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Anivia Build Guide by Metallichydra

Support Forever watchful | A support Anivia guide

Support Forever watchful | A support Anivia guide

Updated on February 28, 2024
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Metallichydra Build Guide By Metallichydra 19 2 40,384 Views 4 Comments
19 2 40,384 Views 4 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Metallichydra Anivia Build Guide By Metallichydra Updated on February 28, 2024
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Runes:

1 2 3
Sorcery
Arcane Comet
Manaflow Band
Transcendence
Waterwalking

Domination
Ingenious Hunter
Taste of Blood
Bonus:

+8 Ability Haste
+2% Movement Speed
+10-180 Bonus Health

Spells:

1 2 3
LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite

Ignite

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
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None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
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Champion Build Guide

Forever watchful | A support Anivia guide

By Metallichydra
Hi! I am Metallichydra, and I am a Support (and Jungle) main!
I play a lot of support, with my favorite ones being Vel'Koz, Thresh and Anivia. I have also tried some that's even more weird, such as Veigar, Shyvana, Karthus and Rammus, though not that often.

Pro's and Con's

Anivia, while usually played in mid, is actually a pretty good support. She has a ton of crowd control, and is the only champion that can place a wall. Her base damage on her abilities are also not too bad.
As with most mage supports, Anivia struggles when behind, being unable to provide much else than damage and crowd control. She is also reliant on AP to deal damage.

Anivia's passive, Rebirth, prevents Anivia from dying, instead transforming into eggnivia. If she survives in her egg form for 6 seconds, she is revived with her current health.
Flash Frost is a slow-moving projectile that damages and slows enemies hit. It can be recast to deal more damage and stun anyone the explosion hits. The ability always recasts automatically when it reaches its max range. Stunning a champion with this ability chills them.
Anivia's W is a placable wall that lasts for 5 seconds. It is by far one of the best abilities in the game, in my opinion, and it is very, VERY useful, but equally risky to use, since it also affects allies (and yourself). The wall will always face Anivia. It also counts as terrain for the purpose of champion abilities, so your Vayne can Condemn people into it!
Anivia's E, Frostbite, is her main damaging ability. It deals a low amount of damage at a low cooldown. However, when she uses it on a champion that is chilled it deals double damage. Try to chill your target before throwing out your Frostbite.
Glacial Storm is Anivia's ultimate ability. Unlike most champions ultimates, it is not on a long cooldown, instead being more like a toggleable ability. When used, Anivia summons a blizzard that damages and slows enemies inside it. It grows in size over a short period of time, after which it will deal even more damage, as well as slowing more. It also chills when at maximum size. Using Glacial Storm costs mana each second, and is cancelled when recast, when running out of mana, when you go too far away or when Anivia is crowd controlled.
Flash is basically mandatory.
Ignite lets you reduce healing on a key target for some time. It also deals some damage. Since adc's take Heal, it's a really good spell when you are a support. Even better if the enemy support is an enchanter, such as Yuumi or Soraka.

Alternatives

If you are not in need of healing reduction, or if you are against assassins, you may want to take Exhaust instead of Ignite.
Heal may be chosen as your second summoner spell if your adc does not take it.
Arcane comet synergises very well with Anivia's Flash Frost, and grants access to the Sorcery tree, the best rune tree for Anivia. It can also allow you to check if there is enemy champions inside of bushes, by using either Flash Frost or Glacial Storm on the bush.
Manaflow band grants us a small amount of mana, as well as some much-needed mana regeneration, which is good for Anivia since she is a mana hungry champion.
Transendence grants some ability haste when levelling up, which allow us to throw out more abilities. Besides, the other options aren't that great.
Waterwalking gives a decent amount of ability power, as well as movement speed, when in the river. This helps with roaming, jungle skirmishes and lategame team fights, which will usually happen in the river. If you anticipate a long game or don't think you will roam that much, consider Gathering Storm as an alternative.

Secondary Trees

Not only does Ingenious Hunter work well with Imperial Mandate and Zaz’Zak’s Realmspike, it also reduces the cooldown of some of the situational items, such as Zhonya's Hourglass. Alternatively, go Relentless Hunter for the extra roaming potential.
Taste of Blood is another great option, which provides sustain in lane, though you can also pick Cheap Shot for the extra damage.
Finally, you can also pick Ghost Poro if you want more AP and a bit more vision.
If you want more mana you can choose Precision as your secondary tree, as it contains Presence of Mind. The only other good rune in this tree is Coup de Grace.
For the Inspiration tree, there's a lot of options, such as Magical Footwear or Future's Market. Cosmic Insight is also a good option that provides item and summoner spell haste, both very useful stats. If you need extra sustain in lane, consider picking Biscuit Delivery.
The Resolve tree should be picked mostly for either Bone Plating against lanes that has a lot of burst, or Second Wind if they can poke. The other rune slot should be either Font of Life for a bit of sustain for your adc, or Overgrowth for some more tankiness later in the game.

