Zanis Counters 2026: Best Counter Picks & Builds

Zanis

Fighter
Health
Damage
Ability Effects
Difficulty

Heroes That Counter Zanis

Heroes that counter Zanis in a 1v1 solo lane and in combat include: Murad, Eland’orr, Florentino, Aleister, Arum, Hayate… Hard crowd-control heroes will prevent Zanis from diving in to dump damage in a fight. In a duel, pick heroes good at kiting or heavy poking to outplay him.

Assassin Heroes (Jungle) That Counter Zanis

Murad

Zanis without his horse can’t chase down a shapeshifting hero like Murad, so in this matchup Zanis can only accept being continuously poked with little he can do back to his opponent.

Eland'orr

Eland’orr is one of the most mobile long-reach heroes in Arena of Valor, plus his ultimate knocks back nearby targets, so this hero can kite Zanis smoothly and very effectively.

Fighter Heroes (Top Lane) That Counter Zanis

Florentino

Zanis’s durability and healing are easily pierced through by Florentino’s true damage, and additionally his lack of mobility creates favorable conditions for Flo to kite, pick flowers, and dance much more easily.

Allain

If you want to counter Zanis but prefer simplicity, just pick Allain, because countering him with Allain is as simple as diving in and dueling head-on from start to finish.

Omen

Omen doesn’t counter Zanis through 1v1 dueling ability but through his ultimate Killing Abyss. Zanis’s Skill 1 Blood Wyrm isn’t afraid of normal crowd control, but once bound by Omen’s ultimate, he becomes much more useless in combat.

Mage Heroes (Mid Lane) That Counter Zanis

Aleister

Zanis’s Skill 1 Blood Wyrm can cleanse most crowd control, but is helpless against the hard suppression from Aleister’s ultimate, so just one cast from this hero will turn Zanis into a dead man in a team fight.

Lauriel

Zanis is listed among the top handsome men of the Three Kingdoms, but touching an angel from the West like Lauriel isn’t easy at all. With Skill 2’s ability to dive continuously, Lauriel can freely toy with Zanis like a cat with a mouse.

Support Heroes (Sp) That Counter Zanis

Arum

This hard-suppressing support hero will prevent Zanis from closing in and dealing damage to important heroes in your team’s formation, and she’s also tanky enough to withstand the large damage from Zanis’s spear thrusts.

Baldum

The tanky Baldum won’t easily be evaporated by Zanis, and additionally Zanis’s crowd-control-cleansing Skill 1 Blood Wyrm has no effect when Baldum knocks him back or uses Earth Prison to bury him underground.

Marksman Heroes (Dragon Lane) That Counter Zanis

Hayate

As mentioned, Zanis is very tanky, so ordinary marksmen struggle facing him. The solution is picking Hayate, whose true damage combined with high mobility is more than enough to kite and take down Zanis.

Fennik

Good distance-keeping ability, high critical chance, and continuous slows — all of Fennik’s traits are very well suited to face a not-so-mobile hero like Zanis.

items that counter Zanis

Sonic Boots bring an advantage in damage reduction for fighter heroes when dueling Zanis.

As analyzed, Zanis’s Skill 2 Tail Sweep gives him very strong healing, so items that counter this ability are essential if you want to limit his power and take him down.

This item is very well suited for support or fighter heroes, reducing attack speed, which also reduces Zanis’s damage output when you’re near him.

If you’re playing marksman, and your long-range heroes and teammates lack slowing ability, consider getting this item to make Zanis move much more sluggishly, helping you kite him more easily.

how to counter Zanis in a 1v1 solo lane

  • Always keep a safe distance: Unless you pick heroes capable of direct confrontation with Zanis, it’s best to keep your distance so he can’t easily dump damage on you.
  • Attack him in the early game: Zanis is very weak in the first minutes of the match, so take advantage of that, continuously hunt him to slow down his item progression.
  • Limit dueling once he’s itemized: By mid-game Zanis will have 3 to 4 items, becoming very strong, so you should avoid dueling him alone.

How to Counter Zanis in Combat

  • Prevent Zanis from reaching your core: In combat, Zanis will look for ways to hunt your Mage and Marksman, so find ways to protect these heroes.
  • Watch for his Skill 1: Keep track of whether Zanis has already used Skill 1 Blood Wyrm to decide when to use crowd control to catch him.
  • Don’t let him heal: If you see Zanis activate Skill 2 Tail Sweep to drain HP, quickly crowd-control him or back away so he has no chance to basic-attack and receive healing.

Tips for Countering Zanis

Strengths to Watch Out For

  • Fast burst damage: Zanis ‘s pokes deal very large damage at high speed.
  • High durability: High HP, thick armor, and strong healing from Skill 2 Tail Sweep make Zanis truly tanky.
  • Crowd-control cleanse ability: Skill 1 Blood Wyrm can instantly remove any crowd control just like Purify .
  • Extremely strong when fully itemized: Once Zanis gets 3 to 4 items, he becomes truly strong and capable of handling multiple opponents at once.

Weaknesses to Exploit

  • Not too mobile: Aside from a movement-speed boost and his ultimate Dragon Wraith jumping onto a target, Zanis can only move by running on foot.
  • Reliant on basic attacks: Zanis deals damage mainly through basic attacks, so his power is limited if his attack speed is slowed or he can’t reach his opponent.
  • Easily kited: Because of his short range and lack of a mobility skill, long-reach heroes can easily kite Zanis.