Eto mina watashi Neeko chan I am a Masters Neeko OTP with 2.5 million mastery points. I will be explaining how to play Neeko, along with providing different options for you to try and play on her. Original Neeko bible: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-ZHvw_epw-RQKOBT7RZECZ9SYD9-qQLaHWK4osU41kc/edit# Montage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g1t34ODI6k Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/neekoneekoniii M-F 6pm-9pm Central My Discord Server: https://discord.gg/mR7d6zJ

Pros Gamechanging ult Easy to pick up Good at roaming Great waveclear High outplay potential Good cc High burst Great at Sidelaning safely

Cons Falls off Delayed ult Squishy Low range Struggles when behind

Flash Flash enables Neeko to engage with her ult and to help gap close or run away. This summoner is a must take on Neeko.

Ignite Ignite gives Neeko a very strong laning phase as well as kill pressure which pairs well with the poke she can dish out. This is a very standard summoner to take.

Cleanse Cleanse is very core into champions such as Veigar, Ahri, Syndra and other champions that have cc which could get you killed in a gank. If both the enemy laner and jungler have CC, it is recommended that you take this.

Teleport Good into farming matchups, or when you know that your team will heavily depend on you being there. You have enormous teamfight potential with the added advantage of being able to TP in, throw your cc, and get a free ultimate on the majority of the enemy team. This is a good idea if you are queued up with friends, as you can TP and CC the enemy team to death in dragon/baron pit while your team cuts them down. Take this summoner if you intend to play for teamfight over the lane.

Barrier Good into burst champs: Yas, Zed, and Kat

Exhaust Good into burst champs Yas, Zed, and Kat.

Starting item

Doran's Ring Doran's Ring is good because it offers hp and mana regen. Hp is very good into burst champs. This item is generally the go to starting item Neeko will buy.

Boots

Sorcerer’s shoes Sorcs shoes are very good because they offer more burst potential to Neeko and her 1 shot combos.

Mercury Treads This is very good to take into champions that have reliable cc such as ahri or twisted fate. If you get hit by a charm or a yellow card you will most likely die [/color].

Berserker's Greaves This item is the best item to rush on ad Neeko because it lets her hit an early power spike and start really bullying other champions with her empowered w’s.

AP Items

Hextech rocketbelt Hextech Rocketbelt is a core item on Neeko and is a must on Neeko regardless of match up it is way too valuable to ever not take on AP Neeko. Rocketbelt allows Neeko to have more survivability. This item allows Neeko to be a little bit beefy with the hp gained from it and also the 10% cooldown is very nice. It also pairs well with her Pop Blossom(R).

Luden's tempest Luden's Tempest is a good item that is bought in order to match the wave with champs that have very good wave clear such as anivia. It gives mana and some cdr.

Morellonomicon Morellonomicon is a very good item and usually is bought 3rd or 4th item depending on how the game goes. The magic pen that Morellonomicon offers makes the item valuable. The downside is cost efficiency with this item is not that great. Only the magic pen component is very valuable. It's a very good item for healing champions. It just costs a lot for how much the item gives you. Honestly I would just get the Oblivion Orb and just continue with the build unless healing reduction is needed. The only reason to upgrade Oblivion Orb into Morellonomicon is for the Grievous Wounds.

Zhonya's Hourglass Zhonya's Hourglass is very situational and is rarely built because Neeko should end a fight pretty much instantly if a good ult is landed and lose if a bad ult was used because of how fast fights go. Neeko wants to end the game asap because it starts to become difficult to get good engages later in the game without flash up. Other ap items are generally better to snowball the game and help end it sooner such as Rabadon's Deathcap or Spellbinder.

Void Staff Void Staff is a very good item to make sure that Neeko can always deal damage to everyone even if they don’t have mr this item is still very good. If the enemies build magic resist then this item’s value just increases greatly.

Rabadon's Deathcap Rabadon's Deathcap is core on Neeko because its used to increase Neeko’s ap massively which is very good paired up with Neeko’s high ap ratio ultimate and it helps Neeko with snowballing as well as getting off those game ending ultimates.

Demonic embrace This item is a situational item that makes Neeko more tanky as well as helping her burn hp off of hp stacking champs such as tanks and bruisers.

Nashor's tooth This item is great for split pushing as well as having extra dps for killing tankier champions. It has good base stats and the added onhit damage helps neeko deal more dps.

Horizon focus This is a good item on neeko that has good amount of ap and gives her a 10% dmg amp when she lands her root or her ult

Banshee's Veil This item is very good into champions with a lot of cc or heavy ap. It allows Neeko to take 1 skill shot such as some sort of cc and be able to get her ultimate off instead of just standing in place and ulting nothing.

AD Items

Kraken Slayer This is a core item on Neeko adc because it gives her high damage and pairs well with her attack speed and w.

Blade of the Ruined King Bork gives Neeko a lot of sustain along with the %current health dmg to help Neeko kill those tanks.

