Anivia: The Cryophoenix

In other words, the phoenix of ice. The phoenix is believed to be a symbol of passion. So what is the story behind Anivia?

In most lore, the phoenix is a creature of fire that rises from its own ashes. What few know, however, is that phoenixes are elemental beings, formed by the eternal essences of their native world. Anivia was conceived on a world such as this - a being of the coldest winter, a creature of pure elemental ice. On her world, Anivia was the protector of the frozen wastes and all those with the spirit to endure in such unforgiving places. She was consulted as a creature of great wisdom, one who could not die and who had seen the world renewed several times. Somehow, Anivia knew that the day would come when she would be plucked from her home and pulled across worlds, and when that day came, she received the call with grace. Seeing the imbalance and injustice on Runeterra, a world lacking elemental protectors, Anivia took her place at the League of Legends.

Since her arrival, the Cryophoenix has chosen to live among the highest peaks of the Northern Ironspike Mountains, adjacent to the frozen wastes of Freljord. She has openly claimed this territory as her own protectorate. Surprisingly, Anivia has struck up a friendship with the yeti of this region - a friendship that grows deeper and deeper with each passing moon. She has formed a close bond with two League champions: Nunu (and Willump) and the nomad princess Ashe. In a move that caught the League by surprise, the Cryophoenix recently entreated the summoners of the Institute of War to research a means in bringing across others of her elemental fellows. As a champion, Anivia is revered with a sense of awe by most, but is not the most popular as most consider her unapproachable.

Some say the world will end in fire, some in ice. Anivia awaits the inevitable latter.

Anivia can be a very strong champion to play in Summoner's Rift, if played correctly. Now this can be said for any champion, but Anivia is a bit harder in aspect. The image below are the stats and Riot's opinion of Anivia:

Even Riot agrees that Anivia's over all game play is very difficult. However if you can learn to play her to the best of her abilities, she is a beast! So how exactly do you play The Cryophoenix named Anivia? There is a certain order you must get your skills in and a item order you need to stick to as well.

So lets get right into breaking down her skills so you understand her better!

Anivia's Passive - Rebirth

Rebirth is a very interesting passive. It is one of a kind. Some passives in the game give extra damage or some special, like Karma's mantras give all her skills the ability to be a second skill. However, Karma has no ultimate. So Anivia's passive really shows her playing the role of a phoenix who is reborn from the ashes of what would normal be her own death! The skill says:
"Upon dying, Anivia will revert into an egg. If the egg can survive for six seconds, she is gloriously reborn." - This passive has a 4 minute cool down. so if she would have died but goes into egg form and is reborn, then she must wait 4 minutes before she has the ability to rely on not being killed right away. This is a very important tactic to keep in mind.

Anivia's first skill (Q) - Flash Frost

This skill allows you the ability to stun an opponent if you use it correctly. It says the following: "Anivia brings her wings together and summons a sphere of ice that flies towards her opponents, chilling and damaging anyone in its path. When the lance explodes it does moderate damage in a radius, stunning anyone in the area." I am not going to go into the numbers it does for damage but that gives you a basic idea of what the skill does.

Anivia's second skill (W) - Crystallize

This skill is basically a wall. It allows you to create an ice wall in a location of your choice, if you have range. This can be great for cutting off the opponents from getting away or to stop them from getting to your team as you guys make a get away. The skill reads as followed: "Anivia condenses the moisture in the air into an impassable wall of ice to block all movement. The wall only lasts a short duration before it melts."

Anivia's third skill (E) - Frostbite

This 3rd skill is normally used as a follow up to the Flash Frost. However I will break down how to use this skill properly in a real game, a bit later down in the guide. The skill says: "With a flap of her wings, Anivia blasts a freezing gust of wind at her target, dealing a medium amount of damage. If the target has been slowed by an ice effect, the damage they take is doubled."

Anivia's final skill, her Ultimate (R) - Glacial Storm

Anivia's ultimate is an AoE (Area of Effect). It is a very powerful skill but very expensive to use, if you use it to long. We will talk about the tactics and how to use this skill to your advantage during a live match, a bit later on. However the skill reads as the following: "Anivia summons a driving rain of ice and hail to damage her enemies and slow their advance."

