Route: Counter-Picking Made Simple (The 10-Second Method)

Counter-picking feels hard because people treat it like a giant “hero vs hero” encyclopedia. The easy way is to counter what the enemy team wants to do, not just what they picked.

Use this 10-second method every draft:

Step 1: Spot the enemy win condition

Ask: “How do they win fights?”

• Dive & delete (assassins, jumpers, backline killers)
• Hard set & wipe (big AoE CC into burst)
• Sustain & outlast (healing/shields, regen fighters)
• Poke & choke (range, zoning, siege)
• Split & stress (side pressure and map pull)

Step 2: Pick the correct counter category

You don’t need a perfect hero. You need the correct type of answer:

• Anti-dash to punish mobility
• Anti-CC to break “set” lineups
• Anti-heal to stop sustain
• Anti-shield to punish shield comps
• Anti-projectile to nullify ranged damage
• Anti-basic attack to punish marksman DPS
• Anti-burst survival so your carry doesn’t donate shutdowns

Step 3: Draft at least one “draft saver”

A draft saver is a hero that makes your team playable even if teammates pick comfort. Examples of draft savers by function:

• A real frontline (lets squishies exist)
• Reliable engage/catch (lets you start fights)
• Reliable peel (lets your carry play)
• Strong wave clear (prevents instant losses)
• Strong objective zoning (makes Turtle/Lord safe)

If your team has even one draft saver, your win rate rises because you stop auto-losing to common ranked problems.

Route: Hard Counters vs Soft Counters (So You Don’t Overthink)

Not every counter is equal. Knowing the difference stops you from picking “theoretical counters” that don’t work in real games.

Hard counter

A hard counter directly shuts down a mechanic (not just damage).

• Blocking projectiles
• Preventing blink/dash in an area
• Removing crowd control effects for the whole team
• Turning enemy shields into your own advantage

Hard counters are the easiest wins because you don’t need perfect execution — the kit does the work.

Soft counter

A soft counter is a favorable matchup, but it’s still playable for the enemy.

• Out-ranging a hero
• Out-sustaining a lane
• Out-scaling in late game
• Having better wave clear

Soft counters still require discipline, items, and positioning to actually win.

Easy rule:

If you want consistent ranked wins, prioritize hard counters when they fit your comp.

Route: The Counter Triangle (Five Draft Problems, Five Draft Answers)

Most drafts you face in ranked fall into the same five “problems.” Here’s the simple answer to each:

Problem: Dive (they jump your backline)

Answer: Peel + anti-burst + anti-dash

• You don’t need to dive back.
• You need to survive the first jump, then punish.

Problem: Set (one big CC combo wipes you)

Answer: Anti-CC + spacing + pick-off

• Break their engage or make it fail.
• Then take objectives while their ultimates are down.

Problem: Sustain (they never die)

Answer: Anti-heal + burst windows + kiting

• Don’t “DPS healers” forever.
• Cut healing and kill during cooldown windows.

Problem: Poke (you can’t walk up)

Answer: Hard engage or flanks + wave clear

• Don’t stand and suffer.
• Either force the fight or out-clear and out-rotate.

Problem: Shields (their HP bar doesn’t move)

Answer: Anti-shield hero picks + anti-heal discipline

• Shields are fake HP. Some heroes punish that hard.

Loot: Counter-Pick Cheat Sheet (Easy Version)

This is the part you came for: fast, practical counters you can choose quickly.

Use it two ways:

1. Pick from the counter categories (fastest)
2. Check the popular trouble heroes list (most direct)

Important ranked truth: Counter picks are strongest when they also fit your team’s needs (frontline, engage, peel, wave clear). A counter that breaks your team comp is not a win — it’s a new problem.

Loot: The 7 Counter Categories You Should Memorize

1) Anti-Projectile (ranged basics + projectile skills)

• Best answer: Lolita
• Why it works: If the enemy relies on projectiles to deal damage or poke, you can literally deny their win condition by blocking and reflecting.

2) Anti-CC / Anti-Set (big engage ults)

• Best answer: Diggie
• Why it works: When the enemy draft wants a one-button AoE CC fight, removing debuffs and gaining control immunity turns their “perfect engage” into wasted cooldowns.

3) Anti-Shield (shield-heavy comps)

• Best answer: Esmeralda
• Why it works: Shield value becomes your value. Teams that draft around shields can accidentally feed Esmeralda a fight she loves.

