Should I try to Counter Pick the enemy champion if I do not know how to play the Counter Pick itself?

Question

In League of Legends, the case is usually that players will be facing off against each other at the beginning of the game in the Lane phase, a part of the game that relies heavily on individual strengths and weaknesses of both players and champions.

With that, some Champions skill sets may give players an advantage or handicap on their opponents champion, with Skill of the player acting as a different variable as their skill is translated through that champion.

So, if there are 2 skilled players playing one another, should the second pick play the "Counter Pick" champion and sacrifice his personal skill for champion advantage or play a Champion they are comfortable with and disregard the match up between champions?

Answer 1

The short answer is no. You are always in a better position if you are using a champion whom you are good at playing.

If you pick a counter you are not good with, you will have to try and adapt your playstyle to a kit you don't know, create an item build path you haven't used and played with before, and try to figure out exactly "how" your kit counters their kit.

For instance, someone picking Talon mid vs a squishy AP mid would be at a serious disadvantage if they didn't understand how Talon's burst combo should be used. If you go in on Brand with no understanding of how to quickly get Talon's damage in before Brand can start his combo, you will die.

tl;dr: If you are trying to counter a lane, rely more on your ability to play a champion well than which kit counters your opponent.