Annie is a rather fearsome opponent. She has the power to two shot people and has the possibility to be one shot by others. While playing Annie, you're essentially a glass cannon. Anyone can get kills with Annie, lets be honest. The thing that sets most Annies apart, is how they follow through with the rest of the game. The reason for this guide is to show you how I play my version of a successful Annie. Remember while reading this that these are my opinions and I'm not saying this is the only way to play Annie.

Quintessences - Potency or Fortitude - There has been times where the little bit of extra HP has saved my *** in the early game. Potency would also be a great choice.

Marks - Magic pen

Seals - Mp5 - You can use the pure Mp5 or Mp5pL - early game is when they're most important.

Glyphs - APpL - MOAR POWA

I've seen plenty of Annies that try to rush a rod of ages and it's been something that has bothered me. I feel that little bit of HP it gives you won't make a difference when push comes to shove. Unless you build pure tank items, you're going to get killed if you stick your neck too far out. For that reason, I focus on building pure power. If you have good map awareness and a good strategy, you can finish a game with minimal deaths. With that being said, let's build our glass cannon.

Mejai's - Most crucial part of the build, it is imperative that you start gaining stacks ASAP. This is your "max power" button.

Sorc Boots - Makes your spells hit harder early on, and when the other team starts building MR stuff, you'll appreciate these even more.

Tear of Goddess - Mana is tight early on, and you also build this into an AA staff later on.

Rabadon's Deathcap - Even more AP.

Void Staff or Abyssal Sceptor - Straight up AP and some MR, if the other team hasn't built MR stuff, go with the Abyssal.

Zhonya's Hour Glass - Nice AP and on use effect, build this after the deathcap if you're getting beat down.

Archangels Staff - A nice boost to your AP after all of that mana you've gained.


Now throughout this, if you find yourself with an extra 300 gold after buying your next item, it's a good idea to grab an elixir. Only do this after you've built your deathcap.

Flash - I have run into a few who understand the power annie can dish out and can dodge your tibbers stun, can be pretty annoying. Remove all question.

Ignite - OH NO YOU DIDN'T GET AWAY! =)


I wouldn't suggest using anything else. I feel these two spells fit Annie perfectly. Your mileage may vary.

A lot has changed since I first made this guide. Your opponents are a little bit tougher, and some of them can be a real pain in the behind when you're playing against them.

You still of course, want to mid with Annie. She can hold her own and if she becomes fed, you control the game. She can work well in side lanes too, if you are unable to grab it.

As I start playing again, I'll go more in depth giving you strategies for each possible mid opponent. For now, I'm going to give a basic strategy. If you're new to the game, you're going to have to get a feel for each of the champions. Learn what they do and how to avoid their damage. If you're not new, you should have a decent idea of what to expect. If the opponent has skill shots, don't stand in the open, stand behind minions. If you're playing against MF, don't stand behind your minions. If you're playing against Urgot, keep moving and get his timing down so you can avoid the poison. Those are just a few examples.

I look at playing mid as if I'm playing chess. For the most part, it's just you and your opponent. An aggressive opponent is probably the most fun/easy to play against, assuming you can avoid some of the damage. Remember if they cross over onto your side, minions will hit them and they do hurt, so take advantage of your stun. If they are squishy, throw some fireballs at them but don't scare them from the lane. You wan't to setup your kill, not just push them to the turret. If they aren't squishy, you need to soften them up a little before level 6.

My main point of all of this, get a feel for your opponents health, play style, and timing.

Right, so you want to grab an Amplifying tome and a health pot then head to mid. There are not many other champions that you will meet in mid that you cannot handle with ease. Mordekaiser and Vladimir are the first to come to mind who might give you some trouble. With that being said, you must analyze how the enemy champion is playing their game. Are they being really aggressive and draining your HP pool with little effort? Then you need to play defensively, focusing on last hits only with your disintegrate. Are they over extending finding themselves being beat down by your minions? Take advantage of your stun.

Anyway, unless they're sitting back/turret hugging, you want to keep your stun up. At level 3, using disintegrate to stun them and following that up with an incinerate can be deadly based upon who you are playing. Your main goal is to get to level 6 without dying. Annie's auto attack has a decent range on it, so take advantage of that to keep them from last hitting your minions and draining their HP at the same time. Keep in mind that Annie's mana pool in the beginning of the game is rather limited, so try not blow it all on minion kills (incinerate spam.) You need enough to mana to pull off a Tibbers - Incinerate - Disintegrate combo on them. Soon as you turn level six you can pull that off. Get a feel for your opponent's HP pool before hand. You need to know whether or not you can kill them in one round of your abilities. If they are standing strong to your abilities, you need to drain them before you pull out the tibber combo.

Flash in - Tibbers stun - Incinerate - Disintegrate - ignite (if needed.)

Not too many people can survive that combo unless they're playing the aforementioned champions. At this point, you have basically won the mid game. They're either questioning how you killed them so fast, or screaming at their monitor calling Annie BS. You can repeat this combo once they return over and over again. Assuming they went down with the first combo, they will keep going down. Make sure to get your Mejai's asap so you can begin building those stacks.

Not much here needed to explain. You never want to travel without your stun. You don't want to be too aggressive without Tibbers, and you don't want to wander off alone. Annie is squishy, you need your stun, tibbers, and teammates. Once you got those mejai's stacks up high, you will hit like a friggin' truck, being able to remove one or multiple people from the fight. Remember you will most likely be targeted first in team fights, so act accordingly. If you're being chased, don't be afraid to turn around and disintegrate/incinerate them in the face, a fed Annie is sometimes ridiculous. You just need to build a confidence with her, this can sometimes be hard because people focus on her squishiness. She is able to make due with her stun and playing smart.

If the opposing team has any kind of smarts, you're going to be focused, hard. It's not exactly easy to counter this other than showing up late to team fights. The key is to show up late but not too late. ;) Also remember, if they have a squishy high damage champion, such as a yi or sion, they're going to be doing the same thing and probably looking for you. At this point, it is all about being in a good position, don't allow yourself to get ganked. Don't become so cocky that you wonder off alone.

Know when to take risks and know when not to. Your main priority is staying alive. You want to maintain the edge in mid so you can quickly shut them out. Never chase, be wary when approaching enemy champions in the river and jungle, there is often more than one person waiting for you. Being that Annie is so squishy, you have to be just as defensive as you are offensive.