Best Varus counters in LoL

LoL Esports

April 28, 2024

Davide Xu

These are the best Varus counters you should be playing this season. Can you guess who makes the list?

Image Credit: Riot Games

Varus counters in LoL – the top three picks

Jinx – the meta counter

Jinx is one of the rising picks in the ADC meta thanks to some of the nerfs for other champions. Even though she doesn’t bully Varus during the early game, she scales a lot better in the game and will leverage her passive during the teamfights to boost her DPS. Unless she gets caught, you’re guaranteed to have more impact during those game-deciding moments.

Jhin – range vs range

If you want to have more agency during the laning phase, then Jhin is probably the right pick for you. The Virtuoso can match Varus’ wave clearing early on and match him in terms of poke and harass. Get quick trades when farming minions to build a healthy lead during the laning phase and try to snipe him (or other enemies) from afar.

Image Credit: Riot Games

If you’re fairly new to the game, check out our guide on how counter picks work in League of Legends. You will understand why counter picks are important, and how you need to take advantage of them to increase your win rate. Make sure to also understand how classes counter one another in LoL so you always know what to pick in each game.

Yasuo – the atypical counter

Yasuo is only played by a few people in the bottom lane but he happens to be one of the best Varus counters. Thanks to his wind wall, he can block a lot of the enemy’s damage and abilities throughout the game. Make sure, however, to have a good support with you that can set you up for success.

Worst Varus counters

Aphelios – losing priority

Aphelios’ biggest weakness against Varus is his lack of agency to dictate the laning phase. Varus will always get the upper hand when it comes to minion waves as he will manage them to his liking. The only thing you can do is farm up as much as possible and hope to retaliate later in the game once you hit the item spikes.

Smolder – early game is rough

Speaking of early games, Smolder is probably one of the weakest champions out there in this department. His kit is designed to scale later and when facing a champion like Varus, Smolder will be pressured from minute one. Whether it’s superior range or better trading potential, Smolder will just be weaker. In this matchup, the goal is to survive without bleeding too much advantage.

How do you counter Varus with the items?

When going up against Varus, it’s recommended to stack a mix of armor and HP. Below is a list of items to build you should consider, based on the class of champion you’re playing:

Bruisers: Frozen Heart (if attack speed build), Death Dance, Warden’s Mail
AD assassins: Guardian’s Angel
ADC champions: Guardian’s Angel
AP champions: Zhonya’s Hourglass
Tanks: Frozen Heart (if attack speed build), Warden’s Mail

What Champion counters Varus?

The three best counters are Jinx, Jhin, and Yasuo. Other strong counters are Twitch, Lucian, and Sivir.

Does Draven counter Varus?

To put it simply, Draven counters Varus. This is because the former is one of, if not, the strongest bully ADC in the game. Thanks to the axes’ damage, Draven prevails in almost every single trade. Varus can’t match his DPS early on and is less mobile than his counterpart. Varus should look to survive and farm up as much as possible-