Twitch has no mobility outside Ambush (Q) stealth and a fragile body, so Smolder's Super Scorcher Breath (Q) poke steadily chips his health, costing him lane priority and leaving him vulnerable before he reaches his Spray and Pray (R) power spike.

Vayne's short attack range lets Smolder poke her from outside her reach with Super Scorcher Breath (Q), and she can't contest his Dragon Practice (P) stacking before level 3, so Smolder scales freely.

Kog'Maw has no mobility, so he gets kited by Smolder's Flap, Flap, Flap (E) and constantly pummeled by Super Scorcher Breath (Q) poke, falling behind in the early Dragon Practice (P) stacking race.

Smolder is weak early before stacking Dragon Practice (P), and Jinx disrupts his scaling and pressures the lane with the long-range AoE poke of Switcheroo! (Q) rockets.

With her 650 attack range, Caitlyn harasses Smolder with Headshot (P) and Yordle Snap Trap (W) whenever he steps up to stack Dragon Practice (P), crushing the early lane.

Draven's Spinning Axe (Q) hits explosively hard, overpowering the early-weak Smolder—who lacks Dragon Practice (P) stacks—in every short trade and snowballing.

Lucian uses his Lightslinger (P) double shots and Relentless Pursuit (E) dash to land bursty all-ins on the short-ranged early Smolder.

Miss Fortune whittles Smolder down in extended trades with Love Tap (P) and Double Up (Q) poke, halting his Dragon Practice (P) stacking.