Best Illaoi counters in League of Legends

A good way to shut down Illaoi is by picking champs that can dodge her swings, keep their distance with poke, or lock her down with crowd control. The main point is to avoid taking damage from her E ability (Test of Spirit), which is central to her damage and healing. Champions like Varus, Kayle, Fiora, or Teemo can kite her and apply pressure while staying safe. Building anti-healing items like Grievous Wounds early also helps reduce her sustain. Illaoi thrives on short, messy fights—so go for quick trades and maintain distance to dodge her tentacles.

In this article, we discuss the best Illaoi counters and strategies to effectively shut her down in the lane.

Why Illaoi is difficult to cope with

Before discussing how to counter Illaoi, I want to explore why Illaoi is a tough matchup in the top lane:

• Massive sustain: Illaoi’s tentacles dish out solid healing through her W and passive, so poking her half-heartedly won’t do much. Unless you’re keen to go all in, you’ll just be helping her stay in lane for free.
• Massive AOE damage: Her E (Test of Spirit) will punish your poor positioning, and also has the chance to turn any 1v1 interaction into a consistently horrible experience. 
• Strong against melee champs: In extended melee fights, Illaoi’s kit thrives, as you have less room to dodge her tentacle slams.
• No hard crowd control: Illaoi has no hard CC, which means if you burst her fast enough, she can’t stop you if done properly.  

Best champions to counter Illaoi

The most effective Illaoi counters are ranged poke champions or mobile fighters who can dodge her tentacle slams and punish her missed abilities.

Top champion picks (based on win rate and mechanics):

Urgot – Durable with execute power if timed right.

Varus – High poke, safe range, and consistent DPS. Excellent in lane.

Kayle – Outscales Illaoi and keeps distance early. Hard to deal with late-game.

Fiora – Can parry Illaoi’s E or W, and punish extended trades.

Camille – Uses mobility to avoid E and ultimate to isolate Illaoi.

Mordekaiser – Strong 1v1 duelist and can suppress her tentacle zone in the Death Realm.

Gwen – Can sustain through poke and duel well if she dodges E.

Teemo – Great poke and blind, but be cautious—it’s a skill-based matchup.

Quinn – Ranged burst and mobility to reset trades quickly.

Jax – Scaling duelist with counter-strike to avoid damage.

Best items to weaken Illaoi’s laning power

To undermine the overwhelming laning power of Illaoi in League of Legends, use the following items: 

• Executioner’s calling / chempunk chainsword: Limits her healing from tentacles and passive. 
• Mortal reminder: Slaps on Grievous Wounds and comes in clutch during drawn-out biffs.
• Plated steelcaps: Limits her auto-attacks and tentacle damage.
• Stridebreaker: Great mobility choice when dodging her E skill. 
• Black cleaver: Shreds her armour, allowing for extended fights (where you’re most likely to kill her). 
• Anathema’s chains: Slaps a solid dampener on her damage when you make her your main target. 
• Quicksilver sash (QSS): Quicksilver Sash is essential if you’re often caught by her E (Test of Spirit).  

Mid-to-late game strategy tips (for Aussie LoL players)

Illaoi can be an absolute pain to deal with once the game hits mid to late stages. Here are a couple of solid tips to keep her in check when the laning phase is done: 

1. Grouping in fights

Illaoi’s ultimate (Leap of Faith) punishes teams that are grouped up. Don’t give her the perfect fight – be spread out in team fights, especially in jungle corridors or around objectives. 

2. Bait her E before engaging

Her E is where she gets most of her damage and healing. Try to avoid or bait it out before committing to a fight. Without her E, she is much easier to deal with. 

3. Build anti-healing items

She has a ton of healing through tentacles and her passive. Anti-healing items like Mortal Reminder, Morellonomicon, or Chemtech Putrifier (depending on your champ) help reduce her healing.

4. Use split push champions

Champions like Fiora, Camille, Vayne, and Quinn are excellent for drawing Illaoi away from objectives and pressuring side lanes where she can’t impact teamfights easily.

5. Lock her down with hard CC

Illaoi is vulnerable to burst combos and crowd control chains. Champs like Vi, Lissandra, or Malzahar can prevent her from ulting or fighting back.

6. Do not let her get priorities on objectives 

If she is allowed to sit at Baron or Dragon first, it can end poorly. Use vision and as much poke as possible to force her to walk away before the fight happens.

Read also: How to beat the Godskin Duo in Elden Ring

Common Aussie mistakes to look out for 

• “She’s low, I’ll dive” – Never dive Illaoi under tower when her ult is up. You will die. Every time.
• Stacking up at river fights – Giving her a perfect ult by fighting in a clump at Baron or Dragon pit is asking to lose.
• Not buying anti-heal – Forgetting to itemise Grievous Wounds is a rookie error.

Final thoughts 

At first glance, Illaoi might feel like an unkillable nightmare, especially on Oceanic ping, where one mistimed sidestep can cost you the lane. But with the right Illaoi counter strategies—smart champion picks, itemisation, and intelligent play—she becomes manageable, and even beatable. 

Whether you’re climbing from Silver in Sydney or hitting Masters from Melbourne, don’t give Illaoi what she wants—a drawn-out 1v1 fight. Kite, burst, bait her E, and take control of the game.