Who counters Neeko in League of Legends?

By rules over Riot's ability text, the picks that fit best against Neeko are Maokai, Thresh and Alistar, and each one is listed on this page with its reason. This is Analysis, not a win rate.

How do you play against Neeko in League of Legends?

Riot's own tip: Standing behind minions against Neeko is very dangerous as Tangle-Barbs become stronger. The counter picks on this page add the champions whose abilities answer Neeko, each with its reason.

Who is Neeko good against in League of Legends?

Read the other way round, the same rules over Riot's ability text find Neeko strong into Kassadin, Locke and Quinn. The reason for each is on this page. This is Analysis, not a win rate.

Which lanes does Neeko play?

Data Dragon has no lane data. As a Mage and Support champion, Neeko typically plays Mid and Support. This is a class-based filter, not a play rate.

How hard is Neeko to play?

Riot rates the difficulty of Neeko as Medium (5 out of 10).

Neeko Counter LoL: Best Picks & Why

Tactical identity

Neeko, Mage / Support

Neeko, the Curious Chameleon, is a Mage and Support champion in League of Legends. Everything below comes from Riot's Data Dragon for patch 16.21.1: ability text, base stats and Riot's tips. Counters and matchups by class are worked out from that text, and each one shows its reason.

Riot's ratings, out of 10

Attack: 1
Defense: 1
Magic: 9
Difficulty: 5

Typical lanes (class-based)Mid, Support

ResourceMana

Playing as Neeko

Riot's own tips

You can set her passive to use hotkeys in the options menu. The default is Shift+F1~F5
Try to use Inherent Glamour sparingly, ineffective uses will put enemies on the alert.

Playing against Neeko

Riot's own tips

Standing behind minions against Neeko is very dangerous as Tangle-Barbs become stronger.
Pop Blossom's warning visuals are invisible if Neeko is disguised.

What the kit does

Analysis read from Riot's ability text. Each line shows the words it rests on.

Hard crowd control
Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control"
Knock-up, knock-back or pull
Pop Blossom: "knocking up all"
Dash, leap or blink
Pop Blossom: "Neeko leaps into the"
Area damage
Pop Blossom: "knocking up all nearby enemies"

Neeko in recent patches

Every official patch that changed Neeko, newest first. Numbers from Riot's official notes (before and after).

Patch 26.20buff2026-10-06
- E Tangle-Barbs: Base Damage: 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210 (+65% AP) → 80 / 115 / 150 / 185 / 220 (+65% AP)
- E Tangle-Barbs: Empowered Root Duration: 1.8 / 2.1 / 2.4 / 2.7 / 3s → 2 / 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.75 / 3s

Neeko's abilities

Riot's own text and preview clip for each ability, from Riot's Data Dragon, patch 16.21.1. Pick an ability and its clip plays here, muted.

PPassive

Inherent Glamour

Neeko can look like an ally champion or as other units on the map. Receiving immobilizing crowd control, casting damaging spells, damaging enemy towers as a non-champion, or your disguise taking damage equal to its healthbar breaks the disguise.

Effects in the text

Hard crowd control
Can start a fight
Protects allies

QQ

Blooming Burst

Cooldown: 9/8.5/8/7.5/7 s
Cost (Mana): 50/60/70/80/90
Range: 800

Neeko throws a seed dealing magic damage. The seed blooms again on hitting champions or killing units.

Effects in the text

Magic damage
Ranged poke

WW

Shapesplitter

Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 s
Range: 900

Neeko passively deals bonus magic damage every third attack, briefly increasing her move speed. Neeko can activate to send a clone in a direction and recast to change the direction of the clone.

Effects in the text

Magic damage
Ranged poke

EE

Tangle-Barbs

Cooldown: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 s
Cost (Mana): 60/65/70/75/80
Range: 1000

Neeko slings a tangle that damages and roots everything it passes through. If the tangle kills an enemy or passes through a champion, it becomes larger, faster, and roots for longer.

Effects in the text

Hard crowd control

RR

Pop Blossom

Cooldown: 120/105/90 s
Cost (Mana): 100
Range: 600

After a short preparation, Neeko leaps into the air, knocking up all nearby enemies. Upon landing, nearby enemies are damaged and stunned. The preparation is hidden if Neeko is disguised.

Effects in the text

Hard crowd control
Knock-up, knock-back or pull
Dash, leap or blink
Area damage

Build direction, Analysis

Items and runes that fit Neeko

Riot publishes no builds and this page invents none. Below: completed items ranked by how many of the stats Neeko's kit uses they give (ability power (AP) first), the runes whose official text matches the kit, and picks for each enemy type. A fit, not a strength ranking. No win rates.

