LoL Mid Lane Tier List: This Tier List will always display the best Mid Lane Champions, based on the latest patch (11.2).
Updated: 25 December 2020
LoL Mid Lane Tier List Methodology
This LoL Mid Lane Tier List (best-in-role) is based on:
- Personal experience and feedback taken from multiple players, across multiple ranks.
- Based on a Champions skill floor, and their ease of play (and skill ceiling).
- The difficulty of a Champion, and their potential in the hands of a highly skilled player.
- The ability to climb with the Champion, from lower ranks to high, with ease. In effect, these Champions will do the heavy lifting for you.
- We’ve also colour coded Champion difficulty based on the above factors, using a Traffic Light system. It’s subjective, but should give you a steer (red challenging, orange moderate, green accessible).
God Tier (First Ban Material)
Anivia is potent this update, and has a kit that reflects the current meta. Strong when pushing, or fighting over a set area, with utility in blocking opponents and bursting when needed. Her Ultimate also gives massive zoning potential, allowing her and her team to not only defend an area comfortably, but also punish those who stand and fight near it.
Fizz is an absolute monster in mid lane. Confusing for new players to fight against, and still an absolute nightmare for experienced players. His ability to move through units, while also being Unforgettable ensures he can avoid him impact burst, before punishing opponents.
Kassadin has an awesome passive that gives him the ability to avoid collision and gain 15% magic resistance. This instantly puts him at a huge advantage in mid lane. His kit is varied, has brilliant clear, high burst potential, and mobility in Riftwalk. While he’s weaker against melee Champions who aren’t magic based, he can still control mid with absolute ease.
Katarina is a common mid pick and one that’s absolutely awesome. She has a fairly high skill ceiling to make repeated, and valuable use of her Dagger mechanic. However, if you can play around it – and use it to its maximum potential – she can be incredibly deadly. A well timed Death Lotus in a team fight, or a quick burst from her Dagger, ensures she can kill enemies quickly.
Yone is amazing, and there’s no mistaking his trade potential is huge. Since his arrival he’s nursing a win-rate of around 50%, but that doesn’t change the fact he really is terrifying in the right hands. In the hands of a pro, there’s undoubtedly a ceiling that’s ready to be smashed.
S Tier (Optimal)
Ahri is a common pick in mid lane, and it’s not particularly difficult to see why. Solid sustain and poke in Orb of Deception, combined with the fact Fox-Fire locks on, her near permanent movement bonuses from her passive as a result, ensures she can comfortably poke and retreat while controlling her lane. If you also factor in the value of Charm, she has massive late-game utility.
Cassiopeia is very much in the meta right now, and while her kit looks fairly “thin” in terms of damage or burst, it’s all about control and utility. This not only helps her defend mid lane comfortably, but also pushes her value hugely late game. The ability to slow, poison, stun or gain massive amounts of movement speed ensures that she’s incredible at hunting down fleeing enemies.
Diana is fantastic in mid lane at the moment, even after her rework. Her burst potential is eye-watering, poke solid, and she’s one of the few that can survive and comfortably win against the likes of Fizz
Ekko can pretty much boss any location in the game right now and goes in at the top of our LoL Mid Lane Tier List. A kit brimming with utility, survivability and burst, he’s more than capable of controlling mid lane and punishing those even just a fraction out of position. He may be mana heavy early game, but he can comfortably hold mid and steamroll quickly with just a few kills under his belt.
Galio looks the bees knees, and is much stronger mid than as a Support. While he can be poked fairly easy, he still has some to return (Winds of War). He can also pressure/dive fairly easily, with Justice Punch and/or Shield of Durand. If you also factor in his massive Ultimate for late-game team-fights, he’s a great pick.
Nocturne is easy to play, and difficult to play badly. He has solid clear thanks to Unspeakable Horror + Dusbringer, while his gank potential is high due to Paranoia. The fact he has a brilliant defensive ability in Shroud of Darkness also allows him to play aggressively. Nocturne’s basic clear isn’t bad either, thanks to his regular AOE attack.
Sylas is a personal favorite, and after his rework, while he’s vastly different – and many aren’t happy – there’s no doubting he packs a punch and can boss it fairly easily. In the right hands, he does exceptionally well.
Talon is a beast in mid lane. A kit that’s heavy in poke, bleeds, evasion and burst, he’s hard to pin down and incredibly strong at rotating lanes for ganking. Shadow Assault is particularly potent in a team fight, while Rake has a great deal of value in stemming the push of an opposing Champion.
Qiyana does well mid, compared to Jungle. Her basic kit lacks depth. However, she can still boss mid lane with relative ease. There might be stronger Champions, but in the right hands and if she makes use of her dashes and mobility, she can do very well.
