Who counters Poppy in League of Legends?

Public counter sites agree on Riven, Aatrox and Mordekaiser against Poppy (patch 16.22). Each one is listed on this page with the reason from the two kits. This is community consensus, not a win rate.

How do you play against Poppy in League of Legends?

Riot's own tip: Poppy can stop nearby enemies from dashing with Steadfast Presence. The counter picks on this page add the champions whose abilities answer Poppy, each with its reason.

Who is Poppy good against in League of Legends?

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

Which lanes does Poppy play?

Data Dragon has no lane data. As a Tank and Fighter champion, Poppy typically plays Top and Jungle. This is a class-based filter, not a play rate.

How hard is Poppy to play?

Riot rates the difficulty of Poppy as Medium (6 out of 10).

Poppy Counter LoL: Best Picks & Why

Tactical identity

Poppy, Tank / Fighter

Poppy, Keeper of the Hammer, is a Tank and Fighter 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: 6
Defense: 7
Magic: 2
Difficulty: 6

Typical lanes (class-based)Top, Jungle

ResourceMana

Playing as Poppy

Riot's own tips

Iron Ambassador tends to land near walls, try to take advantage of this with Heroic Charge.
Keeper's Verdict can be released immediately to send the enemy straight up, take advantage of this in duels.

Playing against Poppy

Riot's own tips

Poppy can stop nearby enemies from dashing with Steadfast Presence.
When Poppy starts to spin her hammer, she is charging Keeper's Verdict.
You can step on Poppy's shield to deny it from her.

What the kit does

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

Hard crowd control
Heroic Charge: "it is stunned"
Soft crowd control (slow, silence, blind)
Hammer Shock: "that will slow enemies and"
Knock-up, knock-back or pull
Keeper's Verdict: "strike that knocks enemies very"
Dash, leap or blink
Steadfast Presence: "stop enemy dashes around her"
Area damage
Iron Ambassador: "buckler that bounces off the"
Zones with walls, traps or fields
Hammer Shock: "creating a zone that will"

Poppy in recent patches

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

Patch 26.19nerf2026-09-22
- Q Hammer Shock: Minion/Monster Maximum Health Cap: 85 / 120 / 155 / 190 / 225 → 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210

Poppy'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

Iron Ambassador

Poppy throws her buckler that bounces off the target. Poppy can pick it up to gain a temporary shield.

Effects in the text

Area damage
Clears waves

QQ

Hammer Shock

Cooldown: 8/7/6/5/4 s
Cost (Mana): 35/40/45/50/55
Range: 430

Poppy swings her hammer, dealing damage and creating a zone that will slow enemies and explode after a delay.

Effects in the text

Soft crowd control (slow, silence, blind)
Zones with walls, traps or fields
Area damage
Clears waves

WW

Steadfast Presence

Cooldown: 20/18/16/14/12 s
Cost (Mana): 50
Range: 400

Poppy passively gains Armor and Magic Resist. This bonus increases when she is low on Health. Poppy can activate Steadfast Presence to gain Move Speed and stop enemy dashes around her. If a dash is stopped, the enemy is slowed and grounded.

Effects in the text

Soft crowd control (slow, silence, blind)
Dash, leap or blink
Gains armor or magic resist
Can start a fight

EE

Heroic Charge

Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10 s
Cost (Mana): 70
Range: 475

Poppy dashes to the target and pushes it back. If the target is pushed into a wall, it is stunned.

Effects in the text

Hard crowd control
Dash, leap or blink
Zones with walls, traps or fields
Can start a fight

RR

Keeper's Verdict

Cooldown: 140/120/100 s
Cost (Mana): 100
Range: 500

Poppy channels a hammer strike that knocks enemies very far away.

Effects in the text

Hard crowd control
Knock-up, knock-back or pull

Build direction, Analysis

Items and runes that fit Poppy

Riot publishes no builds and this page invents none. Below: completed items ranked by how many of the stats Poppy's kit uses they give (durability (armor, magic resist, health) 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 Poppy's kit uses they give. A fit, not a verdict: Riot publishes no builds and no win rates.

Bandlepipes2,300
- +200 Healthit is a durable champion
- +20 Armorit is a durable champion
- +20 Magic Resistit is a durable champion
Jak'Sho, The Protean3,200
- +350 Healthit is a durable champion
- +45 Armorit is a durable champion
- +45 Magic Resistit is a durable champion
Locket of the Iron Solari2,200
- +200 Healthit is a durable champion
- +30 Armorit is a durable champion
- +30 Magic Resistit is a durable champion
Zeke's Convergence2,200
- +300 Healthit is a durable champion
- +25 Armorit is a durable champion
- +25 Magic Resistit is a durable champion
Abyssal Mask2,650
- +350 Healthit is a durable champion
- +45 Magic Resistit is a durable champion
Dead Man's Plate2,900
- +350 Healthit is a durable champion
- +55 Armorit is a durable champion

