Zanis Counters 2026: Best Counter Picks & Builds

Zanis

Fighter

Health

Damage

Ability Effects

Difficulty

Heroes That Counter Zanis

Zanis is a melee fighter who is both tanky and hard to lock down. His passive Dragoon Dragoon lets his skills cleanse crowd control (except suppression) while also increasing his physical attack and attack range. Blood Wyrm boosts his movement speed and empowers his next attack, Tail Sweep sweeps his spear around him and then increases his attack speed and lifesteal, and his ultimate Dragon Wraith deals true damage to a targeted enemy along with a stun and slow, converting all extra damage dealt while empowered into true damage. The weakness of Zanis Zanis is that suppression and effects that prevent him from acting still lock him down completely; outside his ultimate he also has no dash, so long-range heroes can easily kite him. Anti-heal, attack speed reduction and true damage help break his durability. Counters to Zanis Zanis include Murad, Eland’orr in the jungle, Florentino, Allain, Omen in the Dark Slayer Lane, Aleister, Lauriel in the mid lane, Arum, Baldum as support and Hayate, Fennik in the Abyssal Dragon Lane.

Murad

Zanis Zanis has no dash besides Dragon Wraith , so he has a very hard time catching Murad Murad . Thorn of Time lets Murad dash up to 3 times and stun his victim, with the third dash returning him to his starting position, so he can trade and retreat before Zanis can hit back. More importantly, at the moment he activates Another Dimension and throughout Temporal Turbulence , Murad cannot be attacked or targeted, so with good timing he can dodge Dragon Wraith , a skill that requires a target. The edge of the Another Dimension zone reduces armor for 3 seconds, and together with the armor penetration from his passive Rift Rift , it helps Murad cut through Zanis’s tankiness.

Eland'orr

Eland'orr is the textbook kiter against a walk-only fighter like Zanis Zanis . Butterfly Wings dashes in the chosen direction and leaves a spirit lantern at the starting spot; after casting a skill, the passive Soul Steal lets Eland’orr reactivate to return to the lantern, so every engage comes with a built-in escape route. When Zanis activates Blood Wyrm to chase with extra movement speed, Metamorphosis knocks him back, keeping the distance so Eland’orr can keep poking with basic attacks and detonate magic damage at 3 marks.

Top Lane Fighters That Counter Zanis

Florentino
Allain
Omen

Florentino

Zanis Zanis ‘s toughness comes from his large HP pool and the lifesteal from Tail Sweep , but the three strikes of Florentino ‘s Triple Threat deal bonus true damage based on max HP, so the more HP Zanis builds, the worse it gets for him. Gentlemen's Duel duels him for 5 seconds, reduces the target’s armor and makes Florentino immune to all CC, so the stun and slow from Dragon Wraith can’t interrupt his combo. Zanis can only walk outside of his ultimate, so Florentino can easily throw Blossom Blossom , pick up flowers to strike and keep resetting Triple Threat’s cooldown.

Allain

With Death at Sunset , Allain Allain instantly vanishes, locks onto an enemy hero, then lands after 1.5 seconds to deal true damage around the target. When Zanis Zanis dives in with Dragon Wraith , vanishing is how Allain escapes the burst before landing to punish him. True damage ignores armor, so Zanis’s tankiness doesn’t count for much. The passive Howling Sword grants armor penetration on hit and heals Allain after enough hits, letting him win extended fights against the lifesteal from Tail Sweep , while Moonflash dashes after Zanis when he activates Blood Wyrm to run.

Omen

The passive Dragoon Dragoon lets Zanis Zanis cleanse most crowd control by casting skills, but Death's Embrace from Omen Omen doesn’t put a stun on him: Omen charges in to create a death arena, and the target cannot escape for 5 seconds and deals reduced damage. Trapped inside, Zanis can’t get out even with the movement speed from Blood Wyrm , and the damage of Dragon Wraith is reduced. Untouchable increases damage reduction and reflects enemy heroes’ basic attacks, landing right when Zanis is unloading with the bonus attack speed from Tail Sweep .

Mid Lane Mages That Counter Zanis

Aleister
Lauriel

Aleister

The passive Dragoon Dragoon cleanses every form of crowd control except suppression, and Magic Prison from Aleister is exactly that: the magic prison holds Zanis Zanis in place and deals magic damage in ticks over 2.5 seconds. Even if Zanis dives in with Dragon Wraith , he still gets locked up right in the middle of your team and becomes a target for everyone to burst. Before that, Magic Barrier stuns and Matrix of Woe deals continuous damage, while the third stack of Wicked Plot detonates true damage. Zanis can cleanse the stun from the barrier, so save your ultimate as the deciding blow.

Lauriel

Wings of Purity lets Lauriel Lauriel dash in the chosen direction and fire 3 beams of light, with hits reducing her cooldowns, so she can constantly reposition against a walk-only fighter like Zanis Zanis . Inside the Great Judgment zone, Lauriel’s cooldowns recover twice as fast, giving her more dashes to stay out of Zanis’s reach even when he activates Blood Wyrm . After 4 skill hits, her passive Heaven's Punishment bursts true damage in an area, slows, and heals Lauriel. Keep your distance so he has to use Dragon Wraith to reach you, then dash out right after.

