This is a guide on how to counter Pyke and the champions Pyke is strong against.
Pyke’s got a list, and he’s checking it twice. Pyke is an extremely unique champion that elicits different playstyles from all players in the game. As a Pyke player, or ally of Pyke, you want to give him kills, even though Pyke is a support, you want him to be able to snowball. Pyke thrives on outliving skirmishes by being ahead, and recuperating out of combat using W and passive, then finishes the kills with Q, E, R combos. In this article i’ll be going over how to abuse Pyke’s late game fall-off, extreme squishiness, and high cooldowns to stop Pyke from crossing your name off his list.
Pyke’s Official Page: https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/game-info/champions/pyke/
Champions that counter Pyke:
5. Thresh
Thresh, The Chain Warden
- There are two easy ways to shutdown a Pyke, no matter the champion. Build tanky, and cc Pyke. Thresh does these both very well.
- With a normal Thresh build you will get naturally tanky, it is recommended to take relic shield in this matchup for health and regen
- Always try to save hook for when Pyke E’s in, once he does, flay him for the slow, guaranteeing the Q hit, this usually shuts down the Pyke until level 6.
Pyke Counter Rating: 85/100
4. Blitzcrank
Blitzcrank, The Great Steam Golem
- Very similar tactics as Thresh with Blitzcrank, you will naturally get tanky with you build.
- Try to stand slightly farther than melee auto range from your adc, you will want to sit there for when Pyke E’s forward, when he does, you will be in auto range of him, but will not get stunned by his E
- From there, follow up with the same combo as Thresh, E, Q. Shutting Pyke down until level 6.
Pyke Counter Rating 86/100
3. Tahm Kench
Tahm Kench, the river king
- Playing Tahm Kench against Pyke is fairly simple. Whenever Pyke engages on your adc, W him to safety
- If Pyke goes on you, try to stack your passive as fast as possible, then eat Pyke. This will put Pyke in a bad position and force him to run away.
- Later if Pyke tries to ult you, since his ult goes through shields, you will need to use something else to stay alive.
Pyke Counter Rating: 89/100
2. Alistar
Alistar, The Minotaur
- Alistar very effectively counters Pyke in 2 ways. He is much more tanky than other supports because of his ult, and unless Pyke E’s away, he has a guaranteed knock up with his W, Q combo.
- In lane, after level 2, the Pyke will have a hard time dealing with you. If Pyke Q’s you away, you still have your E to stun your target.
- Alistar can also knock Pyke away when he E’s forward, making Pyke miss his stun.
Pyke Counter Rating: 92/100
1. Braum
Braum, The Heart of the Freljord
- Braum is able to duel Pyke in his level 2 all-ins, when Pyke starts to fight, stack your Q asap, and shield your adc, allowing then to run away with minimal damage taken.
- In Late game team fights, Pyke will hover on the edge of the fight looking for a hook, make sure to have your W open, to dash to the person hooked, getting you passive stacked and tanking for your team.
Pyke Counter Rating: 95/100
Champions Pyke is Strong Against:
5. Zilean
Zilean, the chronokeeper
- Unlike Pyke’s counters, all of these champions are very squishy.
- Zilean has some counterplay to Pyke, as he can use to slow to create a big enough gap to make Pyke miss his stun.
- In general though, when Pyke hits his Q, Zilean cannot stop his all-in, and when Zilean revives an ally, if Pyke is fed, the ally is sometimes able to be executed immediately.
4. Lulu
Lulu, the Fae Sorceress
- Lulu has less options than Zilean, as her E is a shield, and her polymorph does not stop Pyke’s E.
- Lulu has to play very passive until 6, where sometimes the health from your ult is able to bait Pyke into a turret dive, where you can finish him off.
- A fed Pyke can often catch a Lulu out of position, so make sure to roam in pairs.
3. Nami
Nami, the tidecaller
- Once again, a similar playstyle to Lulu, but with some minor differences.
- Nami’s R, is much better at disengaging Pyke from the fight, allowing her to land her bubble.
- But, Nami has little to no way to help her ally except to spam her abilities in Pyke’s direction and hope that deters him from the fight.
2. Janna
Janna, the storm’s eye
- Janna has no targeted cc, making the lane a piece of cake for Pyke.
- While Janna is too fast to be caught out in the jg, she no tools until 6, to deflect an attack from Pyke, unless a prediction of when Pyke will E into a tornado, otherwise, your adc will have to farm under turret with you.
1. Sona
Sona, Maven of the Strings
- Sona is pretty much a target dummy for Pyke. Her Q and W do almost nothing, her E is slower than Pykes W.
- Her only saving grace is that Pyke can be easily caught of guard by her level 6. He will be used to be near your turret by then, so try to catch him under with your ult.
- Otherwise, Pyke outperforms Sona in every aspect until very late game teamfighting.
How to outsmart a Pyke player
- Pyke’s kit encourages greedy plays. So knowing this, if you are in execute range and have a heal/dodge, bait Pyke in. He will use his E and W to get in range, then, just as he R’s use your heal or dodge. This makes him over extended with no movement abilities, making him almost worthless for the time being.
- Due to Pyke’s inability to gain bonus health, in the late game, he can be easily zoned to the point where he can’t impact the team fight. If he does try to engage, because he is so squishy, he becomes an easy target.
- Pyke has long cooldowns at all stages of the game. If he misses, he can be easily forced away. Or if he goes to aggressive, he could have nothing to escape with, making for an easy kill.
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