Hi. This is my first guide on league of legends. Anivia is the third champion I bought and it is my favorite champion.

I read the hypershatter build while I was still learning the basics of the game, and I liked it mostly. The only part I do not like is the archangel in the late game. So why make a new build? Here is the story. One day, I was playing a ranked game. The highest elo guy on my team picked a jarvan with a heal and took mid. Our bottom lane went very bad and lost turret with a few deaths in less than 13 minutes and the jarvan quit before even 20 minutes passed. The only good part of the game was that my team's singed and I had 2~3 kills. At this point, I thought "ok some extraordinary carrying must happen if we are to win this game." Therefore, this build came out.

This build is a somewhat situational build. It assumes that you are slightly ahead of the opposing team in terms of gold, yet your team's losing badly and you need to carry heavily. This build can work very well even if you are not fed, but that would depend on the team compositions.

The most important aspect of Anivia game play is early lane win -> snowball carrying. This build will try to show what I believe works for such game play.

Pro.
-Extremely strong early laning that can snowball.
-When fully built, one of the strongest nuke every 6~10 seconds.
-Very strong 1 vs 1.

Con.
-Somewhat squishy for not having an exclusively defensive item.
-Very expensive build. Must do well early to build this.
-Requires skill shots.

This is a typical rune set for most mages. The Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power's are also viable choices. The mana regeneration might not be necessary depending on your playstyle, especially when you get blue. In that case, armor or other seals might be better.

For masteries, I did think about putting 21 points on offensive masteries. Anivia is a burst damage champion and the 4 percent increased damage looks too good to ignore. However, the rest of the offense masteries are just ad masteries that barely helps anivia. However, the utility gives good cool down reduction and other utility helps like movement speed increase.

The summoner spells I like to use are and .

I heard many times that Ghost is much better spell than Flash. That is true with many champions. Once you have good map awareness and ward control, ghost is better escaping tool than flash. It is also better initiation than flash with champions like Vladmir. However, with champions like Annie, Anivia, and other skill shot stun/burst champions the unpredictability and surprise factor of flash is better choice, imo.

Option 2:

So this is a better choice mid/late game. Anivia is usually very slow (it has the slowest base movement speed). Ghost is very useful.

With that said, I prefer ignite] over [[ghost for early game. For this build to work, it is almost a requirement that you win the early lane. During the early game, the difference between a kill and the opponent surviving with less than a bar of hp left is the ignite. Therefore, I prefer ignite over ghost.

Option 3:

This is an option that seems to be the most popular choice. I saw most of the Anivia's choosing these spells and I thought it could work. Mana is the most annoying part of Anivia, and clarity might solve it. However, once you get Rod of Ages, you should not have much mana problem. Early on, if you spam the q and e on minions for last hits, it would definitely make you oom. However, I generally do not spam my q and e on minions and mana do not prevent me from killing the opponent very often. Furthermore, if you get the blue buff, you definitely should not have so much mana problem that you need clarity. In mu opinion, Taric and Maokai (although I do not know Maokai that well to tell) are about the only champions that work well with clarity.

There are two most important aspects of this build. First is not buying a defense exclusive item. Second is the timing of buying the Mejai's Soulstealer.

Most people reading this guide will think the this build is too squishy. I would say that this build is too squishy for most ap nuke champions such as Malzahar. However, Anivia is the least squishy ap nuke champion in the game. is a huge area slow. is a stun that works even better when you are running away. Its range also allows Anivia to kite very well against most team compositions. obviously can deter the opponents from getting close to you. Lastly, the passive allows great kiting (more room for errors, etc.) and survivability during team fights. I also do not like those glass canon builds (glass canons usually get put out of the fight just from aoe's and some random projectiles hitting them). However, even without a defense exclusive item, Anivia has enough range and defensive attributes that makes this build viable.

Rod of Ages is a must-item for Anivia. Without it, Anivia will be constantly out of mana and not be able to farm and contribute during team fights properly. However, once you get the Rod of Ages, you should be able to manage the mana well. The health is also equally important. With decent amount of AP, the Rod of Ages is in my opinion a core item for most ap champions. This can be rushed before getting the Sorceror's Shoes (so just Boots then ROA then finish the boots).

