Udyr vs Locke Counter Pick

Two melee champions squaring off in the jungle, each with a 125 attack range and physical damage: this matchup comes down to sustain and to which side can keep trading longer. Udyr is picked in 63.0% of 651 games on patch 16.13.1.

Soul Ignition decides most of it. While it runs, Locke gets bonus attack speed and movement speed, but he hurts himself to get them, and he only wins back part of that damage once the effect ends. Facing an enemy whose Iron Mantle produces a shield, heals him on his next two attacks, and heals again from maximum health when recast, that self-damage adds up fast. Silver Stake’s damage grows with missing health, so a target that keeps topping itself up is the worst possible one for it.

The stats are split in an interesting way. Locke begins with 32 armor against 31 and ends with much more health, 2,508 to 2,228, while Udyr starts with more health, 664 to 655, and finishes with 110.9 armor to 103.4. Ashen Pursuit is a teleport followed by a dash onto the target, and Purgatory can execute outright, granting him extra power for locking a champion away, so a fight that starts at low health can still turn. Blazing Stampede stuns on the first hit against each target, and its recast grants immunity to immobilizing effects, with 350 movement speed against his 340. Rated 7 to 5, Udyr is the more demanding pick, and that difficulty matches the reward.