Runaan's Hurricane Runaan’s Hurricane is a core item for a bork based build on Neeko because it will allow her to proc her w every auto as long as the bolts are hitting other targets.

Combos

In this section I will explain Neeko’s combos for trading and engaging. I will also explain how to use these combos along with different items to make the combo even better! Learning all these combos will greatly aid in the fight on the rift. Some of these combos or ways of using Neeko may seem easy but it will take time to get used to some of them.

Standard Burst Combo (easy)

->

->

AA

Tangle-Barbs(E)> Blooming Burst(Q)> auto attack
Neeko’s bread and butter combo in lane phase or any trading situation is using Tangle-Barbs (E) then throwing a Blooming Burst(Q) and lastly auto attacking to proc the electrocute. This basic combo is how Neeko will poke in lane and pick people out in the rift. Make sure that you walk forward when you land your Tangle-Barbs(E) because the range on that spell is 1000 while Neeko’s Blooming Burst(Q) has a range of 800.

Blast Cone Engage (easy)

->

Pop Blossom(R)>click blast cone.
This combo is very simple and great for attempting a dragon/baron steal or just simply engaging over walls. This combo catches people by surprise because your ult can activate in the air and look weird for the enemies and hit them. The first thing is to position yourself on the Blast Cone in the intended direction you want to go to. Next use your Pop Blossom(R) then click the Blast Cone and hop over.

Buffer E Combo (medium)

->

Tangle-Barbs(E)> Flash
This combo is quite important for Neeko as it allows her to set up her team or land quick kills on people not expecting it. This combo is also great for picking up kills early when people overstay when they are low from poke. The combo itself is quite easy but hitting it is the hard part. To do this combo first aim your Tangle-Barbs(E) at your opponent and then use it and flash right after. Some ways to catch people off guard is using your Shapesplitter(W) to become invisible for 0.5 seconds and use that time to buffer your Tangle-Barbs(E) and flash at them.

Engage Combo (medium)

Inherent Glamour(passive cloak)> Shapesplitter(W)> Pop Blossom(R)>( Flash> Hextech Rocketbelt) before the Pop Blossom(R) goes off.
This combo is generally used when you see a good opportunity to land a multiman ultimate in a teamfight. I personally think this combo is best coming from a flank rather than just running straight at them unless you know their flashes or mobility are down. The combo starts off with transforming into any champ that has some sort of engage or is melee because the thought process of people is that melees won’t really do damage unless they are close ranged which will sometimes catch people off guard. Then you would want to use Shapesplitter(W) at them to hide a part of your ultimate charge up if you get hit along the way. Then use Pop Blossom(R) and quickly flash Protobelt into as many people you can hit as possible. The timing with flash and Protobelt is about 1 second after you cast your ultimate to be on the safe side and not mess up because her ultimate Pop Blossom(R) has a charge up time of 1.25 seconds. Then after that just try and root multiple targets and Blooming Burst(Q) on top of the high priority targets such as the adc or the mid laner.

Surprise attack Combo (hard)

Pop Blossom(R1) > Tangle-Barbs> Hextech Rocketbelt(animation cancel)> Blooming Burst(Q)>auto attack> Pop Blossom(R2)>auto attack
This combo is pretty hard because it requires timing to get this all before your Pop Blossom(R) goes off. This combo is a quick 1 shot combo when people are walking into you. To do this combo you start it off by using Pop Blossom(R). Then you use Tangle-Barbs(E) to trap the person and not let them escape from you. Then you have to Protobelt to cancel the animation of the e to have time to throw your Blooming Burst(Q) down before your Pop Blossom(R) goes off. Then auto after

Hexflash Combo(hard)

Hexflash over wall > ShapesplitterW the moment you get over the wall > ult > Tangle-Barbs(E) > Hextech Rocketbelt(animation cancel) > Blooming Burst(Q) > auto attack
This combo in my opinion is the hardest combo on Neeko because it requires so many steps. This combo is very satisfying to land if you can properly land the Tangle-Barbs(E) once you get over the wall. This combo is great at turret sieges or contesting objectives such as baron or dragon.First use Spellbinder if you have it if not then channel hexflash over the wall. Then use w right away when you get over the wall then use Pop Blossom(R) and try to use Tangle-Barbs(E) and lock them down. After that use Protobelt to cancel Tangle-Barbs(E)’s animation. Lastly throw your Blooming Burst(Q)

