When you think of the mid lane you automatically think of Mages. However, who is to say that's the only class you can play there. I am sure that during your time in Smite, you've probably seen some off-the-wall type stuff. Assassins or Mages in solo, Warriors as a Support, and even Mages as Junglers. Most of the time some of these picks actually work!

Hunters in the midlane can also work in a composition, because they have:

• Better early clear,
• Higher lane pressure than their magical counterparts, and
• Global Ultimates that can better assist your teammates on the map. (Chern/Xbal/Neith)

If you're able to clear faster, you're able to hit more of the camps and receive XP faster than your opponent, thus putting you further ahead.

Let's take a look at a few examples of viable hunters in the midlane.

Neith is probably one of the stronger mid lane Hunter options. With her early combo of Backflip paired with Spirit Arrow, she will be able to burst down her wave much faster than most mages can at level 2. This allows her to rotate to the side camps and red buff faster between lane waves. She will generally gain XP faster this way and it will put her ahead. Her global ultimate (World Weaver) will allow her to either kill a low health target across the map or assist in getting her teammate a kill.

Either way, she will receive gold that will put her ahead without having to leave lane and miss out on important farm. Her self-heal (Unravel) allows her to stay in lane with self-sustain. If she uses it over minions and a broken Weave, she will gain more healing. Since she is a Hunter, her pressure on objectives is much higher than, let's say, an Agni or an Anubis mid, who generally have slower autos. If paired with a team composition correctly, Neith mid is super viable.

Ullr is also very strong in the midlane. Although he does struggle with mana a tad early, his clear is extremely strong. Between his Bladed Arrow and his Hail of Arrows, Ullr in Bow Stance can basically full clear a wave level 2 with ease. Like Neith, he is able to rotate to the objectives to stay ahead. Since Mages have a lower health pool, his combo (if done correctly) can easily 100-0 an opposing mid laner.

Thrown Axe paired with auto-attack canceling while you switch your stances to throw your 1, auto, and 3 will usually drop 99% percent of the Mages you'll be with in the midlane. Even though Ullr is a difficult God to play, but if played correctly, he can yield amazing results.

Chernobog also offers a lot in his kit to make him quite viable in the midlane. Crystallized Curses alongside his Vicious Barrage allows him to clear a wave pretty fast. Granting him the ability to clear his side camps and red buff all while not missing out on lane pressure. Since Mages are usually the go-to in the midlane, their AoE hitting abilities are usually used for poke and clear. Chern's Into Darkness allows him to instantly dash into the walls of the map, so he will not take their damage. This is essential for him because it means his opponent will not be able to poke him out as much as they want to.

More health means more time you can stay in lane to camp, thus putting you further ahead of your counterpart. If the enemy jungle ganks, a good Chern can dash into the wall and evade all of the abilities the enemy throws, while waiting for his cooldowns to come back if they were on cooldown before the dash. The best part of his kit that kind of made him a bit broken back in season 5 upon his release was his ultimate Living Nightmare.

Chern can globally teleport to one of his shadow's that follow all the enemies on the map. His shadows slow them for 4% for 6 seconds that stacks 4 times! Upon landing his cooldowns are refreshed, he gains up to 30% mitigations and 30% bonus movement speed. He can gank anywhere on the map while slowing all enemies. They reduced his mitigations, but it is still pretty strong. This makes him an amazing and strong pick for the midlane.

Jing Wei isn't a bad option either. Her clear isn't the best, but with her passive (Rapid Reincarnation), she is able to fly directly to lane, which allows her to back, finish items faster, and not miss out on precious farm. She will be able to never miss a wave or a jungle objective with it, she's able to gank other lanes quickly, and then return to base so she can fly right back to lane.

Once she has an item or so, her clear is much better, and since she is still a Hunter, she is able to take objectives faster than most mages in the midlane. She is a super high mobility Hunter as well, so if the enemy jungle does gank her, she can either use her Agility or her Air Strike to do damage and/or get away. She is almost ungankable if played correctly. This, however, will put the pressure of the enemy jungler in other lanes on the map.

These are just some of the Hunters that work in mid. As you're well aware, if you have a physical damage dealer in the midlane, the composition of your team might have to be switched up a little. Introducing a Magical Jungler could help this situation out really well, especially if your jungler is a Mage and is able to gank your lane. Your damage plus their burst AoE would be catastrophic for your opponent. Comfort picks in any lane tend to work out if you're not super heavily countered, but be sure to give these a try and switch it up. Who knows, maybe you'll find a new main in your role!

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