speed for disengaging or engaging, and Hymn of Valor (Q) provides allies with bonus damage on their next attack.
Her ultimate, Crescendo (R), can also make the difference between a successful Annie all-in combo and an unsuccessful one. While the stun doesn’t last long, it can sometimes be enough to save your teammates and provide an opportunity to counter-engage or escape safely.
Leona
As Annie is squishy, tank supports with kits that provide opportunities for hard engages or stuns are generally the best counters for her. And Leona’s kit offers both survivability and hard engage.
Leona can withstand a lot of damage, especially if she builds MR items. And if you can land Leona’s Shield of Daybreak (Q) or Solar Flare (R), you can stun Annie and give your ADC or team a chance to kill her before she unleashes her combo.
