Tips and Tricks for Mages in League of Legends with Yusui
Yusui sits down with me to cover everything you need to know about Mages in League of Legends. From their strengths and weaknesses to how to approach laning and teamfights with the class!
Hey everyone! We’re back again with another Tips and Tricks piece! This time covering the much requested Mage Class and Yusui is riding side-saddle with me on this one to help us cover all the highs, lows, dos and don’ts!
I’ll preface this and say, Mages are kinda bad right now. So, it might be hard to be super positive about the Class overall. But, Riot acknowledges that, right? Considering all the Preseason changes that are coming up. But yeah, I don’t think Mages are super strong, but there are some exceptions.
With that said, let’s talk about the mindset behind the Mage Class in League, and what type of player might be attracted to the playstyle.
The Playstyle of a Mage in League of Legends
Every game that centers themselves around Classes and Archetypes is going to have a generalized theme that they can’t really escape. Think about Tropes, if you will. The Sneaky Rogue, the Grizzled Fighter, the Glass-Cannon Spellcaster. All these are design spaces that find themselves into games that possess combat elements since it’s a clean way to design how gameplay should play out.
League is no exception to this design space, and in fact, Designers typically approach their yearly releases with the goals of: “Hey we’re releasing this Mage, this Assassin, and this Fighter within ___ span of the year!” And so, we get the clue that even they hold up to these trope spaces from other games and media.
So, what is the playstyle of a Mage in League and who would gravitate towards it?
I remember that last time I mentioned that Assassins would draw in the play-making types of players. But, if you like a more methodical style of play that’s about taking resources, controlling space, and you want to be able to just totally 1v5 a fight because you spent the whole game farming and getting all the resources, you’re going to like playing Mages. It’s a very rewarding and low-risk style of play if you really get good at it. Your games won’t be as explosive, so you won’t be an Assassin-Montage-Player, as much.. But, it’s a more consistent way to completely carry a game if you push to your limits. You will be able to have more overall impact on the game, in teamfights in particular, as a Mage.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Generally speaking, the biggest strength of the Mage Class as a whole is their ability to control areas. Be that areas of a fight or areas of a map. Mages will almost always have some ranged ability that has a lot of threat. Like, Anivia’s Wall and Stun combo, or Ori’s ball just sitting in a chokepoint and no one can walk in due to her ultimate.
Additionally, Mages typically have better crowd-control setup for their Junglers. Champions like Syndra or Lissandra carry near-instant ability to CC and opponent for Gank setup. So, Mages combo nicely with Junglers to take over the early game. So, Mages are typically easier to play around when it comes to ganking or dueling near Mid!
In terms of weaknesses, Mages suffer when it comes to mobility. While some Mages, like Lissandra, have tools in their arsenal to close the gap quickly on their opponents for damage and setup, most are lacking and really have difficulty getting onto priority targets. This makes the Mage play-style really centered around vision control and setup, tying nicely into Yusui’s note about area control. If you don’t get a grasp of these areas of the game, then you’ll largely be outshined as a Mage in terms of your contribution to a team.
Mages are a resource heavy class and you have to play pretty selfishly as a Mage Player. Levels, gold, and items are super important to Mages. And to not get outclassed come mid-game, you really want to have set yourself up and dominated the early game to succeed.
This is part of the problem with Mages currently. To be effective, they have to play the early phases near perfectly, or they’ll find themselves in harder positions to make an impact. But, if you like the generally high demand yet methodical play pattern that is commonly themed with this class, you’ll really find yourself enjoying Mages overall.
Mage Archetypes
Burst Mages
Burst is probably the most common thing associated with Mages. Pop and pick style of play is very popular and really is one of the main draws of the class overall. And honestly, every mage type kinda trends towards this direction as items get completed and as games go on. But, there are a few Mages that bring burst to the forefront of their kits and are designed to really key into the insta-nuke pattern of play from as early as level 6.
Burst Mage play patterns typically revolve around keeping control of enemy vision and setting up, in, and around tight corners to get the jump on opponents that are wandering where they shouldn’t, or they’re about straight rush and popping down a solo opponent that’s stepped too close to their vicinity. Burst Mages typically possess a minor poke ability, a hard CC ability, and then their big damage buttons of their third ability plus their ultimate. Occasionally, a burst Mage might possess a tricky gap closing ability that allows them to swiftly get on top of their opponents to help them pop their foes.
In terms of identity, they closely resemble Assassins in terms of play patterns. Due to their medium to short ranges, they most closely mirror this design space as they typically catch their opponents in near or close to melee range. So, if you’re a natural Assassin main, maybe picking up a Burst Mage into your pool can help keep things diverse in terms of gameplay and matchups for you?
