Bard Counter: The Best Ways To Counter Bard (2019 Edition)

Updated:

14 Feb 2019

This is a guide on how to counter Bard, and the champions Bard is strong against

Bard is as enigmatic to himself as he is to the percent of league support mains that feed on him; he employs a lot of techniques that can make him very good or very bad and he is one of the strongest bot lane supports in terms of map presence in my humblest opinion.

His Q Cosmic Binding, is a missile that slows the first target hit.If the missile hits a target and also a wall the target will be snared but if the missile hits the target and another champion both will be snared, this works with minions as well.

Moving on to his passive Traveller’s Call is where a lot of games are lost for the enemy team, he spawns these chimes around the map that buff his auto attacks when he collects a certain amount, this passive makes him a champion who infinitely scales.

But remember how I mentioned that a lot of Bard player’s tend to feed?

I’ll give you 5 champions to help you make sure the feeding bard is on the enemy team in your games, here we go again summoners!

Champions Bard is weak against

1. Brand

Brand emmerging from wherever he came from..i guess a volcano? haha

Fire and brimstone gentle peoples fire and brimstone, this champion really turns up the heat on Bards who let their slippery feet carry them too far from under their tower. As a Brand player you have the choice of taking your W (Pillar of Flame) which explodes in an area and applies your passive (Blaze) or your Q (Sear). I recommend taking W first because the area is larger and Bard is surprisingly hard to hit with your Q because of his tiny little peg feet. So because you as Brand have better laning then Bard because he’s just a Squishymarshmallow you will need to

Sit in whatever bush your minion wave is next to and W Bard when he goes to poke your adc OR when he walks forward to ward the bush you’re in. Play the bush as much as you can as Brand you’ll zone him off the wave and force him to either take damage or roam
When he roams, all in his adc to force him back to lane and away from the chimes that he’s roaming to get
When you are level 6 use your ultimate Pyroclasm to all in Bard and his ADCadc. The ult bounces between targets 5 times and applies your passive (Blaze)
When harassing Bard, try to hit him with all your abilities because Blaze will activate and get him within kill range

Bard Counter Rating: 80/100

2. Blitzcrank

not this cool in game, sorry to crush your dreams -insert heart emoji-

If you like making laughable plays because your abilities scale 100 percent with ap, mana shields that activate when you take too much damage, and sitting in bushes scaring people because of a stray hook that just appears then Blitzcrank is your champion to counter Bard with. This champion is jam packed with tools that make a Bard’s life less than musical. Your Q (Rocket Grab) pulls your opponent and drags him back to you, your E (Power fist) knocks your opponent up and also deals damage and your R (Static Field) deals damage and silences all enemies within its range and your W (Overdrive) speeds you up and then slows you after a time. So in order to win against Bbard you need to

Play the bush and generate pressure there, the threat of a Bblitzcrank Q should make the Bard play back
Make sure you abuse his mistakes, position yourself in such a way that if he is open for a hook, go for it. It’s okay if you miss sometimes, as long as you know to pressure him
When he roams you won’t really be able to find him unless you’ve warded so in order to make his roam not worth, try to kill his ADCadc
Make sure you ult so that Bard can’t ult your team
Use your W as a scare tactic and just run at him like a wild buffalo

Bard Counter Rating: 100/100

3. Leona

not even a joke in the caption either

This champion is in your face constantly and it is the most irritating thing for any Bard player to deal with. She’s tanky, bursty, and hard to peel off when she’s on you and to top it all off, she’s Bard’s worst nightmare because of her Ult Solar Flare. Her E(Zenith Blade) extends outward and roots the opponent in place making it easy to follow up with her Q(Shield of Daybreak) which stun locks you into oblivion. Bard can’t peel leona off of himself because it’s possible for him to throw his Q behind her if she’s right on top of him, once you catch him off guard follow your E with your Q and your ult and then W(eclipse) to slow him for the kill secure.

