Honor of Kings 2026: Best Counter-Picks vs Lam & Loong

Why Lam and Loong Are Dominating the 2026 Meta

Two heroes punish passive play harder than almost anyone else right now. Lam holds a 54.9% win rate in Diamond+ lobbies and a 39% ban rate in Season 13 — one of the most contested jungle picks in the game. Loong is even more extreme: 55.3% win rate and a 96% pro pick/ban rate.

What makes this duo dangerous is synergy. Lam creates early jungle chaos, forcing laners off wave timings and opening space for Loong to dominate his lane unopposed. Together they apply pressure across every game phase.

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Understanding Lam's Kit

Damage Patterns and Assassination Windows

Lam's passive Hunter deals 15% additional true damage to enemies below 30% health. Any trade where you bring her low and back off is a losing trade — she finishes kills other assassins miss.

Her ultimate Death From Below deals 550/800/1050 physical damage with a 90% slow for 0.5 seconds — enough to prevent most escapes and set up teammate CC.

Key Weaknesses to Exploit

Lam relies on gap-closing before dealing damage. Hard CC interrupting her dashes completely shuts her down. Her pathing is also predictable: she invades at 00:30, 00:45, and 01:15 — fixed windows you can prepare for every game.

Early farm denial compounds fast. Lam reaches level 3 by 01:15, but a counter-jungler like Dian Wei on a Blue buff start path reaches level 4 before Lam, creating a decisive window to contest her camps.

Understanding Loong's Kit

What Makes Him Dangerous

Loong wins through sustained pressure, not one-shot assassination. His secondary swords deal 30–60% splash damage, and his optimal late-game build requires 70%+ crit rate and 2.0+ attack speed — he gets scarier the longer the game goes.

His ultimate Infinite Vastness provides 4.5 seconds of flight on a 70-second cooldown. Misplaying around this cooldown is the single biggest reason players lose to him.

Key Weaknesses to Exploit

That 70-second cooldown is your window. Lure Loong into using his ultimate before committing to a fight — once it's down, he loses both his primary escape and extended attack range. Poke or disengage heroes can force this cooldown repeatedly in lane.

Loong also relies on healing to sustain extended fights. Anti-heal itemization is non-negotiable in most matchups.

Best Counter-Picks Against Lam (2026)

Tank and Fighter Counters

• Lian Po — High base armor and reliable stun chain punish her close-range dive pattern
• Xiang Yu — Grab directly interrupts Lam's dash sequences, forcing her out of assassination range
• Donghuang — Team-wide CC activates precisely when Lam commits, turning her aggression into a death sentence
• Lu Bu — Sustain and physical damage output win extended trades Lam can't afford
• Wuyan — Absorbs Lam's burst and retaliates with consistent damage

Mage and Jungle Counters

• Diao Chan — Among the most reliable CC kits for interrupting Lam mid-dash
• Daji — Persistent slows and stun ultimate make Lam's mobility irrelevant; poke forces her below 30% where Hunter becomes a liability
• Zilong — Speed and burst enable efficient camp invasion and direct skirmish wins before her power spikes
• Cirrus — Aerial CC catches Lam during dash animations, one of few reliable mid-combo interrupts

Pro tip: Place your first ward at the river entrance to the Blue buff quadrant at 00:25. This single ward reveals Lam's early pathing and gives 10–15 seconds of reaction time before her 00:30 invade window.

Best Counter-Picks Against Loong (2026)

Top Lane and Fighter Counters

• Prince of Lanling — Stealth and burst let him engage Loong during Infinite Vastness cooldown, eliminating his primary defensive option
• Mai Shiranui — Mobility and poke harass Loong through laning phase without committing to trades he wins
• Alessio — Consistent damage with enough mobility to avoid splash damage patterns

Marksman and Support Counters

• Lady Sun — Shield and mobility make her one of the most effective marksman counters; disengages from splash range reliably
• Garo — Ranged poke forces Loong to use Infinite Vastness defensively, wasting the cooldown
• Di Renjie — Traps and CC create zones Loong can't safely enter, controlling the space he needs for splash damage
• Consort Yu — CC and team utility deny Loong clean team fight positioning

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Anti-Lam and Anti-Loong Item Builds

Best Items Against Lam

• Spikemail — Returns physical damage, punishing her for diving into melee range
• Blazing Cape — Burn damage on hit activates during her close-range combo window
• Cuirass of Savagery — Reduces incoming physical damage and increases your own, making extended trades favorable

Core principle: physical defense stacking + hard CC. Armor alone is insufficient — you need CC to interrupt her before she reaches the 30% Hunter threshold.

