Best Midlaners in LoL Patch 13.15 have two AD champions – and one to counter all the dashes in the game, including those two AD champions.
Even though the changes of Patch 13.16 have been teased by Riot Phroxzon and hit the PBE, there’s still a few days left of Patch 13.15. This update has blessed us with some great changes, such as the Aatrox, Maokai and Ivern nerfs, as well as buffs to champions like Camille and Nami, with adjustments to forgotten characters like Yorick.
Aside from some minor buffs to Yasuo and Yone and nerfs to Kai’Sa (who is a flex pick), the midlane was left relatively untouched – but some new picks have still emerged as the best in the centremost part of Summoner’s Rift. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best midlaners of the current League of Legends update!
Best Midlaners in LoL Patch 13.15
Naafiri
Naafiri debuted in Patch 13.13 as the games latest Darkin champion, leading her pack of ravenous hounds infected with her Darkin Dagger. She quickly rose to popularity and a high winrate making it to our last Best Midlaners article. While she wasn’t the best of the best, she was pretty high up – but now, she’s the absolute top of the ladder according to stats sites such as Lolalytics , so if you weren’t convinced last time around, Patch 13.15 should be more than enough to see the worth in Naafiri.
Compared to last Patch, her build changed a bit, and while some of the last tips still hold up, if you want to be up to date on Naafiri, follow these easy steps:
- Her best Keystone is First Strike, as she can activate it almost every time it counts thanks to her W gap close or her Q poke. Pair that up with Magical Footwear, Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight for the extra survivability and Ability Haste. For secondaries, pick Sudden Impact as it synergizes well with your W, while Treasure Hunter let’s you scale better in conjunction with First Strike. For your fragments, take two Adaptive Force pips and a defensive one according to your lane opponent.
- For Summoner Spells, Teleport dethroned Ignite as Naafiri’s highest winrate Spell, as it let’s her splitpush and join fights faster – but Flash is still a must on her.
- In terms of abilities, start with your Q, pick up you E at level 2, then put another point into your Q before getting your E. Your E is only really useful after you got some items and know that you can beat the opponent you jumped on, which can be true in the laning phase, but it’s safer to engage after your Mythic. Afterwards, max your Q, then your E, then your W, picking up The Call of the Pack whenever possible.
- For your build, start with a Long Sword and Refillable Potions to accelerate your build, and also because Refillable and the Biscuits should help you through the laning phase. Instead of Duskblade of Draktharr, pick up Eclipse, which makes you a bit tankier after diving, while also providing extra damage – Duskblade gives more damage, but the survivability of the invulnerable passive is not really necessary, as you want to keep going after your first kill. Then get an Ionian Boots of Lucidity, while picking up The Black Cleaver to finish your core. Then, definitely get a Prowler’s Claw to boost your engage, pick a Serylda’s Grudge, then finish off your build with either Guardian Angel or Death’s Dance.
Naafiri is an incredibly strong champion at the moment, who can also be picked up with relative ease. If you want to play her, now is the time, as Riot Games will hit her with some (not so harsh) nerfs in Patch 13.16
Cassiopeia
If you want to stop the pack from rushing you down, Cassiopeia might be the pick for you! The youngest sister of the Noxian du Couteau family is currently one of the strongest scaling midlane mages with a 53% winrate and a fairly low ban rate – as well as a pick rate on the lower end of the scale, as she’ not the easiest champion to learn. However, Cassiopeia is well worth your time, as if you can master her, there’s almost nothing that can stand in your way – especially on Patch 13.15
While the Serpent’s Embrace can take a few games to learn, if you follow these tips, you’ll be one step closer:
- Her best Keystone rune is Conqueror, as she can stack it up very fast thanks to the low cooldown of her E – which also makes her very mana hungry, so Presence of Mind is a must on her from the Precision tree. Pick up Legend: Tenacity and Last Stand, as well as Manaflow Band and Transcendence, and don’t forget to get an Ability Haste, an Adaptive Force and a Health pip to round your build out!
- While Teleport can get you through the laning phase and is more useful later in the game, Ignite has a higher winrate as it helps you secure leads easier, and usually, fights happen around Cassiopeia, not the other way around. While the Snake Lady is faster than a regular champion, Flash is a must on her as it lets her initiate easier.
- As far as abilities go, start with your E, and max it, as it basically replaces your auto Attacks (you should still use them, but if you have to choose between an AA and an E, always choose Twin Fangs). Afterwards, pick up your Q to buff your E with the poison, then wait until level 4 to get your W – except against champions who have low cooldown dashes, as it can help mitigate their damage or eliminate their escape opportunities. So E max first, then Q, then W, and Petrifying Gaze on levels 6, 11 and 16 so you can turn all your enemies into stone.
- Even though you picked Presence of Mind and Manaflow Band, start with a Tear of the Goddess and two Health Potions. Get Rod of Ages if you want to scale, but if you need it, you can pick up a Liandry’s Anguish as well. Afterwards, buy Rylai’s Crystal Scepter to trade better, then upgrade your Tear to an Archangel’s Staff, which hopefully turns into a Seraph’s Embrace immediately. Then you can buy more damage with stuff like Rabadon’s Deathcap, Demonic Embrace or Zhonya’s Hourglass, or go into the forbidden Gargoyle’s Stoneplate tech – which you should, as you’ll have more than enough DPS after your core, but as you don’t have mobility, the extra tankiness helps.
Cassiopeia is not an easy champion, but if you learn the Gorgon of League of Legends, you’ll be able to out-slither your enemies with ease!
Jayce
The Defender of Tomorrow was one of the best midlaners in proplay for the Summer Splits, complementing picks such as Rumble with his AD damage. He of course kept his spot high up on the list, and while he’s not the absolute best (like Naafiri), he can still pack a huge punch. Jayce can be very versatile with his ranged and melee forms, and he scales incredibly well – but with these tips, you can dominate your lane even from the early stages of a match:
- For Runes, First Strike works great for Jayce thanks to the huge range of his Cannon E-Q combo. Pair the Keystone up with the standard Inspiration runes, so Magical Footwear, Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight, picking up Absolute Focus and Scorch for that early game poke damage. Don’t forget to take two Adaptive Force and Health fragments as well!
- For you Summoner Spells, Flash and Ignite has the highest winrate with 52%, but Teleport can work great instead of Ignite if you want bigger impact in the lategame.
- In terms of abilities, start with your Q, then your E, than your W to make your full rotation incredibly dangerous. Then max your Q, W then E – and you don’t even have to put points in your ultimate! Don’t forget to use your W on the enemy towers, and that you can activate it, then switch to hammer for a quick beatdown!
- In terms of your build, start with Doran’s Blade and a Health Potion, but on your first back, pick up Tear of the Goddess to stack it as soon as possible. Your Mythic should be Duskblade of Draktharr for quick assassinations and a chance to get out of trouble until your next rotation, while Manamune and Ionian Boots of Lucidity should make up your core. Afterwards, Spear of Shojin, Guardian Angel, Edge of Night or Serylda’s Grudge can work wonders, as they provide great utility – and most importantly, damage – to Jayce.
As always, there are far more good picks outside of these three champions – Naafiri, Cassio and Jayce are just some that we think can be the strongest if played correctly. Patch 13.16 is on the horizon, so keep an eye out for our best champions for 13.16 articles as well – but until then, get that free LP!
