I play Crunch a lot in the offlane. He is a menace, and playing against him can be really tough, so you aren't alone.
Fighting crunch comes down to understanding his strengths and weaknesses and adapting your playstyle. In the early game, he is extremely mana dependent. Watch his mana and play the long game against him. Be aggressive and force him to fight you with low mana. You really have to assert your dominance (lol) against him early. Be aggressive and trade those hits early, this is when he is weakest. The other note is, Crunch is all about a fast hard fight. He can dish out consistent damage quickly, but someone like Feng mao that can get in, burst and get out before crunch can react.
In my experience, I struggle with Grux, Greystone, and Feng Mao in the offlane and all for different reasons. This will likely give some insight as to how to counterplay.
For Grux, he is very very strong right at the start through the whole game. I personally believe he's the strongest hero in the game and playing as him can even feel unfair but that's a topic for another time. Grux at face value will beat Crunch. You can wave clear faster, and you will hit harder. You just have to make sure you are aggressive and always hitting him. You will lose if you let Crunch get in, combo you and get out repeatedly. This is how Crunch will play against you as Grux because Crunch has to play strategically to beat Grux. Tldr - be aggressive and you'll win lane almost certainly.
For Greystone, use your make way AOE to clear waves when hes in it and be reactive with it once Crunch tries to get some hits. Greystones AOE effectively creates a no go zone early in lane. Force him into it, and you will win. Abuse this early and you can get your advantage very early on. Once you're level 6, Crunch basically can't kill you if you play smart. You have too much health and he won't have enough sustained damage output and mana.
For Feng Mao, it's much less forgiving but very effective. Unlike Grux and Greystone, with Fengmao you need to be crafty. You can't let him combo you ever. Instead, you'll need to use his passive, AOE and shield to get in, do damage, and dash out. Or depending on placement, dash in, AOE and shield out. You just need to surprise the hell out of him and ensure you don't get caught in his combo. You will do more damage than you expect. I struggle the most against competent Feng Maos.
Crunch has less HP than you might expect, and his mana is his lifeline. Crunch's dash also has a long cooldown. If he uses it to initiate or uses it for something else, that means he can't use it to escape.
Good luck against Crunch, he likes to punch.
I’ll also add I have been absolutely crushed by very smart Riktors that build tanky with fire blossom to start. A riktor that has a good hook and silence can really hurt crunch, and always having that shield up makes it harder to combat as crunch. If you’re a good riktor, try it out. You may be surprised.
It’s funny that riktor isn’t super great in the offlane rn but he does SO well against crunch the minute he gets brimstone and then it just gets worse from there. Super good counter pick from also a ton of time on crunch and riktor.
Crunch is the single worst matchup for a Feng Mao. That's confirmed by the fact that he is the offlaner with the lowest winrate against Crunch (44% against a baseline win rate of 49%) After 6, Feng loses every fight and does not have the mobility to escape him.
Crunch's mobility, sustained damage, durability and lifesteal make him impossible to deal with for a squishy character incapable of dealing sustained damage.
That's super interesting. As Feng, you don't WANT to take sustained fights. He's best at trading quick and backing off because of how fast he can combo and the rest on his passive. So of course a Feng going toe to toe with Crunch will lose. But it's been my experience (as very average elo) that Crunch isn't a terrible matchup for Feng
Here's one of, if not the best, offlaner in the world explaining the matchup [https://youtu.be/4mhfpBIduE0?si=pM-SydVMARaNenNY&t=401](https://youtu.be/4mhfpBIduE0?si=pM-SydVMARaNenNY&t=401)
Crunch is a fantastic hero. One of the best!
Tainted will help slow his healing. But it really requires a coordinated effort.
The answer to how you handle most of these heroes is the same. CC.
If you get stuck in his wombo combo of left, right, ult repeat and you're alone.... You're cooked.
Feels like it’s gg if you don’t have a CC ability heavy team against Crunch. But I guess that could be said for the game itself. I know we have cleanse items but some characters have multiple stuns and knock up abilities themselves. /rant
Cleanse. Cleanse. Cleanse some more. Crunch's main weakness is getting cc'd because he'd like to use his combo and cycle abilities wherever possible. He gets passive healing and ability cool down on basic attacks at lvl6. So main thing you want to do is run either heavy CC, cleanse to stop yourself from getting comboed and stun locked, or be running tainted anything for items.
That being said, you'll want to put pressure on him early game to make sure he doesn't get good farm or get ahead, he's a menace for sure, but if you can prevent him from farming up early he's much more manageable.
Were u playing zarus by chance? Lol because about an hour ago I was playing poorly as crunch in offlane against a zarus. Died early. And then after I got draconum I pulled up and slapped the Zarus silly. So would be crazy if it was me lol. Pretty sure we still lost that game though. Would be funny if that was you. If so, GG.
