Shurelya’s Battlesong may be the new secret AP carry item for mages! Learn why Shurelya’s Battlesong has been built as an AP carry item, when to build it, and what AP carries find the best use of the item.
For many years, Shurelya’s Battlesong (formerly Shurelya’s Reverie) persisted as a cheap staple support item in League of Legends, granting a powerful movement speed active at the cost of relatively low stats typical of most support items. After Patch 14.1, Shurelya’s received a large adjustment to its stats, giving more ability power and movement speed while losing its health-related stats. Shurelya’s Battlesong also lost its more support-oriented passive that granted movement speed to allies when shielded/healed by your abilities. For supports that appreciated its more generalist statline and passive, it was a nerf to its tankiness. But for enchanters and AP carries in both support and mid-lane, it became a cheap power spike.
In this article, we’ll analyze why Shurelya’s Battlesong became a powerful AP carry item, potential use cases, and what champions appreciate this item the most.
As explained before, the stat change for Shurelya’s Battlesong became more aggressively tuned for AP carries. Mages typically want a combination of high ability power and ability haste, and Shurelya’s Battlesong is no slouch, as of Patch 14.8 granting 55 ability power and 15 ability haste. Compared to a similar item like Cosmic Drive, it has 25 less ability power, 10 less ability haste, no bonus health, and slightly more movement speed. But the key factor is the price point difference, an 800 gold difference.
Consider the typical lane patterns of many mages in mid-lane, where they start with Doran’s Ring, and farm gold up until around the 1100-1300 gold point. This is where many mid-laners purchase Lost Chapter, or Fiendish Codex + Boots, Haunting Guise, or their Catalyst of Aeons. The 1100-1300 gold break point is often where mid laners try to return to base for items, typically at the third back is when they’ll try to complete their first item. With Shurelya’s Battlesong, it is possible for a mid laner to purchase the full item by the second back, as the price is only 2200 gold with fairly easy item components.
Against a typical opponent who rushes Malignance or Luden’s Companion, if both sides are even in gold, the Shurelya’s Battlesong wielder has a full item over their opponent. Shurelya’s may have less ability power than a combination of Lost Chapter and Hextech Alternator, but grants one of the most powerful actives in the game, as well as movement speed. Consider the advantages we have over the opponent.
Movement Speed: Movement speed is crucial for a lot of less mobile mages, as it is their main tool to dodge abilities and move around the map. Consider how many times you have barely dodged an ability for being slightly faster, or when you are chasing an opponent of similar movement speed. Having more movement speed is a form of agency for mid laners who can reach skirmishes and roam more effectively than their opponent. Games are often decided by fights in the early game, where reaching a fight slightly earlier than the opponent changes the course of the battle. Having a lot of movement speed also makes yourself much safer, between dodging abilities and avoiding ganks.
Movement Speed Active: Four seconds of increased movement speed is no joke regardless of what stage of the game it is. When the active is used, it tells your team to start the fight, or feel more comfortable with avoiding abilities. It enables your team to close the gap for their abilities to hit in an unexpected way. Given the enemy support who may also build Shurelya’s Battlesong is not likely to have finished the item yet, it is a significant advantage in teamfights.
The active also is arguably the most versatile in the game regardless of the situation. It can act as a replacement for the notorious ghost-mid lane users who use the summoner spell to run away from ganks. It can function similarly to the rune Predator to enable ganks. It can simply be used to run back to lane faster to reach the cannon minion before it dies to tower, or to shove in the lane. It can even be used to speed up nearby minions so that they crash into the enemy tower faster. The versatility of this item is beyond most items in the game as movement speed is such a universal stat.
Not unexpectedly, the best user of Shurelya’s as a carry is Veigar. Even prior to the stat line changes, Veigar players have occasionally teched in Shurelya’s solely for the movement speed active. It is not unexpected as it benefits Veigar in the following ways.
Engage Potential: When we think of Veigar’s most threatening ability in teamfights, Event Horizon always comes to mind, packing one of the strongest area of effect stuns in the game. For Veigar, his greatest difficulty is moving to a spot where Event Horizon has the greatest impact, whether it involves closing the gap, or trapping as many targets as possible. With Shurelya’s, Veigar can unexpectedly speed up in the middle of a fight to get in position for his cast, as well as aid his teammates in initiating with him.
Mobility: Veigar lacks the dashes and movement speed that grant safety to many other champions in the league. With Shurelya’s Battlesong, both the movement speed stat and the active aid Veigar in closing gaps, escaping ganks, and dodging abilities.
Infinite AP scaling: Shurelya’s Battlesong is still one of the weaker items stat-wise for damage, but Veigar’s passive Phenomenal Evil allows Veigar to itemize more flexibly. Compared to other champions, Veigar would much rather have items that enable his abilities like Shurelya’s Battlesong rather than more excessive ability power.
Annie is most notable as a mage that initiates teamfights through the use of her passive Pyromania combined with either Summon: Tibbers or Incinerate. In most games, her primary way to reach targets is through the use of Flash, but with Shurelya’s Battlesong, she has an extra way of reaching her targets.
Synergy with Engage: Engage champions often want two things: A way to reach their primary target, and a way to get their team as close as possible so that they can follow up. Annie is often only the former, but with Shurelya’s Battlesong, she can help her teammates join her in engaging the target.
Support Budget Item: In the past, Annie has been used as a supportive mage, sometimes in the support role, but mostly in the middle lane. She may not receive the same income especially if she finds herself in that more supportive role. Shurelya’s is both a cheap and powerful spike to her carry potential that fits a low income.
Vladimir might seem odd, as many are fond of building the highest AP scaling items to maximize his damage output in a teamfight. However, Vladimir loves having more movement speed to aid with his ability to navigate teamfights, and Shurelya’s Battlesong is no exception to this.
Cheaper Alternative to Cosmic Drive: One of Vladimir’s favourite items is Cosmic Drive, and as noted before Shurelya’s is quite comparable if we are looking primarily at how fast you can rush the item. When Vladimir teamfights, he often runs around the carries with the movement speed items he purchases to both dodge abilities and reach his target. Shurelya’s gives him a similar level of speed and can even be combined with Cosmic for even more movement speed.
Synergy with his Ultimate: At a glance, it is the same reasoning as with Annie and Veigar where the active assists Vladimir with moving to the right place to land his ultimate. But a key factor is that Shurelya’s Battlesong speeds up nearby teammates. Vladimir’s less visible but still significant contribution to teamfights is his ability to increase damage dealt to enemies affected by his Hemoplague. If his teammates can join him faster at reaching the targets, they can better take advantage of his ultimate’s effect.
Shurelya’s Battlesong is an underestimated yet powerful item that may find a comfortable spot in many immobile mages’ arsenals. It may not be the most damage optimal item around, but it is one of the cheapest options to access movement speed. If the item ever receives even more stat adjustments, it may even find a home in less likely users because it is already such an effective item.