Common Burst Mages are: Annie, Neeko, Veigar, and the dreaded Zoe.
Artillery Mages/Poke Mages
If sitting back and chucking spells is your go-to way to play any game, you’ll likely find yourself drawn towards Artillery Mages. The masters of range, Artillery Mages utilize their dominant distance to whittle away at their opponents.
Naturally, as a trade off for their supreme poking potential, Artillery Mages are significantly weaker when the gap is closed on them. So, unlike Burst Mages who have naturally inclined ratios to make their shorter ranges more threatening, Artillery Mages lack the big upfront damage to dissuade would be divers or even aggressively positioning squishies. Secondly, Artillery Mages are often skillshot reliant. So, you’ve gotta be on your A-game in and out to really make the most of the kits.
Common Artillery/Poke Mages are: Xerath, Vel’koz, Ziggs, and Lux.
Battlemages
My personal favorite of the Mage Class, Battlemages are mages that have access to more defensive tools in comparison to the other styles of play. Couple this with their relatively short ranges in comparison to Burst and Artillery Mages, and Battlemages want to adopt a pattern of play similar to Fighters and Tanks where they want to be close to the front of a fight.
The defensive tools of this class are extremely varied leading to different approaches between each Champion. Some Battlemages might be excellent at sustaining themselves in the middle of a fight like Swain and Vladimir, while others might carry passive effects that allow them to shirk abilities like Malazhar, while others provide staggering amounts of in-fight DPS within their ranges like Anivia.
The weaknesses of the Battlemage class is that they typically have to play in riskier fashions in comparison to Artillery and Burst Mages to get the most payoff from their kits. Additionally, they don’t supply the same level of burst or poke that the other archetypes do. But, these weaknesses are typically compensated for due to the high scaling potential that Battlemages bring to their teams.
The Mage Class Teamfighting and General Play Pattern
Regardless of your archetype, a common theme for the Mage Class is positioning. You don’t want to position too far forward unless you know you have full vision control. You don’t want to be in front of your team since most Mages lack mobility, so if you get caught out or have to burn your Flash, that’s always going to be a win-con for the enemy team. So, you wanna be adequately far back and know the limits of your Mage. Thinking things like, “Yeah. I can play here and I won’t have to burn my Flash”, that sort of thing.
Tying a bit back to our weakness discussion, Mages lack mobility overall so Flash (like it is on most every other Champion) is always a requirement. But, as Yusui alludes to, you can play around this weakness by being proactive thinking about where your Champion is at their strongest. Let’s look at a teamfight as an example:
As a Mage, you have to always be aware of your defining weakness: mobility. While also being aware of what Champions on the enemy team can take advantage of that. In the above image, Red Team has gotten the angle on Blue Team. They’re in prime position to take the Dragon for free, while also being in position to punish the Blue Team should they approach carelessly.
As Anivia here, barring any extreme differences in terms of income, we really can’t approach this fight safely. One Diana Q into Ult, Leona Ult, or Camille E, and we’ve been beset and bursted before we can wall or react to most anything. We have to rely on our teammates, Aatrox, Elise, and Braum, to take the heat for us and walk forward. If any of the previously mentioned abilities drop onto our team, then our likelihood of entering into the fight safely has increased.
So, we position in Mid, take the lane priority, and wait for things to fold out. And the wonderful thing about being on a heavy zone-control Mage like Anivia, is that we’re also a dissuading presence for the enemy team. If anyone on the Red Team gets trigger happy about a pick, then we can reposition and Stun-Wall combo our enemy, to separate them, and likely remove them from the impending fight entirely.
So, on the flipside of being aware of our weaknesses, we have to be aware of our strengths and what our potential in a teamfight or skirmish can be. As a Mage, if you aren’t present for a teamfight, which team-fighting is basically the whole reason you pick a Mage anyway, then you’re severely hurting your team and not playing towards the Mage Class’ most defining aspects.
When Playing Ahead vs. Playing Behind
One of the most common talking points for every League player is, “I got a lead and I couldn’t make anything happen with it!” Thankfully, Yusui’s here and he can tell you just how to take advantage of your well-executed lane phase when playing as a Mage.
The best way to do it, in Solo Queue, is to focus on getting your item spikes, and then always be fighting with your cooldowns. I mentioned Flash before, and I think it’s super important that you don't just fight constantly as a Mage. Because if you’re down Flash, you’re much easier to shutdown which can make your snowball less scary
So, item spikes, but don’t fight constantly. Fight on your Mythic, fight on your second item, fight on your Deathcap. But limit and focus a lot on farming and maintain as close to 10cs per minute. If you notice yourself falling behind EXP or farm, then you’re fighting too much.”