4) Anti-Heal (regen, lifesteal, heal supports, sustain fighters)

• Best answers: Baxia (hero) + Lifebane items (team)
• Why it works: Sustain comps win because they outlast your cooldowns. Anti-heal flips that by making every trade permanent.

5) Anti-Dash / Mobility Punish

• Best answers: Khufra, Minsitthar, Phoveus
• Why it works: Mobile heroes win by choosing when to fight and when to leave. Anti-dash picks remove that choice.

6) Anti-Basic Attack / Marksman Punish

• Best answers: Belerick + Blade Armor (item answer)
• Why it works: If a hero must machine-gun basic attacks to win, reflection and punishment tools turn their DPS into self-damage and forced repositioning.

7) Anti-Burst Survival (stop shutdown throws)

• Best answer: Winter Crown (item answer)
• Why it works: In ranked, one shutdown can reset the entire game. A single invulnerability window can protect a lead and win Lord fights.

If you remember only one thing:

Counter-picking isn’t about “who wins lane.” It’s about “who breaks the enemy plan.”

Loot: Quick Counter Library (Pick the Answer, Not the Argument)

Below are “enemy problem → easiest answers” bundles. These are draft-friendly, easy to execute, and reliable in solo queue.

Enemy problem: Projectile-heavy poke or projectile marksman

Pick: Lolita

• Lane rule: Stand between your carry and the poke direction.
• Fight rule: Don’t panic shield early — shield when the enemy commits their main damage window.
• Draft bonus: Lolita also gives engage potential, which helps end games.

Enemy problem: Big set tanks (one engage decides fight)

Pick: Diggie

• Lane rule: Don’t waste ultimate on small CC. Save it for “wipe moments.”
• Fight rule: Play near your carry — you’re an anti-throw button.
• Draft bonus: Your team can draft squishier heroes safely because your anti-CC exists.

Enemy problem: Shield stacking and shield-based teamfights

Pick: Esmeralda

• Lane rule: Don’t chase early kills; win by staying in fights longer than they can.
• Fight rule: Hit frontliners to farm shield value and become unkillable.
• Draft bonus: Esmeralda can act like a frontline bruiser, helping weak comps.

Enemy problem: Healing/sustain supports and regen fighters

Pick: Baxia and/or build Lifebane items

• Lane rule: Short trades become winning trades when healing is cut.
• Fight rule: Apply anti-heal before the enemy heal spike lands.
• Draft bonus: Even one anti-heal source can turn “unkillable” into “manageable.”

Enemy problem: Dash assassins and mobility junglers

Pick: Khufra, Minsitthar, Phoveus

• Lane rule: Don’t overextend without vision — you are the trap, not the bait.
• Fight rule: Control entrances and punish dashes used to enter.
• Draft bonus: These picks make Turtle/Lord safer because they control space.

Enemy problem: Marksman hyper-carry, front-to-back DPS

Pick: Belerick (or item answers like Blade Armor)

• Lane rule: Don’t sprint at the marksman alone — hold angles and punish overhits.
• Fight rule: Make their carry choose: stop hitting or lose HP.
• Draft bonus: Reflection tanks give your team time to win fights without perfect burst.

Loot: Who Beats Who (Popular Trouble Heroes — Easy List)

Use this list when the enemy locks a hero and you want fast answers.

Enemy: Tigreal / Atlas-type “big set” engage

Pick: Diggie, plus any roamer/mid that can interrupt engages

How to win:

• Your job is not to out-fight them early.
• Your job is to make their one perfect engage fail.
• Save anti-CC and re-engage after their ultimates are down.

Enemy: Khufra (anti-dash engage tank)

Pick: Diggie (to survive engages), or draft more range and less dash dependence

How to win:

• Don’t draft a team that must dash through him to function.
• Don’t feed him predictable paths (straight line rotations).
• Win by wave control and punishing failed dives.

Enemy: Minsitthar (anti-blink zone)

Pick: Ranged damage + patience picks; don’t draft “must-dash” heroes as your only win condition

How to win:

• Don’t dash into his zone just because you’re bored.
• Treat his ultimate like a “no-fun circle”: walk out, re-enter after it ends.
• Force his ult defensively, then take objectives.

