Rek’Sai Counters: Who Beats Rek’Sai

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

Rek’Sai counters are junglers who punish physical damage and basic attacks, or who can block or cancel the lunge from Void Rush. She’s a 175 range bruiser who tunnels under the map, knocks enemies up when she surfaces, bites for true damage at full Fury and finishes targets with an untargetable lunge that hits harder the more maximum Health they have. The picks that beat her make her attacks hurt her, or take away the last hit.

Five junglers below, each backed by named abilities. Win-rate tables weren’t consulted.

Why is Rek’Sai hard to counter?

• Fury of the Xer’Sai (passive): Fury builds from her attacks and basic abilities, and she spends it while Burrowed to restore Health.
• Queen’s Wrath / Prey Seeker (Q): her next 3 attacks deal bonus physical damage to nearby enemies; while Burrowed, a burst of earth that damages and reveals. Cooldown 4 seconds at rank 1, 2 at rank 5.
• Burrow / Un-burrow (W): she burrows for new abilities and Move Speed, losing vision range and basic attacks; Unburrow knocks up and damages nearby enemies. Cooldown 4.
• Furious Bite / Tunnel (E): a bite for physical damage, or bonus true damage at max Fury; while Burrowed, a reusable long-lasting tunnel that enemies destroy by standing on either entrance. Cooldown 6.
• Void Rush (R): damaging targets marks them, and activating it makes her briefly untargetable as she lunges at a marked target for heavy damage based on maximum Health. Cooldown 120/100/80.

Rek’Sai controls the map. Tunnels let her cross the jungle fast, Prey Seeker reveals enemies without wards, and Unburrow gives her a knock-up that starts every gank. Void Rush then finishes the job without a chance to dodge, because she’s untargetable during the lunge. Here’s the thing, though. Her damage is physical and comes mostly through attacks, and tunnels can be destroyed by anyone who stands on an entrance. Junglers who exploit both make her life hard.

Which champions are the best Rek’Sai counters?

Rammus

Her damage is physical, and Rammus is built around Armor. When he curls up with Defensive Ball Curl (W), his resistances jump and every attack aimed at him bounces damage back, which turns Queen’s Wrath’s three empowered hits into self-harm. Frenzying Taunt (E) makes things worse for her, since a taunted Rek’Sai has no choice but to keep attacking. Spiked Shell (passive) feeds his Armor into his own Attack Damage, and Powerball (Q) rolls him across the jungle to reach her before she can dig back under, slowing her on impact. Soaring Slam (R) adds an area slow and a knock-up when cast mid-roll. Isn’t that the worst possible target for an attack-based bruiser? Pretty much.

Jax

For a moment, Counter Strike (E) makes every attack aimed at Jax miss, and then it ends in a stun around him. Rek’Sai’s empowered Queen’s Wrath hits and Furious Bite (an attack-based bite) are what she wants to land in that window. Leap Strike (Q) jumps him to any unit, so he can follow her through a tunnel exit. Grandmaster-at-Arms (R) grants Armor and Magic Resist on activation, and every third attack adds magic damage. Relentless Assault (passive) ramps his attack rate the longer he swings. In practice, she has to bait out Counter Strike before she can trade at all.

Poppy

Void Rush is a lunge, and Poppy’s Steadfast Presence (W) stops dashes near her, slowing and grounding the enemy it catches. Finisher on Poppy while it’s up? It stops short. Its passive half adds Armor and Magic Resist, rising as Poppy’s Health falls, which helps against Rek’Sai’s physical damage. Jungle walls everywhere. Heroic Charge (E) loves that. Keeper’s Verdict (R) knocks enemies very far away, which can send Rek’Sai back across the map. Iron Ambassador (passive) refreshes a shield when Poppy catches her buckler.

