Best Zaahen Counters In League of Legends: How To Beat The Darkin Glaive
- Quinn, Vayne, Kennen, Malphite, and Jayce are the best Zaahen counters in LoL, as they kite him or shut down his extended trades.
- Zaahen’s kit falls apart in short trades, so punishing his cooldowns and tracking his long revive timer shuts down most of his threat.
- Tanks like Malphite also counter him by stacking armor, disrupting engages, and neutralizing his sustained DPS in teamfights.
In League of Legends, Zaahen counters are already in high demand as the new Darkin hits Summoner’s Rift. With a revive mechanic, tons of sustain, and damage that ramps in long trades, losing fights against this new champion can easily snowball and lead to quick LP losses—trust us on that!
This guide on Zaahen counters in LoL will walk you through the best champions to pick against this top-lane bruiser. We’ll also talk about core items and runes and how to deal with him in the early, mid, and late game stages based on our rather thorough ranked gameplay.
Who Is Zaahen In League of Legends?
Zaahen is the newest Darkin champion, a former Ascended who chose to seal himself in a glaive rather than fall to corruption. In the new lore reveal teasers, he’s tightly linked to Xin Zhao, emerging as a “good” Darkin who hunts his own kind.
Riot officially described Zaahen as a top-lane bruiser with intense, sustained combat and a signature revive mechanic.
Zaahen Abilities Overview
In practice, Zaahen plays like a stat-checking fighter who has a little bit of everything in his kit.
He uses E to close distance, Q for his damage and auto-attack reset, and W to keep his enemies close if they want to retreat. Zaahen can use his ultimate either as an engage tool or a last resort, providing tons of sustain and delaying death.
From the official abilities rundown, Zaahen’s kit looks like this:
| Ability | Name | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Passive | Cultivation of War | Damaging enemy champions grants Determination stacks, giving bonus AD. At max stacks, Zaahen gains more AD and can revive if he dies. Cooldown is long early and shorter later. |
| Q | The Darkin Glaive | Zaahen empowers his next auto-attack to slash twice, dealing bonus damage and healing himself. Recasting this ability deals additional damage and knocks up the target. |
| W | Dreaded Return | Zaahen stabs in a line, damaging enemies and pulling them towards him. |
| E | Aureate Rush | Short dash combined with a circular AoE slash. Deals more damage at the edge and can go through small terrain. |
| R | Grim Deliverance | Passively grants armor penetration. On cast, Zaahen rises, gaining considerable damage reduction while charging, then slams down for a powerful AoE that heals him based on damage dealt. |
What Are Zaahen’s Weaknesses In LoL?
When you look at the new LoL champion’s kit, Zaahen’s weaknesses stand out immediately, even without the need to check his scaling:
- He’s a melee bruiser with short dashes, which means he can struggle against champs that can poke, kite, or disengage easily.
- Zaahen has limited crowd control. Despite having a pull and knockup, the Darkin still has to stay close to his enemies to get both of these off, and they are not as powerful compared to some other bruisers.
- The revive cooldown is quite long, especially in the early and mid game. If you manage to force fights while his revive is down, Zaahen will lose a lot of his fighting and damage potential.
- His damage and sustain ramp over time, so try focusing on short trades that can reset the fight before his Determination stacks kick in.
How To Counter Zaahen In Lane?
If you’re thinking about how to counter Zaahen in lane, your core strategy should look like this:
- Avoid extended front-to-back duels where he can stack Determination and spam empowered auto-attacks.
- Giving Zaahen a free revive can allow the enemy team to execute a turret dive.
- Punish his cooldowns, especially his E and Q recast, by backing off as they come up and re-engaging when they’re down.
- Try to fight around his revive cooldown. Similar to fighting Anivia on the mid lane, always let your team know when Zaahen’s revive is down—that should be an invitation for a gank.
Best Zaahen Counters In LoL
Since LoL’s new top-lane champion is designed as a sustain machine who prefers extended fights, the best Zaahen counters in League of Legends fall into two groups:
- Ranged lane bullies that never let him get close.
- Tanky disruptors that shrug off his DPS and prevent him from sticking to priority targets.
