Orianna vs Cassiopeia Counter Pick

Cassiopeia is rated a 10 for difficulty, and the reason is that her damage depends on Twin Fang striking targets already poisoned by Noxious Blast or Miasma, cast from a champion with no dash and no blink. Serpentine Grace is the compensation, making every move speed bonus more effective on her, so she walks out of trouble rather than jumping. Orianna, at difficulty 7, only needs the Ball in the right place. Over 252 games on patch 16.13.1 she takes the mid lane matchup 55.6%, an Easy rating.

Command: Dissonance attacks that compensation directly: the pulse leaves a field that speeds allies and slows enemies, and a slowed Cassiopeia without a dash has no answer to the Command: Shockwave that follows. Miasma grounds anyone crossing it and blocks movement abilities, but Orianna has none to lose — the Ball travels, she does not. Their base numbers are close where it counts: 550 attack range against 525, 630 base health against 565, 18 base armor against 20. By level 18 Orianna is the healthier of the two at 2,435 against 2,296. Both deal only magic damage, so magic resist is the single defensive stat with real weight here, and Cassiopeia starts with 32 of it against Orianna’s 26. Move speed reads 335 against 325 in her favour, which is exactly the margin Serpentine Grace is designed to multiply and exactly what a slow field takes away again.