Irelia has unmatched sustain and so is pretty much impossible for you to push out of lane. The best thing you can do is try not to push the wave (unless you can 1 shot it) and hold your E defensively. The good news is even if you fall behind early you should still be able to deal with her in teamfights. Just focus on not dying and be willing to give up some CS if necessary.
Orianna
Orianna is a very difficult lane and you will need help from your support and jungle in order to win. Focus on getting control of the wave with your autos so that she doesn't have time to harass you. Eventually you will have enough waveclear that you can neutralize the matchup.
Syndra
Syndra is a very strong lane bully early, but she is also very gankable and you can dodge her skillshots with your W movespeed. It can be a good idea to rush merc treads in order to survive.
Fizz
Fizz is very mobile and so can be hard to hit, but you can bully him very hard in the first 2 levels and then try have the wave come back to you after that. Be very careful of being caught too far up in the lane since Fizz can easily run you down, especially if you waste your E. Post 6 be super careful of his all in and gank setup. It can be worth buying a null magic mantle and sitting on it in this matchup just to not die.
Akali
Akali is quite hard to move out of lane but she can't really kill you unless you stand too far up in the lane. I would run first strike in this matchup and play to scale. Eventually you will have enough waveclear to keep her pinned to tower while you move around and make plays.
Zed
Zed is all about dodging his WEQ combo. If you can consistently dodge it then the matchup shouldn't be too hard. Try and play aggressive when his W is on CD to make up for any health you might have lost. At 6 be willing to trade ult immediately if he goes on you to avoid taking too much damage.
Kassadin
Kassadin can be bullied hard in lane, but if you don't build a big enough lead he will outscale you pretty hard. Make sure to constantly be harassing him whenever he goes to CS and make sure you base ahead in gold to continue to snowball. Post 6 you can save E defensively in case he tries to jump on you. He will always lack waveclear so eventually you can just push and move and try snowball the game that way instead.
Yasuo
Yasuo is pretty strong in lane but he's very gankable. You need to be very careful being pushed up and for the most part will want to keep the wave on your side of the lane. Try avoid any 1v1 fights and you should outperform him in teamfights.
Viktor
Viktor is a very strong laner but definitely not as useful as you in a 2v2 or skirmish situation. Focus on trying to avoid trades and clearing the wave. Eventually you will have enough waveclear to completely neutralize.
Neeko
Neeko is a pretty strong laner so you will be mainly trying to dodge skillshots and clear waves to survive. You definitely outscale this matchup so as long as you don't get blasted 1v1 if you should be good. You can consider rushing merc treads if you need them too.
Sylas
Sylas is all about his chain. You can win trades by poking and either dodging the chain or if you time your E correctly you can cancel it. If he gets on you though it will really hurt and you need to be super aware of his gank setup. Be careful of him chasing you down the lane with your ult post 6 as well.
LeBlanc
LeBlanc isn't super strong 1v1 and also has very low cooldowns and low waveclear, so you can normally build up a lead by yourself. Post level 3 though you have to be insanely careful of her ganksetup as it's probably the best of any mid laner in the game. If you don't have vision or flash be very careful pushing the lane into her. Try use your E to cancel her W as well.
Azir
You can outtrade and outpush Azir for most of the lane but he slowly and surely outscales you. Look to build a 1v1 lead and post 6 you can start focusing on shoving him instead and looking for skirmishes and roams.
Karma
Karma is a very strong laner but eventually you will get to the point where you can neutralize. Try hold your charm so she can't just walk past the wave for free.
Yone
Yone is all about respecting his windows. When he has Q3 and/or E you need to play more respectfully and try move back. It's also a good idea to try hold E defensively in this matchup unless Yone wastes his cooldowns. Post 6 be very careful of being rundown the lane if you're pushed up far or falling victim to his gank setup.
Twisted Fate
Twisted Fate is a weak laner and you can bully his lack of waveclear and trading potential. The main keys to this matchup are to not die to any random ganks and try keep enough pressure on the lane/on him after level 6 so that he can't roam freely.
