Ekko vs Azir Counter Pick

Azir carries a difficulty rating of 9, one of the steepest in the game, and that cost shows up in the result: Ekko wins 57.4% of 244 mid-lane games on patch 16.13.1 despite conceding 400 units of attack range, 125 against 525.

Sand Soldiers are the whole matchup. Arise! replaces Azir’s basic attack inside soldier range and Conquering Sands sends them forward as a slow, so his safety depends on keeping a soldier between the two of them. Phase Dive answers that directly, since Ekko rolls first and then teleports to the target on the empowered attack, while Z-Drive Resonance adds magic damage and a burst of speed on the third hit against a champion already moving at 340 to 330. Timewinder slows on its return pass, which makes the Shifting Sands dash easier to read. Ekko is also the sturdier body at 655 health and 32 armor to 575 and 25, and both spend mana. Emperor’s Divide is the reset button, knocking him back mid-commitment, and Chronobreak is the counter-reset that rewinds him out of the follow-up. Shurima’s Legacy lets Azir summon the Disc of the Sun from a destroyed turret, a late-game consideration rather than an early one, and his 2,411 health at level 18 nearly matches Ekko’s 2,338. Parallel Convergence adds magic damage to Ekko’s attacks against low-health targets. Compare Ekko and Azir directly.