The Items:

As you play League of Legends, you know that every champion needs certain items to help them do their role better. In the case of Anivia she needs ability power based items. So lets break down my recommended item build for you, when you play Anivia!

For a new player, who is also playing Anivia for the first time, I recommend this build:

So basically you get Doran's Ring, followed by Sapphire Crystal. Now here is something to keep in mind, if you are taking a lot of damage and you find that you need the health more than the mana, then get the ruby crystal first. So either Sapphire or Ruby crystal first, then you get the other or if you can afford to - you buy the catalyst out right. From there you get boots level 1 (Boots of speed).

Then you get a needlessly large rod and a blasting wand. These will build into your Deathcap. You then get your boots of swiftness and a negatron cloak. The catalyst and negatron cloak build into your next item, a banshees veil. From there you get another needlessly large rod and a chain vest, these build into your Zhonyas Hourglass. Now remember that Zhonyas Hourglass has an active effect. An active effect is an effect that you must activate. It is much different then a passive, which requires you to do nothing.

Zhonyas active effect can be very handy on Anivia, depending on who you are against. The next item you will get is an Abyssal scepter. The Abyssal scepter is a great item. It gives you ability power, magic resist and it will also lower the magic resistance of your enemies around you. Now you will see you have no room for more items.

So you will need to sell your Doran's ring to get your final item. Once you sell your Doran's ring, buy a blasting wand. If you can't afford your blasting wand yet, then you sold your doran's ring just a bit to soon. Now you need to save up your gold and finish buying the Void Staff. If your match is still going on after this point and you have a ton of gold, buy the potions in the consumable area.

Now if you are not a new player to League of Legends and you have played Anivia a bit, this is the build I recommend for you:

Ruby or Sapphire Crystal, depending which one you need first.Then build your Catalyst. From that point, you want to get a needlessly large rod and into your deathcap. Now, here is a situational thing for you to keep in mind. Get your boots when you think you need them. I am going to list boots of swiftness right after the deathcap though, cause I find that it tends to be good timing.

What I like to do next is another based on situation. I will generally get my needlessly large rod & chain vest, then build into my Zhonyas Hourglass. However, if I am taking a lot of damage, I will end up getting the needlessly large rod and finish my banshees veil that point.So it will basically be Zhonyas Hourglass and then Banshees Veil or vise versa. From that point you build into your abyssal scept and then finish off with a void staff. If your match is still going on by this point, then get some potions.

Now lets go into a live match! What do you want to do as Anivia? That will be a true challenge.

This is how you want to level up your skills:

Q-E-W-E-E-R-E-W-E-W-Q-Q-Q-Q-R-W-R-W

Now the best way to use your skills is to use Q (Flash Frost) to try to stun. If you can't stun them, that is ok. However use your E (Frostbite) to harass them. Do not worry about if you have hit them with your Q or not. Just use it to harass with. Now if you can hit them with Flash Frost, then try to follow up with Frostbite (Basically Q and then E).

The reason you level up wall (Crystallize) to level 3, right after maxing your E (Frostbite), is that a level 3 wall can block almost any where in the jungle. Making for the ability to stop the opposing team from running away or to help stop them from catching one of your team mates. Another thing, if you drop your R (Glacial Storm) just remember that it continues to eat your mana, the longer you run it. So try to not keep it on longer than needed and yes, you can use it for farming.

Try to get the blue buff as often as possible. Dont forget that your E deal extra damage if you use it as a follow up skill. So basically if one of the enemy teammates walks into your R (Glacial storm) and you can hit them with your E (Frostbite), then it will deal extra damage to them. This is something you want to keep in mind.

Masteries:

Runes:

These are the runes and masteries I use on Anivia and this is what I recommend for you to use. So I hope that helps you in your attempt to learn and play Anivia! Good luck summoners! I hope you enjoyed this blog! Remember to read Team Dignitas website every day and keep on the look out for the next gamer blog! Good luck and Good Games to all of you!