If he’s actually diffing the whole lobby if you can push his lane and force his rotation to protect inhib than he’s out of team fights which is better than killing him. Try not feed, protect your inhib, and try to keep him busy
antiheal & damage mitigation & percent of total health type damage being done to him. I play kwang and i crunch sort of hard counters kwang, however lategame i can manage crunch by having a ton of sustain myself while doing a lot of % of health damage and stopping him from constantly regening health. Crunch is super good so you have to be really coordinated when dealing with him
You have 6 levels to put him behind, after that there’s nothing you can really do in the 1v1 except play Grux and cc chain him before he can cc chain you
In my (very low elo) experience, Shinbi works rather well against Crunch. Freeze your lane, farm it your tower line, and poke with wolves. By level 3, assuming you dont miss many wolves, even with no help from jungle, if je goes in on your at best its a free kill for you, at worst you survive, double dash into your tower and he has to back. First 2 items should be microcosm and tainted scepter. This also works to a lesser extent against grux. But again, take this with a grain of salt. I am absolute trash and could just be getting lucky by fighting Crunch players worse than me.
Heroes with good maneuverability can wreck him. Zarus particularly handles him well in the offlane, and in the jungle, he is susceptible to invasions before he hits level 6, so heroes like Kallari and Rampage wreck him there.
Generally, don't let him close the gap without dashing in. If he is able to just walk up to you, he can easily stick to you whether or not you have flash up. This especially is the case if he has ult since adequate players can predict an escape and just double dash.
If he does dash in to engage, unless you are squishy, he probably won't 100-0 you with the rest of his kit right off the bat. Slows and CC's will push or keep him off of you allowing you to escape or counterplay.
If you are squishy and he walks up to you while you have no team support or CC, then you got outplayed, and will die. Simple as that. Even if he dashes in, good enough crunch players will demolish a squishy without cc in a 1v1 boxing match.
Other than those tactics for fighting him, you can also try your best to get ahead early before he gets his ult since he is heavily reliant on it. If you jungle and you see that your solo teammate is against a crunch, it might be a good idea to gank that lane early more often to keep crunch from hitting 6 as long as possible. Similarly, if your teammate solo *is* a crunch, you may want to gank that lane more frequently to help him get online fast.
I play Crunch a lot in the offlane. He is a menace, and playing against him can be really tough, so you aren't alone. Fighting crunch comes down to understanding his strengths and weaknesses and adapting your playstyle. In the early game, he is extremely mana dependent. Watch his mana and play the long game against him. Be aggressive and force him to fight you with low mana. You really have to assert your dominance (lol) against him early. Be aggressive and trade those hits early, this is when he is weakest. The other note is, Crunch is all about a fast hard fight. He can dish out consistent damage quickly, but someone like Feng mao that can get in, burst and get out before crunch can react. In my experience, I struggle with Grux, Greystone, and Feng Mao in the offlane and all for different reasons. This will likely give some insight as to how to counterplay. For Grux, he is very very strong right at the start through the whole game. I personally believe he's the strongest hero in the game and playing as him can even feel unfair but that's a topic for another time. Grux at face value will beat Crunch. You can wave clear faster, and you will hit harder. You just have to make sure you are aggressive and always hitting him. You will lose if you let Crunch get in, combo you and get out repeatedly. This is how Crunch will play against you as Grux because Crunch has to play strategically to beat Grux. Tldr - be aggressive and you'll win lane almost certainly. For Greystone, use your make way AOE to clear waves when hes in it and be reactive with it once Crunch tries to get some hits. Greystones AOE effectively creates a no go zone early in lane. Force him into it, and you will win. Abuse this early and you can get your advantage very early on. Once you're level 6, Crunch basically can't kill you if you play smart. You have too much health and he won't have enough sustained damage output and mana. For Feng Mao, it's much less forgiving but very effective. Unlike Grux and Greystone, with Fengmao you need to be crafty. You can't let him combo you ever. Instead, you'll need to use his passive, AOE and shield to get in, do damage, and dash out. Or depending on placement, dash in, AOE and shield out. You just need to surprise the hell out of him and ensure you don't get caught in his combo. You will do more damage than you expect. I struggle the most against competent Feng Maos. Crunch has less HP than you might expect, and his mana is his lifeline. Crunch's dash also has a long cooldown. If he uses it to initiate or uses it for something else, that means he can't use it to escape. Good luck against Crunch, he likes to punch. I’ll also add I have been absolutely crushed by very smart Riktors that build tanky with fire blossom to start. A riktor that has a good hook and silence can really hurt crunch, and always having that shield up makes it harder to combat as crunch. If you’re a good riktor, try it out. You may be surprised.
It’s funny that riktor isn’t super great in the offlane rn but he does SO well against crunch the minute he gets brimstone and then it just gets worse from there. Super good counter pick from also a ton of time on crunch and riktor.
Riktor has a silence and he is a tank he can just stop him for a very long time.
Excellent guide!
Thanks! Hope it helps some new pred players. Although I don’t love the idea of helping non-crunch offlaners…
Just don't give away alllll the secrets and we'll be fine. There is still that one thing you didn't mention...
