Lesley: The Long-Range Harasser
Lesley may not be the most popular choice in the current meta, but she is still a reliable counter-pick against marksmen like Karrie and Claude who have shorter basic attack ranges.
Lesley’s passive skill, Lethal Shot, gives her the ability to easily harass Claude with longer range and higher crit chance on her next basic attack every five seconds, as long as she doesn’t take any damage.
Her second skill, Tactical Grenade, can also cancel Claude’s ultimate, Blazing Duet. If he tries to escape with Battle Mirror Image, Lesley can use Tactical Snipe to reveal his location.
Popol and Kupa: The Nightmare Duo
Popol and Kupa are every Claude’s nightmare in the gold lane. They can stun enemies with Bite Em’ Kupa and set up traps with Popol’s Surprise.
During the laning phase, make sure to harass Claude with Bite Em’ Kupa. Once you reach level four, activate Popol and Kupa’s ultimate, We Are Angry, and use the enhanced Bite Em’ Kupa to stun the Master Thief. Place a trap in front of him to stun him again after the first skill’s duration.
If Claude jumps on you with Battle Mirror Image and Blazing Duet, get close to him and use Kupa, Help! to cancel his ultimate. This must be done quickly to prevent Claude from jumping back to his original mirror image.
Prioritize Blade of Despair and choose Vengeance as your battle spell. You can also go for Sprint if your team has crowd control heavy roamers like Franco or Atlas.
Saber: The Burst Assassin
If you want to wreak havoc in the gold lane, pick Saber. This hero can burst down Claude with his Orbiting Sword and Triple Sweep combo. He can also cancel Blazing Duet with Triple Sweep.
Blade of the Heptaseas is a must if you want to one-shot the Master Thief. If you are playing in the gold lane, the Sprint battle spell is all you need to chase down enemy heroes if they escape your Triple Sweep ultimate.
You can also opt for the Execute battle spell if Claude has Vengeance, as Saber’s full combo might not be enough to secure a kill.
This matchup will come down to who can use their ultimate first in the mid to late game. Keep an eye on Claude’s items and see if he builds a Wind of Nature. If he does, wait for him to use it before going in with your usual combo, as Saber’s ultimate is considered a basic attack.
Source: ONEESPORTS
