How to Counter Smolder in League of Legends

Smolder, League of Legends’ newest ADC champion, excels when he secures an early advantage to snowball effectively. Despite his straightforward kit, Smolder can become a formidable opponent if allowed to get ahead in the game.

This guide offers key strategies and insights to effectively counter Smolder, the 167th addition to the League and the premier champion of 2024. For those looking to master Smolder or enhance their gameplay with any other champion, visit the 1v9.gg Champion Page. There, you’ll find comprehensive resources including builds, gameplay tips, and extensive strategies to aid in your ascent through the ranks.

Understanding Smolder Kit

To effectively counter a champion, you must first comprehend their abilities and their objectives during the laning phase. Let’s dive into the details of Smolder’s kit.

As an AD Carry, Smolder operates primarily in the bottom lane. His arsenal includes a dash for mobility, significant poke potential, and a healing mechanism within his Ultimate. Here’s a detailed look at each of his abilities, including his Passive:

Smolder’s Passive: Dragon Practice

Dragon Practice enhances Smolder’s abilities by providing him with a stack each time he lands a spell on an enemy or secures a kill. These stacks increase the damage of his basic abilities, making him progressively more formidable in combat.

Smolder’s Q: Super Scorcher Breath

Super Scorcher Breath is Smolder’s primary damaging ability, which directly benefits from his Passive. As Smolder accumulates stacks through Dragon Practice, this ability evolves. At 25 stacks, it can hit multiple enemies; at 125 stacks, it unleashes a potent explosion, significantly increasing its damage output. Finally, reaching 225 stacks allows Super Scorcher Breath to apply a burning effect to targets, dealing continuous damage over time.

Smolder’s W: Achoo

Achoo is Smolder’s tactical ability that inflicts damage and applies a slowing effect to enemies it hits, hampering their movement and making them easier targets.

Smolder’s E: Flap, Flap, Flap

This ability serves as Smolder’s mobility skill, enabling him to vault over obstacles. During the maneuver, he automatically targets and damages the nearest enemy with the lowest health.

Smolder’s Ultimate: MMOOOMMMM

In this dramatic ultimate, Smolder calls upon his mother, who descends to the battlefield, dealing damage to surrounding enemies and restoring health to Smolder.

Avoid Fighting Smolder in the Jungle

When facing Smolder, choosing the right battlefield is crucial. Given his arsenal of AOE abilities, tight spaces amplify his strengths disproportionately. His Q ability, for instance, allows him to hit multiple targets simultaneously, making clustered environments like the jungle perilous for team fights. Similarly, his ultimate thrives in confined spaces, potentially swinging entire skirmishes with its dual damage and healing capabilities.

To counteract Smolder’s effectiveness, opt for engaging in more open areas of the map, such as the expansive stretches of the lanes, where his abilities can be more easily dodged and his impact diluted. Avoid initiating fights in narrow jungle paths, around tightly packed objectives, or under towers where your team might cluster and become easy targets. If possible, isolate Smolder in these open areas to quickly focus him down before he can leverage his full potential in a fight.

Abuse Smolder’s E Cooldown

Smolder’s mobility tool, his E, is pivotal to his survivability and positioning. This ability lets him maneuver effectively, clear obstacles, and evade incoming threats. Notably, it’s his sole mobility skill, which makes tracking its cooldown crucial.

If Smolder prematurely utilizes his E, whether to escape minor threats or reposition inappropriately, it’s important to note the downtime. With a base cooldown of over 20 seconds, this window presents an optimal opportunity for aggressive plays. During this period, Smolder is significantly more susceptible to ganks and all-in attacks, especially if he’s also expended his Flash.

Capitalize on this by coordinating with your team to engage or re-engage once your abilities are ready, ensuring you can take advantage of his reduced escape capabilities. This approach forces Smolder into a defensive position and can tilt lane dominance in your favor.

Don’t Let Smolder Get Ahead

In League of Legends, it’s crucial to prevent any champion from gaining momentum, but this is especially true for Smolder. His capacity to dominate later in the game is significantly hindered if he doesn’t secure an early lead.

Focus on delaying Smolder’s skill enhancements, particularly his Q, which gains substantial power with each tier unlocked. The longer you can postpone these upgrades, the less effective he will be during critical mid to late-game fights.

Strategies to keep Smolder from advancing include:

• Engaging him frequently in combat to exploit his vulnerabilities.
• Coordinating multiple ganks to diminish his presence and effectiveness.
• Denying him access to minion waves, thus limiting his gold and experience accumulation.
• Capitalizing on his ability cooldowns to press the advantage.

These tactics not only curb his growth but also reduce the threat he poses as the match progresses, making it easier to control the game’s pace and outcome.