Closest stat fit

Editorial estimate

Completed items ranked by how many of the stats Neeko's kit uses they give. A fit, not a verdict: Riot publishes no builds and no win rates.

Cryptbloom3,000
- +75 Ability PowerNeeko scales with it
- +30% Magic Penetrationits damage is magic
- +20 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Actualizer2,800
- +90 Ability PowerNeeko scales with it
- +300 Manaits resource is mana
- +10 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Archangel's Staff2,900
- +70 Ability PowerNeeko scales with it
- +600 Manaits resource is mana
- +25 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Blackfire Torch2,800
- +80 Ability PowerNeeko scales with it
- +600 Manaits resource is mana
- +20 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Luden's Echo2,750
- +100 Ability PowerNeeko scales with it
- +600 Manaits resource is mana
- +10 Ability Hastecasts abilities often
Malignance2,700
- +90 Ability PowerNeeko scales with it
- +600 Manaits resource is mana
- +15 Ability Hastecasts abilities often

Boots

Armored Advance1,200

Chainlaced Crushers1,250

Crimson Lucidity900

Immortal Path1,100

Spellslinger's Shoes1,100

Swiftmarch1,000

Rune fits

Editorial estimate

Runes whose official text matches the most things Neeko's kit does. Each line shows the words it rests on.

AftershockResolve, Keystone · Matches: 1
- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control"
Arcane CometSorcery, Keystone · Matches: 1
- It deals damage with abilities: Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed"
Deathfire TouchSorcery, Keystone · Matches: 1
- It deals damage with abilities: Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed"
Manaflow BandSorcery · Matches: 2
- It deals damage with abilities: Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed"
- It uses mana: Mana
Sudden ImpactDomination · Matches: 2
- It deals damage with abilities: Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed"
- It has a dash, leap or blink: Pop Blossom: "Neeko leaps into the"
Approach VelocityInspiration · Matches: 1
- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control"

Against each enemy type

Editorial estimate

Situational picks, counted from what the champions of each class do in Riot's Data Dragon. Swap a slot when the enemy team has several of that class.

Tanks
Anti-heal 25 of 46 heal or sustain
Executioner's Calling Morellonomicon
Cleanse or tenacity 20 of 46 have two or more hard CC abilities
Chainlaced Crushers Endless Hunger
To cut through them Tanks stack armor and magic resist; these items give magic penetration.
Cryptbloom Shadowflame Stormsurge Void Staff
Fighters
Anti-heal 40 of 60 heal or sustain
Executioner's Calling Morellonomicon
Armor 38 of 60 deal physical damage only
Chain Vest Dead Man's Plate
Assassins
Anti-heal 24 of 46 heal or sustain
Executioner's Calling Morellonomicon
Armor 23 of 46 deal physical damage only
Chain Vest Dead Man's Plate
Mages
Magic resist 52 of 74 deal magic damage only
Abyssal Mask Banshee's Veil
Anti-heal 30 of 74 heal or sustain
Executioner's Calling Morellonomicon
Marksmen
Armor 14 of 33 deal physical damage only
Chain Vest Dead Man's Plate
Supports
Magic resist 35 of 42 deal magic damage only
Abyssal Mask Banshee's Veil
Anti-heal 19 of 42 heal or sustain
Executioner's Calling Morellonomicon

Counted from the official ability text, League of Legends patch 16.21.1. These are counts of champions, not win rates.

Rune trees

Lit runes: their official text matches something Neeko's kit does (Analysis). Select a rune to read why.

Precision2 lit

Domination3 lit

Sorcery7 lit

Resolve2 lit

Inspiration4 lit

Matchups by class

Neeko against each class of champion, counted from the official ability text. Choose a class or a lane to narrow it down.

Against all 172 champions: 70 ahead, 49 even, 53 behind. Each class is read against that, so check the best and toughest tags too.

Class

Lane

Patch

16.21.1Older patches: not available yet

Against Tanks

Weak

Toughest class

1 ahead · 8 even · 37 behind of 46

Ahead of

Struggles against

Your damage is magic only, so they can stack magic resist against you.
Their healing or shields outlast your poke.

What to do: A risky pick into tanks. Wait for the enemy draft before you lock it, or pick it with a team that covers the gap.

Against Fighters

Weak

11 ahead · 21 even · 28 behind of 60

Ahead of

Struggles against

Their healing or shields outlast your poke.
They clear waves faster and can push the lane.

What to do: A risky pick into fighters. Wait for the enemy draft before you lock it, or pick it with a team that covers the gap.

Against Assassins

Strong

29 ahead · 13 even · 4 behind of 46

Ahead of

Struggles against

You out-range them and can poke from a distance.
Your hard crowd control stops their dashes.

What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several assassins. Play for the fights where your edge shows.

