Master Yi vs Riven Counter Pick

Riven pays no resource cost at all — her kit runs on cooldowns alone — and that shapes a top matchup Master Yi loses at 42.9% across 147 games on patch 16.13.1.

Every important cast in Yi’s kit can be interrupted or wasted. Meditate is a channel and Ki Burst stuns straight through it. Alpha Strike’s untargetable window has to be spent avoiding damage rather than dodging a Broken Wings sequence, and Valor blocks incoming damage on a short cooldown while stepping her clear of the follow-up. True damage from Wuju Style still applies, but only while attacks are landing.

Base statistics look close and mislead. Yi carries 640 health to 630 and 65 attack damage to 64, finishing at 2,425 health against 2,330. Riven‘s Runic Blade adds damage to attacks after each ability, and Blade of the Exile grants attack damage plus extra range on top of her 125 base, closing the reach advantage Yi normally holds at 175.

Execution is the counterweight. Riven is rated 8 for difficulty against Yi’s 4, a four-point gap built on combo timing that punishes small errors. Her physical damage meets 33 base armor, and the cast she is best equipped to break is the one Yi needs most, Meditate. Highlander’s slow immunity and 355 move speed against 340 still give him a way out when the trade turns.