Matchup
You are stronger late game — farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Zeri
Build adapted to this matchup
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
60%
20%Anti AD
Anti CC
Anti Tank
DPS
Precision
Press the Attack
Absorb Life
Legend: Alacrity
Last Stand
Sorcery
Celerity
Gathering Storm
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Kayle
ZeriZeri's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Zeri's Attacks deal magic damage and are treated as Abilities. Moving and casting Burst Fire stores up energy in Zeri's Sparkpack. When fully charged her next Attack deals bonus damage.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0s | 12s | 24s | – |
| 6 | 0s | 12s | 24s | 1m20 |
| 9 | 0s | 11s | 24s | 1m20 |
| 11 | 0s | 10s | 24s | 1m15 |
| 16 | 0s | 8s | 21s | 1m10 |
| 18 | 0s | 8s | 18s | 1m10 |
Playing against Zeri
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
Point-and-click CC is the best counter to Zeri: she's too mobile for skillshots when her R is active.
Her E can go through walls but has a long cooldown — punish her after the dash.
Zeri is weak in the early game and needs items to be effective — force fights early.
Her R speed disappears out of combat — disengage and re-engage when R expires.
Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 9, 2026