Mid lane is oftentimes one of the most impactful roles in the game of League of Legends and has one of the largest Campion pools in the game. With the meta of the game always evolving and shifting it can be difficult to pick up the position due to all the character changes. Fear not, this list goes over five mid laners who are strong in the current meta that makes it easy to get started in the position!
Mid lane can be one of the more daunting roles to pick up in League of Legends. This is typically due to the responsibilities that the role carries with it and the access that other players have to the lane, leading to ganks and roams. However, one thing that can make the role a bit easier is understanding the meta and what champions are good and a given time. Not all characters require an insane amount of mechanical skill either, some great mid laners are very simple and easy-to-play champions. This list is going to cover five mid laners that are easy to pick up and very strong in the meta right now.
Starting this list, we have quite possibly the strongest character on this list currently, Annie. Annie is such an intuitive character and is extremely simple to pick up for people looking to play mid lane because her kit is so straightforward and very strong. Her passive allows her to take trades at early levels consistently without having to worry about losing them, and in late-game skirmishes, it’s a fantastic tool for her team to initiate and swing fights in her favor.
In the early game, Annie can be played both aggressively and reactively based on the matchup she is in. Against melee or late-game champions, she can take advantage of her range and build stacks of her passive to take favorable trades. Q > W > AA, is her bread-and-butter combo, since most times you will be taking the Electrocute Keystone and will need to fit that third attack in there to proc the rune. If in a matchup that abuses Annie’s one-dimensional playstyle, she can just farm with her Q since the mana on it is refunded if it kills its target.
Mid-game, it’s a good idea (like any mid-laner) to look for roams to other lanes since her Ultimate is great at initiating fights since it can proc her passive and cause a mass AOE stun that does tons of damage. It’s important to look at the mini-map and see where the other lane’s waves are to make sure they are not too pushed up, so your roam has a higher chance of success. Late game, it’s important to understand that while your Ultimate is great for initiating fights, Annie is not a tank or a bruiser and she struggles to close in gaps to get a valuable stun off in fights. Instead, wait until your team initiates the fight, then use Annie’s E to speed up and close in the gap to get better use out of your Ultimate or W for that sweet AOE stun.
Nine times out of ten you are going to want to take the Domination Tree, with Electrocute as your keystone, as it compliments Annie’s kit well since you are guaranteed to get three attacks off thanks to her passive. For itemization, going Luden’s Tempest is usually Annie’s best choice since the burst damage it provides helps her combos even more, however, Liandry’s Anguish is a good second option, but that’s only if they have three or more tanks, and your team is heavy AP. For the second and third items, Shadowflame into Zhonya’s Hourglass, is typically what you will look to build, but you can pick up a Seeker’s Armguard early on before Shadow Flame if the enemy team is heavy AD or you are laning against an AD assassin like Zed.
Next up we have Malzahar, who has been quite a strong pick for a very long time now. Malzahar’s gameplay focuses heavily on DoT damage and CC. He can linger around in lane thanks to the auto farming that his W and E offer. In addition, he can be quite difficult to gank thanks to the Silence that his Q offers, and the constant spell shield he gets from his Passive.
Early game when playing Malzahar is straightforward: just farm. While it might seem a bit boring, Malzahar’s all-in potential is a bit lackluster until he gets his ultimate, and even then, that is best used to set up for ganks, not 1v1 situations. Instead focus on farming with your kit, since the duration of Malzahar’s E is reset when it kills a unit or the target it is affecting is hit by his Q. In unison with his W, Malzahar can delete waves very fast, shoving opponents under tower, and denying them gold.
Mid-game Malzahar will usually have the gold advantage if the lane is played correctly allowing him to look for roams or focus map objectives. Taking Teleport allows you to be a constant threat on the map after roaming, since most of the time you are going to force your opponent under tower with your superior wave clear. This allows you to shove a wave, look for a roam, then teleport back to the lane without missing the next wave. Late-game Malzahar is very good in teamfights since his Ultimate can set up free picks for his team. In addition to this, making sure his E is constantly on an enemy is very easy since his cooldowns are going to be lower by this time in the game, allowing you to consistently refresh his E with his Q, and sometimes even have your E on two different targets at once.
For your Runes, you are going to want to take the Sorcery Tree with Summon Aery as your keystone. It allows you to have consistent poke damage with your E and Q and does not have a long cooldown like Arcane Comet. For your Mythic item, Liandry’s Anguish is the best pick for Malzahar, since it works in great unison with his DOT damage. For the second and third items, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter is a great second item since it will give your E a constant slow if it is on anyone. For your third item if you are ahead, going Demonic Embrace is your best bet, however, if you are behind or need the situational armor or heal cut, Zhonya’s Hourglass or Morellonomicon are good options too.
Wrapping things up with the mages and casters of this list we have Veigar. Always a strong pick, Veigar is a menace in the current meta due to his versatility and scaling. He provides consistent burst damage throughout the entire game, and even when he falls behind, his infinite scaling ability thanks to his passive can keep him in the game and allow his team to come back. He is another very straightforward character for players to pick up, particularly support players who are filling or switching to mid lane.
