Yunara Counters: Who Beats Yunara

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

Yunara counters are bot laners who outrange her 575 attack range, lock her down before she escapes, or punish her once Transcend One’s Self is on cooldown. She’s an on-hit and crit marksman whose attacks spread to nearby enemies, so long-range poke, traps and hard crowd control give her the most trouble.

We compared her kit with every bot laner’s abilities to choose these five, and win rates weren’t part of it.

Why is Yunara hard to counter?

• Vow of the First Lands (passive): her Critical Strikes deal bonus magic damage.
• Cultivation of Spirit (Q): Attack Speed, bonus damage On-Hit, and attacks that spread to nearby enemies.
• Arc of Judgment / Arc of Ruin (W): a spinning prayer bead that damages and slows, or a laser that does the same in her Transcendent State. Cooldown 10.
• Kanmei’s Steps / Untouchable Shadow (E): Move Speed and Ghosted, or a dash while Transcendent. Cooldown 9.
• Transcend One’s Self (R): enters a Transcendent State that upgrades her basic abilities. Cooldown 100/90/80.

Yunara deals mixed damage (physical attacks, magic on crits). Her crits add magic damage through the passive, while Cultivation of Spirit makes her attacks hit several enemies at once, so a fight in a crowded lane gets out of hand quickly. She also has a self-peel in W’s slow and some mobility in E. The catch? Outside her ultimate, Kanmei’s Steps is only Move Speed and Ghosting, not a dash. Catch her outside Transcend One’s Self and she has no real escape.

Which champions are the best Yunara counters?

Caitlyn

Funny enough, range is the first problem Yunara meets here. Caitlyn shoots from 650 range against her 575, so every trade in lane starts on Caitlyn’s terms. Walk onto one of her traps and Yunara is held in place for 1.5 seconds, and the next Headshot reaches twice as far. 90 Caliber Net (E) slows and knocks Caitlyn back, a dash of her own. Piltover Peacemaker (Q) pokes through the wave, and Ace in the Hole (R) finishes a fleeing Yunara from a huge range.

Varus

His ultimate, Chain of Corruption, roots whoever it reaches first, then jumps on to anyone standing close by. That’s a lockdown Yunara can’t Ghost through. Hail of Arrows (E) slows and reduces self-healing on the ground it covers. Piercing Arrow (Q) gains range and damage the longer he charges, which makes lane poke painful. Blighted Quiver (W) stacks Blight with his attacks, then his other abilities detonate it for max-Health magic damage. Living Vengeance (passive) rewards kills and assists with Attack Damage and Ability Power.

Jhin

Jhin punishes her from distance with Deadly Flourish (W), a shot with incredible range that roots any target recently damaged by Jhin, his allies or his lotus traps. Captive Audience (E) places invisible traps that slow when walked over. Curtain Call (R) fires 4 long-range shots, the last a guaranteed crit, slowing and executing. The Q grenade (Dancing Grenade) keeps bouncing, up to four targets. Every fourth bullet from Whisper, his passive, is a crit with execute damage attached, so his trades come in one sharp spike. Burst like that rarely gives her time to Transcend.

Draven

Draven wins the early lane on raw damage. Spinning Axe (Q) adds bonus physical damage to each attack and comes back to his hand if he catches it, and Blood Rush (W) gives Attack Speed and Move Speed, refreshed on each catch. Stand Aside (E) knocks enemies aside and slows them, a clean way to interrupt her chase or deny a retreat. Whirling Death (R) travels the map, damages everything in its path and executes low targets. The thing is, Draven punishes any marksman who falls behind early, and Yunara needs time.

Ashe

Ashe slows with every attack thanks to Frost Shot (passive), so Kanmei’s Steps’ Move Speed only gets Yunara so far. She has 600 range too. Her W, Volley, sprays arrows in a cone and every one of them carries the slow. The ultimate is a global arrow; the longer Enchanted Crystal Arrow flies before it hits a champion, the longer the stun (a nasty surprise from across the map). Once Focus is full, her Q briefly turns each attack into a flurry. Hawkshot (E) scouts, handy to see if Yunara’s jungler is near.

How do you play the lane against Yunara?

• Trade when Arc of Judgment is down. It’s her only slow, on a 10 second cooldown.
• Don’t stand clumped with your minions or support, since her attacks spread to nearby enemies during Cultivation of Spirit.
• Track Transcend One’s Self. Without it, her E gives no dash.
• Use your crowd control after Kanmei’s Steps, not before.
• Poke from outside 575 range if your champion can.

Which items counter Yunara?

Her damage leans on crits and on-hit effects. Randuin’s Omen makes you take 30% less damage from Critical Strikes, directly cutting the crits behind Vow of the First Lands, and Humility slows nearby enemies when she gets too close. Cheaper option: Plated Steelcaps, whose Plating takes 10% off her autos. Against a marksman stacking Cultivation of Spirit, the aura on Frozen Heart that drags down nearby Attack Speed hurts her a lot. Mercury’s Treads or Wit’s End help against the magic part of her damage. Look, Randuin’s is the standout. Our LoL items database has the full stats, and Randuin’s Omen has a page of its own.

When is Yunara at her weakest?

Outside her Transcendent State. Transcend One’s Self has a 100 second cooldown at rank 1, and without it Kanmei’s Steps doesn’t dash. That’s the moment to use hard crowd control on her. Honestly, it’s that simple.

She’s also weaker in an early lane where she can’t farm. A marksman needs items, and lanes like Draven or Caitlyn can keep her under her tower for a long time (well, as long as their jungler doesn’t show up).

New to bot lane? Start with the bot lane part of our guide to LoL roles if the duo lane is new to you. Her outfits are on the Yunara skins page, and other champion matchups are on our guides hub. Long story short, Yunara counters outrange her, save crowd control for when her ultimate is down, and buy Randuin’s Omen against her crits.

FAQ

Who counters Yunara the most?

Caitlyn and Ashe, who outrange her, Varus and Jhin, who lock her down from distance, and Draven, who beats her in the early lane.

Does Yunara have a dash?

Only in her Transcendent State. Normally Kanmei’s Steps gives Move Speed and Ghosting; after Transcend One’s Self it becomes a dash.

Does Randuin’s Omen work against Yunara?

Yes. Resilience trims Critical Strike damage taken by 30%, and her crits are where Vow of the First Lands adds its magic damage.

What does Transcend One’s Self do?

It puts Yunara in a Transcendent State that upgrades her basic abilities. The cooldown is 100/90/80 seconds.

How were these Yunara counters chosen?

We compared each bot laner’s abilities with her patch 26.21 kit, without using win-rate data.