Bard vs Tahm Kench Counter Pick

Devour swallows a champion for a few seconds, dealing magic damage if it’s an enemy or shielding them if it’s an ally — meaning Tahm Kench can remove Bard’s own carry from a fight entirely, or protect his own from Bard’s Cosmic Binding and pick attempts. It’s the defining tool in a matchup he wins consistently, holding Bard to 46.8% over 950 games on patch 16.13.1.

• Tongue Lash — his poke, which slows on hit and heals him against enemy champions, stacking a debuff, An Acquired Taste, that builds toward a guaranteed Devour later.
• Abyssal Dive — a dive-and-reappear engage that knocks up everyone in the landing area, a strong initiation Bard’s stasis has to answer immediately or lose the fight.

Tahm Kench’s damage scales off his own total health, and Thick Skin converts stored damage into a shield, making him difficult to poke down before he gets a Devour off. Bard’s Magical Journey portal offers an escape, but it doesn’t stop an ally from being swallowed mid-fight, which is usually the actual turning point. Difficulty favors Bard on paper (9/10 versus 5/10), but 950 games is a large enough sample that the gap holds up regardless. Tahm Kench tends to win whenever he lands Devour on the right target against Bard‘s team.