How to Counter Teemo? The Best Counter Tips To Beat Teemo in Season 12

You’ll probably hate me for saying this, but I’ve been maining Teemo since Season 8, and I got more than 400,000 Mastery Points on him. However, I decided to stop playing him this season because I could not perform well with him in my high elo ranked games.

Since I decided to stop playing him, I felt like I needed to create this “How to play against Teemo guide” because I know how annoying it can be to play against him. Teemo is one of those champions that destroys the joy of playing League, but the good news is that it’s pretty easy to counter him. In this guide, I’ll share the best tips that will make almost any Teemo player rage quit.

Teemo relies on poking you from a safe distance, which means that his biggest weakness is a melee fight. I know that sometimes it is very hard to catch him because of his Move Quick ability (W), but anything is possible with the right timing. Before we proceed with the tips on how to counter Teemo, let’s take a quick look at his abilities to get a better understanding of them.

Also read: How to Counter Darius?

Teemo’s Abilities

Passive – Camouflage – If Teemo stands still for 1.5 seconds, he will gain a stealth. Whenever he moves or attacks, he will exit out of the stealth and will gain attack speed depending on his level. If he’s in the bush, he can move around inside of it without losing stealth.

Q – Blinding Dart – Teemo shoots a dart that deals magic damage and blinds his opponent.

W – Move Quick – Teemo gains a specific burst of movement speed.

E – Toxic Shot – Teemo’s basic attacks deal extra magic damage on hit, and he deals poison damage over time.

R – Noxious Trap – Teemo spawns a mushroom, which gains stealth. When an enemy champion steps on the mushroom, it explodes, slows them, and deals damage over time.

Best Champions That Counter Teemo In Season 12

1. Yorick

Since he doesn’t have any dash or jumping abilities, Teemo is a highly immobile champion, which is a massive advantage for Yorick. Yorick can trap Teemo inside of his cage for a short period of time, which is just enough for Yorick to do quick trades with him. Yorick is a hyperscaling champion, which means that he’ll outscale Teemo in the late game. If you decide to choose Yorick against Teemo, you’ll need to take note of these tips:

3 Best Tips to Counter Teemo with Yorick

1. A good Teemo player will always take advantage of his strong early game, which means that he’ll be super aggressive during that time. Just focus on last hitting your minions during that time, and try to freeze them under your tower.
2. Teemo cannot escape Yorick’s W, so make sure to pick fights with him only when you have your W ready.
3. Teemo counters Yorick’s Q with his Blinding Dart, so make sure to bait it out whenever you got the chance to do so.

2. Irelia

Irelia is one of the worst matchups for Teemo because she has a lot of kill pressure and a high sustain. The key to win as Irelia against Teemo is to keep farming in the early game. Keep in mind that the majority of Teemo players are usually so focused on harassing their opponent that they forget to last hit their own minions, which is where your lifesteal and health regen comes in; you’ll need to make him harass you just before he’s going to last hit a minion, which will make him miss that last hit.

Also, Teemo has almost 0 sustain, and he’s very squishy, so after you come back from your first recall, buy Mercury’s Treads, and then you should be able to go all-in on him without any problems.

3 Best Tips to Counter Teemo with Irelia:

1. Wait for Teemo to use his Blinding Dart before going all-in on him. If you engage while he has his Q, he will just completely negate your combo and will deal massive damage to you.
2. Longer trades work in your favour so, whenever it’s possible, always go for them.
3. If you let Teemo bully you out of the lane, you’ll fall significantly behind, and you’ll have a hard time killing him.

3. Darius 

Darius is one of the best fighters in the game this season. He can tank a lot of damage, and he can sustain himself against Teemo’s damage using his Q ability (Decimate). Whenever you’re looking to pull Teemo with Darius’s E ability (Apprehend), try to use your Q (Decimate) because the majority of Teemo players will panic and will use their Q (Blinding Dart) on you, which blocks your W and basic attacks. Once the blinding effect is over, use your W and a couple of basic attacks, which will make him hurt really bad because of Darius’s passive.

