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Fizz Counters: Who Beats Fizz

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

Fizz counters are mid laners who punish his dashes, lock him down the moment he lands, or survive his burst with a shield or stasis. He’s a 175-range assassin who dashes in with Urchin Strike, dodges with Playful / Trickster, and sets up kills with a shark.

We judged the five below on their patch 26.21 kits against his. Win rates? Not part of it.

Fizz counters: Fizz, the Tidal Trickster, splash art

Why is Fizz so slippery?

  • Nimble Fighter (passive): he moves through units and takes a flat amount less damage from every source.
  • Urchin Strike (Q): a dash that passes through its target, dealing magic damage and applying on-hit effects on the way. Cooldown 8/7.5/7/6.5/6.
  • Seastone Trident (W): attacks bleed for magic damage over time; the active empowers his next attack and the ones after it briefly. Cooldown 7/6/5/4/3.
  • Playful / Trickster (E): hops onto his spear and becomes untargetable, then slams down or jumps again. Cooldown 16/14/12/10/8.
  • Chum the Waters (R): a fish that latches onto a champion and slows, then a shark that knocks the target up and nearby enemies aside. Cooldown 120/100/80.

His whole plan is to be somewhere you aren’t aiming. Urchin Strike puts him behind you, Playful / Trickster takes him out of targeting entirely for a moment, and Nimble Fighter shaves a flat chunk off every small hit (minion damage, early poke, that sort of thing). The shark lands the kill. The gap is simple. He’s melee once he lands, and after Playful / Trickster he has to come down somewhere. Lock him on the ground there, interrupt the dash, or survive the combo with a shield, and he’s a short-range champion standing next to you with everything on cooldown.

Which mid laners are the best Fizz counters?

Lissandra

Ring of Frost (W) roots everyone around Lissandra, and that’s exactly where Fizz lands after Urchin Strike. Frozen Tomb (R) has two uses here: on Fizz, it freezes him in a stun; on herself, it makes her untargetable and invulnerable while healing, which wastes the shark entirely. Ice Shard (Q) slows and pierces through targets, and Glacial Path (E) sends a claw she can teleport to, an escape when he tries to chase. Iceborn Subjugation (passive) turns enemy champions who die near her into Frozen Thralls that slow, then shatter. Honestly, she’s the cleanest answer in the role.

Galio

Thing is, Galio is built to soak magic damage, and Fizz deals nothing else. Shield of Durand (W) charges a defensive stance, then releases a taunt that pulls him back to Galio, Playful / Trickster or not. Justice Punch (E) steps back and charges, knocking up the first champion it meets, and Winds of War (Q) fires two blasts that merge into a damaging tornado. Hero’s Entrance (R) gives every ally near the landing spot a magic shield, then knocks up enemies, which makes the shark much less scary for a teammate across the map. Colossal Smash (passive) adds area magic damage to an attack every few seconds.

Annie

Annie has 625 range and a stun she can store. Pyromania (passive) makes her next offensive spell stun after four casts, and she starts the game and every respawn with it ready, so Fizz walks into a loaded stun from level 1. Molten Shield (E) gives a shield, a burst of Move Speed, and damage back to anyone who hits her. Disintegrate (Q) refunds its Mana on a kill, Incinerate (W) burns a cone, and Summon: Tibbers (R) drops a bear that damages and keeps attacking. Timing the stun against a hopping Fizz takes practice (wait for him to come down, then throw it).

Vex

Real talk, Fizz dashes, and Vex is paid for every dash she sees. Each nearby dash marks him for bonus damage, and cashing it in shortens the wait for her empowered state. When that state is up, her next basic ability fears and interrupts dashes, so an Urchin Strike in flight stops dead. Looming Darkness (E) leaves a slowing zone, Personal Space (W) shields her and hits nearby enemies, and Mistral Bolt (Q) speeds up mid-flight. Her ultimate tags a champion from range and then carries her to them. Put simply, Fizz cannot play his game without feeding her passive.

Malzahar

Suppression doesn’t care how slippery Fizz is. Nether Grasp (R) holds him in place over a damaging zone, and once he’s grounded there, Playful / Trickster isn’t coming out. Call of the Void (Q) silences with two portals, so a well-placed pair blocks his dodge before he uses it. Malefic Visions (E) keeps ticking damage over time, Void Swarm (W) sends Voidlings at him, and Void Shift (passive) blunts his opening hit with damage reduction and crowd control immunity if Malzahar hasn’t been hit recently. The catch? Malzahar has to catch him on the ground first.

How should Fizz counters play the lane?

  • Hold your crowd control until he lands. Playful / Trickster makes him untargetable while he’s on his spear.
  • Dodge the fish. Chum the Waters only latches onto a champion it touches, and the shark follows after a short delay.
  • Trade after his E is down. It’s a 16 second cooldown at rank 1, his only defensive tool.
  • Don’t stand behind your own minions expecting safety. Nimble Fighter lets him move through units.
  • Ping his level 6. The shark is his kill setup, at roams too.

Which items help Fizz counters?

A way to survive the burst. With Zhonya’s Hourglass, a mage can freeze for 2.5 seconds as the shark rises, and it bites empty air. Banshee’s Veil blocks one enemy ability, so the shark or the Urchin Strike dash can be the one it eats. All his damage is magic, so Mercury’s Treads and Magic Resist items help any champion. Stats for each are in our League item listing.

When is Fizz weakest?

Before level 6. Without Chum the Waters, his kill pressure is Urchin Strike plus a few bleeding attacks, and a ranged mage who pokes him off the wave keeps him behind (for what it’s worth, Annie and Vex are both at their best here). Does he scale out of it? Yes, after his first big AP item, which is why the early lead matters.

Look at the moment right after Playful / Trickster, too. It’s his dodge, his escape and half his engage at once, so once it’s on cooldown he’s a melee champion with a short dash and nothing else.

Still figuring out mid? Our League lanes explained page covers it. More of our champion write-ups are in the guide list, and his cosmetics sit on the Fizz skins page. In short, Fizz counters wait for him to land.

FAQ

Who counters Fizz the most?

Mid laners with point-and-click crowd control, dash punishment or stasis: Lissandra, Galio, Annie, Vex and Malzahar.

Can you hit Fizz during his E?

No. Playful / Trickster makes him untargetable while he’s on his spear. Save crowd control for when he lands.

How do you dodge Fizz’s shark?

Chum the Waters attaches only if the fish touches a champion. If it lands on the ground, the shark still erupts after a delay, so walk away from it.

What is the cooldown of Playful / Trickster?

Playful / Trickster has a cooldown of 16/14/12/10/8 seconds.

How were these Fizz counters chosen?

Each pick had to punish or interrupt his dashes, lock him down when he lands, or survive his burst, judged from patch 26.21 ability text. Win rates were not used.