Starter Items

World Atlas Should be bought first, then upgraded into Zaz’Zak’s Realmspike when possible. Spend the 100 remaining gold on Health Potion's.

First Back

For the first back, buy Catalyst of Aeons if you have the gold for it (You can also just buy its components if you do not have enough gold for the combine cost). If you have any spare gold, you can buy Boots or a Faerie Charm. If you have any leftover gold, buy Control Ward's or a Tear of the Goddess.

Core Items

Zaz’Zak’s Realmspike
Once you have completed your support item quest, it will upgrade into Runic Compass, which will then upgrade into Bounty of Worlds. Upgrade it into Zaz’Zak’s Realmspike. You may want to switch your Stealth Ward for Oracle Lens once you get your Runic Compass, since it provides Stealth Ward's whenever you recall.
Your first item should be Rod of Ages, as it synergises well with Anivia and provides a good amount of sustain in lane.
When it comes to boots, unless you need situational boots, Ionian Boots of Lucidity is the best buy, granting both ability and summoner spell haste.
The last core item is Imperial Mandate, which will greatly boost your damage whenever you stun or slow someone with your Flash Frost and Glacial Storm.
Also keep one or two Control Ward's on you at all times!

Situational Items

For situational items, you need to look at the enemy team, and the state of the game. If the enemy team is mostly AD, it may be a good idea to buy Plated Steelcaps or a Zhonya's Hourglass, while an enemy team with lots of magic damage may warrant purchase of Mercury's Treads. For anti-heal, the only viable option is Oblivion Orb, which can be upgraded into Morellonomicon later into the game.
If your team already has enough damage, consider upgrading your support item into Solstice Sleigh. Alternatively, if the enemy team has a lot of assassins and burst, you can go with Celestial Opposition.
If you are the only AP champion on your team, Sorcerer's Shoes can also be a good purchase.

Other Items

Once you have built all of your core items and the situational items you need, you can buy some other items that are good on Anivia, but aren't as important, such as Archangel's Staff.
Once you have an almost full build, buy Watchful Wardstone, as it allows you to use Control Ward's while also providing some stats. Additionally, it will upgrade into Vigilant Wardstone once you reach level 13.

Leashing

When you leash, position yourself as to be as close to your lane as possible. Since Anivia have a high range, you can even stand behind walls.

Going to lane

If you are not required to leash, you may choose to go to your lane in order to position yourself in lane, maybe for a cheese or other shenanigans.

Invading

When invading use your Flash Frost to stun multiple people. This shouldn't be too hard in the narrow paths of the jungle.

Poking

During the laning phase, you may get the opportunity to hit them with a Flash Frost. Remember to recast it for additional damage.

You should try to limit the times you use it to when you can proc manaflow band. Not to say that you shouldn't use it, but rather to be mindful of the mana cost.

Poking

Anivia has one of the highest autoattack ranges in the game. Abuse it!

Combos

Once you reach level 2, you can use your Q Flash Frost and E Frostbite together for heavy damage. Try to get away before they can retalliate.

All-Inning

Because of your passive, it may be a good idea to all-inn if given the opportunity. If you die, they have to decide if they want to hit you (in which case your adc can kill them), or attack your adc (in which case you will revive at high health.

Your Wall

Anivia's W Crystallize is a unique and useful ability. Not only is it one of the only terrain-generating abilities in the game, it is also the only one that is large enough to be able to cut of large enough areas to be more than a minor inconvenience. It can, however, also be risky to use if you are not experienced.
Use it to stop people from running away.

Fleeing from ganks

If the enemy jungler comes to gank, you'll want to try to prevent them from scoring a kill. By using Crystallize, you can delay one or two of the enemy champions, and your Flash Frost can stop the enemy from moving closer. In case you are level 6, putting your Glacial Storm up can also slow and deter the enemy from approaching.

Helping your jungler during a gank

When your jungler comes to gank, you should be ready to put up Crystallize to prevent the enemy laners from escaping. Use your Flash Frost to either stun the enemy, or get them to move in the direction you want.

