Skip to content

Vayne Counters: Who Beats Vayne

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

Vayne counters are champions who block or dodge Condemn, out-range her 550 attack range, or stop her from landing three hits in a row for Silver Bolts. Vayne is a marksman with Tumble to reposition, a knockback that stuns on walls, bonus true damage on the third consecutive attack or ability against the same target, and an ultimate that makes her invisible during Tumble.

I picked these five by reading each kit against hers, not by scraping a stats page. There’s no win-rate data behind the list, just what the abilities actually do to each other.

Vayne counters: Vayne, the Night Hunter, splash art

Why is Vayne hard to counter?

  • Night Hunter (passive): she gains Move Speed when moving toward nearby enemy champions.
  • Tumble (Q): Vayne tumbles to place her next shot, and that attack deals bonus damage. The cooldown is 6/5/4/3/2 seconds by rank.
  • Silver Bolts (W): the third consecutive attack or ability against the same target deals a percentage of that target’s max health as bonus true damage. It has no cooldown.
  • Condemn (E): a huge crossbow bolt fired at her target that knocks them back and deals damage. If they collide with terrain, they are impaled, take bonus damage and are stunned. Cooldown 20/18/16/14/12 seconds.
  • Final Hour (R): increased Attack Damage, Invisibility during Tumble, a reduced Tumble cooldown and more bonus Move Speed from Night Hunter. Cooldown 100/85/70 seconds.

Thing is, Silver Bolts doesn’t care how much health you stack. Silver Bolts is a percentage of max health in true damage, so a tank is just a bigger target that takes longer to kill. So what can a pick actually do? Each pick below has to do something about the kit itself. Either Condemn gets no target, her attacks stop landing, or she’s getting hit from outside 550.

Which champions are the best Vayne counters?

Sivir

Spell Shield (E) creates a barrier that blocks a single enemy ability cast on Sivir, and she gets health and a burst of movement speed when it blocks something. Condemn is the only crowd control Vayne has, and at rank 1 it’s a 20 second cooldown (a long time in lane). Eat one with Spell Shield and she has nothing to lock you down with until it comes back. Fleet of Foot (passive) adds a short burst of Move Speed when Sivir attacks an enemy champion, which helps her keep up with Night Hunter.

Xayah

Featherstorm (R) sends Xayah into the air, untargetable, while she throws a fan of daggers. A Condemn fired during that window has no target. Bladecaller (E) then calls back her Feathers and roots enemies hit, holding Vayne in place for the follow-up attacks.

Caitlyn

Vayne’s 550 attack range falls short of Caitlyn’s 650, so Caitlyn gets to shoot first. Yordle Snap Trap (W) reveals and immobilizes the enemy champion for 1.5 seconds and grants an empowered Headshot, with Headshot range doubled on trapped targets. The trap also reveals the champion who springs it, which is useful against a champion whose Final Hour grants Invisibility during Tumble. 90 Caliber Net (E) slows the target and knocks Caitlyn back. Remember the gap Night Hunter just closed? Gone again.

Senna

Curse of the Black Mist (E) turns Senna and any ally who enters the area into wraiths: faster, unselectable, identities hidden. Unselectable means Condemn has nobody to fire at. Last Embrace (W) roots the target and everything nearby after a brief delay, and Senna’s 600 attack range already beats Vayne’s 550 before Absolution adds more.

Nilah

Jubilant Veil (W) wraps Nilah in mist, raises her movement speed and lets her dodge all incoming attacks, and allies she touches get the same effect. Silver Bolts pays out on the third consecutive attack or ability against the same target, so a veil at the right moment denies her those hits for as long as it lasts. Slipstream (E) dashes her to a target and Apotheosis (R) pulls enemies closer (she needs that, with 225 attack range).

How do you play the lane against Vayne?

