Annie vs Azir Counter Pick

Azir deals mixed damage, magic from his Sand Soldiers and Conquering Sands plus a physical basic attack pattern, at 525 range from a champion whose kit revolves around staying at distance behind soldier zoning. Annie only has 625 range herself, but her win condition does not depend on out-ranging him at all.

Pyromania is the deciding factor: after four spell casts her next offensive ability stuns automatically, and Azir has no dash or blink to escape a guaranteed stun the way some mid laners do. Shifting Sands teleports him to a Sand Soldier, but that soldier has to already be in a useful position, and Molten Shield’s move speed burst is often enough for Annie to close the gap before he can reposition.

Over 187 games on patch 16.13.1, Annie wins 56.7% of this matchup, rated Easy for her. Azir’s difficulty score of 9 reflects how much setup his soldier placement requires, setup that a single successful Tibbers engage or Incinerate cone can disrupt before it pays off. Annie’s own execution ceiling is lower, a difficulty of 6, which fits a matchup where the simpler kit is winning more often than not.