Graves started as an ADC during the early seasons of League of Legends. He has a targeted basic attack, and his skills are way different than what he does now. After getting reworked, Graves fell off of being an ADC and became a jungler instead because of his updated kit. Now he fires four bullets that push non-champion enemies when he hits them.
He sends six bullets instead when he crits, and his basic attacks radius becomes wider. Bullets also stop at the first enemy hit. That is why one of the best counters to graves is simply standing behind a minion and letting the minion take the hit for you.
If only it were that simple, Graves’ damage is insanely high that he mostly one-shots a minion. His Q also has two damage instances, one where it passes you and deals mediocre damage and the empowered one that comes back when it hits a wall or spends a second to recast.
Graves also has a dash ability that gives him defensive stats the more he uses it and stacks it, with engagement every damage and incredible survivability and mobility. He is like an assassin and a bruiser mixed into one crazy champion. With all of that in mind, let us take a look at the best support champions you can use to counter this monster.
Also read: Best Support Champions That Counter Ezreal
1. Poppy
Poppy is a great champion that you can use to lock extremely mobile champions down in one place. You pick her against Graves and watch as you destroy him in his jungle, even if you are just supporting. Poppy is an excellent roam champion, primarily when building a deadman’s plate.
With this pick, you can communicate with your jungler and initiate counter junglers to dampen Grave’s progress. He is a champion that focuses on power farming to gain late-game damage. Now let’s take a look at the different phases of the game and how you can counter graves, be it in the jungle or as an ADC.
Early Game Play Style
If Graves is in the jungle, you cannot do much to counter Graves but to counter jungle him. Coordinate with your jungler and have your ADC push fast so you can roam around the jungle and find Graves to score a takedown.
Mid Game And Item Build
A great way to counter Graves is to beat him in movement speed and position yourself well, so he doesn’t reach you with his skills and basic attacks. Poppy can do just that with Deadman’s plate. With this item, she can run Graves down along with her W’s active. Once you see Graves, immediately pin him against the wall and use your basic combo on him. Once his stun is about to expire, activate your W so he can’t flash or use his dash. Once locked down, you can chain CC him and easily let your adc finish him.
Late Game Play Style
Graves is solid in the late game, especially if he manages to power farm during the early phases of the game. You can easily counter his damage with Poppy by sending him away with your ultimate. However, if he comes back or you miss your ultimate, a simple CC chain against the wall is enough to keep him from killing your teammates. Poppy is one of Graves’ weaknesses in the game.
What If Questions:
- What if Graves builds crit items?
- As Poppy, you should look to build a Randuin’s Omen as it dampens the damage of critical strikes. It is also another fantastic item to counter Graves’ as it slows him down after you engage him with your combos.
- What if Graves decides to camp bot lane?
- Providing vision on the river is a great way to counter Graves when he decides to camp bot and flank you all the time. Also, talk to your ADC and ask her to control the wave to stay near your tower. This will prevent a flank from coming from Gangplank.
2. Janna
When Graves fights, he depends on his momentum as he dashes around you and builds his defensive stats up. Nothing ruins momentum better than Janna. Her tornadoes can be quickly cast to deny a mobile champion immediately.
She also has a slow she can frequently cast on Graves, and her shield is excellent to counter Graves’ damage and give her ADC a damage boost to help deal with Graves. Janna’s ultimate is also great to keep Graves away from her ADC. Graves has a very short attack range, so a Janna with all her skills can easily keep Graves from harming any of her teammates.
Early Game Play Style
Graves’ ganks depend on flanks in the early game as he doesn’t have a Galeforce to do a frontal engage yet. So basically, you want to plant vision on the river or the tri brush to prevent early ganks from Graves.
But if he manages to slip past your vision defense, you can simply shield your ADC and use an immediate Q on Graves and watch as he walks back to his jungle, gaining no value for his gank.
Mid Game Play Style And Item Build
Keep your ADC safe at all times by staying behind her back throughout the game. Once you see Graves start his assault, start channeling your Q and aim it towards him. If you manage to hit him, he will be airborne for a good one to two seconds, and this is enough time to ruin his momentum and bring his grit stacks down.
You should also build an Everfrost if the Graves you are facing love to be in melee range. This way, you can lock him down even further.
Late Game Play Style
Much like the mid-game, the only difference is that you’re going to have a better ability to haste and use your tornado on Graves every time it comes off cooldown. Countering his mobility is enough to shut him out of the game. Who knew that a mere windy lady is an excellent counter to one badass champion.
What If Questions:
- What if Graves decides to focus on me and one-shot me all the time as Janna
- Look to play defensively and counter him using great vision placement. If you see your enemy coming, it gives you enough time to think of a counter. Plus, if you regroup with your team most of the time, Graves won’t be able to hunt you down.