  • Stay away from walls. Condemn only stuns and deals its bonus damage if you collide with terrain. In open space it is a knockback that deals its base damage, without the stun or bonus damage.
  • Count to two. Silver Bolts pays out on the third consecutive attack or ability on the same target, so trades that stop before that third hit cost you far less.
  • Punish the Tumble early. At rank 1 the cooldown is 6 seconds, and it only drops to 2 seconds at rank 5. Early on, once she’s Tumbled she’s stuck without a reposition for 6 seconds, and that’s when you go on her.
  • Once Final Hour is up, she can go invisible on every Tumble. Chasing her through fog after that is how you give her the third hit for free.

Honestly, the hardest habit to build is the first one. In practice, backing toward your own tower when low can put terrain behind you, which is exactly where Condemn wants you. Step sideways instead. If bot lane trading in general is still new to you, the guide to LoL roles goes through it.

Which items counter Vayne?

Her damage comes through attacks, so the items that bother her are the ones that touch damage taken from attacks, hit her back for attacking, or slow her Attack Speed. Silver Bolts is the true damage part, but Tumble’s bonus damage and her regular shots are still ordinary attacks. Prices and numbers below are from the current item data (no guesswork on costs).

Item Cost How it hurts Vayne
Plated Steelcaps 1200 Every Attack that lands on you deals 10% less damage.
Thornmail 2450 When struck by an Attack, deals magic damage back and applies 40% Wounds for 3 seconds.
Frozen Heart 2500 Champions standing near you lose 20% of their Attack Speed.
Randuin’s Omen 2700 On activation, enemies around you are slowed by 70% for 2 seconds.
Edge of Night 3000 Spell Shield that blocks the next enemy Ability, Condemn included.
Quicksilver Sash 1300 Removes all crowd control debuffs (excluding Airborne), so the wall stun goes away.

For what it’s worth, Bramble Vest already carries the Thorns passive at 800 gold, with 30 Armor, if you want it before the full Thornmail. Randuin’s Omen also cuts damage from Critical Strikes by 30%. Full stats for all of them are in the item database.

Can you stop Vayne’s Condemn?

Yes, in three ways: block it, have no target for it, or avoid the wall. Spell shields block it as a single ability (Sivir’s Spell Shield, Edge of Night, Banshee’s Veil). Untargetable or unselectable states give the bolt nothing to fire at, which is what Featherstorm and Curse of the Black Mist do. The same logic covers Zhonya’s Hourglass, which holds you in Stasis for 2.5 seconds.

Does the knockback alone matter? Not much. The bonus damage and the stun both need terrain, so the bolt in open ground deals its base damage and pushes you back.

The catch is the cooldown. At rank 5 Condemn is back every 12 seconds, so one dodged bolt doesn’t win the fight, it wins the next 12 seconds. Use them. The rest of her is on the Vayne skins page and the Vayne ARAM guide, and there are more counter guides if your problem is a different bot laner.

The best Vayne counters do two things: take Condemn away from her and keep her off the third hit. A Vayne with neither is a Vayne you can farm next to.

FAQ

Who counters Vayne the most?

Sivir, Xayah and Senna, because Spell Shield, Featherstorm and Curse of the Black Mist each stop Condemn from landing, and Caitlyn, because her 650 attack range beats Vayne’s 550 and Yordle Snap Trap immobilizes her for 1.5 seconds.

Does Sivir’s Spell Shield block Condemn?

Yes. Spell Shield blocks a single enemy ability cast on Sivir, and Condemn is a single ability fired at a target. Sivir also receives health and a burst of movement speed when a spell is blocked.

Does Caitlyn out-range Vayne?

Yes. Caitlyn attacks from 650 range and Vayne from 550 in patch 26.21, and Caitlyn’s Headshot range is doubled against a trapped or netted target.

How does Silver Bolts work?

The third consecutive attack or ability against the same target deals a percentage of that target’s max health as bonus true damage. The ability has no cooldown.

Is this list based on win rates?

No. Every pick here came from sitting down with the abilities and working out how they interact in patch 26.21. That was the only input. We don’t use win-rate data.