More items with the same stat 52

Force of Nature2,800

Hollow Radiance2,800

Iceborn Gauntlet2,900

Unending Despair2,800

Maw of Malmortius3,100

Mercurial Scimitar3,200

Rod of Ages2,600

Winter's Approach2,400

Wit's End2,800

Zhonya's Hourglass3,250

Black Cleaver3,000

Bloodletter's Curse2,900

Chempunk Chainsword3,000

Experimental Hexplate3,000

Heartsteel3,000

Hextech Rocketbelt2,650

Hullbreaker3,000

Liandry's Torment3,000

Mikael's Blessing2,300

Moonstone Renewer2,200

Morellonomicon2,850

Overlord's Bloodmail3,300

Protoplasm Harness2,600

Riftmaker3,100

Rylai's Crystal Scepter2,600

Archangel's Staff2,900

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 Poppy's kit does. Each line shows the words it rests on.

Stormraider's SurgeSorcery, Keystone · Matches: 2
- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Heroic Charge: "it is stunned"
- It is a durable (tank) champion: Tank role
AftershockResolve, Keystone · Matches: 1
- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Heroic Charge: "it is stunned"
Glacial AugmentInspiration, Keystone · Matches: 1
- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Heroic Charge: "it is stunned"
Approach VelocityInspiration · Matches: 1
- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Heroic Charge: "it is stunned"
Biscuit DeliveryInspiration · Matches: 1
- It is a durable (tank) champion: Tank role
Cheap ShotDomination · Matches: 1
- It can immobilize, slow or impair enemies: Heroic Charge: "it is stunned"

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 45 heal or sustain
Executioner's Calling Morellonomicon
Cleanse or tenacity 19 of 45 have two or more hard CC abilities
Chainlaced Crushers Endless Hunger
Fighters
Anti-heal 40 of 59 heal or sustain
Executioner's Calling Morellonomicon
Armor 37 of 59 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 53 of 75 deal magic damage only
Abyssal Mask Banshee's Veil
Anti-heal 30 of 75 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 36 of 43 deal magic damage only
Abyssal Mask Banshee's Veil
Anti-heal 19 of 43 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 Poppy's kit does (Analysis). Select a rune to read why.

Precision2 lit

Domination2 lit

Sorcery2 lit

Resolve5 lit

Inspiration4 lit

Who counters Poppy: community consensus

Each pick is listed against Poppy by at least two independent public counter sites, patch 16.22. The reason is ours, read from the two kits. Not win rates.

Riven

Counters you

Riven out-trades Poppy in short bursts with Broken Wings, and the Valor shield takes the Hammer Shock hit.

Aatrox

Counters you

The sweet spots of The Darkin Blade hit Poppy before she is in melee range, and Deathbringer Stance heals through her damage.

Mordekaiser

Counters you

Realm of Death takes Poppy away from her team, and the Indestructible shield soaks her low damage.

Garen

Counters you

Perseverance and Courage let Garen walk through her poke, and Poppy lacks the damage to punish Judgment.

Malphite

Counters you

Granite Shield and the armor from Thunderclap blunt her physical damage, and Seismic Shard slows her every time she walks up.

Sources: counterstats.net, op.gg. Reviewed 2026-11-06.

Matchups by class

Poppy 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: 87 ahead, 47 even, 38 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

2 ahead · 21 even · 22 behind of 45

Ahead of

Struggles against

Their silence shuts down your dash-based kit.
Their hard crowd control punishes your dashes.

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

Even

15 ahead · 20 even · 24 behind of 59

Ahead of

Struggles against

Your hard crowd control stops their dashes.
Their hard crowd control punishes your dashes.

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

Against Assassins

Strong

Best class

29 ahead · 15 even · 2 behind of 46

Ahead of

Struggles against

Your hard crowd control stops their dashes.
They deal physical damage only, so armor works against them.

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

Against Mages

Strong

52 ahead · 12 even · 11 behind of 75

Ahead of

Struggles against

They deal magic damage only, so magic resist works against them.
You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.

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

Against Marksmen

Strong

21 ahead · 7 even · 5 behind of 33

Ahead of

Struggles against

You have early pressure while they need time to scale.
They deal physical damage only, so armor works against them.

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

Against Supports

Strong

27 ahead · 10 even · 6 behind of 43

Ahead of

Struggles against

They deal magic damage only, so magic resist works against them.
You can lock down squishy targets that have few escapes.

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

Source: Nexus Lab rules over the official ability text, League of Legends patch 16.21.1. Each champion of the class is compared with Poppy 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 Poppy

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

Poppy deals physical damage only, so armor pays off. Fighter role

Chain VestIt gives armor (listed in its stats).

Dead Man's PlateIt gives armor (listed in its stats).