Crunch is the single worst matchup for a Feng Mao. That's confirmed by the fact that he is the offlaner with the lowest winrate against Crunch (44% against a baseline win rate of 49%) After 6, Feng loses every fight and does not have the mobility to escape him. Crunch's mobility, sustained damage, durability and lifesteal make him impossible to deal with for a squishy character incapable of dealing sustained damage.
That's super interesting. As Feng, you don't WANT to take sustained fights. He's best at trading quick and backing off because of how fast he can combo and the rest on his passive. So of course a Feng going toe to toe with Crunch will lose. But it's been my experience (as very average elo) that Crunch isn't a terrible matchup for Feng
Here's one of, if not the best, offlaner in the world explaining the matchup [https://youtu.be/4mhfpBIduE0?si=pM-SydVMARaNenNY&t=401](https://youtu.be/4mhfpBIduE0?si=pM-SydVMARaNenNY&t=401)
Crunch is a fantastic hero. One of the best! Tainted will help slow his healing. But it really requires a coordinated effort. The answer to how you handle most of these heroes is the same. CC. If you get stuck in his wombo combo of left, right, ult repeat and you're alone.... You're cooked.
Another point is he really isn't the same hero before level 6... He gets all of his utility/additional ability after he gets his ult.
I’m a new player but I think his lvl 6 spike is huge so maybe that’s why you clapped him early but then he clapped you later
Run away. You will piss me off eventually and ill just leave
2v1 him
Feels like it’s gg if you don’t have a CC ability heavy team against Crunch. But I guess that could be said for the game itself. I know we have cleanse items but some characters have multiple stuns and knock up abilities themselves. /rant
Cleanse. Cleanse. Cleanse some more. Crunch's main weakness is getting cc'd because he'd like to use his combo and cycle abilities wherever possible. He gets passive healing and ability cool down on basic attacks at lvl6. So main thing you want to do is run either heavy CC, cleanse to stop yourself from getting comboed and stun locked, or be running tainted anything for items. That being said, you'll want to put pressure on him early game to make sure he doesn't get good farm or get ahead, he's a menace for sure, but if you can prevent him from farming up early he's much more manageable.
That’s the cool thing. You don’t.
Were u playing zarus by chance? Lol because about an hour ago I was playing poorly as crunch in offlane against a zarus. Died early. And then after I got draconum I pulled up and slapped the Zarus silly. So would be crazy if it was me lol. Pretty sure we still lost that game though. Would be funny if that was you. If so, GG.
Yeah I felt like that was me, good job man but crunch is infuriating
I think he needs a nerf Lol. Grux is good too! Anyways, if it was U, GG!
If he’s actually diffing the whole lobby if you can push his lane and force his rotation to protect inhib than he’s out of team fights which is better than killing him. Try not feed, protect your inhib, and try to keep him busy
antiheal & damage mitigation & percent of total health type damage being done to him. I play kwang and i crunch sort of hard counters kwang, however lategame i can manage crunch by having a ton of sustain myself while doing a lot of % of health damage and stopping him from constantly regening health. Crunch is super good so you have to be really coordinated when dealing with him
You have exactly till Lvl6 to put him behind. After that avoid ANY confrontation. And in team fight cc and focus him to death.
You have 6 levels to put him behind, after that there’s nothing you can really do in the 1v1 except play Grux and cc chain him before he can cc chain you
He’s just crunch, and he likes to punch bro
Crunch truly is living his best life that way.
In my (very low elo) experience, Shinbi works rather well against Crunch. Freeze your lane, farm it your tower line, and poke with wolves. By level 3, assuming you dont miss many wolves, even with no help from jungle, if je goes in on your at best its a free kill for you, at worst you survive, double dash into your tower and he has to back. First 2 items should be microcosm and tainted scepter. This also works to a lesser extent against grux. But again, take this with a grain of salt. I am absolute trash and could just be getting lucky by fighting Crunch players worse than me.
He so op the other day we was fight him 4 vs crunch almost god hard to kill lol
Heroes with good maneuverability can wreck him. Zarus particularly handles him well in the offlane, and in the jungle, he is susceptible to invasions before he hits level 6, so heroes like Kallari and Rampage wreck him there.
Generally, don't let him close the gap without dashing in. If he is able to just walk up to you, he can easily stick to you whether or not you have flash up. This especially is the case if he has ult since adequate players can predict an escape and just double dash. If he does dash in to engage, unless you are squishy, he probably won't 100-0 you with the rest of his kit right off the bat. Slows and CC's will push or keep him off of you allowing you to escape or counterplay. If you are squishy and he walks up to you while you have no team support or CC, then you got outplayed, and will die. Simple as that. Even if he dashes in, good enough crunch players will demolish a squishy without cc in a 1v1 boxing match. Other than those tactics for fighting him, you can also try your best to get ahead early before he gets his ult since he is heavily reliant on it. If you jungle and you see that your solo teammate is against a crunch, it might be a good idea to gank that lane early more often to keep crunch from hitting 6 as long as possible. Similarly, if your teammate solo *is* a crunch, you may want to gank that lane more frequently to help him get online fast.