The mid lane is a role of dominance. Situated at the center of the map with easy access to both jungle quadrants and side lanes, gaining lane priority is equivalent to having the potential to help your teammates in a snap.
The meta of Season 10’s midlane capitalizes this. Champions who have remarkable kill potential and waveclear abilities, coupled with good roaming capabilities, are strongly regarded.
If that’s what you are looking for, this list is for you! The picks discussed below take into consideration the following: how fast can the champion clear waves, how early their power spike is, how fast and how much they can roam, and how much they can threaten or kill the enemy mid laner.
Now, let’s discuss our top 5 midlaners for Patch 10.8 of League of legends.
Zoe, the Aspect of Twilight
Pros
- Supreme burst damage with Paddle Star (Q) and Sleepy Trouble Bubble (E)
- Versatile gameplay with free summoner spells and items through Spell Thief (W)
- A single skill combo can cripple if not eliminate squishies
Cons
- Immaculate positioning and map awareness are necessary
- Immobile mage
- Familiarity with summoner spells, items, and terrain nuances for your E
Runes and Abilities
For runes, take Electrocute as your keystone rune, followed by either Taste of Blood (for sustain in melee matchups) or Sudden Impact (more damage), Eyeball Collection, and Ravenous Hunter in the Domination tree.
For secondary runes, you can take either Nimbus Cloak and Transcendence from the Sorcery tree, or Biscuit Delivery and Time Warp Tonic from the Inspiration tree. Stat runes should be 2x Adaptive Force, and 1x Armor/Magic Resist rune depending on your matchup.
Max Zoe’s abilities in the following priority: R>Q>E>W. Q is your bread and butter skillshot for waveclear and damage; E is your crowd control abilitiy, and W is a utility spell that doesn’t require any early investment for value, because it relies on gaining various Summoner Spells and Item drops for its inherent value. Lastly, get R at levels 6, 11, and 16 to reduce the cooldown.
General Gameplan
As Zoe, you would look forward to poking down your enemy with constant Qs around the lane. The great thing about Zoe’s Paddle Star is its semi-freeform direction; you can poke your opponent who is hiding behind his minions by throwing a Q on the side, then diagonally towards an exposed area. It also has a small AoE range so it is not necessary to completely hit your enemy, but it helps to maximize the damage.
In teamfights and skirmishes, always stay around terrain to snipe unsuspecting enemies with your Sleepy Trouble Bubble. This ability extends its range when it first contacts with a wall, passing through it seamlessly for you to hit with a long-range Paddle Star. This E>Q skirmish combo is crucial for your damage output, and it certainly helps to learn the map and terrain nuances.
Syndra, the Dark Sovereign
Pros
- Powerful lane bully and waveclear with Dark Sphere (Q)
- Deadly one-combo rotations
- Flex pick in bottom lane
- Proven results in competitive scene (especially LPL)
Cons
- Immaculate positioning and map awareness are necessary
- Immobile, squishy mage
Runes and Abilities
For runes, take Electrocute as your keystone rune, followed by Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, and Ravenous Hunter in the Domination tree.
For secondary runes, take Manaflow Band and Transcendence in the Sorcery tree. Stat runes should be 2x Adaptive Force, and 1x Armor/Magic Resist rune depending on your matchup.
Max Syndra’s abilities in the following priority: R>Q>E>W. Your Q is always involved in your other abilities, and thanks to Syndra’s passive, maxing Q gives you 25% bonus damage against champions. E gets its cooldown reduced the higher the rank is, and at max rank, it gains a wider cone AoE for knocking back enemies and Dark Spheres. W because the slow is less valuable than the stun from an E>Q combo, and the 20% true damage bonus doesn’t get value until you gain more Ability power.
General Gameplan
Because Syndra’s Q is almost instant, doesn’t lock your movement, it is easy for her to use her threatening damage to exert dominance in the midlane. She’s not too hard to play, which is an additional bonus to pick up this champion. Look forward to poking down your enemy, and if optimized, you can have kill threat by level 2 or level 3.
In teamfights and skirmishes, always find a squishy to burst down through your combo rotation, which ideally would be the marksmen who don’t build resistances. Avoid being too deep in the fray, because you might throw your E away, eliminating the enemy of any risk to dive upon the immobile mage that is Syndra.
Cassiopeia, the Serpent’s Embrace
Pros
- Plays like a marksman with her Twin Fang (E) spam
- Miasma (W) and Petrifying Gaze (R) are great for picking kills
- Flex pick in bottom lane
- Proven results in competitive scene (especially LPL)
Cons
- No boots (can be a pro/con) = one extra slot for items
- Early mana issues
- Improper positioning without crowd control abilities is an easy death
Runes and Abilities
For runes, take Conqueror as your keystone rune, followed by Presence of Mind, Legend: Tenacity, and Coup de Grace in the Precision tree.
For secondary runes, take Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter in the Domination tree for sustain. Stat runes should be 2x Adaptive Force, and 1x Armor/Magic Resist rune depending on your matchup.
