Aphelios has incredible damage with all of his late game stats even after all those nerfs from previous patches. The fact that you are always playing a guessing game when you play with him is what makes him OP. You don’t know what his next weapon would be as he has different playstyles for each gun he uses.
But he also has a weakness and this includes using crowd controls on him or basically bursting him down. Players don’t need an assassin to burst aphelios down as some supports with crowd controls or huge burst potentials can easily take care of him. No matter how OP a champion is there will always be a workaround on that, be it playstyle or an item build.
So let us take a look at 5 support champions that counter Aphelios at different phases of the game.
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5. Rell
Rell is a new champion but has a really low pick rate because of her boring playstyle. She is a very slow champion that even moves slower when she enters one of her forms. But she is a great champion to use against Aphelios. This ADC is weak against support champions that can tank great damage and has great engage and Rell does just that. Rell can easily dive aphelios with her W and CC him until Rell’s ADC takes care of Aphelios.
Early Game Playstyle Against Aphelios
Rell is an excellent lane bully that is incredibly tanky especially when she picks the aftershock rune. She can easily cast his W upon Aphelios whenever the ADC decides he can follow up on Rell’s engage. This skill of Rell deals a burst damage which can also be followed up by her Aftershock’s pop.
There really isn’t that much that Aphelios can do when he is engaged by a Rell, as his damage really won’t matter to Rell’s Tankiness. Keep engaging Aphelios like his and you’ll surely take his tempo away in no time. You can also zone him away from minion range as he will always be afraid of your W and step back everytime you are in the lane.
Mid Game Playstyle and Item Build
Mid game will see through Mythic item builds as first buys. Aphelios can easily buy a galeforce or an Immortal Shieldbow so he can survive that engage of Rell, but this can be mitigated by Rell if she builds a Thornmail that doesn’t only give her huge armor but also give Aphelios return damage and Grievous wounds.
Aphelios damage is not too crazy yet at this point of the game so you will still easily overpower him along with your ADC every time you engage him. So, abuse the fact that you have the lead against him and kill him every time you get the chance.
Late Game Playstyle
If Aphelios manages to bounce back to the game and gain damage for himself, your best bet is to always keep him zoned away from team fights so your team won’t have to worry about him. You can use your W engage and ultimate to pull him away from your team and let your team take care of the other champions.
Don’t worry as Aphelios won’t be able to kill you because of your tankiness. When your team manages to kill all of Aphelios’ teammates, they can easily focus and fall upon him. You can keep him from running by casting your CC abilities on him and constantly being by his side.
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4. Braum
The problem with Aphelios is that he deals insane amounts of damage in the late game especially when the player is good at sequencing his guns. You can easily mitigate that damage by picking a Braum as his shield is your best defense against an overpowered Aphelios. Braum is also an excellent CC and engage support so you can always bully Aphelios out of the lane with your dashes and stuns. Your shield is just the cherry on top as his damage becomes useless against you and your team.
Early Game Playstyle
Braum can use his W on melee minions to close the gap between him and Aphelios, he can also pick the Hail of Blades rune so he can easily proc the effects of his passive. Braum can leap while using his shield so he can trade with Aphelios and his support without taking that much damage in return. You can also coordinate with your ADC especially when they are long ranged to follow up on your engage and bring Aphelios’ hp down or ultimately take him down.
Mid Game Playstyle and Item Builds
A Randuin’s Omen is a great buy on Braum as it takes care of the Crit damage Aphelios can dish out and it also has an active that slows enemies caught by its effects. It also slows the attack speed of nearby enemies so the value of this item is great for its price. Continue using your dash to friendly minions tactic to zone Aphelios away from minion range and coordinate with your Jungler and ADC so you can go in with a full engage where you use all of your skills to stop APhelios from escaping. Once Aphelios loses in the laning phase, it will be really hard for him to bounce back in the late game so always look for a take down on him.
Late Game Playstyle
Stay close to your ADC as Aphelios’ damage is still crazy even if he died lots of times. Protect your ADC at all costs but when there is no danger, look to stay close to Aphelios and zone him away from your team. Your shield alone is enough to keep Aphelios from hitting your teammates. Your ult is also a great way to keep Aphelios stunned so he won’t be able to help his teammates.
3. Amumu
Amumu’s kit is focused on the fact that he needs to constantly be close to enemy champions so that he can CC and damage them. With his recent buff where his Q now has 2 charges, he can lock Aphelios down for even longer so he won’t be able to react to the damage Amumu’s ADC can do.
