Best Katarina counters in LoL

If you’re wondering which are the best Katarina counters to play this season, here are five champions that will increase your chances of victory.

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5 Best Katarina Counters

Katarina is probably one of the most frustrating champions to play against in League of Legends. Not only is she a super mobile champion but Katarina also has unparalleled AoE damage. For an assassin champion like her, it can be a broken concept.

Luckily, Katarina has some clear weaknesses that can be abused, such as the lack of crowd control and her reliance on picking up kills to get resets. On top of that, she has a few lane matchups that she struggles particularly against.

This guide will go over the five best Katarina counters you should be playing this season, alongside some tips to help you abuse these matchups and get the most out of the picks.

Fizz – Can’t touch this

Even though Fizz doesn’t have much crowd control in his kit, he can dodge most of Katarina’s burst damage combos with his E, Playful Trickster. By going untargettable, Fizz can negate most of Katarina’s combo and blow her up once the ability ends. Not to mention that Fizz can use Chum the Waters to knock Katarina up, if necessary.
Whenever Katarina tries to Q and get close enough to land a combo, use Fizz’s E to dodge and prevent her from placing a dagger on the ground. By doing so, you can kill Katarina’s mobility overall.
She will look to push lanes faster and roam to other lanes: make sure she doesn’t get free roams and quickly depush minion waves.
As long as you don’t get poked consistently by her Q, this is a winning matchup for Fizz. Look to bait her E and then use the ultimate once she has cast her Shunpo: you should have enough burst damage to take her down.

Rumble – Get ready to burn

Even though Rumble is not a popular mid lane pick, he works wonders against Katarina. This is because Rumble has tools to harass Katarina during the laning phase, and if she happens to engage, Rumble has enough damage to outtrade her.
Use your E to poke Katarina whenever she walks up to farm minions. That said, don’t overuse abilities since you want to have the overheating effect when she attempts to jump on you.
Katarina wins the trades if you don’t react quickly enough on her combos. Whenever she approaches close to you, use your W to shield part of the damage and cast an empowered Q if possible in her direction. As long as you’re able to do this consistently, you will get the upper hand in the laning phase.
Once Katarina uses her ultimate, you can use your Equalizer and land a free ultimate on her. She will be forced to either disengage with Shunpo or find herself burning to death.

Vladimir – Healing more than you deal damage

Vladimir doesn’t beat Katarina in the early game but the vampire scales a lot better in the later stages of the game. In other words, he should technically neutralize Katarina in this matchup. As long as she doesn’t snowball heavily, Vladimir will win.
Whenever Katarina tries to all-in Vladimir, he can disengage with his W and negate most of the damage. That said, you need to have good reaction times, or you will lose a lot of health, considering that the W costs health to cast.
Focus on farming and sustaining by using your abilities in the laning phase. Do not spend time trading aggressively against Katarina since she will win in most cases. Wait for your item spikes and fight her later in the game.
Katarina will look to roam often with the lane priority, so make sure to pay attention to her movements and give information to your allies whenever possible.

Annie – Fighting fire with fire

Katarina has a strong all-in potential both once she unlocks her basic abilities and when she hits level six. Annie, in a similar fashion, does a similar thing, with the exception that she counters Katarina thanks to the passive stun.
As long as you have the stun ready, Katarina cannot walk up so knowing how to play around Annie’s passive is key in this matchup.
Katarina has a lot of mobility and will look to engage as soon as you utilize the stun: pay attention to her movements and assess whether she plans to all in you.
A great way to win this matchup is by having three stacks and baiting Katarina into engaging you. At that point, use E and one other ability to get a stun and stop her. The goal is to stun while she’s casting her ultimate so she loses most of the damage.
Since you have better pushing power than Katarina, use that to play around with the minion waves. Stacking waves is a common way to ensure you can get advantageous trades.

Neeko – it’s all about early-game trades

The reworked Neeko has become a great Katarina counter thanks to the multiple crowd controls she has to stop Katarina’s combos. Moreover, Neeko can punish her during the laning phase by transforming into a minion with her passive and easily land spells.
When playing Neeko during the laning phase, use the minion trick and wait for Katarina to use her abilities. At that point, walk close to her and cast an E-Q combo to chunk her health bar. If you’re able to do this a few times, she will be forced to recall or potentially die.
At level six, Katarina can never engage on Neeko since the latter has a shield to tank her damage and then a knock-up to interrupt her channel. From that point onwards, Katarina is no longer a threat as long as Neeko’s ultimate is ready.
If you’re fed, use your AoE damage to clear waves and roam. She will be forced to either match your movement or clear the minion wave, giving you a free roaming chance. Regardless of what she does, it’s a win-win situation for you.