- What if we are losing and Graves is carrying his team
- Focus your CC on him and look to rush an Everfrost to extend your CC on him. Also, try to build items with the ability haste as it allows you to cast your Q more often. Janna doesn’t need damage to counter Graves. She just needs to hit Graves with her Q often so he won’t kite her teammates.
Also read: Best Support Champions That Counter Caitlyn
3. Alistar
Alistar is an excellent engage champion with outstanding peeling capabilities. His headbutt pulverize combo is one of League’s most classic engage combos. Alistar is also a tank champion which means even if he engages Graves, he won’t suffer from Graves’ damage.
He can keep Graves from running away by staying beside him most of the time. Alistar can also keep Graves from getting near his ADC, so there is not much Graves can do with this pick.
Early Game Play Style
Play defensively in the early game, especially if your ADC is a late-game champion. Every time Graves tries to CS canon minions (as an ADC) or flank your ADC, simply headbutt him away. If he decides to come back right after your headbutt, just pulverize him and stun him with your E ability. This will be enough for your ADC to apply a bit of damage to cause Graves to run away.
Mid Game Play Style And Item Build
Build boots of mobility, so you have the movement speed to roam other lanes wherever Graves is ganking. Have your ADC control the wave as he will be playing weakside. Turbo Chemtank is another excellent item you can build on Alistar as it allows you to chase Graves most of the time, and it also has a slow effect.
Late Game Play Style
The late-game sees through Alistar’s knock-ups that he can easily invade the ranks of their enemies because of his ultimate. If you manage to knock all of your opponents up, look to focus on Graves, as he is one champion that can deal burst AOE damage to your team. Headbutt him away whenever you see him winding up for a kill.
What If Questions:
- What if Graves ignores our lane and decides to the camp top or mid
- You can ask your ADC to stay safe in bot lane and play weak side as you roam and counter gank Graves. You will need mobility boots for this and a Frozen heart, so you don’t fall behind in value even if you only have one item.
4. Thresh
Thresh’s ultimate is an excellent counter to Graves because he relies so much on his dashes. Once Thresh catches Graves with his hook, he can quickly shut Graves’ moment down by doing a hook flay + ult combo on him.
This would significantly limit Graves’ mobility for a good 3-5 seconds. Graves will be exposed to your teammates when this happens, and you know what happens next.
Early Game Play Style
You can play aggressively with Thresh in the early game. You can counter jungler Graves along with your jungler. Once you reach level 2, a hook and a flay are enough to CC him down. This tactic can lead to a takedown or a flash burn on Graves.
Mid Game Play Style And Item Build
Zeke’s Herald is a great item counter on Graves because it extends the duration of your CC to Graves. Thresh has an excellent CC chain he can use on Graves to stun him for more than 3 seconds.
His ultimate also slows Graves and when he casts his ultimate, he will proc the slow effect of Zeke’s making Graves move even slower which makes it easier for your ADC to hit him.
Late Game Play Style
Graves will gain incredible damage in the late game no matter what happened in the early game, so try to play defensively and protect your ADC at all costs. If Graves comes to get your ADC, just flay him away or use your ult to block his path. Keeping Graves away from hitting your teammates with his basic attack is a great way to counter him.
Also read: How To Play Against Poppy?
5. Amumu
Amumu stomps Graves in any possible situation. He can easily engage Graves with his Q, and with Amumu’s recent update, you can lock him down even longer because it now has two charges.
Amumu is also a tanky champion with a passive that reduces the damage of basic attacks he receives. Also, once he catches Graves with his Q, it will be impossible for Graves to retaliate as he will spend most of his 5 seconds standing and being stunned. Now let us look at the different phases of the game on how to counter Graves with amumu.
Early Game Play Style
Immediately, Amumu can counter Graves even in the jungle. Have your teammates come with you and invade Graves’ camps. Once you catch him with your stun, have your team follow up on damage. Don’t worry, though, if he flashes away. You still have your 2nd Q to stun and engage him again. This is an easy tactic to shut Graves down in the early game.
Mid Game Play Style And Item Build
Continue doing your basic engages on Graves, only this time, you should build an Everforst to make your stuns even longer. Plant vision on his camps so you can keep track of him and kill him whenever your jungler is near you.
Late Game Play Style
If he manages to snowball in the late game, don’t worry, as all you have to do is wait for him to engage your allies with his dash. Once he uses his dash, he will have no means of sidestepping your Q engage. A series of crowd controls can follow that up.
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Final Thoughts
Graves is a very mobile champion that relies on his E to get around and kite your carries. Taking his mobility away from him doesn’t only remove his kill pressure. It also takes his means of protection away, making him vulnerable to bursts. An excellent gameplay.
Check out our list of the best dashing abilities in LoL.
