Welcome to the Vainglory Hero Counters guide! We know that you finally hit the Draft in Ranked mode. Whether it’s a new experience or an old one, having a cheat sheet to draft like the pros is undeniably useful. We understand and are here to help with a quick guide to keep you leveling up in Vainglory.

A couple of caveats before we get to the meat of the article. This is not a guide to how you should draft. If you are looking for one, you are in luck! Fedmattisgg wrote a great drafting guide that you can check out. Secondly, some counter picks are better than others, but it does not help your team if you cannot play said counter pick. Finally, some items can counter specific heroes’ strengths and are noted below, but for an in-depth look at counter-building read Gadianton’s article.

If you’re looking to test your new knowledge, try out our Vainglory Draft Simulator! To see how well each hero performs in the latest meta, brush up on our Hero Tier List. Choose wisely, play to your personal strengths, and may the churn ever be in your favor.



Hero Strengths Weaknesses Counter Picks Item Counter Adagio CC, Flex, Heals Easy to block CC, Needs burning targets Blackfeather, Catherine, Glaive, Krul, Skaarf Posioned Shiv Alpha AoE, Sticky, Tanky Can be out-tanked, Susceptible to CC Catherine, Krul, Lance, Lyra, Reim Ardan Survivability, Tanky, Utility Caught alone, Susceptible to burst Baron, Blackfeather, Kestrel, Koshka, Lyra, Petal, Taka Baptiste AoE, Burst, CC Relies on skill shots and positioning, Susceptible to range Gwen, Kestrel, Lorelai, Petal, Samuel, Skaarf Reflex Block Baron AoE, Burst, Long range Slow, Susceptible to range Idris, Koshka, Skaarf, Taka Slumbering Husk Blackfeather Mobility, Sticky, Sustain Can be out-sustained, Poke damage Alpha, Fortress, Krul, Lyra, Rona, Skye Atlas Pauldron, Poisoned Shiv Catherine CC, Tanky, Utility Susceptible to small sustain damage Baptiste, Petal, Skaarf, Skye Churnwalker CC, Sustain, Utility Caught alone, Relies on skill shots and positioning Alpha, Blackfeather, Flicker, Glaive, Koshka, Lorelai, Reim Frostburn, Shiversteel Celeste AoE, Burst, Long range Immobile, Squishy Blackfeather, Glaive, Idris, Reza, Taka Frostburn, Shiversteel Flicker CC, Stealth, Utility Caught alone, Squishy Celeste, Glaive, Gwen, Koshka, Lance, Lorelai, Petal, Phinn Vision Fortress Chase, Tanky, Utility Caught alone, Susceptible to kite Grace, Lance, Ozo, Petal Glaive CC, Flex, Tanky Can be out-tanked, Slow Alpha, Baptiste, Krul, Lance, Reim Atlas Pauldron Grace CC, Heals, Tanky Easy to dodge CC, Susceptible to CC Baptiste, Catherine, Kestrel, Lance, Skye Poisoned Shiv Grumpjaw Flex, Tanky, Utility Easily focused down, Slow Churnwalker, Lance, Lyra, Petal, Phinn, Skye Frostburn Gwen CC, Burst, Speed Cannot escape sticky heroes, Squishy Adagio, Alpha, Blackfeather, Koshka, Krul, Ringo Atlas Pauldron, Shiversteel Idris Burst, Mobility, Survivability Poke damage, Relies on attack speed Blackfeather, Krul, Lyra, Rona, Samuel Atlas Pauldron Joule AoE, Burst, Tanky Susceptible to range, Weak from behind Baptiste, Blackfeather, Catherine, Rona, Skye Kestrel Burst, Long range, Stealth Squishy, Susceptible to body-blocking, Susceptible to CC Catherine, Fortress, Glaive, Idris, Petal, Samuel Vision, Shiversteel Koshka Burst, Mobility, Speed Squishy, Susceptible to CC Baptiste, Blackfeather, Grumpjaw, Lance, Lyra Krul CC, Sticky, Sustain Susceptible to kite, Relies on attack speed Lance, Lorelai, Petal, Samuel, Skye Atlas Pauldron, Frostburn Lance CC, Tanky, Utility Relies on skill shots and positioning Catherine, Lyra, Phinn, Skye, Vox Lorelai Mobility, Slows, Utility Squishy, Susceptible to range Catherine, Celeste, Kestrel, Koshka, Reza, Taka Lyra CC, Heals, Utility Caught alone, Squishy Celeste, Samuel, Skaarf Poisoned Shiv Ozo AoE, Sustain, Tanky Can be out-tanked, Susceptible to CC Ardan, Krul, Lance, Lyra, Reim, Rona Poisoned Shiv Petal Kite, Mobility, Sustain Relies on munions, Squishy Celeste, Joule, Lance, Samuel, Skaarf, Vox Shiversteel Phinn CC, Tanky, Utility Easily focused down, Slow Gwen, Kestrel, Petal, Rona, SAW, Skaarf, Skye, Vox Reim Burst, CC, Survivability Slow, Susceptible to kite Kestrel, Krul, Lorelai, Petal, Skaarf, Skye Poisoned Shiv, Frostburn Reza AoE, Burst, Mobility Squishy, Susceptible to CC Alpha, Lyra, Phinn, Reim Shiversteel Ringo Kite, Speed, Sustain Cannot escape sticky heroes, Squishy Catherine, Flicker, Glaive, Grace, Kestrel, Lance, Ringo, Taka Atlas Pauldron, Shiversteel Rona AoE, Survivability, Tanky Susceptible to CC, Susceptible to kite Catherine, Lorelai, Lyra, Petal, Skye, Vox Poisoned Shiv, Frostburn Samuel AoE, Kite, Sustain Squishy, Susceptible to body-blocking, Susceptible to CC Ardan, Catherine, Fortress, Glaive, Koshka, Taka Shiversteel SAW Burst, Long range, Sustain Immobile, Susceptible to range Celeste, Glaive, Grace, Joule, Rona, Skaarf, Skye, Vox Atlas Pauldron Skaarf AoE, Long range, Sustain Immobile, Susceptible to body-blocking, Susceptible to slows Alpha, Glaive, Samuel, Taka, Vox Shiversteel Skye Kite, Mobility, Sustain Squishy, Susceptible to body-blocking, Susceptible to slows Ardan, Baptiste, Petal, Reza, Taka Shiversteel Taka Burst, Mobility, Stealth Relies on stealth, Squishy Koshka, Lance, Lyra, Petal Vision, Slumbering Husk Tony CC, Chase, Tanky Out-sustained, Susceptible to kite Koshka, Krul, Reza, Taka Varya AoE, Kite, Range Relies on skill shots and positioning, Squishy Koshka, Krul, Ozo, Reza, Taka Shiversteel Vox AoE, Mobility, Sustain Short range, Squishy, Susceptible to slows Adagio, Kestrel, Koshka, Lorelai, Ringo Atlas Pauldron

Last updated for Update 3.1.