Conversely, playing from behind is much trickier, which is why they aren’t the strongest picks right now. It is very difficult to impact the game as a Mage when you’re behind because you’re such a resource demanding class. So, your goal when behind is to ‘scale’.
Not to meme entirely, but when you do fall behind as a Mage, you’re not going to win if you try to adopt a big-play mindset. You simply won’t have the damage to back up your play, whether the look was good or not. So, your best option is to farm as much as you can, safely, while also not dying more. It’s an ultimate damage control mindset.
Itemization for Mages
Overall, most Mages are pretty drawn to one particular Mythic option over another. Brand and Cassio like Liandry’s because it’s just more burn on top of their DOTs. Annie likes Luden’s because of the added burst and move-speed. Twisted Fate enjoys Everfrost because it helps him further root a target down after his Gold Card.
But, you can flex your options around depending on how flexible your Champion is overall. (This comes with familiarity and mastery of your Champion’s limits.) Lissandra, for example, while she prefers to play closer to a Burst Mage into today’s meta, could adapt to a strict control angle with Everfrost if the team absolutely needs more CC beyond her. So, consider your team composition and that of the enemy when opting for your Mythic.
The Mythic spike is always going to be a very noticeable point for Mages. Then, depending on the game in terms of situational items, you’re going to want to look for items like Oblivion Orb and Void Staff. Oblivion Orb is excellent against teams that feature a lot of healing. Void Staff is a good early consideration when you’ve got multiple AP sources and need the pen to get through a team that can stack MR. Beyond those, there’s the big items like Hourglass and Deathcap. Hourglass is just the best defensive option that you have in the game, and it’s utility is pretty much why it’s always built second. Deathcap is typically your third option and it’s great on Champions that scale better with flat AP. If your particular Champ isn’t one of those, then Void Staff can be a solid third item to buy.
Champion Suggestions for Beginners and Experienced Players
You can never escape this section of one of my pieces. I love suggesting Champions for players to try out when learning the game. So, we’ll cover some beginner and experienced options for you all!
For beginners, Orianna is that OG, balanced Mage pick so she’s a great start. There’s also Anivia who is a consistently sleeper OP pick. If you get really good at Anivia you pretty much always carry games. Right now, I wouldn’t recommend Syndra, but in the past she’s been very good and she’s a quintessential pick. And of course, there’s Malzahar, where you can just focus on the playstyle without having to worry about the mechanics of the Champion since everything is very basic.
To elaborate a bit more, Syndra and Orianna are categorized as Burst Mages. And within the context of Solo Queue, Burst Mages typically fare pretty well. While Syndra is on the weaker side, of things she is one of those quintessential picks as Yusui mentioned and anyone that might have aspirations on not only truly climbing the ladder but also maybe looking into the Pro-Scene themselves should have her mastered. The same could be said about Orianna, but she has far more in the way of utility expression than Syndra does. So, if you’re afraid of taking the step to be a solo-damage carry, you can opt for Ori and apply massive zone pressure with your Ball + Ultimate, as well as utility effects such as shields and speed boosts.
Malzahar and Anivia are Battlemages, so they’ll be a bit closer to the action and much shorter range, most likely operating in the middle of a teamfight or setting the edge for a big pick. With Ori’s wall and Malzahar’s ultimate pressure, few Champions can approach your range or escape it safely. And in Malz’s case, he almost always requires the enemy team to invest in Quicksilver Sash or opt for Cleanse as a Summoner Spell choice. Without these items his lockdown is amongst the longest and deadliest in the game, so he’s a great choice that forces your opponents to itemize or suffer, delaying their power against you.
For more experienced players, I recommend Zoe and Leblanc which are probably the two strongest right now. If you’re watching Worlds, you’re going to see a lot of these Champs. Ryze is also a solid choice because of his high scaling. That’s about it for you more seasoned guys.
Right alongside Ori and Syndra are Zoe and Leblanc as Pro Player picks. Both categorized as Burst Mages, these two are a bit more skill intensive since they require mastery of combos and positioning beyond that of your average Mage pick. Zoe in particular has one damaging ability that is entirely based around range, so she pretty much forces you to unlock your camera and really learn how to hit that skill shot to be effective. Coupled alongside her ‘pickup’ mechanic, expressing yourself on Zoe takes time. Leblanc is all about spell combos since her ultimate doubles the effect of her previously casted ability. So, mastering which ability needs to be queued up and then layered out is a big portion of her gameplay, alongside knowing the limits of how far you can reach to make it to your target without dying yourself since she’s paper thin in terms of defensive stats.
Closing Out
That finishes us off! I hope you guys find this piece helpful! Check out the changes coming in the Preseason, Mages are looking to be far better off next season. (Assuming Assassins don’t get any compensation buffs…) But yeah! Thanks to Yusui for sitting with me and helping craft this piece!
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