Hi peeps! Anivia is my main champion who I love playing as quite often, and I wanted to share with you guys how I play her. The way I play her is pretty much similar to the way you'd play any other caster champions, but it also seems that no one else here plays her like I do. I hope this guide will help you understand this champion better, and I hope that this guide can somehow help increase the number of Anivia players (I've been seeing a lot more lately, but not as many as I'd like to!). I won't go into the details of what her pros & cons are, assuming that you already know about her skills (her egg, wall, stun, and slow...).

Typical Match as Anivia in Ranked
Typical Match as Anivia Normal
How to Carry as Anivia
More..

Clarity and Flash

Let me rant on this for a bit:

People tend to think that Clarity is for noobs who don't know how to control their mana. I can agree with that statement for the champions like Annie, Kassadin, Malzahar, etc... Hell, I don't even use Clarity on my Taric. But Anivia is different. She has an incredible nuking ability that for her to stay back and save mana just doesn't seem right. She has the ability to kill anyone in a couple of seconds early game, so why not use that as an advantage?

Besides, last time I checked, people weren't landing their Flash Frost every single time. The truth is, unless you're very slow/dumb/close to her, it is very easy to dodge Flash Frost. Even amazing anivia players will not land it perfectly all the time.

Exhaust No. She can stun and slow every few seconds.
Ghost Good spell, if used right.
Heal Nope.
Revive Noooo.
Smite Only take if you want someone to dodge the queue.
Teleport I wouldn't. I know she's slow, but it's really not necessary.
Cleanse Flash + Good Timing will do the job.
Fortify Not yours to take.
Ignite You already do a ton of dmg. This would be too much.
Rally Take this and smite for the queue dodge.
Clairvoyance She's a nuker, not a support.

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power Greater Quintessence of Ability Power
Mage runes. Self-explanatory.

If you think Clarity and Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration is too much, then go for Greater Seal of Ability Power. However, you'll already do enough damage with the recommended rune set. It really depends on your flavor. If you want some early game survivability, go for the armor seals.

Put 1 point in Flash Frost, then max out Frostbite. I usually don't put a point in Crystallize until later, but you can put a point in it at level 4 if it makes you feel safer.

* Anivia's spells are combo based, and her "E" spell will do lots of dmg only if the opponent is hit with either "Q" or "R".

Your combo can differ depending on the situation:

If you've somehow managed to hit the enemy with your "Q", then go "R" - "E" combo. But you'd usually start with "R" - "E" then "Q". If you practice enough, you'll be able to use "E" before "R" since it takes some time for "E" to hit the target. This technique is useful if you have low mana, since starting with "R" will burn up lots of mana before you can even use "E".

You can also go "Q" - "E" then "R" and use the wall to keep the opponent stay in the circle, or you can even go "R" - "Q" then "E" if you want to stun the opponent in the circle.

Start with an Amplifying Tomb and a Health Potion. You have mpregen runes and Clarity, so you won't need a mana crystal. Starting with Amplifying Tomb will get you about 37 AP at level 1. You are dangerous...!!

It's easy for me to get many kills when I play Anivia, so I always get Mejai's Soulstealer. Even if you aren't getting kills, playing smart, staying alive and engaging in team fights will get you enough stacks. Mejai's on Anivia is recommended.

REMEMBER TO GET Blasting Wand before getting Mejai's Soulstealer as 40 extra AP early game will get you even more kills. Get mejai next, then complete your shoes.

The item set above is recommended, but you can replace the Void Staff with Abyssal Mask if the opponents are AP heavy.

There is a late-game build for stacking AP with 4 Archangel's Staff and 1 Rabadon's Deathcap, or 5 Archangel's Staff with no shoes, and you'll end up with 1449 AP with an elixir (I heard you can boost it up to 1600 with mana runes), but stacking AP for any champion isn't recommended. It is a fun build, though.

Anivia's capable of laning anywhere, but I recommend going mid. Go solo top if you know what you're doing. If you're new with anivia, mid is recommended. She's not the greatest farmer until later in the game, so she needs many kills to compensate for the lack of her CS.

If you're a first-time Anivia, laning against Katarina might be a little hard. Try to put your "R" either on you or near you when she Shunpo you.

If Poppy comes at you targeting someone else with her shield on, you're fked. Use your defensive skills and try to help your team burn the opponent's carries down asap.

If you're laning against another Anivia, the best thing you can do is to dodge her "Q". Anivia vs Anivia is entirely about who dodges their "Q" first. You can see whether or not she has her egg by clicking on her. Do not go reckless on her by turret-diving when she has her egg.

You may/may not know this already, but here are a few tips:

1. Anivia's "Q" can be detonated. Just simply press "Q" again. If her "Q" touches an opponent, it will slow the opponent. If it's detonated right above/slightly behind the enemy, it will stun the enemy target. To get the maximum damage out of your "Q", you want to make it detonate just a little behind the target.

2. Her "W" is used to corner your opponents, or save your allies, but it can also be used as a temporary sight ward. Place it in the bush to reveal the opponents.

A friend of mine showed me this build, and it works. You end up with around 540 AP, and you'll regain all of your health just with your "R" - "E" combo. This build gets difficult if the opponents are dumping their CC's on you or exec's calling, but otherwise, it is a viable build.

THIS BUILD WILL NO LONGER WORK AFTER THE 1.0.0.118b PATCH