At level 2 pressure Bard from the minion wave (make sure you get level two first, if you get level two first you can just all in him and try to get a flash or a heal out
At level 3 you can punish Bard for missteps because you’ll have all of your abilities, be sure to keep track of the enemy jungler because you don’t want to die while being in there.
At 6 lead with your ult if Bard is positioned safely against you, if you catch him in the center you can all in him once again

Bard Counter Rating: 95/100

4. Xerath

Fun Fact: Xerath comes in three different colors

Basically the widowmaker of the League of Legends world, this champions insane range makes Bards chances of winning into a long shot. Due to Xerath’s insanely long range he can cast abilities in lane without actually being seen by Bard, this gives him a unique advantage over the roaming Bard player. His E(shocking orb...shocking) is a little blue ball that creepily hovers toward the opponent and stuns them for a time, put this together with your W(Eye of Destruction a large circle of damage that does more damage in the center) to slow him and then charge your Q(Arcanopulse long range burst ability) up enough to hit him as he is slowed from your destructo eye wears off. This simple combo alone at higher levels is enough to chunk bard down, so make sure you’re poking with your abilities in lane and then autoing to restore your mana.

Charge your Q to catch Bard in it while he walks around, watch your mana bar closely, the Q is expensive
Coordinate through pings with your adc to get a good follow up on any landed stuns
When Bard is roaming try to sit around his chimes to catch him(because they almost always go for them)
Don’t ult in vision of Bard, try to ult at the max range of your ult to get all of your shots off without 1. Getting ulted or 2. Getting engaged on
Keep your distance from Bbard, he does do damage because he runs electrocute and you has the runic light stick (xerath) are squishy

Bard Counter Rating: 80/100

5. Annie

She has her own cinematic that I highly recommend you watch

The fire flower herself may be small but when she summons her ult “Tibbers!” her damage is big! What Annie lacks in range against Bard she makes up for in high damage abilities and a crippling stun, with Annie tick tick boom is more than just a song! Her Q is a point and click projectile that does damage and restores mana when she kills a unit with it, this will be your main form of poking so use this whenever possible while conserving mana. Annie is out ranged by Bard so you’ll want to play safe until you reach Level 6 then the fun begins: Flash ult him. At level 6 Bard can’t do anything against an Aannie flash ult except ult you, and if you’ve picked up a needlessly large rod at some point before 6 you’ll be able to kill him. So in order to get to this kill point

Make sure to charge your stun with your Q at level one, make sure that you’re poking the enemy adc with your Q within reason. *there’s no reason to take excess damage* at level 2 take your E to charge up that stun
When your stun is ready there will be swirls around Annie’s body, use this to zone Bard away from your ADCadc for fear of being stunned
At level 6 flash and all in Bard with your R (Tibbers) W him and Q him while weaving autos in, use your ignite and bam he should die (unless he has MR in his runes then you’ll need adc help)

As always ladies and gentlemen a guide is not a guide unless i also tell you 5 champions that Bard absolutely smashes right? Let’s take a magical journey into the world of champions bard destroys!

Bard Counter Rating: 98/100

Champions Bard is strong against

1. Pyke, he’s on Bard’s list

Pyke in his premier photo

This drowned seaman is the beginning of a lot of woes for many players of league of legends not just supports. The only things that us as bard mains need to worry about is his Q (Bone skewer) pulls you and flips you over him, and his ultimate ability (Death from below) is an execute that is dodgeable. As Bard our goal in lane against pyke is to stun him when he goes for a harpoon, and poke him when he misses it.

Make sure you’re poking pyke as this will keep him away from you and trying to heal the damage with his passive
Beware of his W, he goes invisible but you’ll see shark tales under your feet
Use your ultimate to protect yourself if he tries to ult you, mind the timing because it’s tricky

2. Braum, standing behind this guy will get you killed

I don't even know when this skin came out, but it's fantastic no?

“Stand behind Braum” is quite literal because he jumps to allied champions with his W and then uses his E shield to create a literal wall that blocks projectiles and auto attacks. His R his a knock up that deals damage and knocks up enemies in a line Many Braum players will W and then Q which is a devastating combo at higher levels because it scales from Braums health so please avoid this. As Bard our only job in lane is to stand behind minions and Q auto him off cooldown. Very important, Q off cooldown because when you run out of mana you need need to roam for your chimes to stack your passive, Braum can’t match your roam so it’s best to ping your laner to back off while you’re out chiming.

Q Braum off cooldown, and use your auto attack on him whenever your meeps are up
Hold off on autoing when you see his wall go up as it will just be blocked
In a braum lane you can use your ult to either engage or disengage the enemy when Braum’s stun or knock up lands
If you’re losing lane to Braum build a knights vow as this will give you and your adc survivability

3. Alistar, don’t head butt me!?

Hextech Alistar, it costs 10 gemstones in the loot section of the client

This headbutting cow man is a force to be reckoned with, his ferocious W(headbutt) mixed with his devastating Q (Pulverize) and the hard spike he delivers from his E(Trample) is enough to shake the very soul of any bard player that understands matchups. But don’t be afraid because Alistar, similar to Braum is pokeable and highly receptive to disruption. In this matchup I tend to use my ADC as bait because if alistar goes in on them, i’m free to use my Q to peel him off.

