Ryoma Counters 2026: Best Counter Picks & Builds

Ryoma is a hit-and-run swordsman. Every 5 seconds, his passive Naginatajutsu turns his next basic attack into a sword wave that deals physical damage and slows. Enemies caught at its edge take extra damage. Skill 1, Pinwheel , leaps backward and then unleashes a slash, and its cooldown is reduced when it hits an enemy hero. Skill 2, Wailing Blade , is a lightning-fast draw slash. It damages the first enemy, deals partial damage to targets behind, and stuns anyone standing at its edge. His ultimate, Spectral Ire , thrusts 4 times in a row, and each thrust that hits an enemy hero heals him. Ryoma has three weaknesses: his kit has no CC immunity or damage immunity, all his damage is physical, and once his skills are used up he has nothing left to threaten you with. Tanky heroes, hard CC, and strong chasers shut down his poke playstyle. Ryoma’s counters include Omen, Skud, Charlotte, Riktor in the Dark Slayer Lane, Volkath, Zuka in the jungle, Aleister, Natalya in the mid lane, Arum as support and Stuart in the Abyssal Dragon Lane.

• Omen
• Skud
• Charlotte
• Riktor

Omen

Ryoma fights by landing one slash and then leaping back with Pinwheel , and Omen takes that escape route away. Death's Embrace charges to the first enemy hero hit and creates a deathmatch arena, reducing the target’s damage dealt and preventing escape for 5 seconds, forcing Ryoma to stand and fight instead of poking and retreating. Basic attacks carrying the sword wave of Naginatajutsu can also be reflected back at their owner with a slow by Untouchable . At 5 Thirst stacks from his passive Thirst , Omen gains attack speed and deals bonus true damage, enough to outpace the HP Ryoma heals with Spectral Ire .

Skud

The passive Boiling Blood gives Skud bonus max HP. When Skud attacks a target with less max HP than him, each of his attacks also deals bonus magic damage. Ryoma is a fighter built around fast burst. Against Skud, he struggles to get through that thick health bar and takes extra damage in every trade. Rebel Gauntlet leaps in with a punch when Ryoma steps up to clear minions. Rampage Gauntlet gradually raises movement speed up to 40% to chase him after the backward leap of Pinwheel . Wrathful Gauntlet knocks Ryoma up and pushes him out of range of Spectral Ire .

Charlotte

The edge stun from Wailing Blade is Ryoma’s most dangerous crowd control, and Charlotte can negate it with Power Gradation : while drawing her sword image, she is immune to crowd control and damage, and she also slows Ryoma. Splash Fount dashes in, dealing multiple hits of damage and healing her, enough to offset the poke from the sword waves of Naginatajutsu . When Ryoma leaps back with Pinwheel to keep his distance, Tri-Slash gives Charlotte a speed boost to stick to him. Her passive Splash Gradation also empowers her next skill each time one lands.

Riktor

Ryoma deals damage in short bursts: one draw slash from Wailing Blade , four stabs from Spectral Ire . Riktor has Retaliate with up to 2 charges, granting immunity to all damage for 0.75 seconds while still moving freely, enough to absorb the whole draw slash or several stabs and then strike back as soon as it ends. Mark of the Hunter brands a mark and creates a zone that deals true damage and slows every 0.5 seconds for 5 seconds; after taking all 5 ticks, Ryoma is silenced for 1 second and can’t leap back with Pinwheel . Jungle Strike with the green blade also knocks the target airborne.

• Volkath
• Zuka

Volkath

Ryoma retreats with the backward leap of Pinwheel , but Volkath only needs to land Execution to stick to him all the way: the victim is slowed, marked and revealed, and Volkath can recast the skill to teleport next to the target, dealing damage based on missing HP. Death Sweep stuns and makes all following basic attacks deal extra true damage. If he gets stunned by the edge of Wailing Blade , Ultima lets Volkath break free of the crowd control and gain damage immunity, then strike in a circle right next to Ryoma.

Zuka

Zuka has a much longer skill combo than Ryoma. Pain on a Stick dashes forward and can be recast within the next 5 seconds, enough to follow up after the backward leap of Pinwheel . Panda Chariot tumbles forward. On hit, it grants a shield for 2.5 seconds and knocks up nearby enemies, so the sword wave of Naginatajutsu and the four thrusts of Spectral Ire have to hit the shield first. When the shield breaks, Zuka also heals every second for 3 seconds. Sky Fall slams down and stuns for 1 second, pinning Ryoma in place so Zuka can unload his empowered attacks.

• Aleister
• Natalya

Aleister

Ryoma’s kit has no CC immunity at all, so he can be caught every time he dives in. Aleister sets up Magic Barrier to stun the moment Ryoma moves in to use Wailing Blade . Then he casts Magic Prison to trap Ryoma in a magic prison, dealing magic damage per tick for 2.5 seconds. Stun first, then cast the prison: Ryoma can leave its range with the backward leap of Pinwheel , and if you stand too close you can easily get hit by the edge stun of Wailing Blade. Matrix of Woe keeps stacking dark magic marks so the passive Wicked Plot detonates for true damage.

Natalya

Natalya answers the stun from the edge of Wailing Blade with Lethal Rays : the deadly energy beam removes all crowd control on her, creates a shield that grants CC immunity and blocks damage, all while dealing magic damage to Ryoma every 0.25 seconds. When Ryoma dashes in, Arcane Nova stuns the first enemy hit and then lingers, dealing damage 5 times and slowing, making it hard for him to leap back with Pinwheel . Arcane Spirits reduces Natalya’s cooldowns every time the specter hits an enemy hero, and her passive Arcane Fire adds bonus magic damage after each skill.

• Arum

Arum

Ryoma likes to land one poke and then leap back, but Snare from Arum locks him in place. Arum dashes in to bind him, and both are fully immobilized in an unbreakable link, so Pinwheel is useless until the link ends. As soon as the skill is cast, Arum summons 3 beasts. After Ryoma is released, they let Uncaged slow, then heavily slow, then stun him for 1 second. The passive Ravenous Beasts deals magic damage and heals at the same time, helping Arum hold firm against the sword waves of Naginatajutsu .

• Stuart

Stuart

All of Ryoma’s damage is physical, from the sword wave of his passive Naginatajutsu and the draw slash of Wailing Blade to the four stabs of Spectral Ire . Stuart activates Blood Shadow Eye to become immune to physical damage and gain movement speed right as Ryoma dives in, so his whole combo leaves nothing on your HP bar. When Ryoma uses Pinwheel to leap back and wait for cooldowns, Destructive Blast dashes in to slow him, while Death Missile fires a linear projectile that damages every target in its path, enough to finish him before he can come back.