Lock Smolder down with CC

Smolder’s primary escape mechanism is his E ability, which provides essential mobility to dodge incoming attacks and navigate through team fights. Observing and timing his use of this ability can be pivotal. When Smolder expends his E, he becomes markedly more vulnerable, making it an opportune moment to engage.

To effectively neutralize Smolder, employ crowd control (CC) tactics right after he uses his E. A well-timed CC can trap him, preventing him from contributing damage and making him an easy target for your team. If Smolder has already used his Flash, his chances of escaping diminish greatly, leaving him at your mercy.

Focusing on these moments to apply CC not only pins him down but also drastically reduces his threat level in skirmishes and larger clashes. This strategic approach will substantially boost your team’s odds of overpowering him and securing victory in engagements.

Strategically Counterpick Smolder

Selecting the right champions to counter Smolder can dramatically shift the balance of power during both laning and team fight phases. To effectively neutralize Smolder’s potential, consider choosing champions that excel in direct confrontations with him and can disrupt his gameplay during critical team engagements. Here are five champions renowned for their effectiveness against Smolder:

Leona

Leona shines as a formidable engage support, particularly effective against Smolder. Starting from level 2, she can adopt an aggressive stance, frequently initiating combat with precision. Her prowess extends into team fights where her ultimate, Solar Flare, can decisively immobilize Smolder along with nearby opponents. This ability not only disrupts Smolder’s positioning but also sets the stage for her team to capitalize on the stun and secure advantageous outcomes in skirmishes.

Caitlyn

Caitlyn emerges as a formidable counter to Smolder thanks to her superior range and powerful enhanced auto-attacks. Her ability to consistently poke and exert lane pressure allows her to dominate the laning phase. By leveraging her range and wave-clear capabilities, Caitlyn can effectively keep Smolder pinned under his tower, limiting his farming opportunities and controlling the pace of the lane. This relentless pressure not only stifles Smolder’s ability to scale but also keeps him on the defensive, reducing his impact on the game.

Sejuani

Sejuani shines as an often-underappreciated jungler, equipped with a plethora of crowd control abilities. Her frequent and strategic ganks, especially when leveraging her ultimate in the bot lane, can significantly disrupt Smolder’s gameplay. This constant pressure forces him to adapt his build, often necessitating the purchase of armor penetration items to effectively counter Sejuani’s robust defenses. This not only sets him back economically but also delays his power spikes, giving your team a considerable advantage.

Zac

Zac excels in durability and crowd control, making him a formidable opponent for Smolder. His build typically focuses on enhancing his tankiness, which complicates Smolder’s strategy as he’ll need to prioritize armor penetration to effectively damage Zac. Furthermore, Zac’s arsenal of crowd control abilities makes him an ideal counter to disrupt Smolder’s playstyle, restricting his mobility and reducing his overall impact in skirmishes and team fights.

Vayne

Vayne thrives in prolonged engagements due to her Silver Bolts (W), which deal significant true damage after consecutive attacks. As she reaches level six, her potential for securing kills significantly increases with the activation of her ultimate, Final Hour, enhancing her damage output and stealth capabilities. This makes her exceptionally lethal in extended trades and positions her as a formidable adversary against champions like Smolder.

Consider Banning Smolder in Ranked Play

As a new season kicks off, starting on a strong note is crucial to avoid unnecessary losses and the significant LP penalties that come with them. It’s often wise to ban freshly released champions early in their release cycle. The likelihood of your teammates effectively mastering a new champion like Smolder immediately is relatively low, and there’s a risk they might select him for inappropriate roles or lanes.

To safeguard your rank and team dynamics, it might be beneficial to ban Smolder during the initial release period. This prevents him from being picked on your team before players have adequately learned to utilize him effectively. Although there’s a chance that an opponent might pick Smolder and not perform well, the risk of your team being unprepared to counter his abilities—potentially leading to devastating defeats in the bot lane—is a more significant concern. By banning him early on, you ensure a more stable and predictable team composition in your ranked matches.

Conclusion

Countering Smolder in League of Legends requires a strategic approach that encompasses understanding his abilities, exploiting his weaknesses, and implementing effective countermeasures. By grasping the functions of his abilities, especially the conditions under which they become most potent, you can more effectively anticipate and neutralize his threats. Engaging Smolder when his key abilities are on cooldown, particularly his mobility skill, E, can significantly reduce his effectiveness in skirmishes. Employing champions that naturally counter his playstyle, such as those with superior range, tankiness, or crowd control, can further diminish his impact in the game. Moreover, considering a preemptive ban on Smolder during the early phase of his release in ranked queues might save your team from potential pitfalls due to unfamiliarity with the new champion. By integrating these strategies, you’ll enhance your gameplay and increase your chances of dominating against Smolder on the Rift.