• Neeko can transform with shift+f1,f2,f3,f4,f5 by default. You can bind this to keys that are easier to press.
• W clone does not materialize until the 0.5 sec of invis duration is over
• W clone can block skills like ez q, cait ult , nunu snowball , or any skill that can target
• If you get ganked send your clone to tower and run straight at a 90 degree angle to river
• Neeko w can cause people to lose target such as darius ult, garen ult, heca e and auto attacks
• When roaming transform into the jungler so when you walk over wards you create pressure
• When looking to flank/engage transform into your engager/tank to create threat from another angle
• Use your clone to face check for you when you don’t have vision
• Using your ult to shove the wave in quickly is perfectly fine because of her low ult cdr
• Transform into a melee champion when it’s safe for 20% more damage to turret platings
• If you roam to a lane and your teammate is low communicate with them then transform into them to bait the other team
• Constantly sending your clone while transformed as an engager at the other team can lower their guard
• e>q combo instantly gives lane priority and clears the wave
• Try and aim your e at your opponent when they are trying to cs
• Transforming into someone allows Neeko to gain their range if its lower than hers along with their base move speed and regen
• Use w into e Flash to catch low hp targets off guard for a free pick
• Before using a spell while transformed in laning phase or wave clearing transform back to normal Neeko so the cooldown is much lower than breaking it while casting a spell
• Sending your clone to the tower before a minion wave arrives to draw agro can create a slow push to your side because the minions will all focus 1 of your minions
• Neeko can 1 shot as full ap at lvl 6 if you have double dorans ring and sorc boots paired with electrocute
• You can use your clone to tank turret shots to either dive or safe your minions from 2 auto attacks
• Transforming into your low hp ally and sending your clone through river and mislead the enemies
• If your trying to juke in an open area send your clone in a straight path and run at them or into a wall and bounce off of it like your clone would if you sent it into a wall
• You can transform during the w invis to trick people
• You can send your clone through cait w to get her to auto it then get a free root in
  Runaans can proc Neeko’s empowered w every auto if the 2 bolts hit another target

Early Game


Neeko has a fairly strong early game with her poke. She does struggle into champions that have long range or shields.
As Neeko you should be looking to root your opponents when they walk up to last hit. When they walk up, throw your Tangle-Barbs(E) through the minions and force them to either miss the minions or take a huge chunk of damage.

Once you get Hextech Rocketbelt first look around the map for potential roams. Then if there is a play or you need priority just use the wave clear combo and kill off the minions and move to help your team. You can also use your ultimate to wave clear if you don’t have Protobelt yet.

But you should only use the wave clear combo if you really need priority or the wave to crash into tower. For example a good time to use your ultimate for wave clear is when you kill your opponent and you need to back right away. You would just use your ult and Tangle-Barbs(E)+ Blooming Burst(Q) on the minions that are still alive.

If you ever get ganked as Neeko in the early game make sure to use Shapesplitter(W) aimed straight at your own turret. Then you should run at the river in a straight line. Running in a straight line is very important because the clone from Shapesplitter(W) only runs in a straight line unless it hits a wall. This trick will get you out of the gank 90% of the time.

When going for platings make sure to go transform into melee champion because you will deal more damage to the turret with the turret plating changes in this most recent patch. Range champions so Neeko’s normal form or any other ranged champion will deal reduced damage to the turret platings.

Mid Game


Neeko mid game should be in the side lane pressuring tower because Neeko has very good tower taking potential with her Shapesplitter(W). Neeko should be farming side waves and pressuring towers if objectives such as dragon or rift herald are not up.

When you are in the sidelane make sure to keep the jungle warded if you are on the enemies half of the rift.

Generally you would have your bot mid lane to defend the tower and move around the map according to the current objectives on the map. This is where I see a lot of Neeko mains start to slack on cs make sure you are catching side waves to keep up in cs.

Farm jungle camps that are on the opposite side of your jungler because this helps not only you but also your jungler too. The camp will respond later giving more exp which will help your jungler stay even or ahead in levels.

Remember Neeko is very strong in team fights with her ultimate so don't always try and split push. Try to look for opportunities to flank whenever you can if your team gets caught up in a fight or if your team wants to force a fight.

Late Game


Neeko’s late game is probably the worst part about her because it gets incredibly hard to find good Pop Blossom(R) on people. To find good Pop Blossom(R) you need to work with your team and get good vision behind the enemies so you can look for a flank opportunity if they don’t have a ton of peel.

If the other team does have a lot of peel then you will just need to stand by your other carries such as your adc and peel them from the other team. Then look for a good engage if the situation presents itself.

I like to get a Oracle Lens late game because walking over vision can mean death for Neeko and the sweepers greatly help with flanking and making sure you aren’t spotted. Sweepers also help Neeko with setting up death bushes and just 1 shotting people who walk blind into Neeko.

Neeko has a short range so you need to be very careful positioning late game because if you get hit by cc while trying to land a Tangle-Barbs(E) then that could mean your death and possibly throwing the game for your team.

A good trick to try and trick people is to constantly send your Neeko clone at them over and over until they let their guard down. After several times and if they begin to ignore your clone w backwards and run at them transformed and cast your Pop Blossom(R). This is a great way to be creative with your ultimates and engage for your team.

Early Game

Neeko support has very good peel and poke potential Bot Lane. For starting items you would want to start probably Relic Shield so that you have the extra hp for later when you're trying to look for ultis. The other option is Spellthief's Edge which is more ap but in return you are more squishy.