Enemy: Diggie (anti-CC draft breaker)

Pick: Draft less “all-in CC” reliance; use pick damage and spacing, and consider Esmeralda if shields become part of his value

How to win:

• Don’t invest five ultimates into one CC chain.
• Threaten multiple angles and force his ultimate early.
• Take fights after his ultimate window is gone.

Enemy: Lolita (anti-projectile wall)

Pick: Heroes that deal damage without relying on blockable projectiles, or draft flanks that force her shield direction to be wrong

How to win:

• Lolita can’t block everything from every direction.
• Attack from two angles.
• Force her to choose the wrong shield direction, then punish.

Enemy: Esmeralda (shield punisher)

Pick: Heavy control drafts + burst windows + anti-heal discipline

How to win:

• Don’t “feed shields” with messy, endless fights.
• Cut healing so her sustain windows shrink.
• Lock her down during objective fights and burst when her shields drop.

Enemy: X.Borg (sustain fighter with armor management)

Pick: Anti-heal tools and heroes that can control him when armor breaks

How to win:

• Treat him like a resource hero: he wants long fights.
• Cut healing and force short trades.
• Punish him after armor breaks, not while it’s full.

Enemy: High-heal supports (sustain comps)

Pick: Baxia + team Lifebane items

How to win:

• Anti-heal must be applied before the heal spike.
• Don’t chase into fog. Win fights, then take towers.
• Sustain comps lose when they can’t reset with healing.

Enemy: Dash assassins (mobility junglers)

Pick: Khufra, Minsitthar, Phoveus, plus peel tools

How to win:

• You’re not racing damage. You’re controlling space.
• Hold choke points and bushes near objectives.
• Make them spend mobility to enter, then punish the exit.

Enemy: Wanwan-style “keep moving” carry

Pick: Reliable lockdown and zoning; anti-dash zones can help but don’t rely on one “magic counter” alone

How to win:

• Don’t chase. Control the space she needs.
• Force fights in tight entrances where movement is limited.
• Keep your carry alive; late game is decided by one mistake.

Enemy: Marksman hyper-carry (front-to-back shred)

Pick: Belerick and/or Blade Armor, plus engage tools that threaten the backline

How to win:

• Your goal is to make the marksman reposition constantly.
• If they can free-hit, you lose.
• If they must stop hitting to survive, you win.

Enemy: Continuous magic DPS (constant burn/poke mage)

Pick: Radiant Armor users and better wave clear

How to win:

• Don’t “tank it with feelings.” Build the correct defense.
• Clear waves first so you aren’t forced into bad fights.
• Take objectives when their spells are on cooldown.

Enemy: Skill-burst physical (one combo deletes you)

Pick: Antique Cuirass targets (frontliners) + positioning discipline

How to win:

• Reduce their burst value and force longer fights.
• Play around their cooldowns.
• Don’t donate shutdown gold by walking into fog.

Enemy: Any burst that keeps deleting your carry

Pick: Winter Crown timing + peel drafting

How to win:

• A carry that stays alive wins games.
• Stop buying only damage; buy one survival answer.
• If you survive the first burst, you usually win the fight.

Loot: Item Counter Cheat Sheet (Because Draft Isn’t Only Heroes)

When you can’t counter-pick the perfect hero, you can still counter with items. These are “easy wins” because they’re available every match.

Against healing and sustain

Build Lifebane effects on the correct role:

• Tank/roamer answer: Dominance Ice
• Physical damage answer: Sea Halberd
• Magic damage answer: Glowing Wand
• Rule: Don’t build anti-heal at minute 12 after losing three fights. Build it before the first big objective fights if healing is deciding them.

Against basic-attack DPS

Build Blade Armor on someone who can stand in front.

Rule: If your frontline melts to basic attacks, your carry never gets to play.

Against skill-burst physical

Build Antique Cuirass

Rule: If you die to skill rotations, Antique reduces the “one combo” problem and buys time for peel.

Against continuous magic damage

Build Radiant Armor

Rule: Radiant shines against repeated low-cooldown magic damage — it’s a “stay alive longer” tool that wins objective fights.

Against instant burst or dive

Build Winter Crown

Rule: One good freeze can deny a shutdown, deny a Lord loss, and win the game.

Extraction: How to Turn a Counter Pick Into a Free Win

Counter-picking is only half the job. The other half is playing like a counter.