Zoe
Beating Zoe is a lot about positioning. You need to make sure not to get hit by random Qs while also keeping yourself close to the creeps so that you can block her E. If Zoe picks up a summ like exhaust or ignite you will need to hold E defensively as she may look to force an all in with it. Post 6 when she ults forward it can be an opportunity to get a free charm and good trade.
Lux
Against Lux you need to stand apart from the wave. If she uses E on you, try dodge it but worst case you will be able to get push over the wave and then harass her easier. If you want to be safe you can go merc treads in this matchup, otherwise be very careful being caught by a Q post 6 as you'll take a huge amount of damage.
Xerath
Xerath is all about dodging skillshots so you definitely want to rush out tier two boots as soon as you can. Make sure to not stack with the wave so he has to choose between hitting you or hitting the wave. Post 6 you should find it very easy to setup ganks onto him.
Anivia
Anivia is quite hard to bully out but she can't stop you from scaling for free, and post 6 as well as in skirmishes you should have the edge over her. Be very careful being caught too far up in the lane post 6 if you don't have ulti.
Jayce
Jayce is relatively easy, you can poke him down while saving your E defensively in case he ever tries to get aggressive. Be careful fighting him 1v1 when he has his dirk spike, especially if you miss charm.
Talon
Against Talon you just need to make sure not to get hit by both parts of W. If he hits both he will almost always get an advantageous trade against you, especially if your E is down. Try stand apart from the wave so he has to choose between hitting the creeps or hitting you. Sometimes I like to buy a cloth armor and sit on it to make this matchup more survivable as well.
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia is very strong 1v1 but if you hold your E defensively she will find it difficult to run you down the lane. Focus on setting up jungle ganks and be careful of getting caught by her ult or W.
Annie
Annie can vary a lot depending on what runes she takes. If she takes aery + resolve she can be quite difficult to deal with in lane, but she lacks waveclear and should be outscaled. If she takes a scaling dark harvest or first strike page you should get through lane easily enough and can hopefully setup ganks onto her.
Galio
Galio is a great matchup to take first strike in, the main key to this matchup is to keep him pushed in but also make sure you don't die to any pre 6 ganks, and be a bit more careful if your ult is down.
Ekko
Punishing cooldowns is very important against Ekko in the early game. His only trading tool is also his only waveclear tool so you should make him choose between clearing the wave or trading with you by positioning outside of the wave and look to move forward when his Q is on CD. You can hold E defensively as well so he can't E onto you freely.
Akshan
Akshan is very strong in the early game but gets heavily outscaled. As you get more waveclear you will be able to stop him from roaming, but in the early game you will mainly just want to play safe and hold your E in case he goes onto you.
Katarina
Katarina can snowball really easily so you need to play this matchup slow, don't step on daggers and make sure you hold your E defensively. Post 6 make sure she's pushed in and doesn't get windows to roam.
Diana
Diana is deceptively tanky and snowballs well but she has a hard time engaging on you if you hold E. Focus on neutralizing and she will have a hard time teamfighting into you.
Naafiri
Naafiri is very weak in lane and you can harass heavily in lane with W and autos. Make sure to save your E for when she tries to dash on you and if you time it correctly you can cancel her W completely. The only way she can really get ahead is if you let her roam freely after 6 so try push the wave and get good vision down.
Lissandra
Lissandra has trouble matching your push early and will also be outtraded. You do have to be extremely careful of her post 6 gank setup though. Merc treads can be useful for surviving ganks and teamfighting in this matchup as well.
Qiyana
Qiyana can be bullied very hard levels 1 and 2 but you should be careful of her level 3 spike and want the wave to be in the middle or coming back to you by this point. Post 6 do your best to stay away from walls, and try use your E defensively to stop her from getting onto you.
Vel'Koz
Vel'Koz is fairly weak in lane as long as you dodge some Qs and don't stack with the wave to get hit by E. He is very very gankable so try make plays with your jungle. Consider rushing sorc shoes in this matchup as the added movespeed is super nice. Post 6 make sure you don't get hit by a Vel'Koz E or you will take a lot of damage from his ultimate.
