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Introduction

[Important] The build at the top of this guide is updated, but the rest of the guide is still being worked on!
Hello and welcome to the first guide I ever made, for my favorite champion: Anivia. Seriously, I must have more than 100 games with her. Anivia is a burst mage. Her damage and CC are amazing and she's definately one of the best mid AP carries in the game. She can outlane most other mid champions with only a few exceptions. Her CC makes her an amazing ganker, and gives her the ability to carry games.
In this guide I will discuss Anivia's abilities, runes, masteries, summoner spells, playing style and more. I will focus on a 5v5 mid lane Anivia, since that's where she belongs.
Please rate and comment on this guide and tell me how I can improve it. I need all the feedback I can get since it's my first League of Legends guide. Hope you like it!

Note - read before voting please!

If you're going to vote, please comment and make sure you've read the relevant parts of the guide first. Please don't downvote just because you don't like X item, or X rune. I explain every choice in my guide and give many alternatives. If you don't like something, comment and I will reply and consider changing it.

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09-02-13 Completely redesigned the guide and updated the build. |
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07-12-12 This guide is now updated for the preseason 3 changes. |
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05-11-12 Made changes to the build and guide layout. |
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08-09-12 Changed the main item build significantly. |
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04-09-12 Made changes to rune and item choices. |
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08-07-12 Changed some item builds and explanations slightly. |
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25-05-2012 Updated the entire guide layout. |
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27-05-2012 Changed the item build to now include the new item ![]() ![]() |
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25-05-2012 Fixed some spelling and BBCode errors. |
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15-04-2012 Changed the item build to now include ![]() ![]() |

Not sure whether or not to buy Anivia? Here's a quick list of pros and cons to help you decide. These don't describe everything about Anivia of course but they are good to know.
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Pros![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Cons![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |

Here is a brief explanation of my rune choices. The runes I take are pretty standard but still. Of course there are other options than these runes.
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The quints for most mages. These will significantly increase your early-game power. Their efficiency is about the best of all quints. You could combine this with ![]() Other options: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |

I recommend the pretty standard 21-0-9 caster masteries. This will give you the most damage output while also giving you some mana regen and movement speed from the Utility tree. There are other options too though. 9-0-21 can be a good choice if you want more utility and a safer lane. going 9-12-9 is also possible if you want to be more tanky.
1 |
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Your ![]() |
4 |
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CDR, which is helpful throughout the game. It might not seem like much, but it will make a difference in longer fights. |
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Gives you a decent amount of AP. |
1 |
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Will help out especially late-game. |
2 |
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Not great, but you don't really have other options. |
3 |
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Gives you a good amount of extra AP. |
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Good for extra damage and poking with your long range auto-attacks. |
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Starts meaning a lot when you have tons of AP. |
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Useful for finishing off low health enemies. |
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For lower ![]() |
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More mana. |
3 |
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More mana. |
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Even more CDR for ![]() ![]() |
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To extend the duration of your blue buff. |

My item builds for Anivia are aimed at getting a good balance between damage and tankiness. I like to build Anivia pretty tanky, because she scales insanely well with survivability. With her egg, she has twice her normal health and later on also extra armor and MR. Also, Anivia's abilities sometimes require you to get into the enemy team for optimal usage. With my main build, you can deal a lot of damage while being able to survive a lot of focus. This combined with your CC will make you incredibly strong in teamfights. If they do egg you, it will be hard for them to kill your egg while taking damage from the rest of your team. Of course, this build doesn't lack damage with big items like
Rabadon's Deathcap and
Liandry's Torment.



Start

![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Start 2 This is a possible start choice against opponents with a lot of skillshots ( ![]() ![]() |

Early

catalyst the protector |
catalyst the protector This is usually a key item for sustain in the laning phase. I often rush it together with a ![]() |
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![]() Great for early mana problems and survivability. The MR combined with health from catalyst the protector and ![]() |
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![]() Gives you very good damage against enemies without a lot of MR. It gives you a good combination of AP, health and magic pen. This combined with ![]() |
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![]() I tend to get these pretty early because Anivia has very low MS. All together, ![]() ![]() ![]() |

Core

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![]() I would say this is the most important item you will get on Anivia. Try to get it as quickly as possible to start getting stacks. The combination of AP, health and mana is essential for Anivia. They're all important stats to get. |
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![]() All useful stats. AP for more damage, MR for safer laning, mana regen for more spamming and CDR for even more spamming. It's a great item for Anivia in many ways. I suggest buying a ![]() |
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![]() Synergizes really well with Anivia's abilities. You will be able to constantly apply the passive with double damage thanks to your slows and stun. The effect has only half the duration for ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Tons of damage! |

