Over the past few years, a unique adaptation that we’ve seen become more prominent in Pro League of Legends is the switching of the AP-Carry down Bot Lane, while the AD-Carry, or Marksmen, runs Mid. Vladimir, Cassiopeia, Viktor, and Syndra were all once common faces filling the Bot Laner role over Marksmen a year or two ago.

However, the tried-and-true Marksmen can’t be replaced. Their consistency, near unavoidable damage, and the raw skill of Pro Level Marksmen kept the class relevant before eventually Riot stepped in with a sweep of changes that shifted power to a more balanced state between Mages, Marksmen, and others down Bot.

And though Mages never became staple Bot Laners as some would have liked, the unchecked presence and power of AD Mids has started to shine and keep Mage Bots relevant. Corki, Zed, Yasuo, Yone, Talon, and Viego have become consistent and successful Mid Lane selections both in Solo-Queue and in the Pro-Scene. Further, strategies that feature a Bruiser alongside ‘Fasting Senna’ have come into focus as more Pros and Solo-Queue grinders realize that Senna can work with more than just TK, thus increasing the diversity of picks. Even further, double Support lanes echoing the effectiveness of the dreaded Sona-Taric occasionally creep into prominence in particular matchups.

All that to say, at this moment in time, we’re at a point where the diversity and potential in Bot is the highest it’s ever been. And this raw potential has brought many to off-role the lane, serving to keep the diversity alive and well.

But, with such a wide range, it’s often difficult to narrow down the effective strategies and find what can actually work for the average player. Relying on theories only gets you so far. So, we’re unpacking those theories today. We’re going to narrow down to the Mage picks and focus on what Mages are the most effective in Solo-Queue. We’ll also break down why Mages are good, what the trade-offs, strengths, and weaknesses are in comparison to taking a traditional Marksman, and how to properly implement a Mage into a draft.

Mages vs. Marksmen - The Pros and Cons

So, before we get anywhere else, let’s first talk about the trade offs of Mages in Bot.

In most matchups, Mages possess far higher base damage, harder crowd-control, and further range than Marksmen through the early-game. With this in mind, Mages will almost always win in a short-trade situation versus a Marksman. So, your typical strategy is looking to abuse this fact by poking and bullying your opponents out of lane to create advantage. Either by harassing them straight out of lane, or just simply having them miss massive amounts of CS from your pressure, in a Mage vs. Marksman situation, your goal is to put an already item dependent class further behind from reaching their power spike via dominating the lane. While as a Mage, a class that values early items and levels, you can then dictate the early and mid-game tempo to hopefully close out early or set yourself into a near impossible to beat late-game.

But don’t let this paint Mages in dominant light however. When running a Mage Bot, the trade off is that your control of Dragon is near-zero if your Jungler or Mid isn’t supplying DPS. That same front-end and short-burst damage that makes a Mage so deadly in lane, is their weakness when contesting the neutral. Further, Mages are typically skill-shot reliant. So, if you’re contesting a neutral objective and you whiff your combos on an approaching opponent, or worse blow them to burn down the objective, the window for the enemy to act on you is far larger than it would be if you were a Marksman. Whiffed combos mean your damage AND zone control are on cooldown.

Marksmen have the advantage of nearly all their damage being tied into their auto-attacks. Which, unless you’re Jhin, autos have no cooldown and can be constantly thrown out if in range. This makes their Dragon secures faster, this makes extended fight situations favor them heavily, and in most cases, their scaling is typically far better than that of a Mage.

To continue on with scaling, I mentioned that Mages typically favor level spikes over item spikes. Well, in a duo lane, you’re forced to split experience. (Unless you have that Bard that ‘roams for chimes’ and never comes back.) The extra set-up and protection of a Support comes at the cost of experience, so in this way, you’re delaying a bit of the strongest points of a Mage’s design. And though you’re covering for some weaknesses (mobility & fragility) and accenting their strengths (setting up their high damage combos), this is still a noticeable trade-off when comparing yourself to the traditional Marksman that doesn’t care about levels and who relies solely on items. So, in an entirely neutral situation with even CS, even kills and assists, and even Dragons, Marksmen are winning since their scaling win-con is always a factor.