Quinn
Quinn is one of the best Zaahen top lane counters if you’re comfortable playing a ranged top lane. She can easily exploit his short range and lack of reliable gap closers. Quinn’s Vault (E) is one of the main reasons why she’s an excellent choice when fighting any bruiser on top, including Zaahen.
However, as with any ranged top lane champion, you always need to play carefully and make sure to communicate with your team, and don’t fall behind. If you start 0-2 against Zaahen in lane, you’ll likely need to do some damage control, as this lead could easily snowball and result in plate gold or objective control.
Vayne
Vayne and Quinn fall into a similar category with some minor differences. Both champions want to keep Zaahen from stacking, but while Quinn uses Blind, Vayne’s playstyle is more focused on her repositioning with Tumble (Q) and Condemn (E) to push the enemy away.
Due to her shorter range and weaker early game, Vayne is a bit harder to play compared to Quinn, especially for players who don’t play marksman champions very often. However, the trade-off can be huge as a fed late-game Vayne can carry fights on her own.
Kennen
Kennen is a safe top lane choice as he can easily disengage thanks to his passive stun and Lightning Rush (E). He’s also a great choice if your team composition lacks AP damage. Kennen is one of the few lane bullies in the game that’s also an S-tier teamfight champion due to his Slicing Maelstrom (R).
The fact that Zhonya’s Hourglass is part of his usual build path is also significant for this matchup, as the extra armor can make a huge difference when playing vs. Zaahen. Kennen is also great at setting up ganks for his jungler, but make sure to use your double stun and kill Zaahen’s revive before it becomes active.
Malphite
Malphite offers a straightforward, low-mechanics approach that many players can utilize when playing against Zaahen on top. Malphite is the ultimate “fill top-lane champion” when playing against AD fighters, as he’s pretty easy to use and he passively gains armor thanks to his Thunderclap (W).
Buying one additional armor item early on and some anti-heal will make this lane unplayable for most Zaahen players. Also, his Unstoppable Force (R) allows him to focus on neutralizing Zaahen or any other priority target in teamfights.
How To Counter Zaahen In Early, Mid, and Late Game
Even if you don’t pick a “perfect” champion to counter Zaahen in LoL, you can still make the matchup feel much better by following solid fundamentals in each phase of the game.
Early Game
In early levels, Zaahen’s base numbers and sustain are decent, but not insane, and he still relies on his passive to win most trades. The general formula is simple: keep the wave closer to your side, trade when his Q and E are down, and use short poke or quick combos so Zaahen can’t stack Determination for free.
Mid Game
Mid game is where a lot of players fumble when playing against Zaahen, because his first item spike and level-two ultimate are the exact moments where he wants to fight. When his revive is down, try to force Dragons, Void Grubs, or Herald so the enemy team is always at a disadvantage by default.
Late Game
In the late game, Zaahen turns into an actual frontline drain tank. Teamfights should be played front-to-back with tanks and bruisers marking him while your carries hit whoever steps up next. Try to bait his ultimate and wait for his Determination to cool down before engaging.
FAQs
How Do You Counter Zaahen In League of Legends?
You can counter Zaahen in LoL by avoiding extended trades, tracking his revive cooldown, and using anti-heal and crowd control to lock him down.
What Are The Best Champions To Play Against Zaahen?
Strong champions against Zaahen in LoL include Quinn, Kennen, Vayne, Malphite, and Jayce. These champs can all outrange, kite, or interrupt his short-range engages.
How Do You Stop Zaahen’s Ultimate?
Avoid Zaahen’s ultimate by spreading out and kiting away so his damage reduction and passive stacks feel wasted.
What Items Should You Build To Counter Zaahen?
The best items to build against Zaahen in LoL are armor, health, and Grievous Wounds. Items like Bramble Vest, Executioner’s Calling, and Frozen Heart blunt his sustain and DPS.
Why Does a Champion Counter Zaahen?
A champion counters Zaahen when their kit breaks his patterns. This includes stopping dashes, winning short trades, kiting his all-ins, or punishing his revive immobility, like Caitlyn traps.
