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Janna Counters: Who Beats Janna

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

Janna counters are supports who out-range her, block her knock-ups, or burst through Eye of the Storm before it matters. She’s a 550-range enchanter built to disengage: a tornado that knocks enemies away, a slow, a shield that adds Attack Damage, and an ultimate that throws everyone back and then heals her team.

Every pick here was made by reading her patch 26.21 ability text against the counter’s own kit. Statistics didn’t come into it.

Janna counters: Janna, the Storm's Fury, splash art

Why is Janna hard to counter?

  • Tailwind (passive): allies moving toward her gain Move Speed, and she turns a portion of her bonus Move Speed into bonus magic damage on hit and with Zephyr.
  • Howling Gale (Q): a storm that grows the longer she holds it, then flies in the cast direction, damaging and knocking away enemies in its path. Cooldown 14.
  • Zephyr (W): passively adds Move Speed and lets her pass through units; on activation it damages and slows an enemy. Cooldown 8/7.5/7/6.5/6.
  • Eye Of The Storm (E): a shield on an ally champion or turret that also increases their Attack Damage. Cooldown 16/15/14/13/12.
  • Monsoon (R): a storm around her that throws enemies back, then heals nearby allies while it lasts. Cooldown 130/115/100.

Janna’s whole kit says one thing: go away. Howling Gale knocks you off whoever you were diving, Monsoon throws the whole enemy team back at once and heals her side afterward, and Eye of the Storm absorbs the burst you did manage to land. That’s hard to fight with melee engage supports (Leona players know the feeling). It’s much easier when you never have to walk in at all, or when your crowd control can’t be undone by a knock-up, because her damage is low and she has no dash, only Zephyr’s Move Speed and the ability to pass through units. Make her the one who has to react, and she runs out of answers quickly (her Q is a flat 14 seconds at every rank).

Which champions are the best Janna counters?

Morgana

Morgana’s E, Black Shield, soaks up magic damage and any disabling effect thrown at the ally wearing it, right up until it pops. Janna’s peel is all disabling effects: the Howling Gale knock-up, the Monsoon knockback, the Zephyr slow. Shield your diver and her toolkit has nothing to grip. Dark Binding (Q) roots her in place, and with no dash she has to eat the full duration, while Soul Shackles (R) tethers nearby champions and stuns anyone who can’t break the chains in time. Soul Siphon (passive) heals Morgana off her damage to champions, which keeps her topped up through the poke Janna trades with.

Swain

Nevermove (E) sends a wave out, roots whoever it hits on the way back, and then lets Swain drag every rooted champion closer. Janna’s game is distance. Swain removes it. Vision of Empire (W) reveals and slows champions it hits, Death’s Hand (Q) pierces and stacks damage for each bolt that connects, and Demonic Ascension (R) drains Health from everything nearby for as long as he keeps draining champions. Monsoon can throw him back, sure, but it’s a 130 second cooldown at rank 1, and Nevermove comes back faster while he’s in demon form.

Brand

Blaze (passive) sets targets on fire over 4 seconds, stacks up to 3 times, and at max stacks on a champion detonates for heavy area damage. That’s a lot of damage to soak with one Eye of the Storm. Sear (Q) stuns targets who are already ablaze, Pillar of Flame (W) hits an area after a short delay and deals extra damage to burning units, and Conflagration (E) spreads to nearby enemies. Pyroclasm (R) bounces up to 5 times between enemies, prioritizing the Blaze stacks. In practice, Janna can shield one ally per cast. Brand sets the whole bot lane on fire.

Senna

600 range against 550, and Absolution (passive) adds Attack Range as Senna collects Mist over the game. Janna can’t knock away someone she can’t reach. Last Embrace (W) roots the enemy it latches onto and everything near them after a short delay, Piercing Darkness (Q) damages enemies and heals allies through a target, and Curse of the Black Mist (E) makes Senna and her allies camouflaged, unselectable wraiths with extra Move Speed. Dawning Shadow (R) is a global beam that shields her team and damages enemies in its center. Honestly, it’s a poke-and-root lane that Janna never gets to disengage from.

