There’s a reason that queueing up as a mid laner takes longer than, say, support. Lots of people love playing mid, and that’s because it’s one of the most impactful roles in the game. Aside from being the centerpiece of most compositions, the mid laners at your disposal are incredibly diverse and fun to play. Ranking them is hard, but there’s an S tier that will always stand out above the rest.

10. Azir

The mid lane is just one part of his vast domain.

The resurrected emperor of Shurima doesn’t do his dirty work. Instead, he leaves it to his sand soldiers, who are summoned by his will. They attack and shield for Azir, created only to serve him.

While Azir takes a while to get going, he is a pain  to lane against. His sand soldiers give him incredible lane priority, while later on in the game his passive allows his team to make unique macro plays. His ultimate, when used right, can wipe entire teams and change a game.

With great power comes great responsibility, though. Azir is one of the most difficult champions to pick up, and playing him feels incredibly different from other mages. The emperor is going to push your micro and positioning to their absolute limits.

What makes Azir a great mid laner:

• Lane priority
• Consistent damage
• Zoning
• Teamfighting ultimate

Azir details

See Azir in action

9. Katarina

She might be sworn to death, but she's not going to be the one dying.

Katarina, both pre and post rework, lives in infamy. She darts all around the map on low cooldowns, dealing high damage consistently. This red-haired Noxian assassin needs to be focused and shut down, or else she’ll wipe your entire team with an easy pentakill.

While incredibly powerful in teamfights and skirmishes, Katarina falters in the laning phase. She lacks wave clear and safe poke, making her easy pickings for mages or even other assassins with easier to hit basic abilities. But once she slips through and finds a good roam, she can double kill your bot lane without breaking a sweat.

Even though her abilities need her to be in the middle of a fight, her items usually give her survivability (Rift Maker’s omnivamp, anyone?). This, along with her mobility, makes her durable enough to last through a big clash. Just make sure to dodge away from crowd control.

What makes Katarina a great mid laner:

• Hypermobile
• Can wipe entire teams
• Low cooldowns
• Survivability with items

Katarina details

See Katarina in action

8. Viktor

He is the creator...of corpses.

The machinist is one of the most consistent residents of the midlane. He has zoning, good damage, waveclear, and excellent teamfighting. While his E is hard to warm up to at first, it’s one of the best abilities in the game in our humble opinion.

As generic AP poke abilities go, Viktor’s E laser is unique in its targeting style (similar to Rumble’s ultimate). Once upgraded and maxed out, though, it’s a low cooldown, high scaling ability that can poke your enemies down to nothing. This means that his waveclear is one of the best in the game.

His other abilities give him more damage (his ultimate can melt entire teams), zoning, and crowd control. Playing Viktor will let you dominate both lane and teamfights, but as a squishy mage, make sure to stay out of the range of those pesky assassins and bruisers.

What makes Viktor a great mid laner:

• Safe in both lane and teamfights
• Strong zoning for objective control
• Reliable waveclear and poke

Viktor details

See Viktor in action

7. Yone

He's come back from death...and he needs someone to take his spot.

Yasuo’s long-awaited brother has made his way onto the Rift. And Yone has his brother’s best qualities in spades--mobility, damage, survivability. Better yet, he doesn’t have the same drawbacks that keep Yasuo down.

Yone has a simpler kit than Yasuo, making him easier to pick up and do well with. He doesn’t rely on the presence of enemy targets for his mobility, and he can pull off a gorgeous 5-man knock-up all by himself. Malphites need not apply.

Like many other melee AD carries (ala Master Yi and co.), Yone is an incredible side lane threat. His mobility gives him quick roaming potential, and his high damage and attack speed numbers let him melt minion waves and towers. But a Yone who doesn’t use his E well can succumb easily to Grievous Wounds and crowd control.

What makes Yone a great mid laner:

• Mobility on almost every ability
• Crowd control can enable teammates or himself
• Easy to execute combos

Yone details

See Yone in action here

6. Akali

The moon won't be the only thing that's bleeding.

Very few champions are flashier than Akali. With approximately a million dashes in her kit on low cooldowns, complete with high amounts of mixed damage and invisibility, she is a favorite for those who want to flex their skill.

Her passive requires you to dance in and out of fights to maximize your damage. It’s something that sounds simple at first glance. But when you do it wrong, it’s easy to get caught out and locked down. Done right? You completely feel the fantasy of being a ninja darting in, out, and into fights, again and again, dealing heavy damage in between.

Akali is volatile, though. She’s gone back and forth between being nerfed and buffed so many times. Riot themselves seem like they don’t know how to deal with her. Usually, she’s kept at below-average numbers stats-wise to make sure that the one tricks and pro players don’t dominate entire metas with her.

What makes Akali a great mid laner:

• Dashes for days
• High amounts of mixed damage
• Invisibility with W lets you survive teamfights

Akali details

See Akali in action

5. Sylas

It's going to hard to swallow when he gives you a taste of your own medicine.

