Nobody actually loses to Blitzcrank's kit. They lose to one second of standing in the wrong place, and then they lose the twenty minutes that came after it.
Blitzcrank is the oldest complaint in the game and it's still valid, because no other champion converts a single mistake into a dead lane so efficiently. There's no counterplay after the grab lands, which is why every real answer to him happens before it does, or blocks it outright.
Check out our top Blitzcrank counters below for more information on how to beat him!
Counter Guide
How to Beat Blitzcrank
Nobody actually loses to Blitzcrank's kit. They lose to one second of standing in the wrong place, and then they lose the twenty minutes that came after it.
Blitzcrank is one of the oldest complaints in the game and it's still a fair one, because no other champion converts a single mistake into a dead lane this efficiently. He has never really left the high end support section of our solo queue tier list, and the reason is obvious. There's no counterplay after the grab lands, which is exactly why every real answer to him has to happen before it does, or block it outright.
Braum- A projectile block, a spell shield, or something that eats the grab before it connects
- Enough defensive value to survive being pulled rather than to avoid being pulled
- Vision on the brush he wants to stand in, since that's where most successful grabs start
Blitzcrank Overview
Strengths: What Makes Him Dangerous
- Rocket Grab [Q] reaches 1079 units and it doesn't matter how strong you are once you're standing next to five enemies.
- Power Fist [E] knocks you into the air immediately after the pull, which makes the follow-up damage from his team guaranteed rather than likely.
- Static Field [R] removes shields, damages, and silences, so the escape ability you were saving is often not available when you reach for it.
- He doesn't need the grab to start a fight. Overdrive [W] is a big burst of move and attack speed, and a Blitzcrank who has given up on hooking you will simply walk at you instead.
- He has one more health bar than you counted on, and it arrives at low health, usually the moment you thought the kill was closing.
Weaknesses: Where You Get In
- Rocket Grab [Q] stops on the first thing it touches. That includes a minion, a pet, and anything else standing between you.
- Missing costs him twenty seconds. That's the rank 1 cooldown, and he has nothing else that starts a fight at range.
- Overdrive [W] ends in a self-slow. The engage tool he uses instead of the grab leaves him walking home slowly.
- He needs you out of position. Against a lane that holds a straight line behind the wave, he simply doesn't get a turn.
- The grab is a projectile. Anything that blocks or absorbs projectiles removes his entire threat, not part of it.
Countering Blitzcrank
Based on the strengths and weaknesses above, beating Blitzcrank comes down to champions who can accomplish at least one of the following:
- Keep a minion between you. It sounds obvious and it's still the single highest value habit in the matchup. The grab stops on the first body.
- Block or absorb it. A projectile block or a spell shield turns his 20 second cooldown into a wasted one and hands the lane back to you.
- Buy the control ward for the brush, not the river. The grabs that land almost always come from a bush he was already standing in.
- Survive the pull rather than dodging it forever. Tenacity, a shield, and one defensive item mean the grab that eventually lands is a scare rather than a death.
If you're already locked into the matchup without any of those tools, these strategies still work:
Playing a Bad Blitzcrank Matchup
Walk to lane on the far side of your minions every single time. Most of the grabs that decide a game land in the first two minutes, before anyone is thinking about it.
Stay behind your melee support and if you're a melee support stay between your carry and Blitzcrank. Watch out for junglers though.
Play the wave close to your turret. A lane pushed toward his tower gives him three bushes and two river approaches to work with, and that's a much larger surface than you need to defend.
Best Blitzcrank Counters
Three ways to beat a hook support: destroy the hook, survive the hook, or undo what the hook set up. One counter each.
Braum Blocks the Hook
Unbreakable [E] is the most direct answer in the game to Rocket Grab [Q]. Braum raises his shield in a direction and intercepts all projectiles from it, after which he can either target the enemy ADC or jump back to safety.
Leona Survives Being Grabbed
Leona wants to be inside that fight anyway. Eclipse [W] gives her damage reduction, armor and magic resist, then deals damage and extends itself if enemies are nearby, which is precisely what happens after a grab lands. Blitzcrank pulling Leona is Blitzcrank starting a fight on her terms with a free gap closer.
Janna Peels Her Back Out
Somewhat of a controversial counter but Janna's laning phase against Blitzcrank is actually quite strong as she has the movement speed to avoid hook and also the speed and poke to run him down even with his W on. However, she's quite squishy herself so standing between her carry and Blitzcrank usually just leads to a dead Janna.
Itemizing Against Blitzcrank
Blitzcrank's own damage is mostly magic and mostly irrelevant. You're itemizing against the fight that happens after the grab, not against him:
A Control Ward is genuinely the best 75 gold you can spend into Blitzcrank, because the grabs that land come from bushes he thought were unwatched. Mercury's Treads cuts the follow-up crowd control, Locket of the Iron Solari shields the whole bot lane through the burst that follows a pull, and Banshee's Veil eats the grab itself once per fight.
Where Blitzcrank Actually Sits Right Now
Counter picks age with the patch, so check the current numbers before you trust a matchup:
- League of Legends Solo Queue Tier List, updated every patch
- Tier List Changelog, for what moved and why
- How to Beat or Counter Series, for every other matchup guide
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