This summer split of League we have seen Galio Mid performed by some of the best players over all regions such as Bjergsen in LCS, xiaohu in LPL, and Faker in the LCK. But the question many fans have is why has it become meta? From a spectator standpoint, many fans are not satisfied with a tank/bruiser mid and want a more action-packed assassin or control mage. But thanks to his rework, Galio has become one of the most impactful champions in the meta. So, what makes him so much more useful than the other champions?

1. Engage:

Galio has one of the best teamfight kits in all of League. He has an AoE taunt, two knock-ups, a self-shield, the ability to shield teammates, and damage. He can engage on enemies with both his taunt and knock-up allowing his team to follow up while he front line tanks. One use of engage that the professional scene has been using is his ultimate. It gives both damage reduction to the designated target as well as knocking up all enemies around him which is great when diving turrets. As your teammates start diving a turret, Galio can ult the champion who is tanking the turret allowing for an effective gank under tower. After ulting in, he can then use both his taunt and knock-up for additional crowd control. Some advanced engages seen by professionals is channeling the taunt and flashing toward the enemy before releasing the taunt to ensure the CC.

Here we can see how the Taunt Flash interaction works.

2. Peel, Protect:

Besides a good engage, Galio’s kit allows for great peel and protect the carry compositions. When enemy champions are diving your backline trying to get to your carries, your AoE taunt is very effective at negating their attacks and protecting your teammates. Galio’s ultimate is his biggest tool when protecting his carries though. The damage reduction given to the chosen ally is very useful when enemies are unloading all their abilities on them. There have been many instances in professional play where a member of the team has been caught out of position and seemed dead but with Galio’s ult been saved.

In this screenshot between ROX Tigers and SKT, ROX Mickey gets a 5 man AoE taunt.

3. Lane pressure:

One of the biggest things about Galio is his ability to control his lane very well. His Q ability, Winds of War, is great at clearing waves and when paired with his passive, Colossal Smash, which deals bonus AoE damage, allows him to apply great pressure to his lane. With his kit, he is able to push lanes very fast and roam before the enemy champion, getting possible advantages in his other lanes. Because of his taunt, wave clear efficiency, and knock-up he is not very easily bullied in lane making his early/mid game strong.

4. Ultimate:

Galio’s ultimate, Hero’s Entrance, is one of the biggest reasons he is being played in the Mid lane as opposed to Top. After a short channel, Galio jumps to a designated teammate granting them damage reduction for a short time and knocking up all nearby enemies. This ultimate is very good for saving enemies that are being focused or protecting your carries. This ultimate can also be used as an engage which is why Galio has been seeing Mid play more than Top. Because of his great wave clear, he can impact the map on both top and bot side when he roams giving himself more options for plays. If Galio were played Top, the only lane he could possibly effect would be a Mid roam as his Ultimate does not reach the bot side. The reason we see Galio Mid in professional play is because these plays around his ultimate need communication and team chemistry to pull off. You are not going to be able to execute a perfect 4 man dive bot in solo-queue, but it is achievable in professional play with great communication.

Here we see Faker using his ult to save a teammate caught out of position:

5. Top and ADC meta:

The other positions' metas also have a huge effect on why Galio has been seeing more Mid action. The last few seasons, the top meta has been heavily focused on tanks and engage. This summer however it seems the top meta is now more focused on carries and bruisers such as Fiora, Renekton, Jarvan IV, and Kled. Tanks have not been getting much play, which is why Galio and other tanks such as Maokai and Nautilus have dropped in tier rankings. Having Galio mid allows there to still be a tank/engage in the team composition while having a carry/damage top lane. The ADC meta has also seen a change which is why we’re seeing more shielding mids as opposed to assassins. Last split utility ADC’s were the meta, with Jhin, Ashe, and Varus being popular picks. While these champions are still being played we are now seeing more hypercarries, such as Twitch, Caitlyn, and recently Tristana, which is why having another peel and shielding champion such as Galio mid and mage support such as Lulu or Karma is great for the team comp.

A typical team composition when having a Galio mid would include:

Carry Top: Rumble, Fiora, Jayce, Renekton, Jarvan IV
Jungle: Elise, Graves, Khazix, Gragas, Lee Sin
Mid: Galio
ADC: (if no CC) Ashe, Varus, Jhin, (if team has CC) Caitlyn, Twitch, Xayah
Support: (if no other tank) Thresh, Blitzcrank, Tahm Kench, (if another tank) Lulu, Karma, Rakan

Overall, there are many reasons for the professional scene to play Galio mid. While the spectators may not like the choice to not have an exciting assassin or playmaking mage in the mid lane, the pros are playing to essentially win, not to please the audience. Instead of being upset at the non-traditional pick, try and have a different outlook on just how much coordination and macro-play is needed to have a team with Galio mid work.

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