Let your adc take the cc IF you know they will not die, most of the time though it’s better to just respect his power and poke him from afar
Do not go for more damage onto alistar unless you stun him, because bard’s range is within the range of alistar’s headbutt
Make sure you’re using your meep because those autos are empowered
Ult Alistar if you think your adc will die, this gives you time to put out your W (caretaker’s shrine) which heals for a bigger amount as it charges

4. Sona, because she’s just too squishy

The ultimate skin and my personal favorite

Sona matchups for Bard are really dependent on the skill level of both players, in a lot of ways she out damages and out sustains him in many ways but for if you position yourself correctly and of course don’t mind taking damage you’ll actually just counter the mess out of her. Watch out for her Q power cord poke, that’s the most burst you’ll take from her at level 1 so abuse the fact that your level 1 is way stronger.

As i said above Q Ssona then auto attack her to proc electrocute, at level 1 sona wouldn’t have taken her heal so this gives you a huge pre 2 advantage
Sprawl your W (caretaker shrine) around the lane so that they charge and can just be run into to sustain
Watch out for Ssona’s E its a speed buff and it’s good for bringing people in and taking them out so please play according to this fact

5. Thresh, melee range hah

High noon thresh is literally so beautiful

Thresh is a silly melee champion and Bard likes to hit him, so that’s what you’ll need to do. As mentioned above Bard has a strong level one so you want to make sure to get damage down on thresh in this time. Some Tthresh’s start E(flay) and it goes through minions and will pull you back a little, watch out for this because this is an easy way to lose most level 1 trades. If the Tthresh takes his Q(hook) it’s a lot more manageable of a lane

Play aggressively level 1 if Tthresh has taken his Q, play safely while poking when you can if Thresh has taken E
Some Tthresh players will walk up really far to auto attack you, or to force pressure this makes way for an easy stun.
As usual when you run out of mana go for chimes but be careful because thresh can match your roam and catch you out very easily, make sure you’re carrying control wards with you at all times

5. Rakan, handsome at least?

Rakan does not have any skin spash arts without Xayah in them

Rakan really does just struggle against Bard, the struggle is so real for this champion that I have no jokes to tell whatsoever. As I continually reiterate Bard is incredibly strong early game and he outclasses many supports at level 1 rakan is no exception to this rule. You’ll need to watch for his W as it is a knockup, and a cc’d Bard is a dead Bard (this isn’t always a fact but I want you to play like cc is going to one shot you). At level 6 watch for rakan’s ultimate because he will chain it with his W to cc you for longer.

Poke Rakan as you can a level 1 and use your Q to prock electrocute, Rakan has a passive shield that helps him against your poking so make sure you conserve mana as poking him out of lane takes a while
If Rakan misses his knock up he will E to his ADCadc so you’ll want to hold your stun for this because while he’s on top of his adc you can stun both
At level 6 Rakan will be engaging more often because his engage at this point becomes a knockup and a charm so position yourself in such a way that he won’t be able to hit you with this.
You can buy merc treads if you can’t really dodge this will reduce the charm time on you

How to outsmart a Bard Player

As a Bard player my main goal is to poke you down with my high damage, and continue scaling so that I can help my team’s damage throughout the entire match.

Ward your lane to keep Bard from roaming without punishment

His Q is his best damage ability and it is his only damage ability so if He misses it well he’s screwed, his only only choice here is to kite you.

If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge this Q

His W can be stepped on by you, the enemy player so make sure to crush these so that bard loses sustain.

Pay attention to the W placement they are big green balls

His E can be taken by the enemy as well but my goal is to make you go through it so i can stun you and escape you. So don’t fall for it don’t be lazy and go around.

Stay away from the tunnel

This is a skin concept created by someone in the community

Here we are at the end, I sincerely hope this information will solve your Bard woes, today we touched base on the champions Bard is strong against, champions that bard is weak against, and some insight into a Bard player’s mind and how to counter them. Keep these tips in mind the next time you see a Bardo somewhere on your rift and as always, Climb that ladder! Good luck out there Summoners!