Rakan vs Xerath Counter Pick

Xerath’s damage is entirely a function of distance. Arcanopulse is a long-range beam, Eye of Destruction is called down from well outside a fight, and Rite of the Arcane immobilises him while he fires his barrages. His difficulty rating of 8 is mostly about landing those from maximum range, and all of them are worth less the moment somebody is standing on him.

Rakan is built to be that somebody. Grand Entrance dashes and knocks up on arrival, Battle Dance offers a second flight to an ally with a free re-cast shortly after, and The Quickness charms everyone he touches while he moves faster. Across 529 games on patch 16.13.1 that combination returns 57.7% for Rakan. Xerath’s defensive answer is Shocking Orb, a single-target stun, and there is no second gate behind it if it misses.

Statistically he is a soft target: 22 armor at level one and 101.9 at 18, 596 health rising to 2398, against Rakan’s 30 and 113.3 with 610 and 2293. Xerath’s 340 base move speed edges 335, but 525 attack range against 300 stops mattering once the gap closes. Magic damage on both sides means armor does nothing for their opponents, and Mana Surge keeps his mana high enough to poke freely early. Full data on the Xerath page.