Counter Tips to Beat
Bard
Bard
The Wandering Caretaker
Bard is played as a support
Abilities
Counter Champions
Counter Items
Introduction
Bard is a support champion with a lot of power behind his roaming game. He's unique to other champions in that he can gain experience by not being in lane, and has a stasis ult similar to Zhonyas, that makes for excellent playmaking opportunites with picks, or saving people. Also the opportunity to ruin everything his team has worked for with that very same ultimate
Abilities
Passive – Travelers Call
Bard's presence causes sacred chimes to appear at random locations and linger for up to 10 minutes. Collecting a chime grants Bard bonus movement speed out of combat for 7 seconds, stacking up to 5 times, experience, and maximum mana. Every 5 chimes Bard collects empower his Meeps.
Bard's presence attracts small spirits known as Meeps to his side. Each of his basic attacks consumes a Meep, dealing bonus magic damage. At 5 Chimes, Meeps slow damaged enemies by for 1 second, and at 25 Chimes they splash the damage around the main target and in a cone behind them, with the cone's size increasing at 65 Chimes.
Q – Cosmic Binding
Bard fires a burst of spirit energy in the target direction, dealing magic damage to the first enemy struck and briefly slowing them by 60%.
After Cosmic Binding hits an enemy, the burst of energy passes through them and searches for secondary targets. If it hits a wall or a second enemy, it stuns both targets for the same duration, dealing the same magic damage to the second target as well
W – Caretakers Shrine
Bard conjures a shrine at the target location that builds up in power over 10 seconds, up to 3 shrines active at once, which remain until consumed when a champion steps on them.
If the champion was an ally or Bard himself, they are healed for an amount based on the shrine's power and gain 50% bonus movement speed that decays over 1.5 seconds
E – Magical Journey
Bard opens a one-way magical corridor through a piece of terrain in the target direction for 10 seconds. Magical Journey will not cast unless it can open a corridor.
Both allies and enemies can pass through the corridor by right-clicking on it or its exit, with allies and Bard travelling at increased speed.
R – Tempered Fate
Bard sends magical energy arcing to the target location, putting all units and structures in the target area into stasis for 2.5 seconds upon impact.
Despite normally being immune to crowd control, epic monsters and turrets (excluding the Nexus Obelisk) also enter stasis
Our Top Counter Tips For Bard
Bard roams a lot, and is very squishy. If you find him out of position, there isn't much he can do before he's bursted. Unless he has a Magical Journey up.
Don't follow the Magical Journey. It'll usually lead to a trip into grey secreen.
Try not to stand near towers during sieges, chances are high that bard will ult them, and you with them, leaving your team down a champion when they get engaged on.
CC Will follow Bard and other through the magical journey, and will effect them on the other side. Use this to punish people for thinking they can escape with just a portal
Champions That Counter Bard
Blitzcrank
Did you leave? Your carry is dead. Even in lane, Bard still has to be wary of Blitz's kill potential, since, barring a really good Q he has no way to save himself or his carry
Thresh
A lot like Blitzcrank, except you can't Q him to save yourself or your carry. He'll hook to flay to giving his carry the kill, and that'll be the end of the conversation
Draven
You locked in Draven, Bard can no longer leave lane. Ever. Draven will just kill your carry over and over with his support and that's not good for Bard or anyone on his team
Leona
She can just kill the carry if he leaves, and kill him if he stays. There really isn't anything Bard can do in a lane against Leona, and it honestly isn't a pick anyone should take against a half decent Leona
Itemization
The only really important thing to get against Bard is wards. He won't build damage, but he will roam a lot, so wards are what will save you from that. Wards will help you catch him out, wards will you see his ult coming. Wards are what nullify bards effectiveness to a degree, and stop him from actually carrying his team from the support position.