Here’s how to convert your counter-pick into fast wins:

1) Win the first objective setup

Most ranked games are decided by the first two big objective fights where teams get confident and start overextending. If you’re the counter pick:

• show up early,
• own bushes,
• and make the enemy’s “main play” fail.

2) Force the enemy to waste their win condition

Examples:

• If you counter set engage, make them ult defensively.
• If you counter projectiles, make them throw skills into your shield.
• If you counter dash, make them spend mobility to enter and get trapped.
• If you counter sustain, apply anti-heal and kite until they run out of gas.

3) Take towers immediately after the counter moment

The biggest ranked mistake is “win fight, chase kills, reset.”

Your counter pick usually creates a clean fight. Convert it into:

• mid turret,
• or an objective,
• or enemy jungle control.

That’s how games end faster.

4) Protect your carry’s shutdown gold

The easiest way to throw a counter-draft win is donating shutdowns. If your team is ahead:

• stop face-checking,
• stop greedy side lane farming alone,
• and use your counter tools defensively when needed.

Counter-drafts win because they reduce enemy options. Don’t give them a free reset with one mistake.

Practical Rules: 100 Counter-Pick Rules (So You Stop Losing in Draft)

1. Counter the enemy win condition, not just their lane.
2. If you can hard-counter a mechanic, prioritize it.
3. If your team has no frontline, fix that before anything else.
4. If your team has no wave clear, fix that before anything else.
5. If your team can’t start fights, fix that before anything else.
6. Counter picks that break your comp are not “wins.”
7. Draft at least one draft saver every match.
8. Anti-projectile answers are strongest into projectile-heavy lineups.
9. Anti-CC answers are strongest into “set” lineups.
10. Anti-heal is strongest before objective fights, not after.
11. Anti-shield is strongest when the enemy drafts multiple shields.
12. Anti-dash is strongest when the enemy needs mobility to function.
13. Don’t counter-pick and then play like a normal comfort game.
14. Play around your counter windows (cooldowns matter).
15. If you counter set engage, don’t waste your anti-CC early.
16. If you counter projectiles, don’t face the wrong direction.
17. If you counter dash, hold choke points — don’t chase into open space.
18. If you counter sustain, take short fights and re-engage.
19. If you counter basic attacks, stand in front and punish hits.
20. If you counter burst, build one survival tool and protect shutdown gold.
21. A counter pick that’s underfarmed is not a counter pick.
22. Win lane by wave discipline, not ego trades.
23. Rotate only when it converts into tower/objective.
24. Don’t rotate late and face-check — you’ll die and lose your counter value.
25. Objectives are where counter picks matter most.
26. Show up early to Turtle/Lord setups.
27. Own bushes; don’t “walk in and hope.”
28. One pick before Lord is better than a 50/50 Lord flip.
29. If your counter makes the enemy hesitate, you’re winning.
30. If your counter forces the enemy to change targets, you’re winning.
31. If your counter forces defensive ultimates, you’re winning.
32. After you win a fight, take towers first.
33. Don’t chase kills into fog after a counter-fight win.
34. Don’t donate shutdown gold by overextending.
35. Counter picks scale with discipline.
36. Comfort picks scale with emotion.
37. Pick the plan, then pick the hero.
38. Don’t pick five heroes that need the same resources.
39. Don’t pick five squishies and hope to outplay every engage.
40. If enemy has heavy healing, someone must buy anti-heal early.
41. If enemy has heavy shields, don’t draft only “slow damage.”
42. If enemy has heavy dive, draft peel, not just more damage.
43. If enemy has heavy poke, draft engage or wave clear.
44. If enemy has heavy split push, draft wave clear and fast rotations.
45. Don’t let the enemy draft a free front-to-back comp while you draft chaos.
46. Don’t last-pick ego if your team is missing key tools.
47. Late picks should counter or fix — pick one.
48. If you can’t counter, draft safer and build correct items.
49. Items are part of counter-picking.
50. Anti-heal is not optional into sustain comps.
51. Radiant Armor is not optional into continuous magic DPS when you’re frontline.
52. Antique Cuirass is not optional into skill-burst physical when you’re frontline.
53. Blade Armor is not optional when basic attacks shred your team.
54. Winter Crown is not optional when one burst combo decides fights.
55. Your carry staying alive is worth more than one extra damage item.
56. A living carry wins Lord fights.
57. A dead carry gives comeback gold.
58. Counter picks win through control, not through chasing.
59. If you counter mobility, punish entrances and exits.
60. If you counter CC, punish cooldown downtime.
61. If you counter poke, punish bad positioning with engage.
62. If you counter sustain, punish long fights with anti-heal + kiting.
63. If you counter shields, punish grouped teamfights.
64. Don’t tilt-draft.
65. Don’t revenge-pick.
66. Don’t argue in draft — draft structure silently.
67. One structured hero can save four comfort picks.
68. Draft doesn’t need perfection — it needs coverage.
69. Coverage beats highlights in ranked.
70. Learn 2–3 counter heroes you can play well.
71. Mastering a counter hero is a rank shortcut.
72. Don’t pick a counter hero you can’t execute at all.
73. Execution matters — but mechanics are easier with draft advantage.
74. Avoid drafts with no engage and no wave clear.
75. Avoid drafts with no frontline and no peel.
76. Avoid drafts with one damage type.
77. Avoid drafts where everyone wants to flank and nobody can start fights.
78. Draft is the easiest place to win without risk.
79. Treat draft like free MMR.
80. Counter picks are strongest in objective fights.
81. Plan your first objective fight before the match starts.
82. Ping your plan; don’t write essays.
83. Play around your strongest cooldowns.
84. Don’t waste ultimates on low-value targets.
85. If your counter tool is down, don’t force fights.
86. If the enemy countered you, play safer and itemize smarter.
87. If you are countered, win with macro and objectives.
88. If you are countered, don’t ego duel.
89. A countered hero can still win by farming and grouping correctly.
90. A countered hero loses by feeding early.
91. Don’t give the enemy the exact fight they drafted for.
92. Make them fight on your terms.
93. Push waves before objectives.
94. Own entrances before objectives.
95. Get picks before objectives.
96. Convert wins into towers.
97. Convert towers into map control.
98. Convert map control into Lord.
99. Convert Lord into inhibitors.
100. Convert inhibitors into the finish — no throws.