Against Mages

Strong

38 ahead · 26 even · 10 behind of 74

Ahead of

Struggles against

You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.
You out-range them and can poke from a distance.

What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several mages. Play for the fights where your edge shows.

Against Marksmen

Strong

Best class

23 ahead · 6 even · 4 behind of 33

Ahead of

Struggles against

You have early pressure while they need time to scale.
You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.

What to do: A good pick when the enemy has several marksmen. Play for the fights where your edge shows.

Against Supports

Even

14 ahead · 15 even · 13 behind of 42

Ahead of

Struggles against

You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.
Your damage is magic only, so they can stack magic resist against you.

What to do: Neither side has a clear edge over supports. Execution and the team around you decide it.

Source: Nexus Lab rules over the official ability text, League of Legends patch 16.21.1. Each champion of the class is compared with Neeko one by one; the counts come from those rules, not from match results, so they are not win rates. Strong, even and weak compare the number of champions ahead and behind. Lanes are the lanes each class usually plays (Riot ships no lane data per champion), not play rates.

Building against Neeko

Analysis: answers to what Neeko's own kit does.

Neeko deals magic damage only, so magic resist pays off. Blooming Burst: "seed dealing magic damage"

Abyssal MaskIt gives magic resist (listed in its stats).

Banshee's VeilIt gives magic resist (listed in its stats).

Bloodletter's CurseIt gives magic resist (stated in its text).

Neeko has several hard crowd-control abilities, so a cleanse or tenacity item is worth a slot. Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control"

Chainlaced CrushersIt helps against crowd control (listed in its stats).

Endless HungerIt helps against crowd control (listed in its stats).

Mercurial ScimitarIt helps against crowd control (stated in its text).

Picks that can punish Neeko

Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text.

Maokai

Counters you

Maokai has hard CC (Bramble Smash: "Maokai knocks back nearby") to catch Neeko, a squishy champion with few escapes (Mage role).

2 more reasons

Neeko deals only magic damage (Blooming Burst: "seed dealing magic damage"), so Maokai can stack magic resist (Tank role) against it.

Maokai can outlast poke with healing or shields (Sap Magic: "attack also heals him and") against Neeko's ranged skillshots (Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed").

Watch out: Neeko is ranged (Mage role) and can poke Maokai, a melee champion (Tank role).

Thresh

Counters you

Thresh has hard CC (Death Sentence: "Thresh binds an enemy") to catch Neeko, a squishy champion with few escapes (Mage role).

2 more reasons

Neeko deals only magic damage (Blooming Burst: "seed dealing magic damage"), so Thresh can stack magic resist (Damnation: "permanently granting him Armor and Ability") against it.

Thresh can outlast poke with healing or shields (Dark Passage: "lantern that shields nearby allied") against Neeko's ranged skillshots (Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed").

Watch out: Neeko is ranged (Mage role) and can poke Thresh, a melee champion (Support role) with no sustain to recover.

Alistar

Counters you

Alistar has hard CC (Triumphant Roar: "roar by stunning or displacing") to catch Neeko, a squishy champion with few escapes (Mage role).

2 more reasons

Neeko deals only magic damage (Blooming Burst: "seed dealing magic damage"), so Alistar can stack magic resist (Tank role) against it.

Alistar can outlast poke with healing or shields (Triumphant Roar: "charged he heals himself all") against Neeko's ranged skillshots (Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed").

Watch out: Neeko is ranged (Mage role) and can poke Alistar, a melee champion (Tank role).

Leona

Counters you

Leona has hard CC (Shield of Daybreak: "damage and stunning the target") to catch Neeko, a squishy champion with few escapes (Mage role).

2 more reasons

Neeko deals only magic damage (Blooming Burst: "seed dealing magic damage"), so Leona can stack magic resist (Eclipse: "shield to gain Damage Reduction, Armor, and Magic Resist") against it.

Leona clears waves more easily (Eclipse: "there are nearby enemies") and can push the lane against Neeko.

Watch out: Neeko is ranged (Mage role) and can poke Leona, a melee champion (Tank role) with no sustain to recover.

Sion

Counters you

Sion has hard CC (Decimating Smash: "up and stunned") to catch Neeko, a squishy champion with few escapes (Mage role).

2 more reasons

Neeko deals only magic damage (Blooming Burst: "seed dealing magic damage"), so Sion can stack magic resist (Tank role) against it.

Sion can outlast poke with healing or shields (Glory in Death: "heal him") against Neeko's ranged skillshots (Blooming Burst: "Neeko throws a seed").

Watch out: Neeko is ranged (Mage role) and can poke Sion, a melee champion (Tank role).

Braum

Counters you

Braum has hard CC (Concussive Blows: "target is stunned and takes") to catch Neeko, a squishy champion with few escapes (Mage role).