3 Best Tips to Counter Teemo with Darius

1. Darius’s E range (Apprehend) is the same as Teemo’s basic attacks range. Pull him whenever he tried to poke you with his basic attacks.
2. Try to do quick trades with him before you hit level 6.
3. Save your Q when he’s running away from you as it will deal more damage with the outer ring.

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4. Shen

Shen is an excellent champion to pick against Teemo. He can block Teemo’s basic attacks with his W, and when Shen hits level 6, he can help his teammates without the fear of Teemo breaking his ultimate. Teemo’s primary ability is his Q (Blinding Dart), if he uses it to last hit a minion, you should go all-in on him because he can’t win the trade without it.

3 Best Tips to Counter Teemo with Shen

1. Rush Mercury’s Treads. Once you get them you will reduce the duration of his blind.
2. Try to hit the E+Q+W combo. Your W will completely negate his damage, and then you can win the fight easily.
3. Freeze the minion waves right in front of your turret. The majority of Teemo mains like to push in the early game, which will leave them vulnerable if your jungler decides to show up.

5. Malphite 

I’ve always hated laning against Malphite back when I was maining Teemo. Malphite is one of the best picks to counter Teemo because he can use his shield to completely negate Teemo’s damage, and he can poke him down with his Q. If you do decide to try picking Malphite into Teemo, make sure to take Corrupting Potion because it will provide you with both the mana and health sustain, which will be of great help to you during the early game. Malphite also out scales Teemo in the late game, and he’s more useful in team fights than him.

3 Best Tips to Counter Teemo with Malphite:

1. Once Teemo hits level 6, you’ll need to get Oracle Lens to destroy his mushrooms.
2. You’ll need to play very safely before level 6 because you can’t trade with Teemo. Take advantage if he doesn’t harass you in the early game by last hitting minions. On the other side, if he does harass you, just freeze the minion waves in front or under your tower.
3. Use Malphite’s Q to poke Teemo down. However, make sure to do that only when your shield is up, so you don’t lose too much HP. Go all-in on him once you hit level 6.

How to Counter Teemo? The Best Tips to Counter Teemo in Season 12:

1. Don’t fight with Teemo if your main source of damage are basic attacks. His blind will completely disable your damage.
2. Teemo’s W (Move Quick) has a long cooldown. Take advantage of that because Teemo is very weak in melee fights.
3. Get Oracle Lens as soon as possible to disable and destroy his mushrooms.
4. Stay away from the brushes because Teemo will almost always place mushrooms inside of them.
5. Keep a safe distance from your minions because they can step on his mushrooms.
6. When you’re chasing Teemo, don’t follow his exact patch because he’s probably baiting you to his mushroom farm.

Also read: How to Counter Garen?

The Best Items to Counter Teemo in Season 12

Since Teemo relies on the poison damage of his basic attacks and his movement speed, you’ll need to get some items that will slow him down. The best item to slow down his basic attacks would be Frozen Heart. Frozen Heart is one of the best items for tank champions because it provides a high amount of armor and ability haste. Frozen Heart’s passive, Winter’s Caress, cripples the attack speed of nearby enemies by a massive 20%.

This doesn’t seem much, but it will be of significant help to you when you’re trading with him. The 2nd best item to counter Teemo would be Frostfire Gauntlet. Frostfire Gauntlet is a Mythic item that provides you 25 Armor and Magic resistance, 20 Ability haste, and 350 Health. Its passive, Snowbind, creates a 250 unit radius frost field that slows enemies for 1.5 seconds.

Final Thoughts

As you can see from the tips above, Teemo can be easily countered if you dodge his Blinding Dart (Q) and avoid his Mushrooms. He’s extremely strong and aggressive in the early game and usually forces champions to retreat under their tower. If you’re forced under your tower, just try to last hit your minions and wait for your jungle.

I know that junglers tend to avoid ganking top lane for some reason, but just ask them for help politely, and I’m sure they’ll come! If you follow the tips from our guide, you’ll turn Teemo’s life into an absolute living hell, just like he does to his opponents!