Zill Counters 2026: Best Counter Picks & Builds

Zill is one of the most mobile magic assassins thanks to his passive Dustdevil : skills that land apply a Storm mark, at 3 stacks it turns into a storm that slows the target, and every basic attack on that victim instantly resets the cooldown of Wind Shift , his teleport that deals magic damage. Wind Blade throws twin blades that slow and deal damage both on the way out and on the way back, while his ultimate Tornado turns him into a tornado that strikes 5 times in a row, with the first hit silencing for 1 second, and throughout that time Zill cannot be attacked or targeted. His weaknesses are low HP, short range, heavy reliance on his ultimate, and needing full mark stacks to keep cycling Wind Shift. Hard crowd control right after Tornado, tanky heroes and skills that take away his target are what make Zill hardest to play. Reliable counters to Zill are Zephys, Aoi in the jungle, Bolt Baron, Marja in the Dark Slayer lane, Aleister, Raz in the mid lane and Gildur, Zip, Thane at support.

• Zephys
• Aoi

Zephys

Passive Unwavering Death gives Zephys 1% damage reduction for every 3% of max HP lost. The more Zill ‘s combo drains Zephys, the less effective his following hits become, including the 5 strikes of Tornado . Death Poke slashes 4 times and heals on hitting enemies, helping Zephys hold his ground in trades. As soon as Tornado ends and Zill reappears, Death From Above strikes from the air, knocking him away and applying Reverberation, while Death Rift leaps in so the next attack slows, cutting off Zill’s Wind Shift escape.

Aoi

Zill often uses Wind Shift to jump repeatedly to escape, but Aoi has two claw launches from Dragon Claw to chase him, and while charging or in flight Aoi is immune to crowd control, so the slow from Wind Blade or the storm mark can’t hold her. When Zill activates Tornado to dodge, Aoi just needs to keep her distance and wait for him to reappear. Then Dragon Slash dives down from flight, knocking up everyone in the area. When he is low, Dragon's Wrath plants the dragon claw, slows, then retracts it for damage based on the target’s missing HP.

• Bolt Baron
• Marja

Bolt Baron

Zill needs to stay close and basic attack a storm-marked victim to reset Wind Shift , and Bolt Baron won’t let him. Thunder Blast explodes to knock enemies back, and the closer they are to Bolt Baron, the farther they fly. Thunder Plunge dashes forward and grants a shield for 2 seconds, helping absorb sudden magic burst. When Zill activates Tornado , Bolt Baron can use Gathering Thunder to take flight: during the 1.5-second transformation he is immune to crowd control, gains 30% movement speed, ignores walls and gains a shield from each lightning strike.

Marja

Zill deals pure magic damage, while Marja ‘s Soul-Devouring Worm links to the first enemy hit, slowing them and draining both physical attack and magic power while healing Marja. With his magic power drained, Zill’s skills hit noticeably softer. When he dives in, Marja activates Vile Spirit to become untargetable and cleanse all debuffs, including the silence from Tornado and the slow from Wind Blade , dealing damage on activation and on cancel. The minions from Soul Curse keep attacking and healing, leaving Zill without enough damage to take Marja down.

• Aleister
• Raz

Aleister

Zill has no cleanse, so getting trapped once in the magic prison of Magic Prison means taking magic damage every tick for the full 2.5 seconds. Don’t cast it while he’s in Tornado , because Zill can’t be targeted then; wait for the tornado to end. If Zill teleports in with Wind Shift , Aleister stops him with the stun from Magic Barrier , while building marks so Wicked Plot detonates for true damage at full stacks. The ultimate requires channeling, so stand behind your teammates when casting it.

Raz

To reset Wind Shift , Zill has to basic attack a target carrying the Dustdevil mark, which means standing right next to them. Raz pushes him away before that can happen: Explosive KO charges forward and knocks back anyone hit, Rising Uppercut is an uppercut that knocks enemies airborne, and the passive Fancy Footwork makes the first and third punches knock enemies back, plus a high-speed dash after each skill. Power Surge both slows and reduces magic defense, letting Raz’s magic damage burst Zill down very quickly. Save the knock-up for the moment Tornado ends.

• Gildur
• Zip
• Thane

Gildur

Gildur works best standing right next to the marksman, where Zill will teleport in with Wind Shift . Indulgence lays down a magic circle that deals continuous magic damage while slowing and stunning, so Zill can’t keep basic attacking to reset his skill. Extravagant adds another stun on anyone it hits. Every time Gildur casts a skill, his passive Midas Touch grants an extra shield, letting him stand in front of Zill’s magic attacks in place of the carry.

Zip

Tornado strikes enemies near Zill , and Zip ‘s Zip Angry can take his targets away: after opening his mouth for 1 second, Zip swallows nearby allies for 4 seconds, granting them a shield and damage immunity, with all damage Zip takes transferred to his allies’ shields. While swallowing, Zip is immune to crowd control. When Tornado ends, Zip Hex deals magic damage, stuns and then keeps nearby enemy heroes locked down, while Zip Roll rolls in to knock up, also with crowd control immunity while rolling.

Thane

Thane is a hard wall to get past for a squishy assassin like Zill . Passive Royal Power lets Thane regenerate HP based on max HP and gain damage reduction when he drops below a threshold, so Zill’s magic combo struggles to bring him down. As Zill exits Tornado , Avalon's Fury plants the sword to knock up and slow, while Valiant Charge charges forward, continuously pushing back before knocking up at the end. Once Zill is low, Excalibur deals true damage plus an extra 15% of Zill’s missing HP as physical damage, and nothing can stop Thane mid-slash.