Vladimir will always do well in mid lane, simply because his kit has so much sustain and utility. Solid poke, AOE clear, immunity from damage and a life-steal ensures he can poke with relative ease. Not easy to play, but worth it with practice.
Yasuo can do well in most lane positions against certain match-ups, but performs at his best in mid thanks largely to his mobility and mitigation. He can still harrass opponents with ease, and can comfortably stomp players who aren’t familiar with his kit.
Zed can single-handedly carry just about match the moment he’s fed. His snowball potential is huge. and he’s incredibly strong at punishing new or inexperienced players. Massive mobility, huge burst potency, immunity, an amazing Ultimate and solid poke ensures in the right hands, he’s a nightmare.
A Tier (Great)
Annie pretty much optimises the “great” tier for mid lane. Solid poke and clear, with a reasonable amount of burst, she doesn’t really excel at anything. That said, she’s not particularly poor either. Her Ultimate is perhaps a little too easy to deal with, but if nothing else it’s a good extra body to get in the way.
Aurelion Sol is a great mid laner. Comfortable in poking opponents through his Passive, he also has valuable utility in a stun, and a slow/knockback from his Ultimate. What makes him particularly potent is his ability to rotate lanes quicky with Comet of Legend, allowing him to quickly move lanes – or escape – when needed.
Kled’s a challenging Champion to play, thanks to a robust kit. What’s potent about him as a top or mid laner, is simply the fact he has so much utility in pinning enemies down, largely thanks to Beartrap on a Rope. If you also factor in the disposable play of Skaarl, he’s fantastic at aggressive play.
LeBlanc has a high skill ceiling, and I think because of that, you don’t see her often. That said, she’s great in mid lane if used to her full potential. A kit that’s brimming with tools to punish and confuse, she’s slippery and hard to pin down. Her tether, dash and clone can ensure she does well against most mid lane opponents.
Lux is really popular, and it’s not difficult to see why. Plenty of damage and utility, she’s easy to play and hard to play badly. Her ability to root multiple enemies, slow them, and blast them into oblivion with a well placed Final Spark sees her comfortably support just about any carry.
Malzahar excels in our LoL Mid Lane Tier List, due to his passive mitigation and his ability to gain massively reduced damage when struck by crowd control. If you also consider his potency with Nether Grasp and its team-fight potential, combined with the AOE value of Malefic Visions, ensures he can be a huge headache in mid lane.
Orianna is a Champion you won’t see all the time, but she’s potent in mid lane. With the ability to zone fairly comfortably with her ball, she brings a fair amount of utility. She lacks the aggression of peers such as Syndra, but makes up for this during team-fights, especially with her shielding, or Ultimate ability that pulls enemies in.
Ryze was probably over-tuned a patch ago, but has received some minor tweaks recently. His ability to cage and slow, combined with his sustain in lane makes him an absolute nightmare. His one-two punch burst is horrendous to deal with, while Realm Warp makes his damage potency eye-watering. A great pick in our LoL Mid Lane Tier List.
Syndra is great at mid lane. Fantastic poke, a brilliant stun, excellent clear and fantastic sustain. Her burst potential can be absolutely outrageous, but this comes at a cost: very little, if any, mobility. She can be punished easily if out of position. That said, if she does position well, she can control mid with ease.
Zoe is amazing in the right hands. Her Sleepy Trouble Bubble alone brings massive value, while Portal Jump affords her the ability to gank with relative ease, and low risk. While it takes a little getting used to Spell Thief, ensuring you do can guarantee she’s oppressive to fight against.
B Tier (Good)
Azir has an interesting kit, but does lack defence early game. His sand soldiers are somewhat easy to avoid. That said, his Ultimate has value and he can pressure players fairly easily. He’s not gang-busters good, but does well.
Heimerdinger is annoying, and good in the mid lane as his kit works incredibly well in the current meta. While he’s also strong in bot lane, he’s still incredibly effective at aggressive play, zoning and generally making life difficult for the opposition.
Irelia can be a a little easy to outplay and avoid in top lane, but works better in mid. I feel this is largely due to reliable Jungle support, but also a wider lane and matchups which favor her kit. Bladesurge offers solid mobility, while Defiant dance offers solid mitigation.
Kayle is an OK mid lane that does exceptionally well mid to late game. Part support, she has a great deal of value in a team fight, thanks largely to a kit that lends itself to aiding others. While she can mid lane for long periods, it’s all about getting her to end game.
Taliyah has a really fun kit that’s far better mid lane than it is Jungle. She can make use of Rock Surfing to rotate quickly, while she has solid sustain if she continually fires from Worked Ground. Seismic Shove also ensures she can work alongside her Jungler to ensure enemies can’t escape easily. If you also consider her zoning potency in Unraveled Earth, she’s a good mid lane pick.
