Best Jax counters in League of Legends – Shutting down the Last Weapons Master of Icathia

Jordan Marney

LoL Contributor

Publish Date: November 20, 2025

If you’re looking for a traditional top lane champion to pick in League of Legends, Jax is the one. He can do just about everything the team needs him to do, from engaging to split pushing towers and creating pressure elsewhere on the map. Jax is a jack-of-all-trades champion. He handles himself well against most melee champions thanks to his E, which can dodge incoming attacks, making him somewhat resilient to CC. But he isn’t the be-all-end-all of the Rift; the best Jax counters will make his time in lane a living hell. So here they are!

Gangplank

Image Source: Riot Games

Gangplank is the ultimate safe champion in League of Legends, and going up against Jax will be a walk in the park for this pirate. Jax won’t have the attack speed to take down his barrels, meaning GP will not only have the ranged advantage with his Q, but also with his barrels. Even if Jax goes for his stun, GP can counter it by using his Oranges, which negates CC. With Gangplank’s Q, he can continuously chip away at Jax’s health, since he won’t be using Conterstrike to block it.

Secondly, GP has a global presence with his ultimate, so if a fight does break out elsewhere on the map, GP is going to have an impact since he will be farming up the coins from his passive to make upgrades, even if he hasn’t been able to kill Jax in the one-versus-one.

Illaoi

Image Source: Riot Games

If you’re playing Jax, you’re praying that you don’t go up against Illaoi in lane. She is the queen of the melee matchup, and Jax has a really hard time playing into her, especially as she scales into the game. That’s not to say Jax doesn’t have great scaling potential himself, but in the 1v1, it’s challenging for him to even lay a glove on Illaoi. Even if Jax can use Counter Strike to block some damage from her, the tentacle damage that will come after her E will shove Jax out of the lane.

When Illaoi has her ultimate, there isn’t really any way that Jax will be able to kill her; at best, it will be a trade with a trailing tentacle that kills Jax off. Illaoi can heal a lot when her ultimate is online, so even if Jax thinks he has a killing opportunity, the odds are he doesn’t and it’s just bait. Then, when it comes to the sidelane, because Jax has no kill potential against Illaoi if he is level or behind her in XP or farm, he will not be as effective split pushing. Illaoi is also a great champion for playing the side lanes, and if needed, can join fights quickly.

Garen

Image Source: Riot Games

Garen is an annoying champion for Jax to deal with. He is much better than Jax in 1v1 trades because of his passive, which heals him when he is not in combat. This means that Garen can engage, deal some damage to Jax, and back off. This is not ideal for Jax players as they will have to either use one of their potions or play more defensively. And while this doesn’t seem like the worst idea in the world, a Garen that is playing from ahead is going to be a massive problem for your Jax’s teammates.

If Jax goes in with his leap, Garen is going to be able to tank most of the damage with his W. If Jax then uses his Counter Strike, he is in big trouble. Garen can then attack with his Q, which silences the target hit for a small amount of time. In that time, Garen can do as he pleases, because his E and ignite combo will shred through Jax’s health. On top of that, his ultimate is an execute if Jax’s HP falls low enough.

Also Read: Best Garen counters in LoL

Featured Image Source: Riot Games