InLeague of Legends, mid-lane is at the heart of the map,allowing its players more controlthan both the bot lane and top lane. Having access to all areas of the map, including the enemy jungle, the mid-lane is an important role with some of the biggest potential to impact other lanes, capable of adding or reducing pressure across the map, and affecting the outcome of lanes.
Due to this importance,the mid-lane roster isdominated by high-damage champions that can easily move about the map or control fights and assist their team. This rankingcovers the best championsin the mid-lane inLeague of LegendsPatch 13.21.
7Aurelion Sol, The Star Forger
Mage
Despite receiving nerfs in patch 13.21, Aurelion Sol remains a strong pick in the mid-lane thanks to his insane scalings and huge ultimate potential.Riot’s balancing team made a decent attempt to deal with Aurelion Sol’s Q damage, targeting the space dragon’s late-game scaling. In patch 13.21, Breath of Light’s additional damage based on level was removed and had its scaling with Ability Power reduced by 5%.
However, thanks to Aurelion Sol’s current build-path of rushing Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, which applies a slow to enemies hit by any of Sol’s abilities, this change isn’t likely to be too dire. At present, Aurelion Sol excels at melting enemies with his Q while Rylai’s keeps them from leaving his range. In combination with his Astral Flight ability, it can feel impossible to escape the space dragon’s onslaught, making him an extremely potent and viable pick in the mid-lane.
6LeBlanc, The Deceiver
Assassin
LeBlanc has hadRiot’s balancing team in shambles during Season 13 thanks to the rise of Attack Damage LeBlanc. LeBlanc saw multiple back-to-back nerfs in an attempt to stop players from using the Statikk Shiv into Trinity Force build, before the team ultimately decided to obliterate her altogether, pushing the assassin into the depths of the mid-lane roster.
In patch 13.21 LeBlancis looking to return, after receiving a little bit of love and increased damage from the balancing team. Both LeBlanc’s W, Distortion, and E, Ethereal Chains, saw a 10% increase in Ability Power scalings. Hopefully, these buffs see LeBlanc return to her Ability Power build and giveRiot’s balancing team a much-needed break.
5Akshan, The Rogue Sentinel
Marksman
Roaming, pushing power, all-in potential, and the ability to revive fallen teammates; Akshan has it all. Sitting happily at the top of the mid-lane roster for multiple patches, the Rogue Sentinel remains untouched byRiot’s balancing team and continues to wreak havoc in the mid-lane.
Akshan’s kit is full-to-the-brim with both offensive and defensive abilities. Heroic Swing, Akshan’s E ability,makes him extremely difficultto gank, but also hard to run away from. Furthermore, Akshan can pressure the enemy team by disappearing from the mid-lane with his Going Rogue skill, forcing enemies to back up or potentially fall victim to his burst. This roaming potential alone can make Akshaneither a frustrating pickto face up against or an incredibly valuable teammate.
4Vex, The Gloomist
Vex, The Gloomist, isa simple yet effectivemage that excels at punishing mobile opponents. Whenever an enemy dashes, or blinks, within Vex’s proximity, the gloomy yordle marks them with her passive, Doom ‘n Gloom. Doom ‘n Gloom empowers Vex’s next auto-attack, consuming the mark and dealing additional damage. This passive alone makes Vex amazing at dealing with other meta picks, such as LeBlanc and Naafiri.
In addition to Doom ‘n Gloom, Vex is brilliant at causing chaos on the enemy back-line with her ultimate ability, Shadow Surge. Successfully landing her ultimate on a squishy target is an almost guaranteed kill, which refreshes her ultimate’s cooldown, allowing her to bounce between targets and chain kills. Even if Vex doesn’t hit a squishy target, Shadow Surge in combination with her passive fear can be a great engage for her allies, making her an all-round threat.
3Naafiri, The Hound Of A Hundred Bites
Released in 13.14, Naafiri and her pack of dogs have secured their place in the midlane roster as terrifying assassins. Even after multiple nerfs targeting her damage, Naafiri remains an absolute menace on the rift. Building Eclipse, Black Cleaver, and Serylda’s Grudge, neither ADCs nor tanks are safe from the Darkin, making her a difficult threat to play around.
While The Hound of a Hundred Bites has a relatively weak laning phase in the present meta, due to lane-bullies such as Vex and Orianna being strong picks, Naafiri can use her Darkin Daggers to farm safely from a distance until she’s built up enough power to all-in her opponent and begin dominating the rift.
2Kassadin, The Void Walker
Kassadin has been a stalwart pick in the mid-lane for seasons, and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. Stacking health and mana items, Kassadin is a ticking time-bomb for his opposition, as one of the best scaling champions in the game.
While assassins are typically glass cannons to balance their damage output, Kassadin’s build path makes him relatively tanky, allowing him to sit on the back line for much longer. Furthermore, Kassadin’s passive, Void Stone, and Q, Null Sphere, reduce all incoming magic damage, making him a potent counter to AP mid-laners. Beyond level 16, Kassadin’s biggest power-spike, The Void Walker is an unstoppable monster that can tear through opponents like butter.
1Sylas, The Unshackled
Bouncing from the bottom and top of the mid-lane barrel, Sylas has been a difficult champion to balance since release. As an assassin-mage, Sylas is great at bursting squishy opponents, but can also excel in skirmishes thanks to his Kingslayer ability. Restoring large amounts of Health Points when used on champions, Kingslayer enables Sylas to take drawn-out fights, and often win.
Although perhaps Sylas’ greatest strength is using his enemies’ strengths against them. Hijack, Sylas’ ultimate ability, allows him to mimic an opponent’s ultimate and use it against them. The issue, and probably Sylas’ biggest power, is that champions' kits are often balanced around their ultimate abilities and vice versa.
Champions like Neeko, for example, have huge ults at the cost of lower mobility. In the hands of a champion who not only excels at sticking on enemy opponents but also increases the abilities’ damage output, these ultimates become extremely broken, which is why Sylas is such a strong mid-lane pick.