Sylas, a powerful mage rebelling against Demacia, warps the game around him. He steals other champions’ ultimates, making your enemies victims to their game-changing abilities.

On top of that versatility, Sylas has multiple dashes and a stun. This makes him hard to kite away from; if he has his eyes on you, good luck getting away. When he does reach you, his damage is going to destroy your health pool fast, all while he heals back any damage you might have gotten onto him.

It’s not easy getting to that 1v9 level, though. Sylas needs some time to pick up, and his laning isn’t the best. His waveclear makes his split push a bit slower than other bruisers. And if the enemy team doesn’t have any ults that are useful for you, you’re out of luck.

What makes Sylas a great mid laner:

• Easy to hit stun
• Dash on dash on dash
• Ultimate gives you endless possibilities
• Self-healing

Sylas details

See Sylas in action

4. Twisted Fate

Pick a card, any card. They'll all kill you anyway.

    This slick card slinger has an easy kit at first glance. But make no mistake; he is one of the most intricate mages to play. While you don’t need to memorize complicated combos to succeed, you need to have a good amount of game sense to be successful.

    Twisted Fate is a staple in pro games for his ability to rotate around the map and exert pressure. His wave clear is excellent, which makes him a good pick for side lane pushes as well. And of course, who can resist a point and click stun?

    In today’s game where Samiras and Lillias jump and run around at hundreds of units of movement speed, Twisted Fate sometimes has a hard time keeping up. The cards don’t help with mobility. Oftentimes, the most reliable way to engage with him is a Flash and a gold card. Just make sure you’ve got your timing for your E down.

What makes Twisted Fate a great mid laner:

• Point and click stun
• Map control with ult
• Side lane pressure
• Reliable waveclear

Twisted Fate details

See Twisted Fate in action

3. Zed

Shadow ninja assassin. Need I say more?

Zed has made his (death) mark on League of Legends history in a way that very few champions can match. He is none other than the champion in the famous Ryu vs. Faker 1v1 mirror matchup, the most famous play in the game’s history.

The shadow assassin is a mainstay in the midlane for his carry potential,  pure flashiness, and lane dominance. Not to mention that lots of mid mains love his playstyle. Who can blame them? Slipping through your opponents’ fingers and killing them from the shadows is something many, many League players enjoy.

Unfortunately, though, a single Zhonya can nullify everything that Zed does. But that doesn’t mean your AD carries are safe from this dark ninja. Bot laners beware.

What makes Zed a great mid laner:

• Multiple ways to go in then escape
• Respectable laning, as melee champions go
• Huge burst that leaves little time to react
• Fun, flashy combos

Zed details

See Zed in action

2. Orianna

This clockwork girl will wipe your entire team without breaking a sweat. Not just because she's deadly, but because she's a robot. Robots don't sweat.

Orianna is one of the most balanced and elegantly designed champions ever released. Because of this, she is a staple in the midlane as one of the most reliable mages in the game. She hasn’t seen any major nerfs, buffs, or kit changes in her entire history. Metas have come and gone around her, and she remains quietly through it all  in the background of flashier champions.

The lady of clockwork has a unique identity; her abilities rely on her ball, which she can move at will. Her Q moves the ball, her W creates a field that slows enemies, speeds up allies, and deals big damage. Her E is a shield that attaches her ball to an ally or back to her, and her R is a game-changer. Dealing huge damage, it also knocks up and pulls in enemies in its range. On top of its burst, her ultimate allows her enemies to unleash their own ultimates on easy targets. 

With great damage, utility, and teamfighting, Orianna is one of the best midlaners you could pick up. Even though she can’t roam as well as the other, more hypermobile champions on this list, her team fighting and laning are much stronger. The consistent damage she puts out is more than enough to delete enemy carries who lost track of her ball.

What makes Orianna a great mid laner:

• Consistent damage output
• Team utility
• Game changer ultimate

Orianna details

See Orianna in action

1. LeBlanc

She'll do much, much more than deceive you.

The leader of the Black Rose takes the top spot on this list of heavy hitters. She has it all: insane burst damage, mobility, low cooldowns, crowd control, and flashy combos. LeBlanc is incredibly fun to play, and putting in the time to master her will reward you with LP for days.

While she’s short-ranged, her W gives her safety and poke in the laning phase. It also lets her dodge crowd control easily, more so if she mimics it with her ult. Her chains can easily catch immobile enemies on guard and lock them down to eat all of her damaging spells.

LeBlanc is both a pro play and solo queue favorite. She’s seen regular picks in professional leagues while terrorizing mid-lanes around the world in ranked matches. Beautiful, cunning, flashy, and dangerous don’t even cut it. Many words can describe her. None are up to par.

What makes LeBlanc a great mid laner:

• Great roaming
• Hypermobile
• Low cooldown, high damage abilities
• Can pop a squishy enemy in the blink of an eye

LeBlanc details

See LeBlanc in action