Max Cassiopeia’s abilities in the following priority: R>E>Q>W. E is your main damaging ability; Q is a damaging ability but needs to be partnered with E to gain maximum value. W is a utility skill with great value out of its Grounded mechanic which prevents any movement abilities from being casted (including Flash!)
General Gameplan
Cassiopeia punishes enemies who go all-in incorrectly with her sustained damage through Twin Fang and her poison abilities. Look to farm up to your core items such as Tear of the Goddess into Archangel’s Staff, giving you the damage and protection to go all-out with Cassiopeia’s consistent damage output. She plays like an ability-based marksman, so learning how to kite and position well helps maximize her value as a pick.
In teamfights and skirmishes, play like a marksman/mage hybrid. Be in a position to deal tons of damage, but be aware of the dangers of playing with fire. Your Petrifying Gaze (R) is great for setting up a combo for your team, as well as disengaging any relentless pursuers. Miasma helps in that regard as well, but be wary of its long cooldown as it leaves you exposed without much space to slither around.
Diana, the Scorn of the Moon
Pros and
- Strong midlaner with great dueling and decent waveclear
- Easy to pick up with room for mastery
- One of the best lategame splitpushers
Cons
- Missing the Crescent Strike severely cripples Diana’s mobility
- Dash is targeted; creativity for escaping ganks is needed
Runes and Abilities
For runes, take Conqueror as your keystone rune, followed by Presence of Mind, either Legend: Tenacity or Alacrity, and Coup de Grace in the Precision tree.
For secondary runes, choose between Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter from the Domination tree, or Shield Bash and Bone Plating in the Resolve tree. Stat runes should be 2x Adaptive Force, and 1x Armor/Magic Resist rune depending on your matchup.
Max Syndra’s abilities in the following priority: R>Q>W>E. Q is your main damaging ability and setup for dashes and kills; W’s cooldown scales down with skill rank which is great for self-shields with refreshes; E gets more value from the dash than the damage; and take R whenever possible.
General Gameplan
Diana after her rework turned out to become one of the more powerful AP bruisers in the game, an extremely rare niche that Riot has not given recognition of yet. She has better dueling because of her W shield and damage in one passive cleave and Q rotations. Before level 3, look to poke the enemy with your Q while also hitting the wave to get the sufficient XP to gain a level lead first. Once you hit level 3, you are now able to duel and help fight in jungle skirmishes.
In teamfights, you can either combo the enemy team with your team, or flank and pick off the squishies. The latter is easier because of how much damage one rotation can deal, but with Conqueror becoming a viable runeset, she can hold her ground in the fray pretty well.
If need be, Diana can also splitpush extremely quickly. Pick up a Nashor’s Tooth as your first item if you plan to do so. Combined with her passive attack speed and damage that applies to towers, Diana can melt towers down and is in contention for the best splitpusher in the game. Riot has done their usual nerf rounds post-rework, so feel free to pick her up!
Talon, the Blade’s Shadow
Pros
- The best roaming AD assassin in the entire roster
- With the proper setup, has one of the highest first blood rates in the game
- The new Conqueror build gives him durability and lategame scaling
Cons
- Low skill floor, high skill ceiling
- Skill combos should be optimized to gain maximum value
- Talon has limited escape ability with E having a cooldown on terrain
Runes and Abilities
Despite being an assassin, Conqueror works wonders for Talon. Take Conqueror as your keystone rune, followed by Triumph, Legend: Tenacity, and Last Stand from the Precision tree.
For secondary runes, take Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter from the Domination tree. Stat runes should be 2x Adaptive Force, and 1x Armor/Magic Resist rune depending on your matchup.
Max Syndra’s abilities in the following priority: R>W>Q>E. W is your main damaging ability, Q is your next best damaging ability, E is a mobility skill locked to terrain, and R is an ultimate, which means it should be taken whenever possible.
General Gameplan
This new Conqueror Talon build has surpassed the normal Lethality build in numbers and winrates. To note, you do not eliminate lethality from your build because Talon synergizes with it. Your core build is Tiamat into Duskblade of Draktharr, Black Cleaver, and Death’s Dance. Death’s Dance, with its new +30 Armor/Magic Resist stats, gives Talon the tankiness to survive in teamfights despite being an assassin.
Try to setup a Level 2 first blood by poking the enemy laner with your Rake (W). Take Q at Level 2, and land a W>Q>Auto combo to put all the damage out while proccing your bleed passive.
Always look for opportunities in the side lanes. Once you spot one, shove the wave into the enemy tower and roam towards that lane. Talon’s E provides him with the tools to avoid the Rift Scuttler ward should the enemy have it around. Flank by jumping through the pit closest to the target lane to avoid common ward placements.
As an assassin, your main directive is to pick any squishy off the team along with those who are mispositioned. With the Conqueror build, you also can fight your way out after you do your job, because it provides you with additional AD and sustain to survive the incoming damage. With Death’s Dance, it should be easy to get out of the fray after you assassinate.
