The best mid lane champions in League of Legends

Mid lane is one of the easiest roles to carry within League of Legends, mostly because you have easy access to any other part of the map and can dish out a lot of damage. Great mid laners can effectively roam to other lanes while keeping good pressure on their own mid lane opponent, and champions that excel at it are indispensable. 

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This list of top-tier champions can change depending on a number of things. Sometimes the meta shifts for no apparent reason other than players’ tastes, but usually there’s some kind of balance adjustment behind the whole thing. It can be difficult to keep up on the flavor-of-the-month champs, so let us do it for you.

Here are our top five mid laners for League’s Patch 12.11.

Viktor

Pros

• Does well throughout the game
• Can easily help other lanes
• Huge burst

Cons

• Squishy
• Tough to master
• Requires high knowledge of the game

The mid-lane meta has seen a couple of changes following the latest League of Legends patches. And while Viktor has been one of the champions that have dodged being nerfed recently, he also didn’t obtain any buffs outside the changes every champion received in the durability update. 

Item build

As Viktor, you want to maximize your burst so that you can deal as much damage with your AoE spells as possible. Therefore, one of the best options to go for in terms of runes is Summon Aery. With that under your belt, you will send Aery to damage opponents with almost every damaging ability. This is especially useful during the laning phase, where Viktor can bully his enemy in lane and will help him to start his snowball early. 

Viktor is pretty mana-hungry, so down the line, it makes a lot of sense to choose Manaflow Band, which will increase your mana at the start of the game. As for the last two Sorcery runes, it’s worth going for Transcendence and Scorch. The former will lower the cooldowns of your abilities, which is great for every ability-reliant champion, while the latter will influence your damage and skirmish potential.

As an AP-based champion, Viktor might need some help with replenishing his health and mana, so it’s best to go for Biscuit Delivery from the Inspiration tree to make sure you don’t run out quickly. Time Warp Tonic should be picked for the same reason while granting you some temporary resistances. 

Ability priority

When playing Viktor, your ability priority should be R>E>Q>W. Your Death Ray (E) will be Viktor’s main damage source, which is also tremendous in pushing lanes. And if you control them well, you can roam to other lanes to grab a kill or an assist. Later on, it’s best to furthermore increase your damage, so put points in Siphon Power (Q) instead of Gravity Field (W).

As Viktor, you also have the mechanic to evolve your abilities. When it comes to that, the priority should be the same as in upgrading abilities, except for evolving your ultimate in the last place, since it only makes the storm move faster by 25 percent, which isn’t much of an upgrade.

Game plan

Viktor is a powerful champion throughout the game. With your kit, you are able to bully certain enemies from the lane from the get-go. So, if you’re in a favorable matchup, you shouldn’t hesitate to do so. If you can’t pick up some early kills in the mid lane, you can always try roaming to top or bot. With Viktor’s abilities, players shouldn’t have any problems with picking up kills if the play is coordinated properly.

Viktor’s real strength lies in teamfighting. With your Death Ray, Gravity Field, and Chaos Storm, he has one of the best sets of abilities to control the battlefield of a teamfight. You are able to zone enemies. For this reason, he is perfectly utilized when fighting over dragons or Baron Nashor, where the ground to trade is limited.

Much of Viktor’s gameplay is limited to his team comp. If you have a lot of engage champions, who have some strong crowd control tools to lock in some opponents, you might even think about flanking or just following them into battle. If you are made up mostly of strong, yet squishy champs, wait for the enemies to make a move, and carefully execute your skills to create a favorable playground for your team.

Veigar

Pros

• Possibly the best burst in the game
• Great crowd control tool

Cons

• Low mobility
• Squishy
• Takes time to stack

Veigar is the champion with possibly the greatest burst damage in League of Legends. In the era of mobile assassins, the Tiny Master of Evil was scarcely picked. But now, with mages returning to the meta, so has Veigar.

Item build

Unfortunately, Veigar’s biggest weakest is his low mobility. And due to his Event Horizon (E) taking a while to load, it’s tough to stun enemies. To solve this issue, you should choose Predator as your main rune. It will allow you to speed yourself up when trying to close the gap. It also helps you evade enemies.

The other abilities from the Domination tree are there for a similar reason to Ahri. The only exception is Ingenious Hunter. With Veigar, you will most likely build items like Everfrost, Zhonya’s Hourglass, and Banshee’s Veil.

