Understanding the Matchup: Illaoi vs. Briar
Before diving into specific tactics, it’s crucial to understand the strengths and weaknesses of both champions. Illaoi is a juggernaut, excelling in sustained fights, healing from tentacles, and punishing enemies who engage carelessly. Her Test of Spirit (E) can be especially punishing if you’re caught in its range, as it spawns tentacles that can deal significant damage.
On the other hand, Briar is a powerful duelist with high mobility and sustain. Her ability to heal from attacks and her strong burst potential make her a viable option to take on Illaoi—provided she plays the matchup correctly.
Key Considerations When Fighting Illaoi
- Avoid Fighting in Her Tentacles: Illaoi’s tentacles are her primary source of damage and healing. The more tentacles she has around her, the more dangerous she becomes. Briar’s mobility can help her dodge tentacle slams, but engaging in tight areas where Illaoi’s tentacles are set up is risky.
- Time Your Engages: Briar’s engage is explosive and powerful, but if mistimed, Illaoi can turn the fight with a well-placed Leap of Faith (R). Choosing the right moment to go all-in is critical.
- Respect Illaoi’s Healing: Illaoi’s ability to heal from her tentacle slams, especially when combined with Spirit Visage or other healing items, can make her deceptively tanky. Ensure you have enough burst and sustained damage to overcome this.
Pre-Fight Preparation
1. Optimize Your Rune Setup
The right rune choices can make a significant difference in this matchup. For Briar, the following rune setup is recommended:
- Keystone: Conqueror – This rune gives Briar the necessary sustain and damage in prolonged fights. Since Illaoi thrives in extended engagements, Conqueror helps match her healing.
- Triumph – Healing on takedown can be critical when trying to finish off Illaoi or if the fight drags on long enough to kill her tentacles.
- Legend: Alacrity – Attack speed is vital for Briar to maximize her healing and burst damage output.
- Last Stand – Briar can often find herself low on health during engagements due to her ultimate. Last Stand amplifies her damage when she’s on low health, giving her an edge in clutch situations.
For secondary runes, consider:
- Resolve Tree: Second Wind or Bone Plating – These offer additional survivability, especially when taking unavoidable poke from Illaoi’s tentacles.
2. Choose the Right Summoner Spells
- Flash is essential for repositioning, engaging, or disengaging when necessary. It can help dodge a tentacle slam or get out of a bad situation.
- Ignite is a strong choice against Illaoi due to her healing capabilities. Reducing her healing with Grievous Wounds can swing the fight in your favor.
In-Lane Strategy
1. Avoid Getting Hit by Illaoi’s E (Test of Spirit)
Illaoi’s E is one of the most dangerous parts of her kit. If she lands it, she can spawn tentacles that will focus on attacking your spirit. These tentacles deal massive damage, and if you stand near them, you’ll be hit as well. Briar needs to maintain distance and use her movement to dodge this ability. Engaging Illaoi becomes significantly harder when you’re tethered, as she’ll constantly spawn tentacles that can punish you.
2. Use Your W (Blood Frenzy) Wisely
Briar’s W, Blood Frenzy, allows her to dive into enemies and rapidly attack them while healing herself. However, going all-in on Illaoi without considering her cooldowns is dangerous. Ideally, you should engage with W when her ultimate (Leap of Faith) is down, as she won’t have the burst damage and tentacle slams to turn the fight in her favor.
When fighting Illaoi, keep an eye on her cooldowns. If she misses her E, that’s a window for Briar to go all-in with her Blood Frenzy.
3. Use Your Mobility to Dodge Tentacles
Illaoi’s tentacles spawn around her and slam the ground after casting abilities. Briar’s mobility, especially with her Q (Head Rush), can help you dodge these slams. You can use Q to reposition behind Illaoi, minimizing the number of tentacle slams hitting you while keeping up pressure.
It’s important to fight in open spaces where there are fewer tentacles, making it easier to avoid the additional damage and healing she gains from them.
When to Fight Illaoi
1. After She Misses Her E
If Illaoi misses her E, she loses a significant portion of her threat. This is the perfect time for Briar to engage. Without her E, Illaoi won’t be able to spawn extra tentacles on you, reducing her damage output significantly.
2. Bait Out Her Ultimate (Leap of Faith)
One of Illaoi’s most dangerous abilities is her ultimate, Leap of Faith. When she activates it, she slams down and summons multiple tentacles based on how many enemies are nearby. Engaging into her ultimate can be deadly. The best way to handle this is to bait it out and disengage immediately. Once her ultimate expires, she becomes much weaker, and this is the time for Briar to engage.
3. Take Short Trades When Possible
Briar excels at short, bursty trades, while Illaoi thrives in longer, drawn-out fights. Use Briar’s Q to dive in for a quick trade and then disengage before Illaoi can fully set up her tentacles or heal from her abilities. Short, efficient trades will help you chip away at Illaoi’s health without taking too much damage in return.
Team Fight Strategy
1. Avoid Fighting Illaoi in Tight Spaces
Team fights against Illaoi can be tricky because of her AoE (Area of Effect) damage and tentacle spawns. As Briar, avoid engaging Illaoi in jungle corridors or tight spaces where her tentacles can quickly overwhelm your team. Instead, try to fight in open areas where your team can spread out, reducing the effectiveness of Illaoi’s tentacle slams.
2. Focus on Backline Threats if Illaoi is Tanky
In team fights, if Illaoi builds tanky, it might not always be efficient to focus her first. Briar’s burst and mobility are better used to take down squishier backline targets like the enemy ADC or mid-laner. Once those threats are dealt with, you can return to help your team deal with Illaoi.
Late Game Strategy
In the late game, Illaoi becomes a significant threat in 1v1 situations, but Briar can still win with the right tactics. By this stage, Briar should have enough damage to burst Illaoi down quickly. Keeping her off objectives and splitting the map can also minimize Illaoi’s impact. Briar’s mobility and healing give her the tools to handle Illaoi when fighting on her own terms.
Conclusion
Fighting Illaoi as Briar requires careful positioning, patience, and precise execution. Avoiding Illaoi’s tentacles, waiting for her cooldowns, and picking the right moments to engage are key to winning this matchup. With Briar’s mobility, burst potential, and healing, you can outmaneuver Illaoi and win the lane and team fights by following the strategies outlined in this guide.
