Counter Guide

How to Beat Taric

Matchup Guide · Evergreen · 3 Counter Picks

You finally catch Taric's team out of position, commit everything, and then the star lands and nobody on his side can die.

He's a nightmare in fights because his best moments come in pairs. His stun fires from him and from the ally he's tethered to, so you've got two beams to dodge instead of one, and his ultimate makes his whole group invulnerable for two and a half seconds. What he can't do is reach you. Taric's the kind of support who has to be close to matter: he's melee, with no dash (his attack range is 150). Supports who fight him from a distance, or shrug off the stun, take most of his power away. Before you ban him, check where he sits on our solo queue tier list this patch.

Matchup Snapshot Taric, the Shield of Valoran

Where You Meet HimSupport

Damage TypeMagic

Why He Is FrustratingA team-wide invulnerability

MobilityNo dashes

Biggest ThreatCosmic Radiance [R]

Hardest CounterMorgana

What a Counter Needs

Range, so he has to walk into you to do anything
A way to deny the stun or break up the group before the star lands

Patch 26.18 Matchup Data

Who Beats Taric on Patch 26.18

Best Picks Into Taric

Morgana490 games53.9%
Senna492 games52.6%
Seraphine772 games52.6%
Nami509 games50.7%

Picks Taric Beats

Blitzcrank666 games42.2%
Nautilus1,184 games43.4%
Pyke518 games44.6%
Thresh1,198 games47.1%

Win rates are for the champion listed, playing support against Taric. They come from Nerfplz's own ranked solo queue games on Patch 26.18, Silver and above, 15,413 Taric games in all. Only matchups that show up in at least 1% of those games are listed.

Taric Overview

Strengths: What Makes Him Dangerous

His ultimate shuts a fight off. Cosmic Radiance [R] makes Taric and every ally within 400 units invulnerable for 2.5 seconds once the star lands.
Two stuns for one cast. Bastion [W] tethers him to an ally, and Dazzle [E] fires from both of them (1.5 seconds of stun from either beam).
He keeps his lane topped up. Starlight's Touch [Q] heals him and nearby allies, and his empowered attacks after each spell refill its charges.
Armor turns into damage. Bravado [Passive] and Dazzle [E] both scale with his bonus armor, so building to survive also makes him hit harder.

Weaknesses: Where You Get In

He's melee with no dash. Every trade he wants starts with him walking to you, and that's time you get to hit him.
Dazzle [E] takes a second to fire. It winds up for a full second, and he's got to be within 575 units when it goes off.
The star is slow. Cosmic Radiance [R] takes 2.5 seconds to land, and it'll only protect the allies near him at that moment.
His ultimate waits a long time (180 seconds at rank one).

Countering Taric

One of these is plenty:

Out-range him. If your support hits from 600 units or more, every trade Taric wants is a walk through damage.
Stop the stun. Put crowd control immunity or a magic shield on the target, and Dazzle [E]'s cooldown is wasted.
Pull people out of the star. Move his allies away during those 2.5 seconds and they won't be protected when it lands.

Already in lane with none of these? You can still get through it.

Playing Into Taric Without a Counter

Watch his tether. If Bastion [W] links him to his marksman, the stun can come from either of them, so don't stand in a line with both.

When the star starts falling, back off. You can't kill anyone under it, and 2.5 seconds of invulnerability plus 2.5 of warning is five seconds of your cooldowns wasted if you stay. Come back once it's over, when he's got nothing for the next few minutes.

Best Taric Counters

Each pick handles him differently, so go with the one you play best.

Morgana Shields Out the Stun

Black Shield [E] absorbs magic damage and makes whoever carries it immune to crowd control for as long as it lasts. Dazzle [E] is magic damage with a stun attached, so the shield soaks the damage and the stun won't land until it breaks, whichever end of the tether the beam comes from.

Her own crowd control reaches much farther than his. Dark Binding [Q] roots for up to three seconds from 1300 units (on a 10-second cooldown, so she'll throw it often), and a rooted Taric can't walk into Dazzle [E] range.

Senna Trades From 600 Units

Senna's basic attacks reach 600 units against Taric's 150. She'll poke him every time he walks toward the wave, and Piercing Darkness [Q] reaches 1300 units while healing her marksman on the way. Last Embrace [W] roots too (it sticks to the first enemy hit, then spreads to everyone near them a second later). That's how her lane punishes him for stepping up.

Seraphine Charms Them Out of the Star

Cosmic Radiance [R] only protects allies standing within 400 units of Taric when it lands, 2.5 seconds after he calls it. Encore [R] charms everyone it passes through from 1300 units away, and a charmed champion walks toward Seraphine, away from the star (for 1.25 to 1.75 seconds, depending on rank).

In lane, Beat Drop [E] gives her the kind of reach Senna's got. It reaches 1300 units and roots anyone who's already slowed.

Itemizing Against Taric

Mercury's Treads shave 30% off the stun, and Quicksilver Sash removes it entirely (it can't clear knock-ups, but Taric hasn't got any). Executioner's Calling puts 40% Wounds on the champions he's healing. Taric and whoever's tethered to him both carry bonus armor from Bastion [W], so a marksman gets real value from Lord Dominik's Regards and its armor penetration.