With Veigar, you really want to go all-in, so instead of increasing your chances of survival early, the best option is to pick Manaflow Band and Transcendence. The former rune is essential since you want to be stacking your ability power as much as you can throughout the game.

Ability priority

On Veigar, you have two options when it comes to ability priority: R>Q>E>W or R>Q>W>E. The first option is best when playing against a mobile team since it will lower the cooldown of your Event Horizon and will boost your chances to one-shot them. When playing against many tanks and bruisers, however, it’s worth considering the second path, since it maximizes your damage.

Game plan

The game plan on Veigar is self-explanatory. Stack ability power. Veigar is meant to be a one-shot machine, that should be able to deal incredible damage to tanks and bruisers. For the first half of the game, you should aim to farm with your Baleful Strike (Q).

The late game is when it becomes tricky. You don’t have any engage tools besides your Event Horizon. But your ability is incredibly easy to dodge. Therefore, assess the options on your team and follow when they engage. Often, you will find a target that will fall down due to your wombo combo. Always go for the biggest enemy carry.

Kassadin

Pros

• One of the most powerful carries after level 16
• Mobile

Cons

• Easy to shut down early
• Mana-hungry
• Requires some time to master

With buffs to his E and Q in the latest patch, Kassadin once again returns to the list. And, quite frankly, the Void Walker has always been one of the most consistent mages in the game, especially when he reaches level 16. Now, though, he’s one of the most popular champions in the mid lane—and it’s no wonder.

Item build

On Kassadin, your main goal is to survive the early game without a scratch and get rolling as fast as possible, so you can get to level 16. This champ relies on bursting down his enemies with a combo of abilities, so having Electrocute to improve your damage dealt makes the most sense.

Kassadin, though, doesn’t have the best sustain, so picking Taste of Blood to increase his survivability is also advised. Next in line from the Domination tree, players should go for Eyeball Collection and Ultimate Hunter. The former will increase your adaptive damage, while the latter will lower the cooldown on your ultimate, which is essential to Kassadin’s kit. Both runes require scoring takedowns, however, so look for opportunities to start snowballing whenever you can. 

As for the filler runes, the best picks are Bone Plating and Overgrowth.

Ability priority

With the current state of the meta and Kassadin’s latest changes, the ability priority on him should be R>E>Q>W. Force Pulse (E) does wonders when it comes to wave clearing and will deal impressive amounts of damage in the early skirmishes. Later on, it’s best to go for Null Sphere (Q) to enhance your shutdown potential.

Game plan

As mentioned, Kassadin’s first priority is to get to level 16 as quickly as it’s possible. With the rune choices above, though, scoring takedowns and picking up kills will always give you the advantage. But that’s, of course, trickier said than done. 

Before you hit level six, you should coordinate with your jungler, depending on your matchup. This could allow you to score an enemy kill, but in most circumstances, it will help you make it through the early game. Once you reach level six, look for roaming opportunities both in the bot and top lane. With Kassadin’s ultimate, it’s easy to close the gap and finish off your squishy opponents.

In late-game teamfights, Kassadin’s goal should be to flank enemy carries, quickly take them out, and get out of the danger zone before it’s too late. With silence coming from your Q, enemies shouldn’t be able to escape you. When you reach your full build, you’ll be a one-man army.

Singed

Pros

• Tanky
• Really annoying for enemies
• Can easily pick off opponents

Cons

• Not that high damage
• Very tough to play once fallen behind

While he’s been a top laners’ favorite since he was added to the game, Singed has recently emerged as one of the best mid laners to pick in the meta. And while a lot of players have thought of him to be one of those short-term guests in that position, it seems like he’s here to stay for longer. 

Item build

When you think of Singed, Predator almost instantly comes to mind. Due to his kit, which shines in picking off enemies with speed and flipping them over to your side with Fling, there really is no better main rune for him than Predator. With it, you’ll have a unique enchantment on your boots, blessing them with the active ability to increase your speed while chasing enemies. Combine that with Ghost, his ultimate, and a few items that you might build on him, and you have one of the fastest champions in the game in your hands, ready to dive opponents. 

Singed’s enemies will often be impaired by his W, so it’s smart to pick Cheap Shot, to increase his damage against champs like that. Afterward, there are hardly any other viable options for him outside Eyeball Collection and Ultimate Hunter, which accelerate his snowball, by increasing damage and lowering the cooldown on your ultimate, respectively. 

As for the filler runes, it’s best to go for Celerity and Waterwalking from the Sorcery Tree, so that you gain extra movement speed and adaptive damage in the river.