To help leash your jungler AA>AA>empowered auto>AA>AA after doing that for the leash you will have your empowered auto up again. so when you're walking to lane you will have it charged and ready to auto the other adc.

With starting Shapesplitter(W) on Neeko you can aggressively trade with the other adc and take minimal damage in return because you can use your Shapesplitter(W) active to go invisible and cancel their auto attacks because they lose target of Neeko.

An important thing with Neeko is being able to help your adc auto the minions to make sure you either hit level 2 power spike first or at least match the other bot lane so you don’t get shoved out of lane.

As a support try and deny the other adc as much cs as possibly by poking and using your Tangle-Barbs(E). If you see that anyone on their team is low or your jungler is ganking you can go for the Tangle-Barbs(E)>flash combo to catch them off guard and set your team up for some free kills.

If you get a kill as Neeko and you are at least half hp consider maybe roaming mid and try and either root the mid laner or potentially even kill their mid.

Mid Game

During the midgame make sure to keep on warding properly so that your team can find picks and also you should be mid with your adc pressuring. When rotating through the river try to make sure you're transformed as your jungler to create pressure when you're walking over wards. When you are in lane with your adc, transform into them to confuse the other team and also help keep your adc safe and draw the focus of the other team to you.

Late Game

In the late game if you are ahead and there are no backline threats to your carries ward very well and make sure that your opponents does not have vision of you and look for a flank transformed as a tank or some engage champion so that you can draw out possible ults and spells and just cc with your ult and hourglass. If there are backline threats such as diver or assassins then just stand next to your adc and try to peel with your root or even ultimate. If the divers are dead or they are unable to dive, look for an engage combo into their team.

Early Game

Ap Neeko bot has a fairly strong early game which can be an advantage to your team with always having lane priority. When paired with a good cc support such as leona,alistar, thresh, and naut you can pretty much 100 to 0 the other adc at level 2. So as Neeko ap bot take Flash + Heal and start Doran's Ring+ 2 Health Potions and start with Blooming Burst(Q). Neeko has a very strong level 2 so you want to hit level 2 first don’t focus on trying to poke level 1 focus on trying to keep the wave in the middle for the first wave then use your spells if needed or autos to hit the level 2 power spike first and look to root the other bot laners through the minion wave for good poke and take control of the lane early. I would take electrocute page because your poke will be very good and if you land a full combo you can force the adc out of lane and get a level lead. At level 6 all you need is 2 dorans ring + Sorcs to be able to 1 shot the other adc with a full ult and e>q>auto combo.

Mid Game

Mid game for Neeko is where you need to focus the most on keeping your cs numbers up with all the rotations that could be going on. As Neeko at this point in the game you will most likely be rotated Mid Lane with your support to defend mid. Try and get a red trinket and keep the other team from getting vision control because Neeko can be very tricky with her passive which allows her to transform into other champions. If you can sweep out bushes and the other team can’t see you, look to go for a flank if you are not behind and this can catch people off guard.

Late Game

Late game for bot Neeko is very similar to Mid Lane Neeko so make sure you ward well. Then look for a good engage if the situation presents itself. I like to get a red trinket late game because walking over vision can mean death for Neeko and the sweepers greatly help with flanking and making sure you aren’t spotted. Sweepers also help Neeko with setting up death bushes and just 1 shotting people who walk blind into Neeko.

Early Game

Neeko’s early game isn’t as strong as it is on ap Neeko so remember not to play the same way as you would if you were ap. Ad Neeko scales much better into the late game compared to ap Neeko. Start w on Neeko bot and just farm for level 2 if you have a cc support you can look to trade aggressively by chain ccing the other bot lane. You are trying to just farm and get you Berserker’s Greaves which is a big power spike for ad Neeko because of the attack speed and movespeed you get from the item. After that, pretty much look at the other team and see if they have a lot of tanks or a lot of squishies. If they have a lot of tanks they go bork first item so you can shred them. If they are squishy then you can go stormrazor first item.

Mid Game

Once mid games hit, Neeko is quite strong now assuming you have some items whether it be bork ruunans or storm razor and rapidfire. With these items you can begin to duel the other adc and burst them quite quickly.

Late Game

Late game as Neeko adc you need to position well in the backline and just ult and e people who are trying to jump on you. Use w to reposition and get to safety transform into your support so that its hard for the other team to dive and kill you.

Mid Lane Matchups Tier list
Best Bans: Viktor, Syndra, Galio, Kassadin, Meta junglers.


Easy Matchups:
In most of these cases you will go Electrocute+Ignite and win early game, even you can go Comet in some of them at Mid-Low elo!

Lissandra (easy)

The only way you can get killed in this matchup is with her jg after she CC you. She has a good setup gank so always expect they will camp you. Ward. Stay clear behind minions because her q gets longer going through minions.