Finally, in a similar light to the Dragon control, most Mages do not push Turrets well. Though turrets now factor an attacker's AP when getting pushed, it takes far too long for Mages to reach a breaking point where their damage is relevant. Additionally, their lack of attack speed doesn’t do them any favors in making quick transition takes for turrets following objectives or won skirmishes, or if trying to make a response play elsewhere.

To Summarize:

Pros for Mage Bots:

• Higher base values means strong early-to-mid game
• Strong Poke/Burst. Typically wins shorter trades.
• Setup and protection from Support accents strengths and covers weaknesses.
• High zone pressure when in control of an area/pressuring under turret

Cons for Mage Bots:

• Dragon control is low if the team doesn’t supply DPS from Mid/Jungle
• Split experience with a Support typically delays ever important level spikes that Mages care about
• Unless they are a hard scaling pick, they are losing in ‘even’ situations against Marksmen.
• Damage and zone control are often tied into the same combo. If this is down, they provide neither until it’s off CD.
• Lack turret siege power.

Drafting a Mage Bot

It goes without saying that Solo-Queue and Pro LoL are entirely different beasts. Even when it boils down to drafting. And that’s unfortunately where the first ‘slip’ when it comes to picking a Mage for Bot begins.

Typically, Mages are selected in an effort to round out a team's damage, or to act as a flex threat to open into counter-pick situations. The flex potential of a Mage creates what is called ‘draft advantage’, meaning, the enemy team is likely unaware what lane you are going as an early pick Mage. Typically, players see traditional Mage picks and assume they’re Mid Lane. So, with the selection of a Mage early, you’ve created a small bit of advantage for yourself from the draft stage in this regard.

Regardless of advantage though, when you’re trying to implement a Mage into the Bot Lane, this is one of the few times that I would actively encourage being extremely vocal with your team. By letting them know that you can play both Mages and traditional Marksmen, you can get your team on the tempo of creating that draft advantage. The situation can roll out like this for example:

• You hover Syndra when placed into Bot, you’re last pick Red Side, and chat something like: “I can play Syndra/Cassio if we end up needing AP.”
• Your Mid Laner is in first rotation. A quick online scout says they’re a Yone one-trick. You say, “Grab me Syndra. I have all and we’ll get you the best matchup possible.”

From the go, this proposed situation is great for you. The situation can then fold out with your Mid going along with the idea and grabbing you your pick, while you communicate and adapt their pick to what you see from the enemy. Which is typically a ‘draft victory’ for your side. Even if the matchup isn’t a hard counter for your Mid, getting your players on their ideal/comfort Champions is always a win.

Or, to mention the worst of this situation, they shut down the idea entirely and decide to blind their Mid. Should they decide to play AP, you can flex yourself to a Marksmen accordingly to keep the damage spread diverse. Even if this situation folds out, keeping the communication open and the flexibility clear is worth it.

The Best Options

There are three absolute studs leading the way when it comes to Mage Bot Laners right now. Beyond them, there are a host of historically good picks and viable options that you can take depending on your familiarity, the matchup, or your skill with the Champion.

We’ll focus on our Big 3 first and we’ll lead the way with my pride and joy, Swain.

Swain, the Noxian Grand General

Swain has spread his demonic wings down Bot and has really started to shine as the best APC option available in the lane. Why for? Well, his ability to abuse short-ranged, low mobility ADCs and melee Supports is why. Swain’s E, Nevermove, is the perfect ability to punish these low range Champions. When they go to look for Quest Procs or Last Hits, Swain simply has to step up and fling his E. If it hits, he’s guaranteed to land his full rotation of spells, proccing Electrocute in the process, and almost always getting a kill when in tandem with his Support. At worst, he has bullied the enemy back to base for daring to farm in his presence.