Best Items Against Loong

• Mortal Punisher / Venomous Staff — Anti-heal is mandatory; without it he's nearly unkillable in extended fights
• Overlord's Platemail — Reduces attack speed, directly countering his 2.0+ scaling requirement
• Frigid Charge — Armor plus slow limits repositioning during team fights
• Frostscar's Embrace / Winter — Movement speed reduction denies chasing after Infinite Vastness and cuts late-game scaling windows

Draft Strategy: Ban vs. Counter-Pick

When to Ban Lam First

Ban Lam when your team lacks reliable hard CC or your jungler is a farm-dependent carry who can't contest early invades. If your mid laner can't push waves by 01:10 to assist the jungler, her invade windows become nearly impossible to defend.

When to Ban Loong First

Ban Loong when your team has no anti-heal planned or your top laner has no reliable disengage. His 96% pro pick/ban rate means leaving him open is almost always a mistake at higher MMR. If your composition can't force his ultimate cooldown before engaging, he's a free win condition.

Counter-Picking Instead of Banning

If your team has a comfortable Diao Chan, Lian Po, or Xiang Yu player, counter-picking Lam is more valuable than banning — you gain a strong pick while denying her simultaneously. Against Loong, Prince of Lanling or Di Renjie counter-picks are worth considering when you need the role coverage.

Never leave both Lam and Loong open simultaneously. The combination of early jungle pressure and sustained top lane dominance creates a two-front problem most compositions can't handle without specifically drafting against both.

In-Game Execution: Warding, Timings, and Positioning

Warding Patterns That Predict Lam Ganks

The 00:25 ward at the river entrance to the Blue buff quadrant is the single most important early ward in any Lam game. It reveals her starting position and first camp, giving you pathing information for the first two minutes.

River Sprites provide 126 gold per pair and respawn every 60 seconds until 04:00 — contesting them denies Lam gold and forces longer paths that expose her to vision. Jungle buffs respawn every 90 seconds, small camps every 70 seconds; knowing these timers lets you predict her quadrant position.

Laners must return to lane by 00:35 after any early jungle skirmish. Missing experience during Lam's level 1–3 window creates the exact vulnerability she exploits for successful ganks.

Positioning Rules Against Loong in Team Fights

Never group tightly — his splash damage punishes clustered positioning severely. Maintain at least two hero widths of spacing between teammates during fights. Force him to choose a single target rather than hitting multiple heroes per attack.

Golden rule: wait for Infinite Vastness to expire before committing CC abilities. A Loong without his ultimate can't escape your crowd control chain.

Team Composition Frameworks

The CC-Chain Composition

Stack at least three hard CC heroes — for example, Donghuang (support) + Diao Chan (mid) + Lian Po (top). This ensures an available CC ability whenever Lam dives or Loong engages, making both heroes' aggressive patterns feel punished rather than rewarded.

The Poke-and-Siege Composition

Garo + Di Renjie + Daji denies the close-range engagement both heroes need. Force Loong to use Infinite Vastness to close distance and keep Lam at range where her burst is less effective. Win through attrition rather than direct confrontation.

Avoid These Traps

• Don't build entirely melee-dependent — feeds directly into Loong's splash damage and Lam's assassination windows
• Don't pick heroes without escape tools when both are in the enemy draft

FAQ: Countering Lam and Loong in Ranked

Should I always ban Lam in ranked? Not always. If your team has a reliable Lian Po, Xiang Yu, or Diao Chan player, counter-picking is more valuable. Ban Lam when your composition lacks hard CC or your jungler is farm-dependent.

What items hard counter Lam? Spikemail, Blazing Cape, and Cuirass of Savagery are core. Pair them with a hard CC hero — armor alone doesn't stop her if she completes her combo uninterrupted.

How do I stop Loong from snowballing? Build Mortal Punisher or Venomous Staff early to cut healing, then add Overlord's Platemail to reduce attack speed. Poke him in lane to force Infinite Vastness defensively, then engage during the 70-second cooldown window.

Is Lam still meta in Season 2026? Yes. A 54.9% win rate in Diamond+ and 39% ban rate confirm she's top-tier. Her Hunter passive and early invade timing make her consistently impactful regardless of patch adjustments.

What compositions counter both simultaneously? CC-chain compositions with Donghuang, Diao Chan, and Lian Po address both threats. Poke-and-siege with Garo and Di Renjie also works by denying the close-range engagement both heroes require.

How does CC work against Lam's dashes specifically? Hard CC — stuns, grabs, knockups — interrupts her mid-dash and prevents combo completion. Soft CC like slows is less effective because her ultimate already applies a 90% slow, meaning she often completes her engage through movement speed reduction. Prioritize stuns and grabs.

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