Options

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![]() Great item if you're getting focussed hard. With my core build, all that's left to get is armor. Also, if you're laning against an AD-mid, rushing ![]() |
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![]() Great late-game item. You probably need extra armor and the mana and CDR are great too. The passive is most important though. It works really well against AS-/AD-reliant teams. This together with ![]() |
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![]() Another great source of armor. This also gives you more health and a good active. It's very similar to ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Why not? This is a possible alternative to ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() A good item for Anivia, especially in combination with other mana items. It will give you great mana regen and a lot of ability power through it's passive (110 with full build and max stacks). Together with ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() If enemies get a lot of MR, this is a great item. The more MR they have, the more efficient it is. This is easy to explain. If someone has 50 MR, ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Good early item and possibly an alternative to ![]() |
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![]() Works great if you get high resistances (MR and armor). Even though most of your abilities are AoE, you will deal constant damage, making you heal a lot. |

Enchantments

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![]() This enchantment always gives you a nice MS boost. It can make up for Anivia's low MS a bit and allows you to kite more effectively in teamfights. This makes it probably the best enchantment in most situations. |
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![]() This is a must-have if the enemies are pushing into your base. It makes defending much easier and might allow you to catch people off-guard. |
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![]() Possibly very good if you can initiate with ![]() |

To master Anivia, you have to master her abilities. Anivia is nothing without them. Her abilities can be difficult to get used to and require some practice. She is also very combo-based, which means you have to hit one thing to be able to use another thing. All this can make Anivia difficult to play, but once you know how to use her abilities, you can use her full potential. Here is an explaination for each ability and it's uses.
>
>
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or
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>
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Because Flash Frost deals the most damage (if you hit it twice) and is an AoE spell, I max it first. It can also be used to kill the three ranged creeps instantly at about level 6. Most people max this ability after Frostbite, since it's a more reliant form of damage (in an R-E combo). I think it's better for poking and farming to max Flash Frost first. Also, once you get used to it, you will be able to hit most of your Flash Frosts.
When to take a point in Crystallize is really up to you. I take it somewhere at level 10-13, since it's most useful late-game. You can take a point in it early for a solid escape, but you will sacrifice damage. Besides, your Q, R and passive are also great escape skills.
Anivia is combo-based. Basically, you have to hit Q or R before E. Your main combo is R-Q-E. Slow them with
Glacial Storm so you can land
Flash Frost more easily (thanks to the slow).
Flash Frost will also stun the target inside the AoE for some extra damage. Finally, hit
Frostbite for double damage.
Before level 6, use
Flash Frost and frost bite to harass. Only use
Flash Frost when there's a high chance it will hit, otherwise you will waste mana, and only use Frost Bite after
Flash Frost. The Q-E combo can take most AP carries down to half health if you get the double damage from both abilities.
Later on you can use
Crystallize to block an enemy's movement, so you can land
Flash Frost easily.

Ability explanations

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![]() When Anivia's health reaches zero, she will transform into an egg with full health. Enemies can attack the egg and Anivia cannot move or use abilities. After 6 seconds, Anivia is reborn with the amount of health the egg had remaining. Rebirth has a pretty long cooldown. This is just insane for baiting. Early game, you can lure an enemy into turret-diving you, then stun them, watch the turret kill him and let your egg save you. Make sure to always make use of Rebirth while under a turret, otherwise enemies can still attack you and kill you easily. With this ability you can pretty much suicide in a team-fight and survive while noone has the time to attack your egg. |
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![]() Image: ![]() A slow-moving skillshot that travels forward in a line. It will explode at the end of its range, or when you press Q again. Targets hit by the projectile are damaged and slowed. Targets hit by the explosion are damaged, stunned and chilled (chilled targets take double damage from Frostbite). Since Flash frost is such a slow skillshot, it has to be aimed perfectly at long range. The trick is to detonate the projectile when it has already damaged your target, so the target is hit twice. Press Q again after the projectile has traveled through your target. |
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![]() Image: ![]() Creates an impassable wall that lasts for 5 seconds. When leveled, the wall becomes wider. This is a great CC skill when used correctly. But it can also backfire insanely, killing everyone on your team. How to use it:
How not to use it:
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![]() Image: ![]() A single-target damaging ability. This ability deals double damage if the target is chilled, so it should be used right after hitting an enemy with ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Image: ![]() An AoE ability that damages, slows and chills enemies standing inside it. It can be turned off by pressing R again. It drains mana every second, so it should be used sparingly. Double-tap the ability for a quick slow and chill. If you leave it on for too long, you will lose all your mana. This ability in combination with ![]() |

Ability sequence









Because Flash Frost deals the most damage (if you hit it twice) and is an AoE spell, I max it first. It can also be used to kill the three ranged creeps instantly at about level 6. Most people max this ability after Frostbite, since it's a more reliant form of damage (in an R-E combo). I think it's better for poking and farming to max Flash Frost first. Also, once you get used to it, you will be able to hit most of your Flash Frosts.
When to take a point in Crystallize is really up to you. I take it somewhere at level 10-13, since it's most useful late-game. You can take a point in it early for a solid escape, but you will sacrifice damage. Besides, your Q, R and passive are also great escape skills.