Kindred

Lamb’s Respite (R) stops anything from dying inside its zone until the effect ends, then heals everyone in it. Void Rush deals heavy damage based on maximum Health to finish a target. Inside Respite, that finish doesn’t kill. Dance of Arrows (Q) tumbles Kindred and fires arrows, Mounting Dread (E) slows the target and sets up Wolf’s pounce on the third attack, and Wolf’s Frenzy (W) sends Wolf to attack nearby enemies. Her 500 range keeps her out of Rek’Sai’s melee bite. Mark of the Kindred (passive) rewards hunting enemy camps, which pressures Rek’Sai’s jungle too.

Nocturne

Shroud of Darkness (W) is a barrier that blocks a single enemy ability, and blocking one doubles his passive Attack Speed. Hold it for Unburrow’s knock-up or the Void Rush lunge and the gank fizzles. Paranoia (R) cuts every enemy champion’s vision and lets Nocturne launch at one, which counters Rek’Sai’s map control as well. Unspeakable Horror (E) fears targets who stay in range. Duskbringer (Q) leaves a Dusk Trail for speed and damage, and Umbra Blades (passive) cleaves and heals him every few seconds. Honestly, a well-timed Shroud is the best answer to her ultimate on this list.

How do you play against Rek’Sai in the jungle?

• Stand on tunnel entrances to destroy them. Tunnels are reusable and long-lasting until an enemy stands on either end.
• Stay near allies when she has Void Rush. It lunges at a marked target for heavy damage based on maximum Health.
• Watch for Unburrow. It knocks up and damages nearby enemies when she surfaces.
• Remember that burrowed Rek’Sai can’t attack and has reduced vision range.
• Track her Fury; at max Fury, Furious Bite deals bonus true damage.

Which items counter Rek’Sai?

Her damage is physical and attack-heavy, so Armor is the first answer. Thornmail has 75 Armor and applies 40% Wounds when she attacks you, cutting the healing from Fury of the Xer’Sai. Plated Steelcaps knock 10% off each attack. Frozen Heart’s Winter’s Caress lowers nearby champions’ Attack Speed by 20%. One blocked ability can save a life here, and Annul (on Banshee’s Veil for mages, Edge of Night for AD) eats exactly one, the lunge or the knock-up. Damage dealers can lean on Executioner’s Calling for 800 gold to apply Grievous Wounds. The full list is in our LoL items database, and tanks who want Health in this matchup can look at Heartsteel.

When is Rek’Sai at her weakest?

Late. She’s strongest in the early skirmishes that her tunnels and knock-up set up, and as teams build Armor her physical damage falls off. Real talk: drag the game out.

The second window is after Void Rush. At 120 seconds at rank 1 (80 at rank 3), a spent ultimate means no untargetable finisher for the next fight. Look, most Rek’Sai ganks rely on the lunge to secure the kill, and without it a fleeing target usually escapes.

New to jungling? What junglers do all game is covered in our guide to LoL roles. Her skins can be found on the Rek’Sai skins page, the champion guides index lists everyone else, and the Rek’Sai ARAM guide covers her on the Howling Abyss. Long story short, Rek’Sai counters punish her attacks, block or survive the lunge, and break her tunnels.

FAQ

Who counters Rek’Sai the most?

Rammus and Jax, who punish her attacks; Poppy and Nocturne, who stop or block Void Rush; and Kindred, whose ultimate stops her finisher from killing.

How do you destroy Rek’Sai’s tunnels?

Stand on top of either entrance. Her tunnels are reusable and long-lasting until an enemy does that.

Can Rek’Sai attack while Burrowed?

No. While Burrowed she gains new abilities and Move Speed, but she can’t use basic attacks and her vision range is reduced.

What does Void Rush do?

Rek’Sai marks targets by damaging them, then activates it to become briefly untargetable and lunge at a marked target for heavy damage based on their maximum Health.

How were these Rek’Sai counters chosen?

Rek’Sai’s patch 26.21 kit was set against every jungler’s abilities, and these five answered it best. No win-rate data was used.