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Yorick Counters: Who Beats Yorick

Updated for patch 26.20. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch.

Yorick counters are champions who kill his Mist Walkers before they pile up and still win the side-lane fight he wants. He plays as a melee fighter-tank backed by summoned ghouls and the Maiden of the Mist, so you have to clear the summons first or they’ll run you over.

These picks are editorial and based on how each kit interacts with Yorick’s abilities. We don’t use win-rate data. This is about why each pick works, not what op.gg says.

Yorick counters: Yorick, Shepherd of Souls, splash art

Why is Yorick hard to counter?

  • Shepherd of Souls (passive): Yorick can summon Mist Walkers that swarm and attack nearby enemies.
  • Last Rites (Q): bonus damage on his next attack and a heal; hitting a champion or large monster, or killing the target, digs a grave.
  • Dark Procession (W): a destructible wall that blocks enemy movement.
  • Mourning Mist (E): reduces armor, damages, slows and marks enemies, and his summons move faster toward marked targets.
  • Eulogy of the Isles (R): summons the Maiden of the Mist, who boosts his attacks against her target and raises more Walkers.

Put simply, Yorick is a numbers problem: every ghoul, every Walker, every tick from the Maiden stacks damage into a fight he wins if you let it drag out. You either mow down the summons fast or tank through the swarm and kill him anyway.

Which champions are the best Yorick counters?

Jax

Counter Strike (E) dodges all incoming attacks for a short time, then stuns. Yorick’s summons deal their damage through attacks, so Counter Strike blanks the swarm and stuns everything around him at once.

Malphite

Thunderclap (W) makes Malphite’s attacks create aftershocks in front of him, which hit several summons at once. His ultimate, Unstoppable Force, knocks up every enemy in the area, Walkers included.

Trundle

Subjugate (R) steals a percentage of the target’s Health, Armor and Magic Resist, and doubles the amount over 4 seconds. Against a tanky Yorick, stealing those stats flips the 1v1 in your favor.

Gnar

As Mega Gnar, Wallop (W) stuns enemies in an area, which catches Yorick and his summons together. Mini Gnar fights from range with attacks that build his Hyper bonus damage.

Kennen

Mark of the Storm stuns an enemy hit three times by his abilities, and Lightning Rush (E) lets him pass through units. Walls and ghouls don’t trap him the way they trap melee champions (and he attacks from 550 range).

How do you counter Yorick in lane?

  • Trade when he has few graves. Last Rites digs graves that later become Walkers, so early trades before graves pile up are safer.
  • Stay out of Mourning Mist. The mark lowers your armor and draws his summons to you.
  • Don’t fight inside the wall. Dark Procession blocks your movement until you break it.
  • Answer the Maiden. She raises more Walkers, so a side lane with the Maiden up is the worst time to duel him.

Which items counter Yorick?

Area damage helps against the swarm. Titanic Hydra and Ravenous Hydra both add Cleave, so attacks also hit nearby enemies, and Stridebreaker adds cleave plus an active slow. Plated Steelcaps reduce incoming damage from attacks by 10%, which covers both Yorick and his summons. Thornmail applies 40% Wounds to attackers and cuts his Q heal. Compare them in our LoL items database, and tanks often add Sunfire Aegis because its burn hits every summon around you.

When is Yorick at his weakest?

When should you fight him? When he has few graves and the Maiden is down. Last Rites digs the graves that later become Mist Walkers, and Eulogy of the Isles raises more of them, so without both he is mostly a melee champion with a wall.

For what it’s worth, he’s also easy to bully early with wave pressure because he barely has graves yet. If you push the wave into his tower, he has fewer chances to use Last Rites on champions (which is how most graves get dug).

Is the wall a problem? Only inside it. In practice, Dark Procession is destructible, so if you break it fast he doesn’t get to trap you.

Is Yorick hard to play against for newer players?

Yes, mostly because of how many units are on screen. Learn the three rules (E mark pulls ghouls to you, Maiden spawns more, Q digs graves). After that, the lane stops feeling chaotic. Our guide to LoL roles covers top lane, his skins are on the Yorick skins page, and ARAM players can check our Yorick ARAM guide.

Whatever you pick, good Yorick counters kill the ghouls, fight when the Maiden is down, and don’t give him time to build a graveyard.

FAQ

Who counters Yorick the most?

Jax is probably the hardest counter: his E dodges every ghoul attack and stuns the pack. Malphite’s W aftershocks clear multiple summons per swing. Trundle’s R steals his defenses in long fights.

How do you deal with Yorick’s ghouls?

Use area damage and fight when he has few graves. Mourning Mist marks you and draws his summons, so stay out of it.

Can you break Yorick’s wall?

Yes. Dark Procession is a destructible wall that blocks movement until it is destroyed.

What does Yorick’s ultimate do?

Eulogy of the Isles summons the Maiden of the Mist, who boosts his attacks on her target and raises more Walkers.

Is this list based on win rates?

No. It is an editorial list based on ability interactions in patch 26.20. We don’t use win-rate data.