Hey guys, this is my first guide on MobaFire. When I started playing League I one tricked Anivia for the whole season. Anivia is a fun control mage that can dish out a load of damage while being safe in the backline. Anivia is not a mechanically intense champion in my opinion but the way you play her is the difference between an average Anivia and a great Anivia. I will continue to add to this guide over time. Let me know what I should add to this guide and how I can improve. Thanks! And good luck with your games!

Flash Frost: Your Q is an AOE skill shot that can stun enemies where you stop the Q. In the early game, don't waste your Q by spamming it. You want to use your Q to setup or engage for a gank.

Crystallize: This is a unique ability since it's one of a kind. In the early game, I max W at level 4 because in many cases you won't be using your W in lane. When you position your wall inside the jungle and you want to cut off the enemies, don't cut off the whole route because if the enemies burn their flashes, you also need to burn flashes too. So cut of 3/4 of the escape route so the enemies have to burn flash to get away while your team can just walk around the wall.

Frostbite: This is your main source of damage since its always going to hit because it's a point and click ability. If the target was hit by your Q or stepped into your R/ULT, your E does double damage. In lane, you can use your E to harass but don't spend all your mana trying to poke your enemy.

Glacial Storm: Your R is an AOE ability which slows enemies that are inside of it. Positioning your ultimate during a teamfight is crucial because if you don't put it in the right spot, you have to wait a few seconds before you can place it again. I usually press R and then W so that the enemies are forced to move into one direction. Since the enemies are slowed, it makes it easier to hit your Q.

Pros

Cons

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This is one of the combos that can dish out a ton of damage in the early game. When you hit level three, you want two points in your Frostbite and one point in your Flash Frost. If you manage to land your Flash Frost, and follow up with an Frostbite, you can half health some champions that are super squishy. If you are running Ignite, then you have a ton of kill pressure and most people won't expect that damage since they think Anivia is weak early game.

Laning Phase

Pre-6: Try to freeze the wave outside your tower and last hit all the minions. If you get pushed into your tower, try using your E if you feel like you can't get some of the minions. Also, proc your mana band flow with E's when your opponent tries to walk up and cs. Against champs that you know you can bully like Ryze or someone who is squishy, you can use your mana on poking them down to force them to back.

Updated: Now that Electrocute is one of the main runes that Anivia uses, you have more kill potential once you hit level 2 or 3. Many people don't expect your damage output, especially with Ignite & your Flash Frost & Frostbite combo.

After Laning Phase

At this point around the 15~20 minute mark, you should have/be close to completing your mythic item and Tear. Focus on farming whether it's the lane minions or the jungle camps. Make sure to always clear the lane minions because if you don't it is "lost" experience because unlike jungle camps which will always there. If you do clear everything out, look to roam with your jungler or team to get picks.

Laning Phase

This is where Anivia is extremely good, once she has her mythic, Seraph's Embrace and at least one other item. In this stage of the game 25 min and beyond, you should always be looking to team fight and pressure for objectives. Remember that applying pressure doesn't mean you need to get kills, simply getting the enemy team low is good enough for your team to take control of an objective.

During team fights, since you will be a damage source, the opposing team might try to engage on you. Make sure that you position your ult and wall properly to cut off and isolate one or two enemies at a time. As an Anivia, you need to make sure that you are dodging any form of CC as your ultimate will go back onto cooldown if you do. Don't be afraid to Zhonyas if you are about to get CCed as your ult will still go on while you are in stasis(when you are untargetable).

Everfrost: This is one of the items that gives mana, health, and AP all in one package for Anivia. Since Rod of Ages(ROA) scales and gives you increased stats per minute, it is optimal to get this item as early as possible.

Tear of the Goddess: This is probably the first component of an item you want to buy. You want to buy this item as soon as possible and as early as you can. Tear of the Goddess is a scaling item. You want to start stacking this item ASAP because then you can get your Seraph's Embrace's shield earlier. As we can see, Anivia requires a lot of items to just get her mana up, however we scale really well into the late game where she can siege and become a team fight god.

Archangel's Staff: This item gives what Anivia needs: mana and AP. This item brings cool down reduction to the table. Depending on what runes you are running on Anivia, you will have at least 20% CDR from the passive of Archangel's Staff. If you are running Transcendence, you will have at least 30% CDR.

After you get these two items, your itemization is diverse depending on what the enemy team composition is like. For boots however, you can get the Magical Footwear rune for free boots but you will have to wait until the timer runs out which means if you are in a matchup where mobility is key you might want to get Boots. Once you have the basic boots, you can look to what type of boots you want. If you are against a fed assassin like a Kha'Zix or Talon, Plated Steelcaps is a good idea. If you are against a team with a ton of crowd control (CC) then buying Mercury's Treads. Then finally the boots that you can build if you are fed or just want to deal more damage in general: Sorcerer's Shoes.

Void Staff: This item is cheap and provides a ton of AP and Magic Penetration. If the enemy team is building Magic Resist items like Spirit Visage or Banshee's Veil, building this item can counter the Magic Resist. You can also build this item if you just want to rush a damage item since Rabadon's Deathcap is more expensive.

Rabadon's Deathcap: Like Void Staff, it gives you AP and it's passive boosts your AP by 40% on top of giving you 120 AP. If you are fed, build this item first so you can dish out a ton of damage before the enemy team can get too much Magic Resist.

Stopwatch: You should rush stopwatch if you are against an aggressive champion like Zed or Talon, that can dish out a lot of damage. You can also buy it when you are ahead to make sure that you can play more aggressive since you have a get out of jail free card. If you cast your Glacial Storm before pressing Stopwatch, your Glacial Storm does not cancel.

Zhonya's Hourglass: Zhonya's is a really nice item if you are sitting on a Broken Stopwatch, it gives you armor which is good against a fed Assassin or ADC. It also gives more survivability even if there isn't anyone fed on the enemy team because it allows you to play more aggressively.

Liandry's Anguish: Liandry's is a nice item if the enemy team has a lot of tanks since the passive is a burn that works well with your ultimate. It also provides some mana which is always welcomed. I often build Liandry's Torment over Morellonomicon.