Ability priority

There are a lot of champions in League with only one viable skill priority and Singed belongs to that group. Once playing him, players should take this order: R>Q>E>W. His Poison Trail (Q) is Singed’s main damage tool, which will also slow down enemies once you pick up items like Rylai’s Crystal Scepter. 

Game plan

Singed in the mid lane excels in roaming to other lanes. With Predator, Ghost, your ultimate, and some items that enhance your movement speed, like Chemtank Predator, which you should have in most matches, he can go from zero to high speed in a span of a second. With your tools, you shouldn’t have also many problems with locking in champions, especially those that don’t have many escape mechanics, so make sure to aid other lanes, especially past level six. 

Once the mid game comes around, Singed’s gameplay varies a bit when compared to other champs from the mid. Your damage won’t be high, and once you Fling one enemy, you basically don’t have much to do besides zoning enemies with your Poison Trail and Mega Adhesive. Therefore, you will be relying on the rest of your teammates to deliver the killing blow.

The key to playing Singed is watching the state of your game. If the enemy team has a fed, immobile AD carry, you should always go for them. Even if you trade lives, if the opponents rely on them, it will be in your favor. On the other hand, you might find yourself in matches where your strongest asset is one of your teammates, but the enemies have a lot of assassins and all-in champions that may go for them whatever it takes. In those cases, try to watch over your teammates and Fling any danger outside of their range, allowing them to safely do their thing, which is naturally dealing damage. 

Swain

Pros

• High burst and healing
• Long-range abilities
• Quite tough to kill

Cons

• Lacks mobility
• Hard to play from behind

Swain is yet another champion that rose in the rankings in the last few weeks after receiving a mid-scope update. The Noxian Grand General, similar to Taliyah, may be picked in a variety of roles, like top and support as well. Still, if you want to make the best use of him, we believe it’s wisest to choose him in the mid lane. Here’s what you should do to maximize his potential. 

Item build

Like many champions in the mid lane, your goal is to burst enemy squishy champs as fast as you can. Swain has many tools to delete opponents from the map, and to do it even faster and more efficiently, go for Conqueror from the Precision tree. With that, you’ll gain a Conqueror stack with every attack or spell toward enemy champions. And with Swain’s kit, you’ll be hitting them plenty. 

For an immobile, mana-devouring champion like Swain, there are only a few sensible options down the line from the Precision tree. Presence of Mind is one of them, which increases your mana regeneration by damaging enemies, simultaneously replenishing 15 percent of your maximum mana with every takedown. Legend: Tenacity and Coup de Grace, on the other hand, equip Swain with much-needed tenacity and influence his damage.

There are a few sensible options for the second tree, with a couple of runes from Sorcery being available and not that insensible to grab. Still, we believe that increasing your survivability and health throughout the game with Conditioning and Overgrowth works best since you’re going to be in the middle of teamfights for most of the game.

Ability priority

While playing Swain, players should prioritize R>Q>W>E. Like with many champs, Swain’s ultimate is his main source of damage and should always be maximized when given the chance. When it comes to regular skills, though, there’s no point in putting anything else over Death’s Hand (Q). It has a low cooldown, helps you clear waves, and is great in trades. Afterward, increasing the level of Vision of Empire’s (W) is the way to go since it has a long-range, slows down enemies, and gives Swain a Soul Fragment.  

Game plan

As Swain, you won’t have much trading potential early due to the long cooldown of your abilities. In most cases, you should be aiming to play safe, focus on farming, and stack your Tear of the Goddess. But don’t hesitate to invade or get involved in a play with your jungler or side laner since effective aggressive plays might bring you a Soul Fragment, and the earlier you start collecting them, the better for you. 

Not much changes in the mid game. Past the 15-minute-mark, teamfights around neutral objectives often start happening and you are more than welcome to participate in them. Although it’s important to underline that you don’t want to fall behind since it’s tough to come back as the Grand Noxian General. Thus, sometimes you might just choose to stay in lane and keep farming until you get a few items in your inventory and reach level 16.

Swain excels in the late game. With a full build, you should have enough sustain and damage to wreak havoc in teamfights. In most of them, you should try to get behind enemy lines to take down their carries. With Swain, though, it’s nearly impossible from the start due to his low mobility. The champion, however, should at that time have enough sustain to withstand the damage of the frontline, so you can just follow your teammates and take care of enemy bruisers and fighters first. Simultaneously, you have your Nevermove (E), with which you can catch enemy carries. 

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