Swain’s mid-game transition is next to none as well. With Liandry’s providing that ever valuable burn for tanks and squishies alike, and Zhonya’s allowing him to position aggressively while remaining completely safe, Swain can dominate neutral fights around Dragon and Baron. Though he lacks the impact of a Vayne or Cassiopeia come late-game, he makes up for it with his ability to scout with his W, and set up picks off his E.

The knocks on Swain are rather apparent and despite his staggering win-rate as of 11.9, there are windows to play around his abilities. So, whether we’re looking to abuse Swain or if we’re matching against him, let’s clear those up so we’re all better for it.

Firstly, Swain’s overall weakness is found in his lack of mobility. Unlike every other Champion that gets reworked, Riot deemed it too OP for Swain to have a resetting dash. So, he is a stationary target come fight time. Zhonya’s Hourglass is the only form of anti-burst evasiveness he has, and though this combo in tandem with his ult is devastating, if Zhonya’s is down it’s your window to go and abuse him.

Secondly, Grievous Wounds works wonders against Swain. Though it’ll pivot Mages and Marksmen of their core path to pick it up early, grabbing it sooner rather than later against Swain will benefit you immensely. Early Grievous against Swain nix’s his ult’s and passive’s ability to sustain him when getting engage on, and overall increase his fragility in fights.

Finally, Swain, like every other Mage not named Cassiopeia, is nothing without his combo. When forced to fish for himself in lane, if and when he whiffs his Nevermove (E), that’s your window to go in. Without Nevermove, he is forced to rely solely on auto-attacks, his Q, and his slow winding W, and his surest method of proccing Electrocute is gone. This removes the entirety of his front-end burst, making the fight an extended situation that you can come out on top of.

Veigar, the Tiny Master of Evil

Perhaps the hardest scaling option available out of the FOTM Mages, Veigar is a decent mix between our first and third primary picks for Mage Bot Laners.

Due to his passive, Phenomenal Evil Power, whenever Veigar lands a successful ability or scores a takedown with his abilities, Veigar receives a permanent buff to his over Ability Power. This effect alone encourages the poke and push style of play that Mages are so effective with in Bot, and when you consider Veigar’s unique ability to back his early game with late-game payoff, it’s no wonder that he’s second only to Swain on 11.9’s win rates.

Beyond his passive however, there’s still a lot to love about Veigar’s kit from a Bot Laner perspective. His Q, Baleful Strike, is a simple single-line skill shot that can be used to last hit and stack his passive quite effectively. As an added bonus, it passes through the first target it hits while hitting a second target behind the first. Lining this skill to last hit and poke is a valuable skill to master in this regard.

His W, Dark Matter, is an effective wave control and poke tool. His W allows Veigar to stay safe behind his Minion line or allows him to follow up on from a safe distance with his Support. And again, every time he lands a damaging ability on a Champion, Veigar ticks that passive up so this is a great piece as his long-range poke tool.

Veigar’s E, Event Horizon, (the Baby Cage as many refer to it), is an excellent zone control tool on its own, but when paired with a Support that can disrupt or CC, Veigar can easily position the cage so that its outer ring hits the target, providing another 1.5 to 2.5 (based on ability level) stun to the target. Follow his E up with a W and Q and your opponent is either bullied out or extremely poked down. And like Swain, though not ideal, he can position his cage to initiate exchanges in Bot, allowing his Support to find the better angle to engage or forcing a positioning error out of his opponents.

Finally, damage exposes enemies to the most fun and interactive ability in the game, Veigar’s Ult, Primordial Burst. A point and click execute ability, meaning damage is calculated off of the target’s missing health, Veigar’s ult is the perfect finisher button for the tiny terror to quickly cap a low health target. Scaling off both the missing health and his own AP means that as the game rolls on, this ult only gets deadlier and his ability to solo one-shot carries only goes up. And if anyone applies the same focus to a target as Veigar does, that Champion is straight GONE at the mid to late stages of the game, be they Tank, Assassin, Mage, Marksmen, Enchanter, or otherwise.