Lux (easy)

Keep your distance to give yourself time to dodge her E while traveling, it’s kinda slow. Position yourself in such a way that you make her choose to dmg you or the minions. When she has her skill on cd, poke her with your Q and comet. She has mana issues in early game so she will play passive and save her Q to stop you. You can use various tricks like approach her with the clone in different directions to make her choose one to root, or flash with R and kill her. Expect shields from her W or Barrier while you are damaging her. You can set ganks with your jg with how immobile she is, or push hard and let her lose farm under turret.

Malzahar (easy)

His shield passive has a very long cooldown the entire early game (30 secs). Just in the late game is when he has it every 8 secs. Go Comet and Scorch, and poke him with Q every time you can since lv 1, with his shield broken he is very weak, his AA range is short (525) and haves difficulties to farm under tower, cause his voidlings are not strong enough/controllable yet, and even more, he has mana problems, abuse him all you can. Killing the voidlings prevent him from shoving the wave and regaining mana back.

Pantheon (easy)

You can take Electro, Aery or even PTA. He is melee, so start with W, AA him, if he starts with his W (12 secs cd) and stuns you, you can respond with your stealth and create distance to kite him. At lv 3, if do your combo he will block the dmg with his E, rooted, he will wait until you throw your Q to use it. That has 22 secs of cooldown, so in the next try he will be damaged, take advantage of that. He will be squishy so prevent possible healings from conqueror or pots and kill him with ignite.

Qiyana (easy)

Pretty easy, but be aware she can avoid your E with her W and respond with E+Q. Ice will stun you and that can´t miss, so is a good gank setup. Her ult can be very annoying and unexpected for the range if you don´t know it. Expect good dmg since level 3-7.

Swain (easy)

Dodge his E forward and to the side, you can use minions behind you to block the root in the return. If he wasted it, you should go for a trade with your combo, he will be kinda weak without his E. Force him to use his resources. Take ignite.

Sylas (easy)

Very abusable with your empowered AAs and abilities in early game. He can dodge your E with his dash. Use minions in front of you to block his gap-closer (second E), and your invisibility to prevent the use of his heal (W). Don't give him a free clone to heal. Problematic for you and your team when he steals your ultimate, stay back or kill him fast.

Talon (easy)

This matchup is quite easy since Talon is a melee champion. Talons generally will start w level 1 and try to poke you. It is very important that you dodge sideways because the first part of his w is almost impossible to dodge but the 2nd part is quite easy to dodge. You want to poke him as hard as you can level 1 and keep pressure on him to make sure to not take too much poke. With W you can use it to make talon lose target and not be able to proc his passive and Q as easily. If you are with half health or less, he will consider to flash+Q and do his combo + ignite (the only way he can get on your face). Be aware of that and flash immediately if you don't have W yet or in cd (first levels). Make sure you ward either in the middle of the lane close to the tower but outside of the tower’s range or on either side in between the walls by mid to see which way he is trying to roam too. Generally this matchup you want to keep the wave shoved if possible to prevent talon from roaming. If he does roam, try to shove and decide if it is worth following or just transform into a melee champion and hit the tower for platings.

Vladimir (easy)

This matchup is more or less difficult depending on the player, but you still should have the advantage. Take electrocute and ignite to counter his heal. Every time he is gonna have his bar in full red, he is gonna try to hit you with his empowered Q. You need just to walk out of his range until the bar goes down and laugh at him. If he uses his W in a trade vs you, you can kill him on the next try, considering it has 28 secs of cd, while your E has 12 secs. Expect: Being annoying with phase rush and incredible late game potential.


Medium Matchups:

Ahri (medium)

Ahri is a fairly simple matchup. Make sure to auto the minions and try to keep an even wave with ahri because they tend to try and shove the lane with Q early. If you want to trade with Ahri use your W straight at her to prevent her from charming you and as long as you respect her level 6 with charm then this lane should not be a problem at all. Consider buying mercs into her if the other team has a CC jungler such as elise on their team.

Akali (medium)

Don´t fear. Can be annoying, but you win easily playing well. You can go electro, or aery to help track her while she is invisible (W). You should start with your W and punish her with your empowered AA when she goes for farm without her Q, know her range, don´t get slowed. Cancel her AA with your invisibility. You need to know that she can get out of your range with her E WHILE ROOTED if she starts the animation when your E is gonna impact her.

Anivia (medium)

Try to poke her much as you can with your Q and comet, you have to keep distance when she has her Q up to avoid it, cause it has a wide hitbox, you can eat the stun when she respond your a combo, but only if you are sure that will kill her and procc her passive. After she got enough mana, you will have to manage her fast push and possible ganks setups with her slows and walls.

Cassiopeia (medium)

Playing Cassio is a little tricky but not too bad. Make sure to not get too close and get hit by Cassio’s q because she has great all in potential with her q giving her movespeed and spamming e. If Cassio does ever land a q on you, use your w so that Cassio loses target and can’t chase you down with e. Other than that just try and land your Tangle-Barbs(E) through the minion wave when she is trying to last hit then just throw a Blooming Burst(Q) on top paired with an auto attack to proc your electrocute. Just be careful at level 6 when you are trying to trade and not get hit by her ultimate.

