How to win lane as Xerath against Annie · 53.52% win rate over 1,392 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Xerath | Your range dominates level 1 and Annie can only farm, not trade. |
| Level 2 | Xerath | At 2 your Q-E poke out-damages her single Q harass. |
| Level 3 | Xerath | At 3 you zone her off CS from beyond her range. |
| Levels 4-5 | Xerath | Through 4-5 your poke keeps her low with no way to close. |
| Level 6 | Annie | At 6 her charged-stun Flash-Tibbers instantly locks and deletes you. |
| First item | Xerath | Your first-item spike plus Zhonya's lets you survive and out-poke her. |
| Two+ items | Xerath | With two items you outrange her in every neutral and chunk her before she commits. |
Levels 1-2 you win purely on range; Annie can only farm with Q and cannot trade back against your Q-E poke, so zone her and deny caster minions. Just start counting her stun stacks from the first auto.
The full Xerath vs Annie report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Annie vs Xerath guide →
All Xerath mid lane matchups →