Support Heroes That Counter Zanis

Arum
Baldum

Arum

Snare Snare dashes in to bind the target, after which both Arum and the victim are fully immobilized by an unbreakable link. Because the link cannot be broken, the cleanse from Dragoon Dragoon can’t save Zanis Zanis . During this time, any damage either of them takes is shared with the other, so the hits Zanis lands on Arum Arum bounce right back to him. Uncaged Uncaged also stuns for 1 second with the third beast, while the passive Ravenous Beasts heals Arum.

Baldum

Wild Prison is crowd control that Zanis Zanis can’t cleanse on his own: after 0.5 seconds the ground collapses and imprisons enemies for 3 seconds, during which they can’t take any action, meaning he also can’t cast a skill to trigger the cleanse from Dragoon Dragoon . When he dives your carry with Dragon Wraith , Baldum Baldum drops Wild Prison right where he lands. Wild Stomp stomps the ground 6 times, slowing victims and reducing the physical damage they deal to Baldum for 1 second, helping him stand firm against the sweeps of Tail Sweep .

Dragon Lane Marksmen That Counter Zanis

Hayate
Fennik

Hayate

After 6 hits on the same target, the passive Blood of the Dragon lets Hayate Hayate deal bonus true damage for 4 seconds, exactly what you need to cut through the HP and lifesteal of Zanis Zanis . Shadow Step dashes in the chosen direction and can cross terrain, helping Hayate keep his distance from a walk-only fighter; the skill’s passive also boosts damage and movement speed when an enemy hero is within 5m. Shuriken Toss throws shuriken while boosting movement speed so you can kite Zanis even when he activates Blood Wyrm , and Kunai Blitz blinks to another spot when you get dived.

Fennik

Fennik Fennik keeps his distance from Zanis Zanis with two dashes: Detonator lets him dash an extra distance when casting and boosts his attack speed and range for 4 seconds, while Electric Zap rolls forward untargetable and leaves a slowing static trail. Zanis has no dash outside of Dragon Wraith , so a marksman with extended range like Fennik can kite him fairly easily. Supersonic Vortex creates a storm that deals damage every 0.5 seconds, slows and stacks Detonator. Zanis’s skills can cleanse slows, so don’t rely on slows alone; use your dashes to keep your distance.

Items That Counter Zanis

These boots have the Acceleration passive, which makes you take 10% less damage from basic attacks. Tail Sweep boosts the attack speed of Zanis Zanis and Blood Wyrm empowers his next attack, so most of his sustained damage comes through basic attacks; fighters facing him head-on in the Dark Slayer Lane or in the jungle should prioritize these boots.

The Judgment passive reduces the target’s healing by 40% for 3 seconds when hit by basic attacks or skills. Lifesteal from Tail Sweep is what keeps Zanis Zanis so stubborn in teamfights, so physical damage heroes need this item to stop him from healing back while he’s being focused.

Spirit Bind reduces the attack speed of all enemies within 5m of you by 30%. When Zanis Zanis activates Tail Sweep for attack speed and lifesteal, this shield slows down his attack rhythm, cutting both his damage and how often he lifesteals; it suits supports and fighters who usually stand right next to him.

The Freeze passive slows the target’s movement speed by 5% – 10% for 1.5 seconds after each attack or skill, stacking up to 2 times, while Chill deals bonus physical damage (3-second cooldown). For marksmen like Hayate Hayate or Fennik Fennik , this item helps kite Zanis Zanis ; his skills can cleanse slows, so reapply it right after he uses a skill.

How to Counter Zanis in 1v1

Keep your distance with long-range heroes: Zanis Zanis only has his walking speed and the movement boost from Blood Wyrm ; outside Dragon Wraith he has no dash. If you’re on a marksman or mage, stay out of his range and poke, forcing him to use his ultimate just to reach you.

Hit him early before he scales: Zanis relies on lifesteal from Tail Sweep and his items to stay durable. Invading and trading in the early game slows down his item build.

Count his skills before using CC: Every Zanis skill can cleanse crowd control. Wait until he has just used Blood Wyrm or Tail Sweep before landing your stun, or use suppression like Magic Prison that he can’t cleanse.

Build anti-heal early: An item like Curse of Death makes his lifesteal insufficient to win extended fights.

How to Counter Zanis in Teamfights

Protect your carries from his ultimate: Dragon Wraith dives onto a chosen target, dealing true damage with a stun and slow. Supports like Arum Arum or Baldum Baldum should stay next to the marksman and mage to lock him down as soon as he lands.

Use CC he can’t cleanse: Magic Prison , the link from Snare Snare and Wild Prison Wild Prison all prevent Zanis from using skills to escape. Save them for when he has already dived in.

Cut off his lifesteal: When he activates Tail Sweep , don’t stand toe-to-toe trading hits. Back off or CC him so he can’t basic attack, and use The Aegis to slow his attack speed.

Stack true damage: Florentino , Allain Allain and Hayate Hayate all deal true damage that isn’t weakened by his armor or huge HP pool. Let them finish him off.

Tips for Countering Zanis

Strengths to Watch Out For

Every skill can cleanse crowd control, except suppression.
His ultimate deals true damage plus a stun and slow to a targeted enemy.
Tail Sweep boosts attack speed and lifesteal, making him very durable in extended fights.
His passive increases physical attack and attack range.

Weaknesses to Exploit

No dash outside his ultimate, easily kited by long-range heroes.
Cannot cleanse suppression or effects that prevent him from acting.
Relies on basic attacks and lifesteal, vulnerable to attack speed reduction and anti-heal.
Must dive into the enemy team to deal damage.