Early in the game, Veigar wants to focus on poking enemies with his abilities and farm with his Q to gain stacks of his passive. For those who are unaware, Veigar’s passive grants him 1 ability power every time he hits an enemy with one of his abilities, gets a takedown, or kills an enemy with a minion or monster with his Q (2 stacks if it is a big minion or monster). Focusing on stacking this passive is the goal of Veigar’s early game. If against a mobile or difficult matchup, it is best to just sit back and farm with Q or poke with it since that grants a stack of his passive as well.
Mid-game, once you have sufficient stacks, it is time to follow the mid lane trend and look for roams to assist your team. Veigar’s E spawns a large cage around an area, and anyone that touches the walls of this cage is stunned. Roaming while enemy laners are pushed up and using this to trap them, allowing allies to confirm kills can heavily sway the game in your favor. In late game you will have hopefully gained enough stacks through roaming and farming, providing insane amounts of burst damage. Like roaming, placing your E down in the middle of fights can separate the enemy team. Veigar primarily looks to pick off squishy targets with his Ultimate since it is an execute, so separating the enemy carry from a fight, then bursting them down can single handily win the game for your team.
Veigar has a lot of options for his runes since his kit mainly relies on his passive for scaling and damage. First Strike, Electrocute, and Dark Harvest are all great options for keystones depending on what the matchup is. For items, Veigar has a lot of options for this as well. The three best Mythic items for Veigar currently are Luden’s if you need burst damage and the enemy team has no tanks, Rod of Ages for consistent scaling and damage, or Everfrost for CC and combos. For your second and third items, going Seraph’s into Rabadon’s Deathcap is the most reliable build path, picking up Zhonya’s third if the defense is needed.
Looking at the only AD champion on this list we have Pantheon. Pantheon excels in the mid-lane because his kit allows him to poke and combo champions that might out-range and damage other characters, while also winning trades and dealing massive damage. In addition to this, he probably has the best roaming potential out of all the characters on this list thanks to his Ultimate.
Early game, Pantheon wins most trades if played correctly thanks to his passive. His empowered W allows him to deal good damage while also adding stacks for his next empowered ability. A good combo for trading is (P)W > AA > Q > E. This combo provides great damage for trades, while also ensuring you don’t take damage since your E protects you from the front. This combo also sets up your passive again, allowing you to poke or execute enemies with another Q.
Mid game looking for roams with your Ultimate is essential when playing Pantheon. It allows you to react very quickly when an enemy is pushed up too far, and capitalize immediately, giving your other lanes an advantage, this is especially important when you are ahead in the lane. Late game, look to hop on carries in the back line with your W, allowing your team to all in and take advantage of your CC. Make sure you E immediately after though to mitigate any damage you would take, while also front lining for your team.
In the mid lane, Pantheon’s go-to Keystone is Press the Attack, since his empowered W immediately procs the rune, allowing him to capitalize and deal massive damage. For items, Pantheon’s first two items should be Eclipse into Black Cleaver. The armor reduction you get from the combination of these two items is extremely strong. For its third item, Pantheon has a lot of options, if you are looking for durability, Death’s Dance is your best bet. For mobility and utility, Spear of Shojin or Youmuu’s Ghostblade. Blade of the Ruined King is also a great option for dueling. It all comes down to matchup or preference.
Finally, our last easy mid laner to look to pick up is Malphite. While he is typically seen in the top lane, as of the past few patches Malphite mid has been showing up more and more. This is because he has a great poke with his Q and great durability with his passive against AD characters like Zed, Yasuo, and Akshan. His roaming is also very good when using his ultimate, which often sets up free kills for your teammates. He can also build a variety of items while also being useful for his team whether that be full damage, tank, or a combination of the two.
Early game for Maphite can be rough in some matchups if he gets out-ranged, however, this can be played around. Using his Q allows him to close in on mages with less mobility than him since he steals movement speed. Once you are in range using W and E allows him to easily win trades against squishy mages or assassins. Once he gets his Ultimate, he can win trades more and set up easy ganks for his jungler.
Mid-game Malphite’s roaming is very strong since the range of his Ultimate allows him to initiate from far distances and set other lanes up for success. His follow-up is also great since his Q slows enemies, allowing him to stick to them while his team follows up. Late game, when playing Malphite, you should always be the one looking to initiate and set up fights for your team. Your Ultimate sets up these situations perfectly, so make sure to communicate with your team and then go all in and initiate these skirmishes for them.
Malphite’s main rune most of the time that he will be taking is Arcane Comet. This is due to the consistent poke damage it provides since the comet is guaranteed to land most of the time when using Q. For items if going full tank, Iceborn Gauntlet into Sunfire Aegis, then either Thornmail or a Force of Nature depending on the enemy team composition. If going full AP, Luden’s Tempest into Shadowflame then Zhonya’s Hourglass is the best path that provides great damage while still giving some durability.
Mid lane is one of the most important roles in League of Legends. Understanding the meta and knowing which champions are strong is important when picking any role, but it doesn’t always have to be a difficult task. Hopefully, this list has made narrowing down the choices easier, while also providing a great pool of options!