Death's DanceIt gives armor (listed in its stats).

Poppy has several hard crowd-control abilities, so a cleanse or tenacity item is worth a slot. Heroic Charge: "it is stunned"

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 Poppy

Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text.

Amumu

Counters you

Amumu has hard CC (Bandage Toss: "stunning and damaging") that can stop Poppy's dashes (Steadfast Presence: "stop enemy dashes around her").

1 more reason

Amumu deals true damage (Cursed Touch: "take bonus true damage from incoming"), which ignores the resistances that Poppy relies on (Tank role).

Sion

Counters you

Sion has hard CC (Decimating Smash: "up and stunned") that can stop Poppy's dashes (Steadfast Presence: "stop enemy dashes around her").

1 more reason

Sion deals damage based on the target's health (Glory in Death: "on his target's maximum Health"), which scales against a tough champion like Poppy (Tank role).

Xin Zhao

Counters you

Xin Zhao has hard CC (Three Talon Strike: "third attack knocking an opponent") that can stop Poppy's dashes (Steadfast Presence: "stop enemy dashes around her").

1 more reason

Xin Zhao deals damage based on the target's health (Crescent Guard: "based on their current Health and knocks"), which scales against a tough champion like Poppy (Tank role).

Aatrox

Counters you

Aatrox has hard CC (Infernal Chains: "will be dragged to the") that can stop Poppy's dashes (Steadfast Presence: "stop enemy dashes around her").

1 more reason

Aatrox deals damage based on the target's health (Deathbringer Stance: "on the target's max health"), which scales against a tough champion like Poppy (Tank role).

Jarvan IV

Counters you

Jarvan IV has hard CC (Dragon Strike: "knocking up enemies") that can stop Poppy's dashes (Steadfast Presence: "stop enemy dashes around her").

1 more reason

Jarvan IV deals damage based on the target's health (Martial Cadence: "based on their current Health"), which scales against a tough champion like Poppy (Tank role).

Lillia

Counters you

Lillia has hard CC (Lilting Lullaby: "before falling asleep") that can stop Poppy's dashes (Steadfast Presence: "stop enemy dashes around her").

1 more reason

Lillia deals true damage (Blooming Blows: "dealing extra true damage on the"), which ignores the resistances that Poppy relies on (Tank role).

Who Poppy is good against

The same rules, read the other way.

Kassadin

You pressure

Poppy has hard CC (Heroic Charge: "it is stunned") that can stop Kassadin's dashes (Riftwalk: "Kassadin teleports to a").

Quinn

You pressure

Poppy has hard CC (Heroic Charge: "it is stunned") that can stop Quinn's dashes (Vault: "Quinn dashes to an").

Sivir

You pressure

Poppy has hard CC (Heroic Charge: "it is stunned") to catch Sivir, a squishy champion with few escapes (Marksman role).

Katarina

You pressure

Poppy has hard CC (Heroic Charge: "it is stunned") that can stop Katarina's dashes (Shunpo: "Katarina blinks to the").

Diana

You pressure

Poppy has hard CC (Heroic Charge: "it is stunned") that can stop Diana's dashes (Lunar Rush: "dashing to an").

Counter picks under the consensus list are Analysis: rules over Riot's ability text, each with the words it rests on. They are not win rates.

Official story

Poppy'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.

Attack6

Defense7

Magic2

Difficulty6

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	+110	2480
Mana	300	+45	1065
Armor	35	+5	120
Magic resist	32	+2.05	66.85
Attack damage	56	-	56
Attack speed	0.658	+2.5%	0.938
Attack range	125	-	125
Move speed	345	-	345
Health regen per 5 seconds	9	+0.8	22.6
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: Top, Jungle Editorial estimateLanes of the class; Riot ships no lane data per champion
Best class (relative): Assassins 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 Poppy (a link, nothing copied).
Open

Poppy League of Legends champion guide

Poppy, Tank / Fighter

Playing as Poppy

Playing against Poppy

What the kit does

Poppy in recent patches

Iron Ambassador

Hammer Shock

Steadfast Presence

Heroic Charge

Keeper's Verdict

Items and runes that fit Poppy

More items with the same stat 52

Boots

Tanks

Fighters

Assassins

Mages

Marksmen

Supports

Rune trees

Precision2 lit

Domination2 lit

Sorcery2 lit

Resolve5 lit

Inspiration4 lit

Who counters Poppy: community consensus

Building against Poppy

Picks that can punish Poppy

Who Poppy is good against

Official story

Get new stories and champion updates

Champion video guide

Poppy skins

Quick answers

Who counters Poppy in League of Legends?

How do you play against Poppy in League of Legends?

Who is Poppy good against in League of Legends?

Which lanes does Poppy play?

How hard is Poppy to play?

Related champions

Next steps

From The Nexus store