Janna is already one of the strongest champions on the rift. With a 52.5% win rate, 7th highest overall, she is a popular Support pick for many. Despite not receiving any direct changes in 14.4, a perfect storm might still make her even stronger. See which changes, both recent and upcoming, are likely to help her out the most.
[See also: A Winding Road: Maokai’s Search for Balance Through Season 14]
Two of Janna’s most lethal opponents are receiving nerfs in the upcoming 14.4 Patch. While not necessarily her “direct” counters, these two champions have been strong enough to consistently win against Janna throughout 14.3; a feat not many champions can claim. After 14.4, there will be even fewer options to keep her in check.
Maokai
According to u.gg, Maokai is currently the best overall “counter” to Janna. He has the highest win rate against her of any Support champion, coming in at 51.83% of games won, likely due to his general strength. However, this may not be the case for long. Maokai is slated to receive nerfs to his base armor, Q, and Ultimate very soon.
Usually, Maokai’s advantage comes from his ability to stay on top of enemies. As Lathyrus’ Challenger guide describes, Maokai can “stick to” opponents, crowd control the opposing team, and still have good damage. This works well against Janna, who may have difficulty peeling against him.
However, with the 14.4 changes, Maokai will lose out on some of the engage and crowd control potential of his ultimate as its duration shortens. Additionally, lower base armor and Q damage will make it more dangerous to engage, as he takes more damage and puts out less. All of this will provide more opportunities for Janna to peel, shield, and otherwise support her team.
In addition, Maokai players may decide to choose a different Support champion altogether. This would be another win for Janna: he was the counter with the highest win rate against her. Support players may wonder who is the next best runner up? Well, she’s getting nerfed too.
Zyra
In terms of Janna counterplay, Zyra tails only slightly behind Maokai with 51.49% games won. She, like Maokai, is generally quite powerful in this patch. Additionally, she benefits from her strength in lane, and her ability to bully opponents early. She can then drive this advantage even further with high damage and CC ultimate.
What does this have to do with Janna? Tokyodamonsta’s High Elo Janna guide describes that Janna’s laning phase is the weakest portion of her game because her shield is weak and she lacks in early damage. This is in contrast to Zyra, who can easily outrange and outdamage Janna with plants, and potentially lock her down with her E root. As ShoDesu explains, if Zyra hits root, Janna most likely dies. As a result, he classifies Zyra as a major threat to Janna (although not extreme).
So, if Zyra shuts Janna down early, that would make it much more difficult for Janna to scale and reach her strongest points. The more damage that Zyra can pile on, the worse time Janna will have.
With Zyra’s upcoming nerfs, though, her passive+Q and passive+E damage will be reduced at every level. So, even if she is able to lock Janna down early, it may be more difficult to secure the kill than before. Even this slight change in the early game could allow Janna more breathing room, and be the difference between her winning and losing. Looks like Support players will have to move on to Sona or Blitzcrank instead.
Durability
Riot Phroxzon mentions wanting to “go further” with the durability of squishy champions. While there is nothing specific implemented yet, these future changes could provide Janna even more longevity and allow her a larger time window to peel for her team.
With her main competition out of the way, Janna may become her strongest yet. As the meta shifts around her, Janna is primed to remain the Eye of the Storm once again.
Featured image from Riot Games
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