Varus vs Illaoi Counter Pick

Illaoi wants a fight in a confined space beside impassable terrain, where Prophet of an Elder God keeps spawning Tentacles. Varus refuses that fight from 575 units against her 125 and wins 57.6% of 212 games on patch 16.13.1.

• Movement: Illaoi is quicker at 350 base speed against 330, so distance has to be held with Hail of Arrows rather than footwork alone.
• Frames: 656 health and 35 Armor at level 1 growing to 2,611 and 120, against 600 and 24 growing to 2,385 and 92.
• Damage: both physical, so armor is the shared defensive purchase and neither pick is punished by magic resistance choices.

The ability to respect is Test of Spirit, which rips the spirit from its target so that a share of the damage the spirit takes echoes back to the original — standing next to an allied minion wave while it is active is how a comfortable matchup becomes a lost one. Harsh Lesson is her leap onto a target, drawing nearby Tentacles into the same swing, and Leap of Faith spawns another Tentacle for each champion it hits, so the danger scales with how many bodies are nearby. Charging Piercing Arrow for its extra reach before she can close is the whole plan. Kit: Illaoi.