Diana (medium)

Take Electro or Aery. Be careful about her healing if she takes conqueror while she is attacking you. Try to use stealth to avoid AAs or to make her lose the target of her gap-closer (E). Even if you destroy her, she can still kill you if you let your guard down. Rooting her shouldn't be a problem while she is farming.

Galio (medium)

He can push very fast with his passive (melee minions) and Q(casters minions), dodge the dmg of this last one. You can start with W -or Q-. Will be more difficult to poke him with his shield activated, breaking it with your empowered AA. His taunt (W) range increases while he is holding it, be aware of that. Same as akali, he can dash backwards WHILE ROOTED, so don't miss your Q. Like Nunu, you can interrupt his dash with your clone in many situations, but not if he is too close while you are invisible. In lane phase it’s not a really big deal, but later can be very hard and annoying to handle.

Katarina (medium)

Try to avoid possible dmg from her Q at lv1. You can AA her with your W or poke with your Q. At lv 2, if you miss your E, she can jump into you and do an all-in (in bad situations even kill you), so use your E wisely. She can avoid it easily. Your root doesn´t stop her R. Be careful about ganks.

Leblanc (medium)

Leblanc generally will take electro and also go for att speed runes. You need to be careful to not walk up against her early game because she will try and get quick trades with her w and autos. Try to play behind your caster minions so when she tries to w you she will be within range of all your minions and help get an hp lead in the trades. Try to keep autoing and pushing LeBlanc while maintaining good distance from her. This way you can get even or even favorable trades. When level 6 if she walks to farm try and you are able to bait her w. You need to position your ult between her clone and where she is at to either get her ult or flash.

Lucian (medium)

Very oppressive at early levels, if the enemy player knows what they are doing, as he can win you in his all-in from level 1 or 2 with his facility to procc PTA. Pots can be useful for this matchup. Watch out from his Q and the position of your minions, he can poke you, since that range is 1000. Try to use your stealth to cancel his attacks. Later, in some situations, you can use your clone to block his R, and save you or an ally. Like Fizz, don´t waste your E so easily, save it for stop him after using his dash or to engage for the next trade, as your E has less cooldown than him (12 vs 22-18 secs). Then, you can prepare a gank with your jg. You can take comet and try to play more passive being careful from his range.

Mordekaiser (medium)

Take electro. Poke him with Q when he is gonna go for minions. You can AA+Q+AA to procc electro and then poke him. Try to keep distance and avoid his E. Chunk his life to kill him at lv3. Remember that his W can block some dmg. Try to abuse until lv 5. Then if you poke him and you are confident of your dmg at lv6, go for the kill. At this state, he can R on you and get easily ganked, so don´t face him to much after this. Ward deeply. Buy Quicksilver sash if he ults you constantly.

Twisted Fate (medium)

Very straight forward lane. He has gain power from buffs and changes. So be more careful of him now. TF players usually play good, they can dodge your things and have a good sustain in lane with their build+runes. Try to to dodge his Q and be careful of ganks as he can set up with his W stun (and flash). You can take TP to contest his roamings, but if you don't know how to use it properly, or, if you have confidence in yourself, you can take ignite to get fast advantage before he gets lv6 and contest his scaling power.

Yasuo (medium)

This matchup requires a lot of patience and timing of cooldowns. This is a common matchup many Neeko mains have problems dealing with. Take Aery or Electro. Try to auto attack Yasuo as much as you can in the lane phase. Try to use e when yasuo is trying to cs and bait out his windwall which has 26 / 24 / 22 / 20 / 18 cool down on it. Abuse the cooldown advantage you have and walkup and play aggressively and use Shapesplitter(W) to get rid of minion aggro. Your empowered AA with W, can pass Yasuo's windwall. Your first back vs a yasuo should be Plated Steelcaps. Once you have Plated Steelcaps this lane is quite easy because yasuo can not all in Neeko and Neeko will out trade him because of her empowered auto. The next back should be armguards because it gives her more armor and some ap to help maintain a 1 v 1 advantage vs yasuo. At level 6 Neeko can punish the yasuo if he wastes windwall and goes for an all in with her Pop Blossom(R). The most important thing when going all in with Pop Blossom(R) is to make sure you keep track of which minions or units yasuo has dashed through then just position yourself to where you can hit the minions and yasuo in case he can still dash around. Don't throw clones in bad positions that he can use and let him escape from your range/ult/abilities. Yasuo however does win the 1 v1 late game. At this point you should look to group with your team because your teamfight is much better than yasuo’s with your huge aoe ultimate.