However, much like Swain, Veigar has some clear weaknesses. Firstly, mobility again is always going to be an issue for Veigar to overcome. Though he values the extra protection from a Support, if Veigar is setup, he’s likely going to have to burn his Flash or die due to his glass bones and paper skin.

Secondly, Veigar is a scaling laner so that means he lacks a lot of raw power early. Though he’s capable of poking and prodding his way to an amazing late-game, Veigar’s lack of early game oomph can be heavily preyed upon with aggressive play. Though his Event Horizon can dissuade this, calculated effort to play around or bait the cooldown can mean big things for those wanting to take the lead early. And remember, the stun only hits if you step into the outer wall of the ring, this means you still have the ability to shimmy his Q and W from within the ring, so once the walls drop, it’s a perfect opportunity to go-in since he likely attempted his full rotation while you were zoned in.

Finally, GA, Zhonya’s, Quicksilver, and Cleanse are all Veigar’s bane. The ability to nullify his baby-cage with items and Summoner Spells is invaluable since almost all of his setup comes from the effects of his E. Getting rid of the set up puts him on a two-ability Champion until you’re in execute range. And even then with Zhonya’s or GA, you can soak those abilities causing Veigar to lose out in the long-run.

Seraphine, the Starry-Eyed Songstress

I begrudgingly have to include Seraphine into another article. Her results as the third best Mage option are too real to deny. And yes, Seraphine is a Mage. Though she’s often fashioned as a Support and Enchanter, the Popstar was released and is balanced with the intention of her rolling Mid over any other role.

Regardless, Seraphine is an excellent option as a Mage Bot Laner due to her extensive range, sustain, and naturally her ultimate. Providing an already safe Champion a more effective environment to reach her fight warping potential is a more than viable strat.

Sera’s passive, Stage Presence, operates much like Sona’s passive in that it stacks and empowers Seraphine once she reaches the mark. Unlike Sona who only receives an auto-attack enhancement however, Seraphine receives an entire ability enhancement from this effect based on each of her abilities, excluding her ult. Additionally, she also receives the auto-attack enhancement that Sona does, however hers is more conditional in that she needs to be near an ally to receive the additional damage and range that the enhancement provides.

Sera’s Q, High Note, is a long range skill-shot that works as a wave-clear and poke tool. It compares very much to Neeko Q in terms of execution and visuals. When empowered by Stage Presence, High Note gains an additional ripple effect that extends the splash radius of the initial pop of the spell.

Sera’s W, Surround Sound, shields and hastes nearby allies. If Sera herself is already shielded she then heals allies that are immediately around her in a Redemption-esque effect. When empowered by her passive, Surround Sound grants Sera a shield on cast and queues up her healing effect. This is a perfect tool to soak a bit of extra damage in a fight, get a passive auto-attack empowerment, and help reposition in a fight should you be aggressed on.

Sera’s E, Beat Drop, is a long range and narrow skill shot that is Sera’s primary follow-up tool. By itself, Beat Drop applies a slow to the enemies that it ripples through. Should it ripple through an already CC’d enemy however, that target will be rooted in place. And this works off of ANY crowd-control. Hard CC, like stuns or displacements, or Soft CC like slows. When empowered by Stage Presence, Beat Drop sends out an extra ripple right behind the initial one, essentially giving Sera access to that root should she not have a teammate able to set it up.

Finally there’s Encore, Sera’s Ult. Seraphine fires a wide wave forward (similar to Sona’s ult) that deals magic damage. Any enemies struck by the wave are Charmed for a few seconds, as well as being slowed and revealed in the process. Additionally, should Sera’s ultimate pass through either an ALLY or ENEMY Champion, the range of the ult will extend causing a cascading effect as it passes through targets. Meaning, that it will pass through every target in a line until it runs out of targets to pass through.