I actually play with Boots of Swiftness often. The Anivia damage is very strong especially if you can hit the q stun right. However, the 20 magic penetration is significant. Most non-tanks buy about one magic resist item(vanshee probably). That makes them have about 85~130 magic resist. Subtract 20 from that number, and you get about 10% increased magic damage.

The only defensive items that you should get are Zhonya's Hourglass or Abyssal Mask. If the opposing team's ad carry is the main damage dealer, pick Zhonya's Hourglass. If the opposing team's ap carry is the main damage dealer, pick Abyssal Mask. Abyssal Scepter's magic resist is underrated. Its magic reist is actually higher than Banshee's Veil. With 57 mr + 30 base mr, you only recieve about 53% of the magic damage.

One exception is when the other team has a Kassadin. In this case, a Banshee's Veil becomes a complete necessity because you cannot avoid being silenced and nuked.

Zhonya's Hourglass should be enough defense against ad carries with its active. During team fights, get your combos in. The opposing ad carries will try to focus you. Run around for 5~6 seconds. The Glacial Storm and Crystallize should keep you somewhat safe. Repeat your combos again. When he ad carries get to you and get you below half hp, use the active of Zhonya's Hourglass. As long as the fight is going ok, the opponents cannot just stand idle next to you for 3 seconds. They have to go focus on someone else (it helps when you are standing a little bit away from your team). Then you come back with all your spells ready again.

Other important thing is getting Mejai's Soulstealer after Rabandon's Deathcap. Most people rush mejai as the first item after a boot. However, this sets you back about 800 gold, which is significant early.

More precisely, if you get at least 2 kills under 10~12 minutes, you can get the earlier. However, if you cannot get fed early or get fed only moderately early, the mejai will set you back in the game and get rid of the snowballing effect. This will be fine if you are better than the other team and you have the confidence that you will be continually fed. However, if you need the early killing advantage to be fed continually, buying a mejai will prevent this.

Then why buy the mejai after Rabandon's Deathcap? Once you get Rabandon's Deathcap, your burst damage will be immense. If you have been fed and is ahead, then you will increase your advantage even further. If you have not been fed or even if you are underfed (in which case you should never rush mejai), you should get a few kills during team fights because Anivia is naturally strong champion. So if you are fed, the mejai will separate you even further apart from the opponents. Mejai will give similar amount of AP as buying a second Rabandon, while costing much less (full stack Mejai gives more AP then a second Rabandon.) This will allow you to buy the other crucial items even faster, and snowball carry hard. If you are underfed, the mejai will decrease the gap between you and your opponents at a low price.

Lastly, you can get either the Lich Bane or the Void Staff. Both are very strong offensive items. The choice shoold just be made situationally. I do not prefer archangel because it is a pure offensive item that is not as good as Lich Bane or Void Staff when bought in the late game.

Anivia is arguably the strongest mid lane champion. After reaching level 30 and learning most of the champion abilities, I can only remember one or two times being outlaned in the mid. There has been less than 5 times that I did not get a kill under 10 minutes or make the opposing mid go back several times and be significantly ahead on level and creep kills. This is because his early burst damage is probably the strongest and his egg gives strong defense and snowballing ability. If you manage to connect the Flash Frost stun even once, you will out lane your opponent easily.

Early Play

So the way I play is that I usually do not use any spell until I reach level 2. Just auto-attack minions so the minion wave do not build up. Once you reach level two, wait for an opportunity to land the Flash Frost. Once you are able to land it, hit Frostbite, ignite, and multiple auto-attacks. Landing the q and hitting all the combos bring most champions close to death. The auto-attacks can often be the difference between a kill or non-kill. The auto-attacks do significant damage during early game.

If you get an early kill or send them back to base, you should stay in lane as long as you are confident that you have enough to survive ganks. Just stay in lane and last hit minons. If you already pushed too far or you do not feel confident against ganks, then you should go back. However, other than ganks, you will be able to at least not die if not dominate the lane more even if you have low health because of your egg. If you manage to land your Flash Frost again, you will again get a kill or make the opponent go back again. Then you will snowball and carry.

Ganking: A lot of Anivias after getting a kill leave their lanes and gank. Anivia has the slowest base movement. This means that unless you start with boots and potions as starting items, you will lose more time from ganking than your opponent losing time for dying. I prefer staying in the lane and snowballing more than ganking with Anivia.

Connecting .

