Smolder Counters: Who Beats Smolder

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

Smolder counters are bot laners who punish him before his stacks pile up: longer-range marksmen, early all-in champions, and anyone with crowd control that catches him outside Flap, Flap, Flap. Smolder is a 550 range scaling dragon whose basic abilities grow with Dragon Practice stacks. Every early kill you deny him slows that growth.

Five bot laners follow, each paired with the ability that matters against him. We left win rates out of it.

Why is Smolder hard to counter?

• Dragon Practice (passive): hitting champions with abilities and killing enemies with Super Scorcher Breath grants stacks that raise the damage of his basic abilities.
• Super Scorcher Breath (Q): a fire breath on one enemy that gets stronger as stacks grow. Cooldown 5.5/5/4.5/4/3.5.
• Achooo! (W): a flaming sneeze that explodes on enemy champions. Cooldown 14/13/12/11/10.
• Flap, Flap, Flap (E): he flies, ignoring terrain, while bombarding the lowest health enemy. Cooldown 24/22/20/18/16.
• MMOOOMMMM! (R): his mother breathes fire from above, with extra damage and a slow in the centre. Cooldown 120/110/100.

Thing is, Smolder is a farming project. Every Super Scorcher Breath kill and every ability on a champion adds a Dragon Practice stack, and the stacks make his basic abilities hit harder for the rest of the game. Early on he’s a short-range marksman with a cheap Q. Later, the same Q shreds. Flap, Flap, Flap is his only escape, flying over walls, but its cooldown starts at 24 seconds. So what’s the plan against him? Fight early, often, and when the flight is down (that last part matters most).

Which champions are the best Smolder counters?

Varus

Varus attacks from 575 range, a little longer than Smolder, and Piercing Arrow (Q) charges up for more range and damage when held. Attacks add Blight. Hail of Arrows (E) slows and lowers self healing on the ground it hits, so Smolder can’t farm safely in it. His ultimate tendril grabs the first champion it touches and jumps to anyone nearby. A rooted Smolder can’t fly away, honestly, which is the whole point of the pick. Living Vengeance (passive) gives Varus temporary damage on takedowns.

Ashe

From 600 range, Ashe has the longest base reach in this list. Frost Shot (passive) slows on every attack, and she deals more damage to slowed targets, which keeps Smolder walking slowly through every trade. Her W spreads that slow across a cone, so dodging one arrow isn’t enough. Ranger’s Focus (Q) turns her attacks into a flurry once Focus is full. Enchanted Crystal Arrow (R) stuns longer the farther it flies, a cross-map answer to a Smolder caught out. Hawkshot (E) scouts wherever she sends it, handy for spotting his flights over terrain.

Jhin

Jhin plays a long-range control game. Deadly Flourish (W) fires a single long shot that roots any champion recently hit by Jhin or his allies, so every poke trade can end in a root. Captive Audience (E) places invisible lotus traps that slow before they explode, a nuisance for a marksman who wants to walk up and farm. His Q grenade hops from target to target, four at most (great for poking through a minion wave). Whisper (passive) fires four shots, the last always a crit with execute damage. Curtain Call (R) gives him four super shots at extreme range, slowing whoever they hit (well, whoever’s in front).

Tristana

Tristana wins by jumping on Smolder early. Rocket Jump (W) propels her onto a target, damaging and slowing where she lands. Explosive Charge (E) plants a bomb that detonates after a short delay, and Rapid Fire (Q) boosts her Attack Speed to finish it. Draw a Bead (passive) extends her attack range with every level, so she isn’t even outranged late. Buster Shot (R) deals magic damage and knocks the target back, either to peel a diving Smolder off or to blast him into her own team. Short, sharp trades are where she shines. He hates those.

Draven

Does anyone punish a weak early marksman harder than Draven? Spinning Axe (Q) empowers his attacks, and if he catches the axe he readies another one, keeping the damage up trade after trade. Each caught axe also refreshes his W speed boost, so the pressure never really stops. Smolder’s farming is the danger here; League of Draven (passive) builds Adoration from caught axes and kills. Stand Aside (E) pushes enemies aside and slows them. Whirling Death (R) executes targets whose health is below his Adoration stacks, a finisher for a Smolder flying away low.

How do you play the lane against Smolder?

• Contest every last hit. Kills with Super Scorcher Breath give him stacks, so each denied minion delays his scaling.
• Dodge Achooo!. The sneeze only explodes on enemy champions, and every ability hit on you is another stack.
• Track Flap, Flap, Flap. At 24 seconds on rank 1, a Smolder without his flight has no escape.
• Step out of the centre of MMOOOMMMM!; the middle of the fire deals extra damage and slows.
• Push for early fights with your jungler, before his abilities get strong.

Which items counter Smolder?

His abilities deal most of his damage, so magic and physical defenses both have a role, but the cheapest answer is pressure, not items. Mages and tanks facing him can buy Force of Nature, which grants 70 Magic Resist after 8 instances of champion magic damage, or Banshee’s Veil to block one ability with its Spell Shield. Frontliners have Randuin’s Omen, slowing nearby enemies with Humility when he tries to fly into a fight. Zhonya’s Hourglass puts a mage in Stasis for 2.5 seconds against MMOOOMMMM!. Compare all of them in the LoL items database, or read up on Banshee’s Veil separately.

When is Smolder at his weakest?

In the first ten or so minutes, before Dragon Practice stacks add up. His abilities are weak early, his range is ordinary, and he relies on a single long-cooldown escape. Lose lane hard, and his scaling arrives much later (or never, in a stomp).

He’s also vulnerable right after using Flap, Flap, Flap aggressively. The flight bombards the lowest health enemy, which tempts him forward. Once it lands, real talk, he’s a marksman in the middle of your team with no way out.

Still figuring out what an ADC does? To be fair, it’s less obvious than it looks, and the guide to LoL roles explains how a marksman and a support split the work. Baby dragon outfits fill the Smolder skins page. For the Howling Abyss, there’s a separate Smolder ARAM guide. Long story short, Smolder counters deny his farm, fight him early, and save crowd control for when his flight is down.

FAQ

Who counters Smolder the most?

Varus and Ashe, who outrange him; Jhin, whose Deadly Flourish roots; Tristana, who all-ins him early; and Draven, who wins early trades and can execute with Whirling Death.

How does Smolder get stronger?

Dragon Practice stacks. He gains them by hitting champions with abilities and by killing enemies with Super Scorcher Breath, and they increase the damage of his basic abilities.

What is Smolder’s escape?

Flap, Flap, Flap. He takes flight, ignoring terrain, and bombards the lowest health enemy. Its cooldown is 24/22/20/18/16 seconds.

What does MMOOOMMMM! do?

Smolder’s mother breathes fire from above. Enemies in the centre take extra damage and are slowed.

How did we choose these Smolder counters?

Each bot laner’s abilities were read against his patch 26.21 kit, one matchup at a time, without any win-rate data.