League of Legends Mid Lane Guide: Best Champions to Carry Patch 14.22

The meta stabilizes as we prepare for next week’s patch 14.23 in League of Legends. However, there are a few days left to climb to new heights. Yesterday we compiled the best picks for Top Laners and lucky for you, we at Cheat CC have analyzed the data and compiled the best picks for your current rank to give you the de facto best Mid Laners to carry your games this patch.

But what makes a good mid lane champion anyway? Mid laners love to have great waveclear and the ability to roam and apply pressure to the map. The best mid laners are ones who can easily farm minions without using too much mana and quickly help their jungler secure an objective or maybe gank a lane. The following champions are some of if not the best at doing just that.

Malzahar (Low ELO)

• Win Rate: 52%
• Pick Rate: 6%
• Ban Rate: 9%
• Countered By: Galio, Swain, Smolder, Vel’ Koz, Naafiri

Malzahar is perfect for low ELO mid laners (PLAT 1 and under) because he can consistently keep pressure in his lane while still being reasonably safe. It’s incredibly easy to farm minions with him so you should be able to get through the lane ahead in gold. Once it is time to start grouping and team-fighting, his ultimate is perfect for catching out enemies and setting up picks for the rest of your team. You can’t go wrong with Malzahar.

Katarina (High ELO)

• Win Rate: 51%
• Pick Rate: 6%
• Ban Rate: 8%
• Countered By: Kassadin, Galio, Qiyana, Zed, Vladimir

If you’re at least Diamond 2 and have the hands to pilot her, Katarina is an incredibly good pick for your mid lane champion pool. She has great build diversity allowing her to easily adapt to the enemy team and she has a high skill ceiling because you’ll always be changing your strategy on the fly. As cool as she is, she is weak to crowd control and to champions she’s unable to burst in a rotation of spells. Maybe not a good blind pick, but very good in the right hands.

Vex (Low ELO)

• Win Rate: 52%
• Pick Rate: 5%
• Ban Rate: 8%
• Countered By: Veigar, Annie, Swain, Casseiopeia, Anivia

Vex is more so a counter-pick than a good pick on her own. However, she capitalizes on low elo players who try to play assassins like Sylas, Talon, and Qiyana. What makes Vex so strong in the current meta is how she engages with champions with dashes. A control mage in every sense, she has all the tools to initiate a fight while also disengaging ones that look bad. While she isn’t good for every single match, you’ll be better with her than without her in most.

Zed (High ELO)

• Win Rate: 50%
• Pick Rate: 5%
• Ban Rate: 13%
• Countered By: Gragas, Pantheon, Taliyah, Ekko, Malphite

Zed works similarly to Katarina in the sense that he’s good at picking off targets in the chaos of a league match. Most high ELO players are aware of what he’s doing and can play in a way so that it’s hard for him to snowball a lead. However, the best Zed players still find a way to assassinate their targets while keeping pressure up in a side lane. If you put in the time, Zed is a perfect pick right now, especially with team compositions skewing toward mage bot lanes.

Veigar (Low ELO)

• Win Rate: 52%
• Pick Rate: 6%
• Ban Rate: 4%
• Countered By: Xerath, Malzahar, Katarina, Anivia, Naafiri

Yesterday we placed Nasus in this spot for perfectly capitalizing on one of Low ELO’s biggest weaknesses — the ability to close out a game. Veigar does the exact same thing, only better. Where Nasus has to kill a unit with his stacking ability for it to get stronger, Veigar just has to hit an enemy champion with his abilities in order to gain a stack. It is not uncommon for Veigars to farm well and leave lane straight up one shooting enemy marksman and mages. Some players even build tank items on him to cover his weak early game. No matter what you do, it’s hard to mess up on Veigar.

Hwei (High ELO)

• Win Rate: 50%
• Pick Rate: 7%
• Ban Rate: 10%
• Countered By: Kassadin, Diana, Taliyah, Katarina, Leblanc

Hwei can do almost anything. Not shocking, since he has 10 abilities instead of the usual 4. He provides an interesting dynamic when he’s picked because he can adapt to whatever the team needs at the time. He can be a burst mage, he can be a control mage, and he can be utility. Now of course, since he’s a jack of all trades, he’s not really the best at any of the things he does but for those who want that flexibility, he’s a super solid pick.

Galio (Either ELO)

• Win Rate: 51%
• Pick Rate: 9%
• Ban Rate: 5%
• Countered By: Swain, Vel Koz, Hwei, Veigar, Anivia

Galio is an easy AP bruiser champion who can directly counter other AP champions, especially melee champions. He has good survivability, good gank set up, and great waveclear. Every single thing a good mid lane champion needs. His ultimate is perfect for roaming and turning an unfavorable fight into a fair one. He’s one of the few champions, we at Cheat CC recommend at both ELOs because he’s just an all-around flawlessly designed champion. You know something is good when it’s good at all ranks AND pro play. Galio nerfs incoming for sure.

Lux (Low ELO)

• Win Rate: 52%
• Pick Rate: 5%
• Ban Rate: 18%
• Countered By: Naafiri, Anivia, Xerath, Aurelion Sol, Malzahar

Lux is a good champion to learn mid lane on since she’s safe and has great wave clear. She can enforce some bad habits though since she doesn’t have cooldowns once she gets her items. Where missing a crowd control ability can leave you open to an unfavorable trade, Lux can use her abilities whenever she wants and have them back up before you can truly punish her. No wonder her ban rate is so high, she’s an annoying champion to lane against making her perfect to capitalize on the weak mental of low ELO players.

Ahri (High ELO)

• Win Rate: 50%
• Pick Rate: 13%
• Ban Rate: 3%
• Countered By: Akshan, Zoe, Talon, Neeko, Swain

Ahri is an honest champion. What’s not to like about her? She’s a good blind pick, her hard counters are mostly out of the meta, and she can take over a team fight in the hands of a good player. She’s just consistent and in the hands of a high ELO player, that’s all you can really ask for. A champion that can get you through any team composition with little to no resistance.

Swain (Cheat CC’s Pocket Pick)

• Win Rate: 52%
• Pick Rate: 2%
• Ban Rate: 6%
• Countered By: Brand, Vel Koz, Casseiopeia, Anivia, Galio

Swain has been getting better and better these last couple of patches as Riot continues to give him many quality of life changes. He can finally fulfill his job as a battle mage with increased damage and survivability. He has been slowly but continuously buffed since season 12 and as the meta begins to shift with the next patch, it’s safe to assume that he’s going to continue to get better. Players have been primarily playing him in the bot lane as support and APC but with these changes, he’s becoming viable in the solo lanes as well. Hoping to see him in pro play next spring.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Jazz Stewart.