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Zyra Counters: Who Beats Zyra

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

Zyra counters are supports who either engage before her plants grow or ignore her roots. She’s a 575-range mage support who turns seeds into plants with her Q and E, roots with Grasping Roots and knocks up a whole area with her ultimate, so hard engage, a spell shield or crowd control immunity gives her the most trouble.

We picked five supports by comparing kits, not by checking stat sites. Every reason below points to a specific ability.

Zyra counters: Zyra, Rise of the Thorns, splash art

Why is Zyra hard to counter?

  • Garden of Thorns (passive): seeds spawn around her over time, faster as she levels, and her Q or E cast near a seed grows a plant that fights for her.
  • Deadly Spines (Q): vines that burst into spines for magic damage in an area, or grow a Thorn Spitter near a seed. Cooldown 7 down to 5 seconds.
  • Rampant Growth (W): she plants seeds that last up to 60 seconds and can store several at once.
  • Grasping Roots (E): vines that root and damage every enemy they pass, or grow a slowing Vine Lasher near a seed. Cooldown 11 seconds.
  • Stranglethorns (R): a thicket that damages as it grows and knocks enemies airborne as it contracts, while enraging plants inside it. Cooldown 110/100/90.

Zyra controls space. Seeds sit in the bush, Q and E turn them into plants, and suddenly you’re fighting three things instead of one. Her root is long, her plants poke, and the ultimate punishes anyone who stands in a group. What does she not have? Any way to move. Nothing in her kit is a dash, a blink or a speed boost, so once someone gets to her, she depends entirely on Grasping Roots landing.

Which champions are the best Zyra counters?

Blitzcrank

Rocket Grab (Q) pulls her out from behind her plants and into your ADC’s range, skipping the whole garden. Power Fist (E) then knocks her up before she can cast the root. Static Field (R) silences nearby enemies briefly, which stops her from growing anything for that window. A Zyra hiding behind seeds still has to step forward to cast, and that’s when the hand finds her.

Morgana

Black Shield (E) absorbs magic damage and stops disabling effects until it breaks. Zyra’s spines deal magic damage and her root is a disable, so a shielded ADC walks through the garden. Then Dark Binding (Q) roots her back. No dash to dodge it. Tormented Shadow (W) adds pressure too (it damages anyone who stays in the circle, more as their Health drops).

Rakan

Grand Entrance (W) dashes to a location and knocks up nearby enemies on arrival, and Battle Dance (E) flies him back to an ally with a shield. That’s an engage and an exit Zyra can’t match. The Quickness (R) adds Move Speed and charms everyone he touches. Funny enough, Rakan’s whole kit is about moving, which is the one thing Zyra can’t do.

Alistar

Unbreakable Will (R) removes all crowd control on Alistar and reduces the damage he takes for its duration, so Grasping Roots and Stranglethorns don’t stop him. Pulverize (Q) knocks her into the air, Headbutt (W) rams her back, and Trample (E) ignores unit collision, which means plants don’t body-block him. He’s slow to get going (a minotaur, not a sprinter) but very hard to keep out.

Pyke

Ghostwater Dive (W) camouflages Pyke and speeds him up, so he can close the distance while she’s busy growing plants. Bone Skewer (Q) pulls her toward him, Phantom Undertow (E) stuns along its path, and Death From Below executes low targets and lets him cast it again. Look, Zyra has no escape once she’s low (no dash, no blink, no speed boost). That’s the whole Pyke plan.

How do you play the lane against Zyra?

  • Stay out of the bushes she’s seeded. Seeds near your path mean plants can appear the moment she casts.
  • Kill plants only when it’s safe; they keep firing at you while you’re near them.
  • Dodge Grasping Roots first. It’s her only reliable disable outside the ultimate, on an 11 second cooldown.
  • Spread out when Stranglethorns is up. It knocks up everyone caught inside as it contracts.
  • Go in after the root misses. She has nothing else to stop you.

Which items counter Zyra?

Her damage is magic, so Magic Resist is the first answer. Mercury’s Treads give Magic Resist and Tenacity, which shortens the root. Quicksilver Sash removes crowd control except Airborne, so it clears Grasping Roots but not the ultimate’s knock-up. Banshee’s Veil and Edge of Night carry a spell shield that blocks the next enemy ability, often the root. For supports, Locket of the Iron Solari shields nearby allies, and Mikael’s Blessing can remove crowd control from a rooted ally. Every item here has full stats in our item database. Tanks who want to stand in the thicket can also look at Heartsteel.

When is Zyra at her weakest?

In practice, when she has no seeds out. Rampant Growth stores several, but seeds still have to be planted, and a Zyra caught walking between bushes with no garden nearby is just a 575-range mage with one root.

The other window is after Grasping Roots misses. Without it she can poke with Q, but she can’t stop anyone, and at 11 seconds the cooldown is long enough for an engage support to reach her twice over.

Still figuring out what the support role does? Our guide to LoL roles covers it. For cosmetics, open the Zyra skins page; for the single-lane mode, the Zyra ARAM guide. Honestly, the best Zyra counters share one trait: they get to her before the garden grows.

FAQ

Who counters Zyra the most?

Engage supports and crowd control answers: Blitzcrank, Morgana, Rakan, Alistar and Pyke.

Does Zyra have any mobility?

No. None of her abilities is a dash, blink or speed boost, so she relies on Grasping Roots and her plants to keep enemies away.

Does Black Shield block Zyra’s root?

Yes. Morgana’s Black Shield absorbs magic damage and disabling effects until it breaks, which includes Grasping Roots.

Can Quicksilver Sash remove Zyra’s ultimate?

No. Quicksilver removes crowd control except Airborne, and Stranglethorns knocks enemies airborne. It does remove the root from Grasping Roots.

Is this list based on win rates?

No. We compared Zyra’s patch 26.21 ability text with each pick’s kit. We don’t use win-rate data.