Taliyah
Taliyah isn't that great at trading in lane but she does have a lot of waveclear. Try and match the waveclear whenever you can and get the wave in a gankable position.
Aurelion Sol
Aurelion Sol does outscale you, but in the 1v1 you can bully him early. Look for harass when he is Qing the wave, and make sure you save E in case he tries to W forward onto you.
Tristana
Against Tristana you want to play defensively, hold your E for when she jumps in and focus on clearing out waves. If Tristana doesn't get extra gold from kills or towerplates you should outperform her.
Malzahar
Malzahar is one of the weakest early game champions in the game, he has essentially no form of trading power and his waveclear is easily dealt with as long as you kill his voidlings as soon as they spawn. Be careful of stepping up post 6 if you don't know where their jungler is. You can consider QSS, but you don't want to buy it too early as it will slow down your spikes too much.
Veigar
Veigar is very weak early and can't stop you from pushing him in, but it's quite hard to actually trade with him. Just focus on pushing and moving around the map (especially post 6) to snowball before he scales out of control.
Zilean
Zilean is very abusable in lane. He has long cooldowns and his only way to farm from long range is also his only trading tool AND it’s a dodgeable skillshot. Make sure Zilean has to choose between hitting you with Q or farming with Q and when his Q is on cooldown move very aggressively into him. While you can’t normally kill Zilean, you should be able to build a sizable lead in lane. After 6 it’s much harder to punish him so look to just push the wave and pressure tower or move around the map.
Ziggs
Ziggs is relatively strong in lane but if you dodge his skillshots you should be fine. Rushing T2 boots can help a lot. Try play for ganks and skirmishes.
Seraphine
Seraphine is pretty much just going to be waveclear wars, but try and force her to use cooldowns to CS while you use your cooldowns to poke her down and zone her off the wave. Post 6 setting up ganks should be very easy.
Swain
Swain is normally pretty weak early game, but if you hit by too many Es it can be hard. You also lack the damage to kill him, so you're going to have to play to scale or play with your jungle. Make sure you have your E or R ready post 6 in case he tries to ghost onto you.
Corki
Corki is very strong in the early laning phase and so you will need to play defensively and focus on reaching your waveclear spike. Hold your W to disengage from him walking forward with E, and never use your charm before he has used his W. Holding your CDs defensively is key to give him limited windows to trade. Once you get chapter/levels in Q you should be able to neutralize the wave and play for 2v2s.
Ryze
Ryze can push you in early but eventually you will be able to match. In teamfights its very hard for him to play into you since he's so short range if you charm him your team should be able to secure a kill. Be careful of a pre 6 flash EW from him with his jungle, other than that you should be safe.
Hwei
Hwei is very strong in lane and can pressure you very hard 1v1, but he's very immobile and you should have no trouble setting up ganks onto him or catching him out of position in teamfights.
Jarvan IV
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Xin Zhao
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Lee Sin
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Karthus
Ahri is playable with AP junglers, but it gives much higher merc treads value to the enemy team which is pretty bad for both of you. Ideally you avoid playing with AP junglers but you can make it work.
Lillia
Ahri is playable with AP junglers, but it gives much higher merc treads value to the enemy team which is pretty bad for both of you. Ideally you avoid playing with AP junglers but you can make it work.
Evelynn
Ahri is playable with AP junglers, but it gives much higher merc treads value to the enemy team which is pretty bad for both of you. Ideally you avoid playing with AP junglers but you can make it work.
Nidalee
Ahri is decent with nidalee because the priority you get on the mid wave can be useful to help invade, and the charm can provide decent setup. It's still better if you can avoid being double AP mid jungle but it's workable.
Graves
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Kindred
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Jarvan IV
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Xin Zhao
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Lee Sin
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Karthus
Ahri is playable with AP junglers, but it gives much higher merc treads value to the enemy team which is pretty bad for both of you. Ideally you avoid playing with AP junglers but you can make it work.
