Sona vs Neeko Counter Pick

Neeko packs her danger into two signposted moments, and that is the core reason Sona still wins 56.5% of her 232 games on patch 16.13.1. Both champions strike from 550 units, both deal magic damage, and both need a teammate to turn an opening into a kill. Neeko appears in mid and support lists alike, and her kit reflects that: she hits hard in short bursts rather than applying steady pressure through an entire lane phase.

• Pop Blossom needs a windup before Neeko lunges, launches every nearby enemy into the air, and stuns them when she lands.
• Tangle-Barbs roots anything in its path and expands after it kills a unit or passes through a champion, so the longer it lasts, the more obvious it becomes.
• Inherent Glamour allows her to take on an ally’s look, yet any damaging spell or hard crowd control on her ends the disguise.

Song of Celerity counters all three, because the movement speed it grants nearby allies turns a windup into a whiff. On paper Neeko is faster at 340 to Sona’s 325 and tougher at 610 base health versus 550, finishing at 2,378 against 2,097, which means Sona rarely wins a fight once she is standing inside it. She does win the fights she steps away from, healing chip damage with Aria of Perseverance while Neeko waits to set up again. The difficulty ratings of 5 and 4 leave little excuse for missed skill shots, and Blooming Burst punishes a stationary target twice over.