Bard Counters: Who Beats Bard

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.

Bard counters are supports who catch him while he roams, punish the moments he leaves his carry alone, and make his stun hard to land. Bard is a 500-range support with no dash of his own; his escape is a portal through terrain that enemies can use too.

Our five come from reading his patch 26.21 kit side by side with each rival’s. Pick rates and win rates stayed out of it.

Why is Bard tricky to play against?

• Traveler’s Call (passive): meeps add magic damage to his basic attacks, and with enough Chimes they splash and slow. Chimes spawn around the map and give experience, Mana and out of combat Move Speed.
• Cosmic Binding (Q): a missile that slows the first enemy hit and keeps going; it stuns that target if it hits a wall, or stuns both if it hits a second enemy. Cooldown 11/10/9/8/7.
• Caretaker’s Shrine (W): a Health shrine that powers up over time, then heals and speeds up the first ally who touches it.
• Terrain portal (E): a portal through nearby terrain that allies and enemies alike can ride one way. Cooldown 22/20.5/19/17.5/16.
• Tempered Fate (R): spirit energy that puts every champion, minion, monster and turret it hits into stasis for a brief time. Cooldown 110/95/80.

Chimes pull him out of lane. That’s the whole design: Bard walks the map collecting them, which makes his meeps stronger, and each trip leaves his ADC alone in a two-versus-one. When he is in lane, Cosmic Binding threatens a stun on anything standing near a wall or behind a minion, and Tempered Fate can freeze a fight (his own team included, if he’s careless). What does he lack? Hard engage and any reliable way out once caught. His E portal needs terrain nearby, and the enemy can follow him through it. So counters do one of two things: they pull him into a bad position before he can portal, or they bully his ADC every time he leaves.

Which supports are the best Bard counters?

Blitzcrank

Rocket Grab (Q) drags an enemy on its path straight back to Blitzcrank, and Bard has no dash to dodge it. Power Fist (E) doubles the next attack’s damage and pops him into the air, which stops him casting Cosmic Binding in reply. Overdrive (W) brings a burst of Move Speed and Attack Speed for chasing him down a river while he’s out collecting Chimes (Blitzcrank is slowed for a moment once it ends, so time it). Static Field (R) marks enemies hit by Blitzcrank’s attacks; the active strips shields, damages and briefly silences everyone nearby. A silenced Bard can’t open a portal. Real talk, one grab on a roaming Bard usually ends in a kill.

Nautilus

Nautilus brings more lockdown than Bard can answer. Dredge Line (Q) hooks an enemy and pulls the two together, Staggering Blow (passive) roots on the first attack against a target, and Depth Charge (R) is a point-and-click shockwave that chases a champion, knocking up everyone along the way and stunning the target. Bard can’t step out of that ult. Titan’s Wrath (W) shields Nautilus and makes his attacks damage nearby enemies, and Riptide (E) sends out three exploding waves that slow. Hooking into a wall does something useful too: it pulls Nautilus toward terrain, which is how he follows Bard’s portal path or closes the gap from an odd angle.

Leona

Zenith Blade (E) dashes Leona to the last enemy champion it hits and briefly immobilizes them. From there, Shield of Daybreak (Q) stuns with the next basic attack, and that chain lands before Bard finds a wall for Cosmic Binding. Eclipse (W) gives Damage Reduction, Armor and Magic Resist, so meep damage barely registers. Solar Flare (R) stuns in the center of its beam and slows at the edges, which works well on a Bard standing behind his ADC. Sunlight (passive) marks targets her spells damage, and an ally hitting them consumes it for bonus magic damage. Thing is, Leona wants to fight every few seconds, and Bard wants to leave.

Pyke

Bone Skewer (Q) either stabs in front of Pyke or pulls an enemy toward him. Ghostwater Dive (W) puts him into Camouflage with Move Speed that fades over time, ideal for meeting Bard in a river while he’s chasing a Chime. Phantom Undertow (E) dashes and leaves a phantom that returns along the path, stunning enemy champions it passes. Then Death From Below (R) blinks to a low-Health enemy and executes, recasting if it kills. Gift of the Drowned Ones (passive) heals recent champion damage while Pyke is hidden. Funny enough, Bard’s best tool against Pyke is his own shrine, healing his carry out of execute range.

Zyra

Zyra punishes the lane, not the roam. She has 575 range to Bard’s 500, and her plants deal damage in lane while Bard is three screens away hunting Chimes. Deadly Spines (Q) explodes in an area and grows a Thorn Spitter near a seed, Grasping Roots (E) roots everyone the vines pass and grows a slowing Vine Lasher, and Rampant Growth (W) plants seeds that last up to 60 seconds. Her ultimate, Stranglethorns, throws everyone inside into the air when the thicket pulls shut. Garden of Thorns (passive) spawns seeds on its own, faster with level. Put simply, Bard’s ADC spends every roam fighting a garden.

How should Bard counters play the lane?

• Punish the roam. When Bard leaves to collect Chimes, his ADC is alone; trade hard or take a turret plate.
• Stay away from walls when he’s near. Cosmic Binding stuns its first target only if it hits terrain or a second enemy.
• Don’t stand behind your own minion. Cosmic Binding hitting a minion first, then you, is still a double stun.
• Watch the E portal. The portal works for enemies too, so you can follow Bard through it.
• Bait Tempered Fate. At rank 1 it’s a 110 second cooldown, and once it’s spent his team loses its main fight setup.

What items help against Bard?

Tenacity and a stasis of your own. Bard’s damage is low, so the threat is crowd control: Mercury’s Treads give 30 Tenacity for shorter stuns and slows, and Mikael’s Blessing lets a support remove crowd control from an ally (suppression and knock-ups excluded). Zhonya’s Hourglass on a mage gives a self-stasis to answer a badly placed Tempered Fate. To be fair, item choices matter less here than map awareness. Full numbers for all of these sit in our LoL item index.

When is Bard at his weakest?

Early, with few Chimes. His meeps only splash and slow after he’s collected enough of them, so the first levels are when his basic attacks are just basic attacks. Is he worth all-ining at level 2? Often, yes, with an engage support.

And alone. A roaming Bard has no escape without terrain nearby, and the portal sits at 22 seconds at rank 1 (for what it’s worth, a ward in the river tells you where he’s headed). Blitzcrank and Pyke both turn that walk into a death.

Still learning the support role? Our guide to roles in LoL starts there. Other champions we’ve written up sit in the guides section, his cosmetics are on the Bard skins page, and the one-lane version of him is in our Bard ARAM guide. Long story short, Bard counters catch him on the roam and punish the ADC he leaves behind.

FAQ

Who counters Bard the most?

Supports with hooks, engage or lane pressure: Blitzcrank, Nautilus, Leona, Pyke and Zyra.

How do you avoid Bard’s stun?

Cosmic Binding stuns only if the missile hits a wall or a second enemy after the first one. Stay away from walls and don’t line up behind minions or allies.

Can enemies use Bard’s portal?

Yes. His E opens a portal that allies and enemies alike can travel through one way.

What is Tempered Fate’s cooldown?

Tempered Fate has a cooldown of 110/95/80 seconds.

How were these Bard counters chosen?

Each pick had to catch Bard without his portal, lock him down before he can stun, or punish his lane when he roams, judged from patch 26.21 ability text. No win rates were used.