Yone (medium)

Take W at level 1 and poke him when he is trying to go for minions with your Q, you can try to zone him. You can deal really good dmg in the first lv. For lv 2 you can take E and try to secure electrocute procc. Keep distance of his 3rd Q. Try to avoid at all cost him being on your face. Go back if you miss E as he can respond with his E. Be aware of the enemy jungler, as you can push in this matchup. Remember that his R makes him invulnerable to cc, so even if you root him or use R on him, if he starts the cast before, he will escape. This champion hitboxes are kinda weird, and keep in mind that even if you let him behind and you are feed, he is still capable of trading you and kill you even with 2 daggers.

Zed (medium)

This matchup is easy since pre6 zed is melee and you are ranged. I see that a lot of people struggle in this matchup. Start the game off by buying dorans ring and 2 health potions. Then the first spell you should skill up is your Shapesplitter(W). You will want to charge it up on the minion wave and start poking zed right off the bat and use the Shapesplitter(W) active to get rid of minion aggro. Remember that Zed´s Q loses some dmg while going through multiple targets. Make sure to not walk too far up once zed hits lv 2 because he will look for a W>Q combo. Just wait until zed uses Q if you want to trade because then he won’t have his ranged skill and only W + E left which won’t do much damage. If you feel like Zed is ahead or does a little too much damage buy an armguards and sit on that item til late game and finish it. You don’t want to finish it because Rocketbelt is way too important to delay too long. When Zed hit’s level 6 try not to waste your Tangle-Barbs(E) because it can stop zed’s all in completely. This is why you won’t be needing to finish the hourglass. Zed will always appear behind you when he uses his Death Mark(r). All you have to do is press Tangle-Barbs(E) behind yourself and then Shapesplitter(W) to walk away so zed can’t use his w and q. You can also just ult and position it in between Zed and his shadow to force out his flash or potentially even kill him. If you don’t feel like you can safely do that then just Tangle-Barbs(E) behind yourself and Shapesplitter(W) away.

Zoe (medium)

Comet should be safer than electro if you're new to the matchup. You can take Nullifying orb too. When she hits you with her bubble, before you get in sleepy time, throw your clone to the direction to take the impact from her Q to block the skill shot. If you trade and use flash + summoner and she still does not die, she can turn that in her favor and win you the trade. During the laning phase Zoe has to walk forward when she Q’s backwards to have her q reach the wave and deal more damage. Use this to your advantage and aim for where she has to walk forward too for easy roots. As well as punishing her for using her q already. If you land the root immediately w forward to prevent her from being able to bubble you resulting in a big win in the trade. When Zoe uses her R be ready to ult or e because she is forced to return to her original position from where she ulted from.




Hard Matchups:

Aurelion sol (hard)

Be aware that he can respond with his Q when you go to proc electrocute with your combo. Alert your team when he is missing. Don't stay in lane too much after he comes back from base, you could find a big new galaxy coming to you with a big stun (with his Q+E). You will need to be close to apply your ultimate even if he ults you away...

Azir (hard)

Take comet into this matchup it will be hard for you to poke him since he will stop you with his Q slowing you and taking some dmg. Like A. Sol, you will have to be very close to still stun him with your ult after he pushes you away with his R. Be careful in fights close to his towers since he can “Insec” you to them. Try to just poke and keep your distance. He has a much longer range through his w q combo. If Azir uses his q play around where his soldiers are because without Q he can not move them and you can use your slight range advantage at that moment when his q is down from trying to poke you. Try to control the lane at level 1 and hit lvl 2 before azir does this allows you to abuse his shorter range because he is forced to skill up W. Neeko wins the all in trades but if you are unable to burst him quick enough he will use his dps to kill you pretty quickly. Even though azir is weak early game, be careful if you take too much poke. He can dash into you for a shield and summon another soldier and get a lot of damage in with his attack speed passive.

Fizz (hard)

Fizz´s E has 16-13 secs before lv 6. Take Aery and Nullifying Orb. W at lv1, try to punish him when he tries to farm with your empowered AA, he will use pots and gonna be under turret, zoned; you can use that time to ward, cause you are gonna push hard so be aware of possible ganks. You can use W at first levels to reset the minions aggro. Don't engage him, don't use E freely to do your combo, limit yourself to only use your AAs and Q sometimes. Use your E to respond when he engages. Making him farm less under turret, even if he can farm already well with his W, and creating pressure on your lane, calling the enemy jg to put attention on you instead of the other lanes can be worth it if you handle it fine and you don´t die. Later, alert your team when you can't see it in the minimap, maybe he backed to base and now is going to bot lane because you are too hard. When he ults you, you need to press R 0.5 seconds after the fish adheres to you, as his R activates after 2 seconds, you will avoid some dmg with your shield and the airborne with your jump timed well. If he is at max range (1300), you can throw your E when he is coming for you at your MAX RANGE (1000) or when is close to it -close to the time when you press R, maybe a little earlier-, that way, you bait his E, he will dodge yours, but even if he delayed his fall, he is gonna eat your stun and Q dmg anyway (that is if he doesn't wait out off range and enter after with flash/e). After his ult you will be slowed. Use W after to keep distance or to make him lose target of Q or AAs. Later in the game. you can go stopwatch/Zhonya´s to contest his R, but he will probably use his R more for the ADC.