Vel’Koz

Organic Deconstruction (passive) stacks on every ability hit, and the third stack deals a burst of true damage. Plasma Fission (Q) splits on reactivation and slows, Void Rift (W) bursts twice, and Tectonic Disruption (E) knocks up enemies in an area. The key piece is Life Form Disintegration Ray (R): a channelled beam that follows the cursor for 2.5 seconds and switches to true damage on champions he’s researched with his passive. Monsoon throws enemies back. Does that matter to a beam aimed from range? Not much. The catch is Vel’Koz’s own 525 range, a touch shorter than hers, so he lands his poke with abilities rather than attacks.

How do you play the lane against Janna?

  • Wait out Howling Gale. It’s her main peel, on a 14 second cooldown at every rank, and it’s charged in plain sight before she releases it.
  • Don’t engage straight into Monsoon. It throws enemies back and then heals her allies, so engaging just before she casts it wastes your whole combo.
  • Trade when Eye of the Storm is down. At rank 1 it’s a 16 second cooldown, and it shields only one ally or turret at a time.
  • Poke from range rather than engaging. She has no dash, and her damage comes mostly from Zephyr and Tailwind’s on-hit bonus.
  • Apply Grievous Wounds before the ultimate. Monsoon’s heal comes after the knockback, so Wounds already on her allies reduce it.

Which items counter Janna?

Grievous Wounds first, since Monsoon heals her whole team after the knockback. Oblivion Orb costs 800 gold and applies 40% Wounds for 3 seconds whenever its holder deals magic damage to champions, which suits mage supports like Brand or Vel’Koz. Morellonomicon is the finished version, with 75 Ability Power and 350 Health added. Physical carries can buy Executioner’s Calling or Mortal Reminder for the same Wounds effect. Against the slow from Zephyr, Mercury’s Treads give 30% Tenacity, and Mikael’s Blessing lets a support remove crowd control from an ally, though it excludes Airborne, so it won’t undo a Howling Gale knock-up. For the full stat lines of each, see our items database.

When is Janna at her weakest?

Right after she’s spent Howling Gale and Monsoon. Those are her two knock effects, a 14 second cooldown on the Q and 130 seconds on the ultimate at rank 1, and without them she’s a 550-range champion with a slow, a shield and no way to push a diver off her carry. That’s the engage window. Long story short, bait one, then commit after the other is down.

She’s also weak against poke she can’t answer. Tailwind’s bonus damage and Zephyr’s slow are short-range tools, and Eye of the Storm protects one target per cast. Can a poke support just out-trade her? Often, yes, and that’s why mages and Senna do well here.

Still learning what a support is supposed to do? The guide to LoL roles walks through every position and how supports split lane duties with their marksman (the short version: you protect, they farm). Other champions? Try the guide hub. Her cosmetics are on the Janna skins page, and the Howling Abyss is covered in the Janna ARAM guide. Put simply, Janna counters stay out of her range or ignore her knock-ups, and Morgana’s Black Shield does the second better than anyone.

FAQ

Who counters Janna the most?

Supports who out-range her, block her crowd control or burst through her shield: Morgana, Swain, Brand, Senna and Vel’Koz.

Does Black Shield block Janna’s knock-ups?

Yes, while it lasts. The shield takes magic damage and disabling effects for its ally until enough damage breaks it. Howling Gale’s knock-up and Monsoon’s knockback are disabling effects, so a shielded ally ignores them while the shield holds.

How long is Howling Gale’s cooldown?

Howling Gale has a 14 second cooldown at every rank. The storm grows while she holds it, then knocks away enemies in its path when released.

Does Grievous Wounds reduce Monsoon’s healing?

Yes. Monsoon heals nearby allies after the knockback, and Wounds reduce healing on affected champions. The cheapest ways to get Wounds are the two small components, Oblivion Orb for mages and Executioner’s Calling for attackers.

Why are there no win rates here?

Because none were used. Five kits went up against Janna’s patch 26.21 abilities, and the ones that answered her knock-ups, shield or range made the list.