Pantheon vs Taric Counter Pick

Both champions open with 40 armour, and only one of them keeps handing more of it out. Bastion passively raises the armour of Taric and any allied champion carrying it, a structural problem for a kit that deals physical damage exclusively. Pantheon wins 39.3% of 224 games on patch 16.13.1.

The support numbers reinforce that effect. Starlight’s Touch heals nearby allies from stored charges, Bravado empowers Taric’s next two attacks after every cast while cutting his cooldowns and making those attacks land in quick succession, and Cosmic Radiance makes nearby allies invulnerable after a delay, the cleanest answer available to a committed Grand Starfall or a landed Shield Vault. Dazzle adds a delayed stun that interrupts Aegis Assault before its strikes finish, and his mixed damage means Pantheon cannot buy one resistance and be done.

Leverage does exist. Pantheon attacks from 175 to Taric’s 150, moves at 345 against 340, swings 64 attack damage against 55, and ends with 124.2 armour and 2,503 health against 113.1 and 2,328. A difficulty rating of 3 makes Taric forgiving to pilot, and 645 base health against 650 means the durability question is decided by items rather than by the champion. The games Pantheon takes are therefore settled in the earliest levels, before there is mana enough to hold a shield and a heal at the same time.