Blade is a pressure-heavy melee duelist who converts sustain and chase into relentless side-lane threat. He wants extended trades where lifesteal and resets outlast enemy burst. His presence forces respect around corners and tight spaces; if he touches a target, he can stick through slows and finish with brutal follow-up. To maximize Blade, pick fights on your terms. Use terrain to shorten distances, rotate with your vanguard’s engage, and hold mobility for post-burst stickiness. Anti-kite tools and soft peel from allies let Blade ignore chip damage and commit deeper. He punishes split formations and thrives when fights sprawl into multiple 1v1s or 2v2s. Counters focus on space denial and burst windows that invalidate sustain. Hard crowd control, kiting marksmen, and control mages keep him at arm’s length, while shield carriers blunt his first contact. If Blade is forced to commit mobility early or chase through traps, his kill pressure drops. In comps that enable him to gap-close consistently, he becomes a win-condition that breaks stalemates and deletes isolated backliners.