Shaco Counters: Who Beats Shaco

Updated for patch 26.22. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.

Shaco counters are junglers who survive his first burst and punish him once Deceive is spent: tanks that return his damage, fighters who heal through it, and anyone who can lock him down after he shows himself. Shaco is a 125 range assassin who wins on surprise. Take away the surprise and the boxes, though, and what’s left is a fragile melee champion with one teleport and a pile of cooldowns.

The five junglers below were picked by reading each kit against his. Win rates played no part.

Why is Shaco hard to counter?

• Backstab (passive): basic attacks and Two-Shiv Poison deal extra damage when he strikes from behind.
• Deceive (Q): he turns Invisible and teleports to a target location; his first attack while Invisible is empowered and crits from behind. Cooldown 13/12.5/12/11.5/11.
• Jack In The Box (W): a hidden box that fears and attacks nearby enemies when triggered. Cooldown 15.
• Two-Shiv Poison (E): his shivs poison and slow on hit, and the thrown shiv deals bonus damage to targets below 30% health. Cooldown 8.
• Hallucinate (R): an illusion of Shaco that attacks nearby enemies and, on death, explodes into three mini boxes. Cooldown 100/90/80.

Every Shaco gank follows one script. He walks in Invisible, teleports behind you with Deceive, lands an empowered crit, then throws a shiv as your health drops under 30%. Boxes placed earlier fear you in place while he finishes. Is there a fair fight anywhere in that? Not really, and that’s the design. The good news is that each piece has a cooldown, and once Deceive is used he has no second escape in his kit except Hallucinate’s decoy.

Which champions are the best Shaco counters?

Warwick

Blood Hunt (W) lets Warwick sense enemies below 50% health and gives him Move Speed toward them, so a Shaco who took damage on a gank can’t quietly walk off. Under 25% the bonuses triple. Primal Howl (E) grants damage reduction for 2.5 seconds, which is exactly the window Deceive’s crit wants, and the howl at the end makes nearby enemies flee for a second. Then Jaws of the Beast (Q) bites based on maximum health and heals him for the damage. His passive heals off each hit too. When the jester tries to slip away, the ultimate leap pins him with a 1.5 second suppression (no box fear gets Shaco out of that).

Rammus

Rammus is the matchup Shaco players dread. Curled up with his W, the Armordillo bounces damage back at whoever hits him, and Shaco’s whole kit is hitting things. Those extra resistances feed his passive damage as well. Once Shaco reveals himself, Frenzying Taunt (E) forces him into a reckless assault on Rammus, which means more hits into the curl. Powerball (Q) chases and slows, and Soaring Slam (R) adds a knock-up when cast from inside Powerball. Honestly, a backstab on a curled Rammus mostly hurts Shaco.

Lee Sin

Tempest (E) sends out a shockwave that deals magic damage and reveals enemy units hit, and Cripple then slows them. Sonic Wave (Q) locates an enemy, and Resonating Strike dashes to whoever it hit, dealing more damage the more health they’re missing. Safeguard (W) dashes to an ally and shields Lee Sin, so he can answer a Shaco gank on his laner from across the river. Dragon’s Rage (R) kicks the target away and knocks up anyone they collide with. In practice, Lee Sin is the jungler who can find Shaco and follow him, which is rare.

Kindred

Kindred’s ultimate draws a circle in which no unit can die for its duration, and everyone inside gets healed when it ends. Shaco’s plan is one burst on one target. A zone that blocks the kill wastes Deceive, the crit and the shiv execute in one cast. Kindred also fights from 500 range, so Mounting Dread (E) slows him from distance, and two more attacks send Wolf in to savage the target. Dance of Arrows (Q) tumbles her out of a box’s fear radius (well, if she sees the box in time). Mark of the Kindred (passive) rewards hunts with stronger basic abilities.

Nunu & Willump

For a tank jungler with healing, Nunu & Willump fits. Consume (Q) bites a minion, monster or champion and heals Willump, which undoes a chunk of a failed gank. Snowball Barrage (E) throws snowballs and then roots any champion that was hit, and a rooted Shaco can’t walk out of the fight he started. Biggest Snowball Ever! (W) rolls into a knock-up, and Absolute Zero (R) slows everything in a big blizzard before the final hit. Call of the Freljord (passive) speeds up Willump and a nearby ally, handy when chasing a jester who just used Deceive.

How do you play against Shaco in the jungle?

• Track Deceive. Its cooldown is 13 seconds at rank 1 and 11 at rank 5; once it’s down, he can’t reposition behind you.
• Keep your back covered. Backstab only adds damage from behind, so turning to face him trims every hit.
• Clear boxes before you fight near them. Jack In The Box fears and attacks when triggered, and it comes back every 15 seconds.
• Stay above 30% health when he’s around, because the thrown shiv hits harder below that line.
• Ignore the clone when you can. Hallucinate explodes into three mini boxes on death, so killing it next to you costs you.

Which items counter Shaco?

Why buy Armor first? Because most Shaco damage arrives through attacks. Plated Steelcaps cut damage from Attacks by 10% and cost 1,200 gold. Randuin’s Omen is the big answer to the Deceive crit, because Resilience takes 30% off Critical Strikes, and Humility slows everyone nearby when he tries to run. Thornmail returns magic damage to the attacker and adds Wounds. Boxes are a crowd control problem, and Mercury’s Treads trim that fear with 30% Tenacity. Mages? They can stand in Zhonya’s Hourglass and enter Stasis for 2.5 seconds while his burst runs out. Full numbers sit in the LoL items database, and frontliners might also look at Thornmail in detail.

When is Shaco at his weakest?

Right after a failed gank. Deceive is on cooldown, the boxes are used up, and he has 125 range with no dash. That’s the moment to turn. Hallucinate can buy him a second, but the illusion is a decoy, not a teleport.

He’s also weak against groups. Backstab rewards catching one person alone, and a laner standing next to an ally gives him nobody to isolate (to be fair, he can still box the lane and leave). Funny enough, the champions who beat him best are the ones he avoids.

Never played jungle and wondering what the job even involves? The guide to LoL roles covers it. Every jester outfit Riot has made lives on the Shaco skins page, while boxes on a single bridge get their own Shaco ARAM guide. Long story short, Shaco counters face him, survive the first burst, and catch him once Deceive is gone.

FAQ

Who counters Shaco the most?

Rammus, whose Defensive Ball Curl returns damage to attackers; Warwick, who senses him at low health; Lee Sin, whose Tempest reveals units it hits; Kindred, whose ultimate stops deaths; and Nunu & Willump, who roots and heals.

What does Deceive do?

Deceive makes Shaco Invisible and teleports him to a target location. His first attack while Invisible deals bonus damage and critically strikes from behind. Its cooldown is 13/12.5/12/11.5/11 seconds.

How long is Jack In The Box on cooldown?

Fifteen seconds. Each box stays hidden and fears and attacks nearby enemies when triggered.

Does Randuin’s Omen work against Shaco?

Yes. Its Resilience passive reduces damage from Critical Strikes, and Deceive’s empowered attack crits from behind.

How were these picks made?

We matched his patch 26.22 kit against each jungler’s abilities, box by box. No win-rate data was used.