Lillia
Ahri is playable with AP junglers, but it gives much higher merc treads value to the enemy team which is pretty bad for both of you. Ideally you avoid playing with AP junglers but you can make it work.
Evelynn
Ahri is playable with AP junglers, but it gives much higher merc treads value to the enemy team which is pretty bad for both of you. Ideally you avoid playing with AP junglers but you can make it work.
Nidalee
Ahri is decent with nidalee because the priority you get on the mid wave can be useful to help invade, and the charm can provide decent setup. It's still better if you can avoid being double AP mid jungle but it's workable.
Graves
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Kindred
Ahri is excellent with pretty much any AD ganking jungler such as Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Lee Sin. She can also function fairly well with high damage junglers like Graves or Kindred.
Hey guys I'm Shok, multi Rank 1 Challenger mid laner and content creator! I played league professionally from 2017-2021 and have been rank 1 in multiple seasons, as well as rank 13 on the NA ladder in season 9.
I upload regularly on YouTube, and stream everyday on Twitch so feel free to follow me on either of those platforms :)
Season 10Season 9
Season 9 NA
Laning Phase
The laning phase on Ahri will differ quite a lot depending on if you are vs a melee or a ranged champion.
Vs ranged:
Against ranged champions most of your trades will either come from hitting them with a max range Q when they go for a last hit, or by using W to dodge a skillshot and then trading with autos + electrocute. Generally Ahri loses to other ranged champs pre 6, but post 6 you have great gank setup and eventually you will have enough waveclear to just push and move around the map. If you're in a very hard ranged matchup focus mainly on dodging skillshots and utilize your sustain + waveclear in order to survive. As long as you don't die you should still be very useful in the midgame even in hard counter matchups.
Vs melee:
Vs melee champions you can abuse lane early with lots of W harass and auto attacks. Against most melee champions you will need to hold your charm defensively as they may want to move into you and force a trade. Be careful being pushed up far in the lane pre 6 as you leave yourself very vulnerable to getting chased down. Again once you hit 6, you should be able to play normally and either force them under tower or look for skirmishes.
Mid Game
In the mid game as Ahri you will want to do your best to continue to keep up your gold/xp while also being at all the major objective fights. The best way to do this is try shove the side wave as far as you can without dying. If you don't have TP up, it can be a good idea to group with your team instead and just catch sidewaves when they are going to crash on your tower until your TP comes back up. If your sidelane matchup is really easy + your team is winning and you have vision then sidelaning should be very easy, if the opposite of these things are true then you will need to be a lot safer on side.
For objective fights, it's a good rule to try and base around 1 minute before dragon spawns, that way you can spend all your gold and get all your hp and mana back to full. This will give you the best possible chance of grouping up and winning a dragon fight.
Ahri not very good at taking jungle camps, but if you get priority on the side you can easily collapse mid and make a play, or sometimes you might be able to take a sidelane tower with lich bane if you feel safe enough.
Teamfighting and Skirmishing
For Ahri's teamfighting/skirmishing the main thing you need to think about is how you are going to guarantee hitting your charm and who are the most important targets. You can normally guarantee a charm by ulting forward into closer range or by using the E flash combo. You can also follow up on other people's CC if that lands first. Try have a good idea of who the highest value targets are, it's always worth charming a tank for a chunk but it may not be worth flash ult charming them over an adc for example.
You can also cleanup fights pretty easily with your ultimate, if you can find a flank or if your team engages onto theirs you can easily follow up by dashing in and using your resets to get out or reposition afterwards.
You may also want to think about which abilities are most threatening and how to avoid them. For example, if the enemy team still has stuff like thresh hook, lissandra ult, malphite ult etc you will need to either wait for these to be used or be ready to avoid them when you go engage. Sometimes it is best to just play to be the secondary engage once some of the cooldowns are out of the way.
More Ahri Content
That's all for this guide, but if you want to see more of my Ahri content there is a video guide and several gameplay videos on my YouTube channel, and if you want to ask me questions about Ahri feel free to drop by my Twitch or send me a message on discord (shokoce)
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