Combos

Anivia is combo-based. Basically, you have to hit Q or R before E. Your main combo is R-Q-E. Slow them with




Before level 6, use



Later on you can use




My choice

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![]() Pretty obvious. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Hate those luckers? ![]() ![]() |

Other viable choices

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![]() I've taken this spell pretty much every game until level 30. Don't be fooled, ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Also a good escape skill, making up for Anivia's slow movement speed. Good for escaping, chasing, initiating or just getting back to lane faster. I don't think it's quite as good as ![]() |
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![]() Always a good spell. Good to take if you're going solo top (which isn't very likely) or if noone else in your team has it. Otherwise, don't take it. |

In this section I will discuss how to lane with Anivia. Your general goal in the laning phase should be to outfarm and outlevel your lane opponent, and gank the sidelanes when your opponent has recalled or your lane is pushed. Learn to last-hit and poke well with Anivia and you will dominate most other midlaners.
Pretty much just try to last-hit all the creeps. Try not to take any damage from your opponent and play defencive. Don't use
Flash Frost before level 2, because you won't be able to follow-up with
Frostbite and it will cost mana. At level 2 you can begin to harass with your Q-E combo, but try not to waste your mana by missing
Flash Frost. Only use it when you're at close range, or if you can predict your enemy's movement well enough.
Depending on how much health you and your opponent have left, play offensive or defensive. If you see you are taking too much damage, stay at range and just last-hit creeps. You can also let your passive trigger to get health back and bait your opponent. If your opponent is already low, try to zone him so he gets less gold and exp. Don't push your lane, because you will get ganked and your opponent will be able to get some last-hits under his turret. If you think it's possible, go in for the kill using your combo and ignite. Though your goal is mainly to make them recall so you can get the advantage, a kill is always nice. But don't get too greedy. Turret-diving is very difficult at this level and overextending will get you killed by their jungler.
After level 6 you have your full combo. With
Glacial Storm you can chill enemies more easily and slow them to hit
Flash Frost and
Frostbite. If you get a blue buff, you can pretty much spam your abilities to harass and farm. Otherwise, just harass in short bursts and make sure you don't leave
Glacial Storm on for too long. Try not to recall before you have 975 gold, so you can buy a catalyst the protector. This item will greatly increase your sustain. You can now roam very effectively if you see enemies overextend.
The laning phase should be pretty much over now. Now it's time for roaming, teamfights and map objectives. You could write an entire book about this, but there's not much difference in playstyle here between Anivia and other champions, so I won't talk about this in my guide.

Level 1-2

Pretty much just try to last-hit all the creeps. Try not to take any damage from your opponent and play defencive. Don't use




Level 3-5

Depending on how much health you and your opponent have left, play offensive or defensive. If you see you are taking too much damage, stay at range and just last-hit creeps. You can also let your passive trigger to get health back and bait your opponent. If your opponent is already low, try to zone him so he gets less gold and exp. Don't push your lane, because you will get ganked and your opponent will be able to get some last-hits under his turret. If you think it's possible, go in for the kill using your combo and ignite. Though your goal is mainly to make them recall so you can get the advantage, a kill is always nice. But don't get too greedy. Turret-diving is very difficult at this level and overextending will get you killed by their jungler.

Level 6-9

After level 6 you have your full combo. With





Level 10+

The laning phase should be pretty much over now. Now it's time for roaming, teamfights and map objectives. You could write an entire book about this, but there's not much difference in playstyle here between Anivia and other champions, so I won't talk about this in my guide.

Outdated, upudates coming ASAP!
Anivia is one of the best mid champions in the game (in my opinion of course) and she doesn't have many counters. There are some champions that can really mess her up in lane though. In this section I will discuss champions Anivia is good against and champions she is bad against (and how to deal with them).

Good matchups

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![]() Anivia is one of the best picks against Veigar. You can both pretty much one-shot each other with a full combo, but Anivia has longer range. ![]() |
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![]() As long as you stay behind your minions you're fine against Brand, he won't be able to stun you. Get boots at the start and watch him miss ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() You can take advantage of Ryze's short range by poking him from a distance. Just make sure you don't get too close, you can't win 1v1. Try to zone him if possible but don't get too aggressive. Beware of ganks and don't get in range for ![]() |
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![]() Before level 6 you can win easily. As long as you can dodge her ![]() |
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Most mages With Anivia you can win your lane against most other mages. You have a lot of damage to poke and burst. Even if you take too much damage you can just choose to push the lane with ![]() |

