Rengar Counters: Who Beats Rengar

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

Rengar counters are junglers who stop his leap, punish his attacks, or simply survive his first burst and fight back. He’s a 125 range assassin who leaps from brush with his basic attack, empowers his next spell at max Ferocity, and turns invisible with Thrill of the Hunt to jump on a tracked target. The picks that beat him are tanky, attack-proof or able to cancel the jump.

Five junglers below, each supported by abilities from both kits. We didn’t use win-rate data.

Why is Rengar hard to counter?

• Unseen Predator (passive): from brush, his basic attack becomes a leap at the target. Abilities build Ferocity, and at max Ferocity his next ability is empowered. Champion kills add trophies to his Bonetooth Necklace for bonus Attack Damage.
• Savagery (Q): his next attack stabs for bonus damage; empowered, it hits harder and grants Attack Speed.
• Battle Roar (W): damages enemies and heals part of the damage he recently took; empowered, it also breaks crowd control.
• Bola Strike (E): a thrown bola that slows the first target it reaches, or roots it if Ferocity is full.
• Thrill of the Hunt (R): Camouflage, Move Speed and a reveal on the nearest enemy champion, plus a leap to that target without brush that reduces their Armor. Cooldown 100/90/80.

Look, he’s an all-in on a timer. Thrill of the Hunt finds you, the leap lands, an empowered Savagery or Bola Strike follows, and if you try to stun him, an empowered Battle Roar breaks it. Most of his damage arrives in the first two seconds (blink and you’re grey). The weak spots are just as clear. His leap is a dash, his damage comes through attacks, and once the burst is spent he’s a melee champion with no escape. Who stops the leap or soaks the burst? Those are the counters.

Which champions are the best Rengar counters?

Poppy

Rengar’s leap is a dash, and that’s exactly what Poppy’s Steadfast Presence (W) is built to catch. With it active, a dash near her stops short, and the attacker is left slowed and grounded beside her instead of on his target. That works against both his brush leap and the jump from Thrill of the Hunt. Her passive resistances from the same spell rise as her Health drops, which suits an assassin fight. Then Heroic Charge (E) pins him to a wall for a stun, and the jungle is full of walls. Keeper’s Verdict (R) launches him far from the fight if he goes for a carry.

Rammus

Every hit Rengar throws is physical, and most come through attacks. Rammus curled up in Defensive Ball Curl (W) has huge resistances and hurts anyone who attacks him, so an empowered Savagery into the ball costs Rengar more than it costs Rammus. Frenzying Taunt (E) then forces him to keep swinging. Spiked Shell (passive) turns that Armor into damage for Rammus. Powerball (Q) gets him to fights quickly, and Soaring Slam (R) slows an area. Will an empowered Battle Roar break the taunt? It can, so bait it first.

Jax

Jax answers with Counter Strike (E), a short window where attacks against him simply miss, closed by a stun on everyone nearby. Rengar’s burst is attacks wrapped around abilities, and the attacks miss. Time it for the leap. Leap Strike (Q) jumps Jax onto any unit, so he can chase Rengar after the trade. Grandmaster-at-Arms (R) gives Armor and Magic Resist on activation, and Relentless Assault (passive) ramps his Attack Speed in a longer fight, which Rengar wants to avoid. In practice, a Rengar who jumps into Counter Strike loses the trade outright.

Warwick

Warwick’s sustain is the problem for an assassin. Eternal Hunger (passive) heals him on every attack below 50% Health and triples the heal below 25%, and Jaws of the Beast (Q) heals for its damage. Rengar’s burst brings him low, which is exactly when Warwick heals the most. Primal Howl (E) trims incoming damage for 2.5 seconds before a howl sends nearby enemies running for 1 second (handy right after the leap). Infinite Duress (R) suppresses the first champion he collides with for 1.5 seconds, and Blood Hunt (W) speeds him toward low-Health enemies. A Rengar who fails to kill him gets chased down.

Udyr

Blazing Stampede (E) gives Move Speed and stuns each target on Udyr’s first attack against them. Recast, and he gains more speed plus immunity to immobilizing effects for a couple of seconds, which shrugs off an empowered Bola Strike root. Iron Mantle (W) adds a shield and a heal. His R, Wingborne Storm, wraps him in a slowing, damaging blizzard, and Wilding Claw (Q) speeds up his swings for the counterattack. Honestly, he’s built to survive the first two seconds that Rengar depends on.

How do you play against Rengar in the jungle?

• Stay away from brush you haven’t warded. Unseen Predator turns his attack into a leap from brush.
• Group up when Thrill of the Hunt is active. It reveals the nearest enemy champion, so the closest isolated target is his.
• Watch his Ferocity. At max, his next ability is empowered, and empowered Battle Roar breaks crowd control.
• Save your stun for after the empowered spell is spent.
• Track his trophies. Each champion kill grants bonus Attack Damage through his Bonetooth Necklace.

Which items counter Rengar?

He deals physical burst through attacks, so Armor and anti-burst items help most. Plated Steelcaps knock 10% off every attack, and Thornmail applies Wounds to him while adding 75 Armor. Guardian Angel’s Rebirth revives you after 4 seconds of Stasis, which wastes his whole combo. A mage who sees the leap coming can pop Zhonya’s Hourglass and sit out 2.5 seconds of the combo in Stasis. Randuin’s Omen cuts critical strike damage by 30%. Death’s Dance spreads his burst over 3 seconds. For more options, see our League item database, and tanks facing him can add Heartsteel for Health.

When is Rengar at his weakest?

After the burst. Once the leap lands and the empowered spell is spent, he’s a melee champion with no dash left and a Ferocity bar to rebuild. Fight him then, not before (patience wins this one).

The other window is when Thrill of the Hunt is on cooldown, which is 100 seconds at rank 1 and 80 at rank 3. Without it he can only leap from brush, so warded areas become safe. Funny enough, a team that wards every brush near the fight makes Rengar a very ordinary jungler.

New to the jungle role? Our guide to LoL roles covers it. If you’d rather browse how the Pridestalker looks across all his releases, every one of his cosmetics is collected on the Rengar skins page. Other champions are in the guide hub, and for random-champion games there’s the Rengar ARAM guide. Long story short, Rengar counters stop his leap, punish his attacks, and outlast the first two seconds.

FAQ

Who counters Rengar the most?

Poppy, who stops his leap; Rammus and Jax, who punish his attacks; and Warwick and Udyr, who survive his burst and fight back.

Can Poppy stop Rengar’s leap?

Yes. Steadfast Presence stops enemy dashes around her when active, and the leap is a dash. The stopped enemy is slowed and grounded.

What does Rengar’s empowered Battle Roar do?

At max Ferocity, Battle Roar also breaks crowd control effects on him, in addition to damaging enemies and healing him.

How long is Thrill of the Hunt’s cooldown?

100 seconds at rank 1, 90 at rank 2 and 80 at rank 3.

How were these Rengar counters chosen?

Rengar’s patch 26.21 ability text was compared with each jungler’s kit. No win-rate data was used.