Sera’s ultimate allows her to position in the back of a fight, extend her abilities through her team and into her enemies to major disrupt and turn pivotal engagements in her favor. When you couple this with the layering from her Q, W, and E, she provides herself not only with extra damage but also defensive boots and setup opportunities with her other abilities. Overall, Sera’s kit is a bit overloaded in terms of potential.

Thankfully, there are ways to play around all this layering and the broken nature of her ultimate. Firstly, Sera is very much a team focused pick. In Solo-Queue, especially at lower ELOs, lane dominance can be enough to roll over a game. Seraphine doesn’t necessarily provide the raw damage output that Veigar or Swain does to truly carry a skirmish on her own. So, if she’s set behind early, she very much needs her team to support her to relevancy again.

Piggybacking further off the team reliance, though her ult is dynamic and game changing, it is again a tool that’s best used when fighting in big teamfight situations. So, if you lock Seraphine alongside a comp that features heavy split pushers, you’re not really going to be utilizing Sera’s kit to its fully potential. She bests slots into Wombo-Combo, or at worst, 4-1 comps that are looking to contest neutrals regularly as a unit.

Secondly, Sera herself is fragile and lacks mobility. Though her W can provide that little extra shield and speed boost to help her catch an angle, should she be combo’d or caught off-guard, there’s little that Sera can do since she isn’t going to pack the same front-end burst that other Mages provide. This again routes back to her team-reliance on needing to be protected and positioning in such a way that covers this weakness. A lone Seraphine is often a dead Seraphine if you can factor in her passive.

Finally, Seraphine, despite being a Mage, is going to build as a Support would. Featuring Moonstone or Mandate, Sera is going to lack the raw damage of any other Mage pick. Her playstyle and abilities edge on the Enchanter spectrum, and though her numbers imply that she’s a Mage, it’s better to build and play to how her kit actually functions vs. playing to the numbers behind them. So, in any situation where she’s featured as the primary farmer/carry Bot, there’s likely going to be a lack of overall damage coming out of her team.

Quick Honorable/Historical Mentions

Cassiopeia - The closest thing that you can get to a Marksman like APC. She scales well, can shred tanks, and dissuades the ‘go forward’ strategies prevalent in Solo-Queue. Conqueror and Phase Rush are viable options on her as Keystones.

Syndra - If pick and burst are your game, Syndra’s your main. Though a bit mana hungry early, Syndra, off the back of a Support, can easily hit a full rotation of her spells and drop enough orbs to clean up anyone that would come her way. Electrocute for more burst play and Phase Rush for a more defensive option are open to her.

Viktor - The glorious revolution definition appreciates scaling and protection to reach his unique Hexcore enhanced abilities. Now reworked to operate more like a Veigar or Nasus passive, Viktor lacks the raw damage that he once did from the Bot Lane, but can more than make up for it with his ability to manage waves and come online a bit faster than he used to. Comet, Electro, or Phase Rush are all viable options on him.

Neeko - Neeko is more burst focused than most Bot Mages, and lacks a bit of range in the poke department. However, if she’s paired with an aggressive all-in Support like Leona, the two can lock up and knock down any would be carry when Neeko opts for Electrocute or Dark Harvest. Additionally, her W’s passive helps with the turret pushing angle, helping cover for the overall weakness that Mages bring into the game.

Closing the Book

That wraps everything up. You’ve got the how, the why, and the best picks to pull off the Mage Bot strategy right now! I highly doubt any of these picks will change in terms of potential. If anything, our Honorable Mentions might step up a tier as the patches continue to roll out.

I hope all of this information helps you guys in implementing your magical prowess in Bot, and I encourage you all to keep exploring the options available to you. Bot Lane is wide open and you never know if you’ll find that secret OP pick that can bring the LP Gods to smile upon you.

Anyway, good luck on Summoner’s Rift guys. Have an excellent day!