Twisted Fate Counters: Who Beats Twisted Fate

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

Twisted Fate counters are mid laners who punish him for leaving lane and kill him when he stays: assassins with dashes, champions who follow his Gate ganks, and anyone who can push waves faster than Wild Cards. Twisted Fate is a 525 range mage with no dash, and Destiny’s teleport takes 1.5 seconds to complete. Pressure him in lane and his map play falls apart.

Five picks follow, each matched to his kit by reading the abilities side by side, and no win rates were used anywhere in the process.

Why is Twisted Fate hard to counter?

• Loaded Dice (passive): killing a unit rolls dice for 1 to 6 bonus gold.
• Wild Cards (Q): three cards that damage every enemy unit they pass through. Cooldown 6/5.75/5.5/5.25/5.
• Pick a Card (W): he chooses a magic card for his next attack, which adds a bonus effect. Cooldown 6.
• Stacked Deck (E): every 4 attacks deal bonus damage, and his Attack Speed is increased. Cooldown 0.
• Destiny (R): reveals all enemy champions and unlocks Gate, which teleports him to any target location in 1.5 seconds. Cooldown 170/140/110.

Twisted Fate plays the whole map. He clears waves with Wild Cards, then uses Destiny to reveal every enemy champion and Gate into a side lane for a gank. Loaded Dice adds extra gold on every last hit. In lane, to be fair, Pick a Card powers up his next attack and keeps trades annoying. What he doesn’t have is any way to escape a champion who reaches him, and that’s the core of every counter below.

Which champions are the best Twisted Fate counters?

Katarina

Shunpo (E) blinks Katarina to a target and strikes it, a gap closer Twisted Fate can’t answer. Bouncing Blade (Q) throws a Dagger that bounces between enemies and lands on the ground. Preparation (W) adds Move Speed and tosses a Dagger above her. Picking up a Dagger with Voracity (passive) slashes all nearby enemies for magic damage, and any takedown on a champion she damaged sharply cuts her remaining cooldowns. Death Lotus (R) channels blades at the 3 nearest enemy champions. Is TF safe from that once he Gates to a side lane? Only until she resets onto the next target.

LeBlanc

LeBlanc bursts from the same range he plays at. Sigil of Malice (Q) marks a target, and damaging them with another ability detonates it. Distortion (W) dashes to a location and can return her to the start within 4 seconds, so she trades and leaves before Wild Cards hits back. Ethereal Chains (E) shackles the first enemy hit and roots them after 1.5 seconds, long enough to interrupt a Gate in progress. Mimic (R) casts a copy of one of her basic spells. Drop her low and her passive leaves a decoy behind while she vanishes for a second, honestly a nightmare for a TF trying to finish her.

Akali

Twilight Shroud (W) makes Akali invisible and unable to be selected by enemy spells and attacks while inside, which matters against Pick a Card, since it needs a target to attack. Five Point Strike (Q) slows. Shuriken Flip (E) marks the first enemy hit and then dashes to them. Perfect Execution (R) leaps, then dashes again, executing enemies she strikes. Assassin’s Mark (passive) empowers her next attack after she steps out of the ring around a damaged champion. Thing is, she needs to survive the early levels, when TF’s range is a real advantage.

Diana

Her Q arc applies Moonlight. Lunar Rush (E) dashes to an enemy, with no cooldown when the target has Moonlight. Pale Cascade (W) gives her orbiting spheres and a shield. Moonfall (R) pulls in all nearby enemies and slows them, then deals area damage after a short delay. Moonsilver Blade (passive) cleaves every third strike. A Gate landing near Diana is a Gate landing near a dash and a pull.

Galio

Galio answers the Gate gank itself. Hero’s Entrance (R) designates an ally’s position, grants allies there a magic shield, and slams down after a delay to knock enemies up. When Twisted Fate teleports onto a side lane, Galio can land on the same spot, often before TF’s combo is finished. Shield of Durand (W) taunts nearby enemies after a defensive charge, Justice Punch (E) knocks up the first champion hit, and Winds of War (Q) pokes. His passive punch hits an area. Put simply, a TF who Gates into Galio has made a mistake.

How do you play the lane against Twisted Fate?

• Ping when Destiny goes up. It reveals every enemy champion, and Gate follows within seconds.
• Push waves when he leaves. A TF who Gates away loses farm and possibly a tower.
• Interrupt the Gate. It takes 1.5 seconds, enough time for crowd control to land.
• Dodge Wild Cards sideways; the three cards fan out in a cone.
• Track Destiny’s cooldown. At 170 seconds on rank 1, a TF without it is a much weaker roamer.

Which items counter Twisted Fate?

His threats are abilities and one empowered attack, so spell blocks and Tenacity do the work. Edge of Night and Banshee’s Veil both carry Annul, a Spell Shield that blocks the next enemy ability (Wild Cards included, if it’s next). Mercury’s Treads add 30% Tenacity, which shortens whatever crowd control Pick a Card puts on you. Mages can also hold Zhonya’s Hourglass for the moment he lands from Gate, since Stasis lasts 2.5 seconds (long enough for help to arrive, usually). Every item’s stats are listed in the LoL items database, and Mercury’s Treads have a page of their own.

When is Twisted Fate at his weakest?

In lane, before level 6. Without Destiny he has no map pressure, only Wild Cards and Pick a Card, and an assassin with a dash can bully him off the wave. That’s where most TF games are won or lost.

Right after Gate, too. Destiny’s cooldown is 170 seconds at rank 1 (over two and a half minutes), so a Gate that fails leaves him without his main tool for a long time. And mid-teleport, during those 1.5 seconds, he’s a stationary target.

New to mid? Our guide to LoL roles covers roaming and the rest of the job. His card-themed outfits fill the Twisted Fate skins page, and the single-lane game is in the Twisted Fate ARAM guide. Real talk: Twisted Fate counters punish him in lane, push when he leaves, and interrupt the Gate.

FAQ

Who counters Twisted Fate the most?

Katarina, LeBlanc, Akali and Diana, who dash onto him; and Galio, whose Hero’s Entrance follows his Gate ganks.

How long does Gate take?

1.5 seconds. Destiny enables Gate, which teleports Twisted Fate to any target location after that delay.

What does Destiny reveal?

All enemy champions, for the duration. It also unlocks Gate. Its cooldown is 170/140/110 seconds.

Does Twisted Fate have a dash?

No. His only mobility is Gate, the teleport from Destiny.

How did we choose these Twisted Fate counters?

By comparing his patch 26.22 kit with each mid laner’s abilities, with no win-rate data.