1 more reason

Neeko deals only magic damage (Blooming Burst: "seed dealing magic damage"), so Braum can stack magic resist (Stand Behind Me: "the ally gain Armor and Magic Resist for a") against it.

Watch out: Neeko is ranged (Mage role) and can poke Braum, a melee champion (Tank role) with no sustain to recover.

Who Neeko is good against

The same rules, read the other way.

Kassadin

You pressure

Neeko has hard CC (Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control") that can stop Kassadin's dashes (Riftwalk: "Kassadin teleports to a").

Locke

You pressure

Neeko has hard CC (Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control") that can stop Locke's dashes (Ashen Pursuit: "location before dashing to attack").

Quinn

You pressure

Neeko has hard CC (Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control") that can stop Quinn's dashes (Vault: "Quinn dashes to an").

Akali

You pressure

Neeko has hard CC (Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control") that can stop Akali's dashes (Shuriken Flip: "Re-cast to dash to the").

Diana

You pressure

Neeko has hard CC (Inherent Glamour: "Receiving immobilizing crowd control") that can stop Diana's dashes (Lunar Rush: "dashing to an").

Counter picks are Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text, each with the words it rests on. They are not win rates, and no League of Legends matchup list has been reviewed by hand yet.

Official story

Neeko's official story on Riot UniverseA link to the official source (in English). We do not copy its text.

Champion video guide

Video by 3 Minute League of Legends · Watch on YouTube The player loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only after you press play.

Measured numbers

Numbers published or counted by a named source. Each row names the source and the patch.

Attack1

Defense1

Magic9

Difficulty5

Riot data Riot's ratings out of 10, Riot's Data Dragon, patch 16.21.1

Base stats
Stat	Level 1	Per level	Level 18
Health	610	+104	2378
Mana	450	+30	960
Armor	21	+5.2	109.4
Magic resist	30	+1.3	52.1
Attack damage	48	-	48
Attack speed	0.625	+3.5%	0.997
Attack range	550	-	550
Move speed	340	-	340
Health regen per 5 seconds	7.5	+0.75	20.25
Mana regen per 5 seconds	7	+0.7	18.9

Riot data Riot's Data Dragon, patch 16.21.1. Level 18 is calculated from Riot's growth formula on the same numbers.

Editorial estimates

Our reading of the data. These are not measured rates and they change when the rules or the data change.

Counter picks: 6 Editorial estimateNexus Lab rules over Riot's ability text, patch 16.21.1
Good against: 5 Editorial estimateNexus Lab rules over Riot's ability text, patch 16.21.1
Typical lanes: Mid, Support Editorial estimateLanes of the class; Riot ships no lane data per champion
Best class (relative): Marksmen Editorial estimateWins minus losses over the class, compared with the other classes; counts of champions, patch 16.21.1
Toughest class (relative): Tanks Editorial estimateWins minus losses over the class, compared with the other classes; counts of champions, patch 16.21.1

What no source gives us

Win rate, pick rate and ban rate. Riot publishes none we may print (the Riot API cards are switched off) and no third-party statistics site is read, so none is shown.
Popular builds. Riot publishes no builds: the items and runes in Build & Runes are a fit to the kit, not a popularity ranking.

Sources

Riot Games Data Dragon
Names, ratings, base stats, ability text, cooldowns, costs, range, items, runes and art.
Patch 16.21.1, file generated 2026-10-26
Open
Riot ability preview clips
Played from Riot's own server when you press play; never copied here.
Each clip checked with a request before it is offered
League of Legends Wiki
Release dates and skin prices in RP (CC BY-SA).
Committed data, see the skins page
Open
Nexus Lab rules
Counters, matchups by class, item and rune fit: rules over Riot's ability text, each with the words it rests on.
Patch 16.21.1
Riot Universe
The official story of Neeko (a link, nothing copied).
Open

Neeko League of Legends champion guide

Neeko, Mage / Support

Playing as Neeko

Playing against Neeko

What the kit does

Neeko in recent patches

Inherent Glamour

Blooming Burst

Shapesplitter

Tangle-Barbs

Pop Blossom

Items and runes that fit Neeko

More items with the same stat 29

Boots

Tanks

Fighters

Assassins

Mages

Marksmen

Supports

Rune trees

Precision2 lit

Domination3 lit

Sorcery7 lit

Resolve2 lit

Inspiration4 lit

Building against Neeko

Picks that can punish Neeko

Who Neeko is good against

Official story

Get new stories and champion updates

Champion video guide

Neeko skins

Quick answers

Who counters Neeko in League of Legends?

How do you play against Neeko in League of Legends?

Who is Neeko good against in League of Legends?

Which lanes does Neeko play?

How hard is Neeko to play?

Related champions

Next steps

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