Samira Counters: Stop the Pentakill Machine
Samira's ultimate can wipe your entire team in seconds. Here's how to shut her down before she pops off.
Samira is one of the most frustrating ADCs to play against. She dashes in, blocks your abilities with her W, and then presses R to pentakill your team. But here's the secret — Samira is only broken if you let her stack her passive and get into melee range.
If you know how to counter her, she's actually one of the easiest ADCs to shut down. This guide breaks down the best Samira counters and exactly how to beat her in lane and teamfights.
Top 5 Samira Counters
Caitlyn Easy
Win Rate vs Samira: 54.7%
Caitlyn is the ultimate Samira counter. Your range advantage means Samira can never touch you in lane. Trap her dash paths, poke her down with Q, and zone her off CS with your auto range. Post-6, your ultimate goes through her W. She can't block it.
Key Strategy: Place traps on minions she wants to dash to. If she dashes in, headshot combo and walk away. She can't trade back.
Draven Medium
Win Rate vs Samira: 53.9%
Draven out-damages Samira at every stage of the game. Your axes chunk her for 30% HP per auto, and your E cancels her dash. If she tries to all-in you, stand and fight — you win the DPS race every time.
Key Strategy: Save E for her dash. When she goes in, E her, auto twice, and she's dead. Don't let her stack her passive.
Ashe Easy
Win Rate vs Samira: 53.2%
Ashe's perma-slow makes Samira's life miserable. She can't dash in because you're constantly slowing her, and your ultimate cancels her R mid-cast. Your W poke keeps her low, and your range keeps you safe.
Key Strategy: Spam W to poke her down. If she ults, R her immediately to cancel it. She can't block your ultimate with W.
Jhin Easy
Win Rate vs Samira: 52.8%
Jhin's range and burst damage make Samira's engage impossible. Your W root stops her dash, your traps zone her, and your fourth shot chunks her for half her HP. She can't get close without dying.
Key Strategy: Root her with W when she dashes. Place traps on her dash paths. If she ults, run — don't try to fight her in melee range.
Ezreal Medium
Win Rate vs Samira: 52.1%
Ezreal's mobility and poke make him a safe pick into Samira. Your E lets you escape her all-in, and your Q poke keeps her low. She can block one Q with W, but you can spam Q on cooldown. She can't block them all.
Key Strategy: Poke with Q, E away if she dashes in. Build Manamune and outscale her.
How to Beat Samira: General Strategy
Don't Let Her Stack Her Passive
Samira's ultimate requires her to hit S rank on her passive (6 unique attacks/abilities). If you disengage before she stacks it, she can't ult. Poke her, back off, reset. Don't give her the extended fight she needs.
Hard CC Cancels Her Ultimate
Samira's R is a channel. Any hard CC (stun, knockup, silence, root) cancels it instantly. Save your CC for when she ults, and she becomes useless. Leona E, Nautilus Q, Thresh Q — all of these shut her down.
Punish Her W Cooldown
Samira's W has a 30-second cooldown early game. When it's down, she's vulnerable. Bait it out with a low-value ability, then all-in her while it's on cooldown. She can't block your damage without it.
Zone Her in Teamfights
Samira needs to get into melee range to ult. If your team zones her with CC and poke, she can't engage. Stand behind your frontline, and don't let her dash onto your backline. No engage = no pentakill.
Samira's Weaknesses
Short Range: Samira has 500 attack range. Long-range ADCs (Caitlyn, Ashe, Jhin) can poke her for free.
Needs to Stack Passive: Without S rank, Samira can't ult. Disengage before she stacks it, and she's useless.
Ultimate is a Channel: Any hard CC cancels her R. Save your stuns for when she ults.
W Has Long Cooldown: Samira's W is her only defensive tool. When it's down, she's a free kill.
Support Picks That Counter Samira
- Leona — E onto her when she ults, cancel it instantly
- Nautilus — Q cancels her dash and her ultimate
- Thresh — Flay her out of her ultimate, hook her if she dashes in
- Lulu — Polymorph cancels her R, and your ult knocks her away
- Janna — Q and R both cancel her ultimate, and your E blocks her damage
Items That Counter Samira
- Plated Steelcaps — Reduces her auto attack damage
- Guardian Angel — Forces her to kill you twice, wasting her ult
- Zhonya's Hourglass — (For mages) Makes you untargetable during her ult
- Randuin's Omen — Reduces her crit damage and slows her
- Thornmail — Reflects her ult damage back at her
FAQ
Who is the best counter to Samira? Caitlyn is the best Samira counter. Her range advantage means Samira can never engage in lane, and Caitlyn's traps zone Samira's dash paths. Caitlyn's ultimate also goes through Samira's W, making it impossible to block.
How do you counter Samira's ultimate? Samira's ultimate is a channel that can be canceled by any hard CC (stun, knockup, root, silence). Champions like Leona, Nautilus, Thresh, and Lulu can instantly cancel her R. Alternatively, disengage before she stacks her passive to S rank so she can't ult at all.
What is Samira weak against? Samira is weak against long-range poke (Caitlyn, Ashe, Jhin), hard CC that cancels her ultimate, and champions who can disengage before she stacks her passive. She also struggles when her W is on cooldown since it's her only defensive tool.
Can Samira block ultimates with her W? Samira's W blocks most projectiles, but it cannot block non-projectile abilities like Caitlyn's ultimate, Lux's ultimate (after the initial cast), or melee attacks. It also doesn't block CC that's already applied to her.
How do you beat Samira in lane? Abuse Samira's short range by picking long-range ADCs like Caitlyn or Ashe. Poke her down, zone her off CS, and don't let her stack her passive. When her W is on cooldown, all-in her with your support. She can't trade back without it.
Practice Your Counters on a Fresh Account
Master Caitlyn, Draven, and other Samira counters without tanking your main account's MMR.
Browse LoL SmurfsFinal Thoughts
Samira looks scary, but she's got clear weaknesses. Pick long-range ADCs, save your CC for her ultimate, and don't let her stack her passive. Punish her W cooldown, and she becomes a free lane.
Master these counters, and Samira goes from pentakill machine to cannon minion.
