Twisted Fate vs Azir Counter Pick

Both champions reach 525 range, both carry a difficulty rating of 9, and both are listed as mixed damage, so the matchup looks even on paper. In practice it isn’t. Twisted Fate wins 58.7% of 445 games on patch 16.13.1.

Everything Azir threatens comes from Arise!, where Sand Soldiers take the place of his basic attack and deal damage well beyond his own 525 range. That reach exists only where a soldier is standing, so keeping an eye on soldier positions and sidestepping Conquering Sands takes away most of his pressure. Shifting Sands follows as a dash and Emperor’s Divide serves as the disengage, and both require a soldier to already be in place. Azir starts with 56 attack damage against 52 and 25 armor against 24, which means early trades cost something. Once the game gets there, Shurima’s Legacy allows him to summon the Disc of the Sun from the remains of a destroyed turret.

Twisted Fate doesn’t rely on any of that. Wild Cards fires three projectiles through the minion wave, Pick a Card draws a card from the deck to attach a bonus effect to his next attack, and Destiny combined with Gate turns a pushed wave into an attack on the far side of the map. Meanwhile Loaded Dice slips in an extra one to six gold per kill. At level 18 Azir has more armor, 110 to 98, while Twisted Fate has a little more health, 2,440 to 2,411. Neither one wins a extended fight cleanly, so tempo is what decides it.