The mid lane is a diverse place in League of Legends, with plenty of champions lining up down centre stage. That means there’s a lot of choices to make when it comes to what Mythic item you need to take on mid laners in Season 11.
[jwplayer nosp1nZ9]
There’s a lot to take in with League of Legends’ Season 11 item overhaul. Over half of the in-game shop has changed, and the meta around building items has shifted towards getting the all-new Mythic items early.
These Mythic items are ultra-powerful tools that get stronger as the game progresses and you buy more goods from the shopkeeper. Some of them are new entirely, while others are modeled on wares from earlier seasons.
A key to winning in Season 11 is picking the right Mythic for the right situation. In the mid lane especially that’s key — if you get the wrong Mythic, you and your team will suffer. There’s a lot to choose from, so if it’s a bit daunting, we’ve got you covered so you can steer your team to victory.
Liandry’s Anguish
Liandry’s Anguish is a dream item for damage-over-time users like Malzahar, Cassiopeia, and Brand. These champions get so much power from Liandry’s — like they did with the old Torment — that it may as well be worth two items.
Liandry’s now is good enough that other mid laners that typically didn’t build it, like Azir, can do so now to shred tanks. It cuts magic resist like butter, and it’s also one of the most gold efficient items in the game. Plus, it gives you ability haste on your Mythic passive, meaning you can dish out more burn damage.
The item also has some super strong components. Any item that builds out of Lost Chapter is typically going to be good, given how strong its passive is during laning phase, as well as its gold efficiency. It’s got all the stats you could want, bundled into one punchy tank-buster.
Champions:
- Malzahar
- Xerath
- Cassiopeia
- Brand
- Azir
When to buy: Great on any champion with a damage-over-time ability, but also helps if you need to shred down tanks.
Luden’s Tempest
Luden’s Echo was once a stock standard first buy for many mage mids. The item gave a lot of burst, and all the stats you could want between ability power and mana. Now, under Luden’s Tempest, it gives all that and more.
Not only does it give AP and mana, but magic penetration and Ability Haste too. This stacks, due to the Mythic passive granting extra magic pen. It makes Luden’s an all-around amazing burst item on AP assassins and mages alike.
It’s also got a new component in its active that makes it appealing too.
The echo might be gated behind a fixed cooldown now, but activating it also gives you a burst of movement speed to kite away from enemies, or keep hunting down your prey. If you’re a mid laner (with AP and mana) and don’t know what to build, you can pretty much default to Luden’s Tempest every time.
Champions:
- LeBlanc
- Viktor
- Zoe
- Orianna
- Syndra
- Veigar
When to buy: If you need a bit more burst in your combo, Luden’s can help you nail the damage down, and then push on or get away from pursuing enemies.
Everfrost
Everfrost is a funny Mythic, especially given it’s the only one like it now in Season 11. Born out of Hextech GLP-800, which thrived during the Twin Shadows-Glacial Augment meta, the Season 11 items don’t give you the power to get the same stacking slow.
However, landing a huge Everfrost doesn’t require a Glacial Augment slow to keep chasing your enemies. You can land a multi-man cone that roots enemies in the centre, and drastically slows those on the edge. It’s a powerful item, but it takes some time to get used to.
All the usual suspects that used to run GLP can run Everfrost pretty successfully. Plus, it provides a real raw scaling option for some mages, with its pure AP mythic passive.
Champions:
- Ahri
- Twisted Fate
- Neeko
- Aurelion Sol
When to buy: Great on Glacial Augment users, but generally when you need a bit more stopping power to make sure you can hit your combo perfectly.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Hextech Rocketbelt
Like its GLP cousin, the Hextech Protobelt-01 has gone the way of the dodo. Thankfully for many short-ranged AP mids, it’s back under a new name — Hextech Rocketbelt. Sounds infinitely cooler, which should make it more powerful, right?
Rocketbelt isn’t just a dash anymore. It’s quite the burst tool, with the mythic passive adding on some magic penetration. It’s also got more movement built into it, with a new 75% additional movement speed towards enemies just after using the active.
This is great news for Galio, Sylas, Ekko, and other mids who once relied on Protobelt. If you miss your Rocketbelt dash, you can still stick on top of your enemies because of the movement speed bonus. Now, you don’t even need to worry about getting peeled off — the enemy won’t be able to outrun you if you have Rocketbelt.
Champions:
- Galio
- Sylas
- Ekko
- Other short-ranged AP mids
When to buy: Hextech Rocketbelt is the ideal item if you need to jump onto a slippery carry as a melee or short-ranged AP mid, so pick it up if you need that extra mobility.
Eclipse
Look, Eclipse has been nerfed already in preseason 11. However, it’s still a very, very strong item. It’s arguably the most flexible Mythic in the game right now — we’ve already mentioned how strong it is on certain supports like Senna and Pyke.
It’s no different in mid lane. The item just does so much once you pick it up. It’s a duelists dream, slamming extra damage, a shield, and movement speed into a passive to make winning fights a breeze — well, until the enemy also builds an Eclipse. Plus, it also has omnivamp? And Lethality? Eclipse is just a stacked item.
It can be taken on pretty much any AD mid, however it thrives on those who like to do their bidding up close and personal. Much like Luden’s for AP champions, if you’re an AD mid laner and unsure what to buy, in most situations you can pretty comfortably take Eclipse.
Champions:
- Talon
- Jayce
- Other AD mids
When to buy: If you’re taking a lot of duels in the mid lane early as an AD champion, Eclipse can help you survive, and even thrive, in these battles.
Duskblade of Draktharr
Assassins really have it good in Season 11. Not feeling like Eclipse? How about just one-shotting an enemy with Duskblade of Draktharr, and getting out like nothing ever happened because you go invisible.
It’s the same Duskblade of old basically, but with a twist — you do go invisible after a takedown (within three seconds). Not only that, but you can have it constantly refresh during a fight, meaning you can get the 99% slow off on multiple targets, not just one or two.
It is also stacked with a bunch of ability haste — up to 40 with full build because of the Mythic passive. Duskblade is back, and assassin mid laners should be salivating because of it.
Champions:
- Zed
- Qiyana
- Other AD assassins
When to buy: If your M.O. is get in and get out, Duskblade is the perfect item for doing so. You can reposition under the cloak of invisibility in a fight and surprise again.
Other options
Kraken Slayer (Lucian): Kraken Slayer is good for whenever you want to take a marksman mid. While Lucian is its biggest user, if you are up against a tank in the mid lane, you’d definitely want to consider taking Kraken Slayer alongside Blade of the Ruined King.
- Read more: How to play the Wild Rift open beta
Trinity Force (Irelia): Trinity Force is still good. However, you do have to make a decision between the spellblade passive and all the other goodies in the Mythics section. It’s great on Irelia in mid, but it’s not as flexible as it once was.
Night Harvester (Katarina, Fizz): Katarina mains are salivating at the sight of Night Harvester. It’s the perfect item to go full keyboard-smashing Scarra on the enemy team, dealing a ton of extra damage and allowing you to blaze through the backline. It’s good on most other AP assassins too.
Riftmaker (Akali, Rumble, Kassadin, Ryze): Riftmaker is basically the non-mana Liandry’s, but it also does a bit more to keep the damage ticking over. It gives casters omnivamp to help sustain in a fight, and also grants true damage at max stacks.
Immortal Shieldbow (Yasuo, Yone): With the critical strike changes in Season 11, Yasuo and Yone have a lot more flexibility in their build paths. This makes marksman Mythics like Immortal Shieldbow especially strong on them, as it gives them two items in one between their old crit builds and lifesteal they need for late-game.