BoostRoom: Turn Draft Into a Consistent Advantage

If ranked feels like coin flips, drafting is often the missing skill. Counter-picking doesn’t require perfect mechanics — it requires a repeatable system: recognize enemy win conditions, choose the correct counter category, and draft at least one hero that makes your comp playable.

BoostRoom helps MLBB players make drafting easier and more consistent by focusing on:

• fast draft checklists (frontline, engage, peel, wave clear, mixed damage)
• counter-pick logic that works in solo queue
• item counter plans (anti-heal, anti-burst, anti-DPS) so you still win even without perfect hero counters
• converting draft advantage into objectives and clean endings

If you want fewer “impossible games,” getting better at draft is one of the highest-ROI upgrades — and BoostRoom is built around that exact climb.

FAQ

Do counter picks matter in MLBB ranked?

Yes. A good counter pick removes the enemy’s best play pattern, making fights and objectives easier even without perfect mechanics.

What’s the easiest counter pick to learn first?

Learn one “hard counter” hero that breaks common ranked drafts (anti-projectile, anti-CC, anti-dash, anti-shield, or anti-heal). Hard counters give value even with average execution.

What if my team already picked five squishy heroes?

Pick a draft saver: a frontline roamer/EXP, a peel tool, or strong wave clear. Making the comp playable usually wins more games than “perfect lane counters.”

Is counter-picking only about lane matchups?

No. The strongest counter picks counter the enemy’s teamfight or objective win condition (set engage, dive, sustain, poke, split pressure).

When should I buy anti-heal items?

When healing/sustain is deciding fights — and early enough that it matters for the first big objective fights, not after multiple losses.

How do I counter heavy CC/set drafts?

Draft anti-CC tools, space correctly, and punish cooldown downtime. If their engage fails once, you often get a free objective.

How do I counter mobility junglers?

Draft anti-dash tools and play for choke points and bushes near objectives. Mobility heroes hate controlled entrances.

How do I counter projectile-based poke and marksmen?

Attack from multiple angles and use anti-projectile tools when available. Forcing the enemy to hit into denial tools flips teamfights hard.

Can items really “counter” heroes?

Yes. Correct defensive items and anti-heal can change fights completely — especially around objectives where one death decides the game.

What’s the biggest counter-pick mistake?

Picking a “counter” that ruins your team composition (no frontline, no wave clear, no engage). A counter pick must still fit your team’s needs.