Naafiri vs Akali

Naafiri
vs
Not enough games
Akali
Heavy AP damageHigh burstDive threatStrong engage

Build vs Akali

The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup

Recommended items for Naafiri: Voltaic Cyclosword, Black Cleaver, Death's Dance, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Guardian Angel, Edge of Night, Youmuu's Ghostblade.

Starting items

Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion

Core build

Voltaic Cyclosword
1
Black Cleaver
2
Death's Dance
3

Standard

Ionian Boots of Lucidity
4CDR
Guardian Angel
5

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Guardian Angel
Edge of Night
Youmuu's Ghostblade

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Akali's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Assassin's Mark (P)

Dealing spell damage to a champion creates a ring of energy around them. Exiting that ring empowers Akali's next Attack with bonus range and damage.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
31.5s20s16s–
61.5s20s16s2m
91.5s19s16s2m
111.5s18s16s1m30
161.5s16s13s1m
181.5s16s10s1m

Playing as Naafiri

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Second dagger on a bleeding target

    Recast Darkin Daggers (Q) on a target that's already bleeding: the second dagger deals the rest of the bleed plus damage based on their missing health, and heals you.

  2. Call your pack back to heal it

    When your pack has taken hits, cast Eviscerate (E): your packmates come back to you at full health.

  3. Empower your pack before you engage

    Cast The Call of the Pack (W) just before you engage: you're briefly untargetable, your pack grows, and you gain AD and move speed.

  4. Push, then look for an isolated target

    Push your wave, then roam toward an isolated champion: with Hounds' Pursuit (R), you and your pack dash onto them, and a takedown lets you recast it.

Playing against Akali

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Trade after her smoke

    Take a trade once Twilight Shroud (W) is used: she can't vanish again until its 20 to 16 second cooldown is over.

  2. Play hard before she hits 6

    Play hard before she hits level 6: without Perfect Execution (R), her only spell to get back on you is Shuriken Flip (E), on a 16 to 10 second cooldown.

  3. Fire into her smoke

    If you have AoE spells or skillshots, throw them into the Twilight Shroud (W) smoke: they hit her even while she's invisible, whereas targeted spells can't be cast on her.

  4. Punish her when she's low on energy

    Take a trade when she has just cast Five Point Strike (Q) several times: each cast costs 110 to 70 energy depending on rank, from a base pool of 200.

  5. Hit her between her two dashes

    Hit her right after the first dash of Perfect Execution (R): she has to wait a moment before she can cast the second.

Patch 16.21.1