Tristana is incredibly popular, and performs well across most lanes (a bit like Heimerdinger). Strong poke, good mobility, solid AOE clear and a valuable knockback in Buster Shot makes her a safe, viable, and valuable pick. She doesn’t reach the dizzy heights of some peers for sheer utility or damage, but she’s still awesome.
Twisted Fate is solid in mid lane. His ability to quickly harvest gold through his passive, combined with the cleave on his Wild Cards, ensures he can pressure opponents quickly. Throw in the value of his PIck A Card, and the utility they bring, as well as his teleport, and there’s little wonder he’s a solid pick.
Veigar is good mid, but not so much anywhere else. Event Horizon will always have value in holding enemy Champions in place, and his burst is eye-watering if he’s fed. Without reliable use of Event Horizon, you’ll struggle,
Vel’Koz brings good AOE damage, and poke potency, but loses some crowd control because of it. He also lacks healing/shielding tools. Despite that, his use is all about long-range pressure, while making key use of his single knock-up. He can boss mid lane well because of it.
Xerath has a kit similar to many (AOE slow, stun) as well as poke. He would be higher in our LoL Support Tier List, were it not for the fact that most of his abilities have a fairly heavy wind-up time. This makes his play somewhat predictable – and avoidable. That said, he’s still good, and Rite of the Arcane can often kill lazy players.
Zilean is a complex Champion that has a high skill ceiling. At times wins don’t come easy for him, and other mid lane Champions are far easier to pickup and do better with, but he’s still good. Solid AOE zoning and damage, a powerful slow, and a rewind (similar to Ekko) for his team-mate ensures he’s good at peeling and protecting the vulnerable.
C Tier (Poor)
Aatrox is solid top lane, but in mid rather poor. He’s fairly easy to read, as his wind-up times on abilities are fairly long. That said, his telegraphs are fairly forgiving and it allows him to play badly. That said, the speed and potency of some of the best mid lane Champions sees him fall massively down the pecking order. Super easy to kill out of position.
Akali is a Champion that has yo-yo’d up and down most Tier List. She’s either been bat-shit broken, or slightly under. Recent tweaks to her kit come back into a good poor spot, and while I’d still argue she always has the potential to be too strong, she’s off at the moment.
Corki desperately needs some improvements to his kit. Easy to avoid, lacking damage and utility, he really has nothing that most Champions can’t easily avoid or deal with. Even Missile Barrage, despite sounding fairly solid on paper, is just garbage compared to just about every other.
Ezreal is undoubtedly good, and I’ve seen many an Ezreal player that are amazing. That said, he relies heavily on his one-two punch combo (Essence Flux/Mystic Shot) to be effective. This isn’t always easy to pull off in a team fight, or against quick moving Champions. Without a Support, this makes him a poor choice in our LoL Mid Lane Tier List to reliably poke, and take down opponents.
Karma is – I would argue – a better Support than mid lane staple. That said, she’s solid regardless of where she plays. A powerful (large) AOE slow, a tether for rooting, and a shield for her ally sees her have a balanced, fair kit. The fact she has an Ultimate (Mantra) from level 1 also helps with early snowballing. The downside to her mid lane play is the fact she’s so easy to gank, and without any reliable out, she’s ridiculously vulnerable and poor at punishing opponents.
Lucian is an incredibly powerful carry, and arguably one of the strongest in the game. However, in mid lane, not so much. He can be punished easily by his lane opponent, and the prospect of constantly being ganked from Jungle ensures he has a fairly nervous, passive game.
Malphite when built defensively (for late game) holds his lane well and can punish players easily if they’re sloppy. Solid cleave in Thunderclap, and an invaluable engage in Unstoppable Force, he’s brilliant mid to late game. A good pick for Support, that really doesn’t excel in mid lane: he’s simply too slow and lacks the potential to punish players. Not the best of choices in our LoL Mid Lane Tier List.
Morgana is solid in mid, largely because she’s so potent with her utility and burst. Her ability to shield an ally, grab players with Dark Binding, and pressure multiple with her Ultimate ensures that she’s not only a high damage threat, but also a Champion that can comfortably feed her team.
Swain is brilliant at the moment, but his mid lane game is isn’t. A potent AOE slow with a long cooldown, root, immobilze and pull ensures he has most of the tools necessary to play aggressively, but without a carry to punish, he won’t really be a threat. He can play particularly aggressively – especially if his Ultimate is up. Making use of the vision, Vision of Empire provides, is also invaluable. At mid lane, that’s his only real value.
Ziggs can be quite oppressive on bot lane when he’s accompanied by a Support, especially one that allows him to land his burst. In mid lane? Not so much. The wide open space, his lack of a reliable out, and relatively easy-to-avoid damage ensures he can be punished, and ganked, fairly easily. Avoid if you can: there’s better choices in our LoL Mid Lane Tier List.