The most important thing to remember about hitting the q stun is that you have to use the iceball when the opponent do not expect it. Since you should assume that the opponents are paying attention and they know that they can not just move backward to dodge the iceball, you should try to use your Flash Frost when the opponent is trying to do something else.

-When the opponent is trying to harass

Usually, the opponent will stay far away from you. so it is not so difficult to dodge the flash frost. You would want to stay away from the opponent's harassing range. There will be times when the opponent will try to come in to harass you. Keep watching the opponent's movement and predict the timing of his/her harassment. Right before they close in in a certain path(not necessarily direct path it can be zig zag, etc.) to harass, predict where their movement will be and land your Flash Frost.

-When the opponent is trying to last hit

In a similar way as when the opponent wants to harass, when the opponent comes in to last hit, land the Frost Bite.

You can force your opponent to be at an uncomfortably far distance by standing near the front of your minion line and making him/her be even more desperate to last hit and make the mistake.

-Minion-Camouflage Flash Frost

I am sure this was mentioned in other guides. This is when you stand near minion waves and send the flash frost camouflaged under the minions. If the opponent is paying very close attention as if the game is a money match, then the opponent will probably be able to dodge it. However, this will generally make the opponent's reaction time generally a quarter of second late, which may land the flash frost.

-Flash Flash Frost

This is a double-edged technique. Simply, you will use your summoner spell Flash near or right next to your opponent and land the Flash Frost. If the opponent is aware of this strategy and have really good reflex, he can flash or use other escape ability. If you land the Flash Frost, the Flash was probably worth the use. If you do not land the Flash Frost but forces the opponent to use flash also, then the flash flash frost was not much loss. However, if you use your flash but the opponent just use an escape ability or you just fail to land the Flash Frost, it will be too much investment squandered. So be careful and maybe combine with the predicting last-hit or harass technique to increase the chance of landing the Flash Frost.

This technique can be especially useful when you are being outlaned. Let's say that things do not go very well. You have been harassed a lot. If you suspect that your opponent is a little careless, you might as well be harassed more and be pushed back. One more harass and you get egged. You stay sufficiently close to the opponent to be a tempting target but the opponent needs to get in the turret range for about half a second. Right when the opponent think you'll be egged and he gets hit 0~1 times by the turret, flash in and stun him under the turret. While you are in egg, the opponent will die to the turret.


Flash Frost against specific champions.
There are two things that you need to be aware of when using Flash Frost. One is that when you get stunned first, you cannot stop your q for the stun. Secondly, there are some jump and blink abilities that makes you miss the Flash Frost.

So I mentioned that I have been outlaned once in mid. It was against an Annie player. I was waiting for the Annie to come in to harass me, and I shot the Flash Frost in the direction she came in. The direction was right, but I got stunned first, so I could not stun her. She came in and did a w and retreat. I could not figure out a way to counter that. It was one of thos bad days when I lose more than win, but still it was the first or second time I really got outlaned in the mid. There are other stun champions like Sion and Brand. But usually, the stun is not that scary because the range is either not long enough, the champion is not mobilie enought, or the stun requires some skill shot that can be avoided. So in general, Annie's the most dangerous opponent.

So I thought about it a long time and here's my solution. Against Annie, you should use your spells to push and get rid of opponent minions. Whenever Annie comes in to stun, she recieves damages from the minions. Usually this is less than her harass damage, so she just does it. However, if you use spells to kill off minions, you will have more minions that will protect you. In addition, Annie can stun only after 5 spells. This means if she wants to stun you, she can't kill of minions with her spells. Therefore, you will force her to be either outfarmed or just not stun you. I would like to see some other solutions, also.

Most melee champions have distance closing dash ability. So in general, you should just wait for them to jump at you and tank the damage for a second. Then at close range, do the stun burst combo. Use Crystallize to either keep them inside the ulti or prevent them from chasing, depending on the situation.

Lastly, when you are running away and the opponent chases you, you can send the Flash Frost backward. It will either force them to change the direction of chase and fail or get stunned and possibly die. The ultimate and the wall also makes the escape easy.

I hope you enjoyed the guide. I tried to put most of the things I remember about playing Anivia. I think Anivia is one fo the most fun champion to play and one of the strongest champion to play, also. Please comment suggestions. Please be nice. I hope you enjoy playing Anivia and have fun.