Kassadin (hard)

Kassadin is a very difficult matchup for ap Neeko. I would suggest going the ad Neeko build into Kassadin to really bully him in lane and slow down his snowballing. Going ap into Kassadin is almost impossible to play because of his q and it’s ability to just nullify your magic damage. With the ad Neeko build you wanna start Shapesplitter(W) and shove out the wave vs Kassadin. Then once the wave is shoved out immediately ward the side that you think the jungler will appear and hug that side because you have vision and kassadin doesn’t have any gank assist early game pre-6. Make sure to punish Kassadin early for trying to last hit and auto him then use Shapesplitter(W) to lose minion agro and proc the press the attack. If you go ap, you have to pressure him really hard early and try to deny as much cs as you can with Aery and get a lead because after lvl 6 it will be very hard for Neeko to punish Kassadin

Orianna (hard)

This can be a very annoying matchup, for her zoning, slow, shield and AAs. In mid-elos and below the difficulty is medium, very 50/50. Take comet, you can procc it more and will be more safe than going electro. She has lower cds, so try to avoid her Qs and slows. If you root her when she has her Q on cd, she can't respond with Q+W your combo. Be careful about an AA trade when resources are off, her passive will empower each AA, while you only have one empowered AA every 3.

Rumble (hard)

You can take Aery for this matchup. Try poke him with AAs and block his E with your minions, don´t be close to them, as the slow can apply in a certain area. Don't let him stack the 2 harpoons on you, cause the slow will be increased…(heat mechanic)...

Ryze (hard)

He can play very safe. Keep distance when he uses his E on the wave, that way you won't be hurt by his second flux if possible. Try to play aggressive and deny him farm if you can, being aware of the enemy jg. At level 6 he doesn't only obtain a teleport, he also gains power to his E+Q combos. He will scale and be stronger than you in late-game. You need to delay that as much as possible.

Syndra (hard)

Take comet. Her Q has half the cd than yours, so use yours after she uses hers. Be careful for her W range, surprise E stuns and ganks. Take in consideration that if you trade her with your root+Q combo she can easily respond stunning you with her combo, losing the trade. You can make her choose who to stun approaching with your clone in different directions, or coming from river to lane with your clone transformed as your jungle, in front of you and de-transforming you while invisible, behind (at a good distance) to make an “Auto-gank”, stunning your clone and giving you and opening for 18 seconds. Remember to not try to ult while syndra has her e up because she can knock you back.

Vel’Koz (extremely hard)

This matchup is probably Neeko's worst matchup because of his long range ability and being able to hit through the minion wave. I would advise running comet into this matchup because it’s very hard to get close range to land your spells on Vel without taking a bit of damage in return unless he poorly uses his spells and misses them all. This lane is just trying to poke him and punish him if he walks up to cs. Most of the time you won’t be able to land e on him since he will just stand far back and spam skills. Try and get a lost chapter with boots early. The boots are for you to be able to dodge Vel’s skillshots easier and with a lost chapter you can shove in and poke more. This lane is almost impossible to kill Vel without ganks so try and shove the lane and roam.

Viktor (hard)

He will scale insanely well, so even if you let it 0/6 he will destroy you later. Try to at least take any advantage in lane. Take comet. His E has more range, try to dodge it if u can. If he is gonna trade with Q, then he could hit a minion with it and with the ms try to hit you with his empowered AA, that has lower range so keep distance and try to respond with an ability out of his range or when its end. Be careful that if you do your combo of E+Q+AA he will put his W on you, so don't stay there.

Xerath (hard)

Take Comet. Xeraths can do 3 things with their first Q when coming to lane: 1) Hit the entire wave to push it. 2) Hit you. 3) Wait and last hit the 3 melee minions. In all cases, you need to posisionate yourself in a way that makes him choose between you or the minions. Poke him with Q when he has his Q on cd and he tries to AA minions to regain mana from his passive. Be careful that he can use his W to hit 3 minions and you too. You can use your W when engaging to block his E (at a good distance). He has the same or a little more cd than you (1-2 secs). You need to understand that he needs to scale, so even if he has more range than you, and can compete in damage, you don't win anything playing passive. Lane phase is the weakest moment of Xerath, and you need to take advantage. Can be difficult to kill him if he takes barrier, so another option is to shove the wave, let him try to farm under tower and roam to other lanes/help your jg/put vision. Try to all in trade before he pokes you

Ziggs (hard)

You can try to contest his poke and push but he wins. It is very difficult to kill him as he has ways to keep you at a distance, you can coordinate with your jg to make him waste something. Try to make him back to his base before you. Ziggs can also use his w to self peel when you are trying to ult at him so be weary of his w cooldown and try to force something if it’s safe when his w is on cooldown.