Amumu has lots of CC and damage skills which alone can deal insane amounts of damage to Aphelios. Looking as how Aphelios is a squishy champion, Amumu can have a build path like that of a mage so he can burst Aphelios down once he catches him with his Q.
Early Game Playstyle
Amumu should play safely in the early game as he is not that tanky yet and his damage is still mediocre, but look to engage when you are paired with a strong early game ADC like Draven who has a very high kill pressure. Stay behind minions and let your ADC farm first.
Mid Game Playstyle and Build Path
Once you reach level 6, you can now do a full engage on Aphelios and lock him down for more than 5 seconds. You can also build an Everfrost so you can extend the CC duration even further.
Have your ADC be at the ready every time you try to engage Aphelios as they will be the ones to provide damage to take Aphelios down as you lock him down for more than 5 seconds. ADC’s like Caitlyn work with Amumu in countering Aphelios so look to pick her as well when duoing with a friend.
Late Game Playstyle
The late game is pretty much the same as you engage team fights with your Q and ultimate followed by another Q and an Everfrost. All of this will lock your enemies down along with Aphelios giving your team enough time to finish them all off. Just use Amumu’s skills at the perfect time so you can get maximum value out of it.
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2. Lux
Lux is an extreme lane bully that can easily zone enemies out of minion range. She also has incredible burst potential that only gets stronger as the game goes on. Lux’s kit also makes her a pseudo carry which can take care of Aphelios easily at 1v1’s. Once caught by Lux’s Q Aphelios is guaranteed to see a grey skin as he is very squishy to survive Lux’s quick combo.
Early Game Playstyle
Lux should start with her E and poke Aphelios as much as possible. Once she reaches level 2 she can do a full combo on Aphelios and proc an electrocute on him, this would bring Aphelios’ health really low causing him to pop 2 potions. You can continue doing this until he resets and lose minion gold and EXP. If he comes back, continue doing this until you shut him off the game.
Mid Game Playstyle and Item Build
A Luden’s Tempest goes a long way if you are looking to keep Aphelios from getting stronger. The Burst damage of this item would surely kill Aphelios in one go once you hit him with your quick combo.
If not you can also keep chasing him as a proc from this item gives you movement speed. And with Lux having low cooldowns in the mid game, it means you can keep casting your skills on Aphelios until he dies or resets.
Late Game Playstyle
Look to group with your team more often in the late game as APhelios would do the same. Focus on Aphelios every time a teamfight erupts and be the one to burst him down every time you see him. Keep doing this and you will easily win team fights that can lead to securing objectives.
1. Karma
Just like Lux, Karma has an excellent poke ability that she can use on Aphelios even on the laning phase. You can continuously cast your low cooldown Q on him to zone him away from the minion range. Use your E on yourself every time he walks up and tries to hit you.
If you can get close to him you can try and snare him and poke him with your empowered Q. Only do this, however, if his support is not capable of shielding him. You will lose value if you trade with him and his support has excellent heals and shields.
Early Game Playstyle
You should always poke him with your empowered Q every time it is off cooldown so you can get the HP advantage over him. Have your ADC farm in peace as you bully Aphelios and his support out of the lane. Be careful though as they can trade with you if he picks the right support for him.
Mid Game Playstyle and Item Builds
You should already have built a Moonstone by now or a Luden’s tempest to extend your poking abilities. He still doesn’t have insane damage at this phase of the game so look to engage him with your ADC anytime you can. A root followed by an empowered Q will easily take away half of Aphelios’ health and it will be easier for your ADC to follow up on this and finish Aphelios.
Late Game Playstyle
Karma is a team player when it comes to the late game so look to build items like redemption and Ardent Censer. You will be able to provide great heals for your team and ADC every teamfight and this can easily counter Aphelios’ damage in the late game. Always look to poke him with your Q every time you see him so it will be easier for your team to cut him down.
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Final Thoughts
Aphelios is very weak in the early game but he can be dangerous if left unchecked. Continue bullying him with the mentioned champions so he doesn’t snowball out of control. Once your ADC gets the lead on Aphelios, he won’t be able to bounce back.
Thank you so much for reading my content, and I hope you enjoyed it as I invest time and effort in making these articles. I hope this article helps you in your future games summoner, GLHF, and see you on the Rift!
Also read: Self mitigated damage in LoL
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