Bad matchups

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![]() Not very surprising. Kassadin is, in my opinion, the strongest AP midlaner (not the strongest AP lategame). He counters pretty much all AP carries and Anivia is no exception. It's pretty much impossible to land your ![]() When playing against Kassadin, try to win the lane as much as possible before he reaches level 6. After level 6, there's not much you can do but stand back and try to farm. Before level 6 you can land your ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() I absolutely hate her. The frustrating thing about Morgana is her sustain. She has built-in spell vamp and doesn't use a lot of mana. Anivia just doesn't have this sustain. Recalling too much can get you underleveled, staying can get you in bad spot. On top of it all, she pushes the lane really hard and Anivia can't farm well under the turret without using abilities. This also means you can't go gank and she can. Try to play passive against Morgana. Farm as much as possible using as little mana as possible. Stay behind your minions so she can't land a ![]() ![]() |
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![]() She is pretty much everything Kassadin is against Anivia. She has a built-in double flash ( ![]() When playing against LeBlanc, wait for her to use her ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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4. ![]() Poke-resistant with ![]() Try to win in farm by staying at range. Don't stand close to your minions because he will use his abilities on them to get a stronger shield. Try to poke him with auto-attacks, which is easier because he is melee-ranged. Don't use your abilities on him too much when his shield is up because it will only waste your mana. Instead, wait for his shield to time out or poke it away slowly with auto-attacks. Mordekaiser is very gankable because he has no escapes or CC, he pushes the minions and he is melee-ranged so he has to overextend sometimes. Just let him push and ask for ganks. |
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![]() Very annoying to lane against for some of the same reasons as Morgana. He out-sustains you easily. If you combo him you will have to get in range for ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() If you play against Vladimir, poking is pretty much useless. If you wan't to attack him, do it in full bursts so it will take him a long time to get his health back. While he has low health, use it to your advantage and keep harassing him and try to prevent him from healing. Remember that he has his ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() The perfect counter to most mages. His passive, ![]() ![]() ![]() The best thing to do against Galio is put your ranged AD carry mid. This will make it impossible for him to lane because he is melee-ranged and can't make use of his passive very well. When laning against him, try to avoid his skillshots as much as possible (which is really hard against a good Galio) and focus on farming. mercury's threads are a must-have against him. With mercury's threads you can simply walk out of his ult, not taking damage (which is rediculous and shouldn't be possible in my opinion). Ofcourse they also give magic resist. |
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![]() Dat range, omg dat range. Lux is the queen of poking with her abilities. Her abilities are fast-moving projectiles, which makes them very difficult to dodge, especially with a slow champion like Anivia. Her lazer (also known as finales funkeln) can snipe you or your egg from a huge distance. Getting upgraded boots as soon as possible is a must. This will make her abilities easier to avoid. Her ![]() |
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![]() He takes full advantage of your low movement and health. His barrels can poke you out of lane slowly, he has good sustain with ![]() ![]() Take ![]() ![]() |
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![]() A really annoying opponent. He can easily dodge ![]() ![]() ![]() Before level 6, you should just farm and stay safe. You can poke him with auto-attacks more easily because he is melee. Only use ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() An insanely strong mage. Her burst-damage is unmatched and she has an AoE stun with her passive ![]() ![]() ![]() Your advantage over Annie is your range. She is easily poked because she's very squishy. Don't get close to her. Watch for her stun (she giggles and has a blue-ish circle around her when it's up) and avoid her when she has it. Wait for her to use it on minions before getting close. The worst thing you can do against Annie is getting baited and turret-diving her. This is a classic Annie strategy. She will stun you under her turret and blow you up instantly with a full combo before you can do any damage. |

In conclusion I would like to say that I'd recommend any player to buy Anivia. She can be played and built to suit different roles and is very fun to play. Anivia is difficult to play but playing her will greatly improve your skill level. She is one of the strongest casters and if you can play her well, you can dominate high elo ranked games. She's definitely underplayed (I've played against her about 10 times in 1000 games) but she's one of the best and most fun to play AP carries. So be original and buy her!
Also, I would like to say: "I TOLD YOU SO!". Anivia is FINALLY being used in ranked games and tournaments A LOT. People finally understand her true power. I've been playing Anivia a lot months before she got this attention. Too bad I'm not the only Anivia player on the planet any more though :(
Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you like my guide and that it was helpful. If you liked it, please vote it up (this guide has now been viewed about 800 times and hasn't even been rated a single time) and leave a comment. Thanks!
Also, I would like to say: "I TOLD YOU SO!". Anivia is FINALLY being used in ranked games and tournaments A LOT. People finally understand her true power. I've been playing Anivia a lot months before she got this attention. Too bad I'm not the only Anivia player on the planet any more though :(
Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you like my guide and that it was helpful. If you liked it, please vote it up (this guide has now been viewed about 800 times and hasn't even been rated a single time) and leave a comment. Thanks!

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