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Taric Counters: Who Beats Taric

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

Taric counters are supports who out-poke a melee healer or strip his protection: ranged mages who hit him from outside his 150 range, Grievous Wounds on his heals, and engage that pulls his ADC away from him. Taric heals with Starlight’s Touch, stuns with Dazzle and makes his team invulnerable with Cosmic Radiance. Keep him at arm’s length and most of that stops working.

These five supports were picked by comparing kits, without any win-rate data (we never use it).

Taric counters: Taric, the Shield of Valoran, splash art

Why is Taric hard to counter?

  • Bravado (passive): each spellcast empowers his next 2 basic attacks with bonus magic damage, lower spell cooldowns and quick follow-up hits.
  • Starlight’s Touch (Q): heals nearby allied champions based on stored charges, gained from empowered attacks. Cooldown 3.
  • W (Armor link): raises Armor for Taric and a linked ally, shields that ally, and lets his spells also cast from them while they stay near him. Cooldown 15.
  • Dazzle (E): a delayed beam that deals magic damage and stuns. Cooldown 16/15/14/13/12.
  • Cosmic Radiance (R): after a delay, nearby allied champions become invulnerable for a short time. Cooldown 180/150/120.

Taric is a trading support who needs to be close. His W links him to the ADC, and from then on Dazzle can fire from either of them, which makes the stun hard to dodge. Every spell powers up two attacks through Bravado, and those attacks charge Starlight’s Touch heals. Then there’s Cosmic Radiance, a delayed team-wide invulnerability that wins fights if you commit into it. So how do you beat that? Poke him before he can trade, and wait out the ultimate.

Which champions are the best Taric counters?

Brand

Brand pokes from 550 range and burns through healing with damage over time. Blaze (passive) sets targets ablaze for 4 seconds, stacking up to 3 times, and at max stacks it detonates for massive area damage. Sear (Q) stuns a burning target. Pillar of Flame (W) hits an area after a delay, and ablaze units take extra damage from it. Conflagration (E) spreads to nearby enemies. Pyroclasm (R) bounces between enemies up to 5 times, which punishes a Taric who stands right next to his ADC. Honestly, Brand’s poke outpaces Starlight’s Touch in most trades.

Zyra

Zyra controls space from 575 range, and her plants do the trading for her. Garden of Thorns (passive) spawns seeds around her, and Rampant Growth (W) plants more. Deadly Spines (Q) near a seed grows a Thorn Spitter that fires from afar, while Grasping Roots (E) roots a line of enemies and grows a Vine Lasher that slows. Taric has to walk through plants to reach her. Stranglethorns (R) knocks up everyone inside a thicket as it contracts, timed after Cosmic Radiance runs out.

Karma

Mantra (R) is available from level 1 and empowers her next ability, so Karma wins early trades hard. Inner Flame (Q) pokes, and with Mantra it leaves a cataclysm for extra damage. Her W tether roots. Inspire (E) shields an ally and speeds them up, letting her ADC walk away from Dazzle. Gathering Fire (passive) lowers Mantra’s cooldown whenever her abilities deal damage. Thing is, Taric wants long fights. Karma wants short, sharp poke.

Senna

Senna attacks from 600 range, and Absolution (passive) grows her Attack Range, Attack Damage and Critical Strike Chance as she collects Mist. Last Embrace (W) latches onto an enemy and, after a short delay, roots them and everything nearby, which catches Taric and his ADC standing close together. Her Q beam pierces a target, hurting enemies and topping up allies on the line. Then her E mist hides her team as wraiths that can’t be selected (great for walking past a Dazzle). Dawning Shadow (R) is a global beam. She simply never has to walk into his range (well, unless she wants the Mist).

Blitzcrank

Rocket Grab (Q) pulls a single enemy back to Blitzcrank, and a grab on Taric’s ADC breaks the W link by dragging them away. Static Field (R) can be activated to remove nearby enemies’ shields, damage them and silence them briefly, so the W shield vanishes and the silence stops a Dazzle or Cosmic Radiance cast. Power Fist (E) knocks up. Overdrive (W) boosts Move Speed and Attack Speed. Mana Barrier (passive) gives a shield when Blitzcrank drops low. Is it risky? Sure, but one good grab ruins Taric’s whole plan.

How do you play the lane against Taric?

  • Watch both champions for Dazzle. With his W link, the stun can come from Taric or from his ADC.
  • Back off when Cosmic Radiance glows. It takes effect after a delay, and fighting into the invulnerability wastes your cooldowns.
  • Poke between his spells. Bravado empowers only the 2 attacks after a spellcast.
  • Split them up. The W bonus lasts only while the ally stays near Taric.
  • Bring Grievous Wounds; Starlight’s Touch heals every nearby allied champion.

Which items counter Taric?

Heals and shields are his tools, so cut both. Oblivion Orb applies 40% Wounds on magic damage for 800 gold, and Executioner’s Calling does the same with physical damage. Serpent’s Fang reduces shields on targets it damages, which weakens the W shield. Mercury’s Treads shorten Dazzle’s stun with 30% Tenacity. Mages take Oblivion Orb, ADCs take Executioner’s, and the support skips Serpent’s Fang unless it’s an AD support. Numbers for all of them are in the LoL items database, and Mortal Reminder is the late-game upgrade for physical Wounds.

When is Taric at his weakest?

Right after Cosmic Radiance. At 180 seconds on rank 1, a Taric who used it is without his best tool for three minutes. That’s when to force dragon fights.

He’s also weak against range in general. Taric has 150 range and no dash, so poke supports chip him while he walks up, and every Starlight’s Touch he spends on poke damage is one he doesn’t have in an all-in. Put simply, he wants to fight, and you don’t have to let him.

Still learning support? Peel, vision and engage timing all get a plain explanation in the guide to LoL roles. Sparkly outfits? The Taric skins page has them all. If you’d rather play him on the Howling Abyss, the Taric ARAM guide walks through it. In practice, Taric counters poke from range, cut his heals, and wait out Cosmic Radiance before they commit.

FAQ

Who counters Taric the most?

Brand, Zyra and Karma, who poke from range; Senna, who outranges him and roots groups; and Blitzcrank, whose Static Field removes shields and silences.

Can Taric’s stun come from his ADC?

Yes. While an ally has his W link and stays near him, Taric’s spells also cast from that ally, including Dazzle.

How long is Cosmic Radiance’s cooldown?

180/150/120 seconds. It makes nearby allied champions invulnerable for a short duration after a delay.

Does Grievous Wounds work against Taric?

Yes. Starlight’s Touch heals allied champions, and Grievous Wounds reduces that healing.

How did we choose these Taric counters?

We read his patch 26.22 kit next to each support’s abilities. Win rates were left out.