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Zac Counters: Who Beats Zac

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

Zac counters are junglers who shred tanks, punish his long-cooldown engage, or cut the healing from his blob chunks. Zac is a 175 range tank who flies in with Elastic Slingshot, bounces on whole teams with Let’s Bounce! and can even revive through Cell Division, so percent-health damage and Grievous Wounds beat him.

We chose these five on kit interactions. No win-rate data.

Zac counters: Zac, the Secret Weapon, splash art

Why is Zac hard to counter?

  • Cell Division (passive): ability hits drop chunks he reabsorbs for Health; on fatal damage he splits into 4 bloblets and can revive if any survive. 5 minute cooldown.
  • Stretching Strikes (Q): grabs an enemy, then throws two targets into each other when he attacks a different one. Cooldown 14/12.5/11/9.5/8.
  • Unstable Matter (W): an outward explosion dealing a percentage of nearby enemies’ maximum health as magic damage. Cooldown 5.
  • Elastic Slingshot (E): he anchors his arms and launches himself forward. Cooldown 21/18/15/12/9.
  • Let’s Bounce! (R): four bounces that knock up and slow enemies hit. Cooldown 120/105/90.

Zac is a tank who heals himself. Every ability that hits drops a chunk, and picking those chunks up restores Health, so a long fight in his favour just keeps going. He opens fights from very far away with Elastic Slingshot, and Let’s Bounce! knocks up a whole backline. Then there’s the revive (yes, a tank with a second life). His weakness? Elastic Slingshot has a 21 second cooldown at rank 1, and without it he’s a slow melee tank with no way in.

Which champions are the best Zac counters?

Viego

Blade of the Ruined King (Q) adds current-Health damage to each attack and strikes twice on targets Viego recently hit with an ability, stealing Health. Zac’s huge health bar works against him there. Spectral Maw (W) dashes and stuns the first enemy hit, and Harrowed Path (E) gives camouflage, Move Speed and Attack Speed in the Mist. Heartbreaker (R) executes a champion and knocks their allies away. Sovereign’s Domination (passive) lets him take over a fallen enemy for healing and their abilities.

Shyvana

Shyvana’s damage is built for long fights against tanks. Emberstrike (Q) hits the target and everything around it, with an extra single-target recast in Dragon Form. Inferno Aegis (W) shields her and detonates around her, healing her in Dragon Form if it strikes a champion. Molten Burst (E) slows. Dragon’s Descent (R) leaps forward and makes enemies in the path flee, which can break up Zac’s Let’s Bounce! follow-up. Scalemail (passive) improves her defenses with each takedown, so she wins the late-game duel.

Nocturne

Shroud of Darkness (W) blocks a single enemy ability, so the Stretching Strikes grab or a bounce can be absorbed. Unspeakable Horror (E) fears a target who can’t get out of range, and Zac with Elastic Slingshot on cooldown rarely can. Paranoia (R) cuts all enemy champions’ sight radius and launches Nocturne at one of them. Duskbringer (Q) leaves a trail that boosts his Move Speed and Attack Damage. Umbra Blades (passive) heals him every few seconds. Picky about timing, but strong.

Rek’Sai

Void Rush (R) makes Rek’Sai briefly untargetable and lunges at a marked target for heavy damage based on maximum health, the kind of number that actually hurts a tank. Furious Bite (E) adds bonus true damage at max Fury. Burrow (W) gives Move Speed and lets her knock up nearby enemies on Un-burrow, and Tunnel lets her move across the map fast, so she shows up before Zac’s Elastic Slingshot can. Underground, she spends the Fury from her passive to heal (a nice way to reset between camps). For what it’s worth, her early clears are fast too.

Kayn

Kayn’s form matters. As the Darkin, The Darkin Scythe (passive) heals him for a percentage of spell damage on champions, good for out-sustaining a tank. Shadow Step (E) lets him walk through terrain, which turns Zac’s long-range engage into a chase through walls. Reaping Slash (Q) dashes and slashes, Blade’s Reach (W) slows in a line, and Umbral Trespass (R) hides him in an enemy’s body before bursting out for massive damage. Real talk: Kayn needs time to pick his form.

How do you play against Zac in the jungle?

  • Track Elastic Slingshot. It has a 21 second cooldown at rank 1 and is his main engage.
  • Spread out in teamfights; Let’s Bounce! knocks up and slows every enemy hit.
  • Remember the revive. Cell Division brings him back if bloblets survive, with a 5 minute cooldown.
  • Avoid standing next to an ally when he grabs, because Stretching Strikes throws two targets into each other.
  • Bring percent-health damage. Unstable Matter hits you for a percentage of your maximum health, so stacking Health alone won’t help.

Which items counter Zac?

Grievous Wounds and percent-health damage. Executioner’s Calling, Oblivion Orb and Bramble Vest apply 40% Wounds and cut the healing from his chunks. Blade of The Ruined King deals current-Health damage on every attack. Lord Dominik’s Regards deals bonus damage against champions with bonus Health, and Void Staff gives 40% Magic Penetration for mages. His W and R deal magic damage, so Kaenic Rookern or Force of Nature suit a frontliner. Look, without Grievous Wounds he heals through a lot. Compare all of them in the items database, and Lord Dominik’s Regards has its own page.

When is Zac at his weakest?

When Elastic Slingshot is down. On rank 1 he waits 21 seconds between slings (only 9 once it’s maxed), and in that gap he has to walk up to you like any other tank. That’s when your team should take a fight or invade his side of the map.

Right after his passive triggers, too. Cell Division has a 5 minute cooldown, so once he revives, he’s out of second lives for a long time. Funny enough, that’s when Zac players get most careful.

Learning the jungle? Read through our guide to LoL roles first, then come back to matchups like this one. Every gooey outfit Zac owns appears on the Zac skins page. For the Howling Abyss, there’s a separate Zac ARAM guide. Long story short, Zac counters bring Grievous Wounds and percent-health damage, spread out against Let’s Bounce!, and punish him when Elastic Slingshot is down.

FAQ

Who counters Zac the most?

Viego, Shyvana, Nocturne, Rek’Sai and Kayn, with percent-health damage, sustain in long fights, spell blocks or untargetable lunges.

How does Zac’s revive work?

On fatal damage, Cell Division splits him into 4 bloblets that try to recombine. If any survive, he revives with Health based on them. It has a 5 minute cooldown.

Does Grievous Wounds work against Zac?

Yes. It reduces the Health he restores from reabsorbing the chunks his abilities drop.

What is Zac’s engage range?

Elastic Slingshot launches him forward from a long distance. Its cooldown is 21/18/15/12/9 seconds.

How were these Zac counters chosen?

Each jungler’s spells were lined up against what Zac does on patch 26.22; ranked numbers stayed out of it.