Zoning

If you are stronger than your opponents or the enemy support is roaming, you can try to zone the enemy away from the minions, causing them to lose XP and gold. To do this you can position yourself between the minions and the enemy ADC, threatening to use your Flash Frost + Frostbite to deal a large amount of damage. Do remember that when you use your Flash Frost then you are not a threat for some time, so be sure hit so they don't have enough health to contest the wave during this time.

Keep poking

Try to deplete your opponents health to force them to recall, or get the low enough to all-inn. When you reach level 6, you can use your ult to deal large amounts of damage in combination with your Q Flash Frost and E Frostbite.

Warding your lane

During the laning phase, you should be especially focused on your own lane, as you and your adc are a juicy target for the enemy jungler, especially as an immobile mage. Try to always have vision of the entrances to your lane.

Deep Wards

If you are given the opportunity, you should try to go for deep wards in the enemy jungle. A good time for this is when your wave is shoved into the enemy tower, and/or when you know the enemy jungler is on the opposite side of the map.

Control Wards

Control Ward's are powerful wards that can disable enemy wards. It also lasts until destroyed, so if you place it in a spot that is easily defended you don't have to ward that place very often. You should always have a control ward in your inventory, as they are very useful.

Warding Objectives

Since the bottom lane is close to the dragon pit, it is expected of you to keep vision of it. Try to place a ward so that you have vision of the pit, as well as the river. Before an objective spawns, you may want to place Stealth Ward's and use an Oracle Lens at its location, to ensure that your team, and only your team, have vision of it.
An alternative is to place a Control Ward in the middle of the pit, as it will cover the entirety of it.

Avoid Facechecking

As a squishy mage, it can be dangerous to go into bushes without vision. This is where Arcane Comet comes in really handy. Place your Glacial Storm on the bush you want to enter.
If your Arcane Comet is fired into the bush, someone is in there. If not, just deactivate it to save mana.

When to roam?

If you manage to shove a wave into the enemy tower, you may look for opportunities to roam to another lane. For example, if the enemy midlaner is pushing. You may also go into the enemy jungle to place deep wards.
Using Relentless Hunter instead of Ingenious Hunter will help with roaming.

The scuttle crab

At 3:30, the first two rift scuttler 's spawn (also know as "scuttle crabs"), and your jungler may or may not be pathing towards the crab at the bottomside river. If they do, you have the option to go up and help them, in case the enemy jungler also wants said rift scuttler. You, of course, should only do this if you have priority in lane (If you have pushed your opponent into their tower, you usually have priority. It basically means you have control of the lane and are stronger than your opponent).

Jungle skirmishes

Sometimes the two junglers, or a jungler and a laner, will encounter each other in the jungle or river. This may lead to combat, and as such, you may choose to go there to help your teammate if it is not too far away. This, however, should mostly be done when you have priority. If your lane opponents follow you, you can use your Flash Frost or Crystallize to prevent them from doing so, while you rescue your teammate.

Dragon

Because of bottom lane's close proximity to the dragon pit, it is expected that you, and possibly your adc, come and help take the drake when your jungler wants to take it. Anivia is especially good at helping with the dragon, as she have huge amounts of zone control, which can be used to deter opponents from approaching, should they try to steal it, or stop you from taking it.

Note: Even though Flash Frost does not stun the drake , it still chills it.

Helping other lanes

If you manage to get ahead by getting some kills in your lane, it may be more beneficial to leave your adc alone in lane and instead go to other lanes, or roam with your jungler. Anivia is an immobile mage, though, so be careful when moving around the jungle alone.

When not to roam

Sometimes, roaming is not the best option. Leaving a Jhin against a Tristana and Leona may not be the best idea unless you are ahead by a large margin.

Helping your team

As towers begin to fall and laning phase ends, you should help your team by providing utility in fights. Try to catch people with Crystallize if possible.

Dragons

drake s are especially important as defeating four of them will grant your team the dragon soul. Try to arrive at the dragon pit before the drake spawns, to set up vision. You can use your Glacial Storm and Crystallize to keep enemies away from the drake while your team takes it.

Teamfighting

In a teamfight, try to place your Glacial Storm so that the enemy have to stand in it. It has a short cooldown, so you can move it if need be, especially at higher levels. Try to use your Frostbite on chilled targets if possible.
Your Q Flash Frost should be used to stun as many players as possible, and Crystallize can keep enemy champions inside of your ult, though you should be careful about throwing out all of your defensive tools at the same time.

Protecting your ADC

As a support it is expected that you protect your adc. As Anivia, you can use your wall Crystallize to stop enemy champions from approaching. In combination with your R Glacial Storm and Q Flash Frost, you can make sure no one comes close enough to hurt your ADC. Against assassins, try to deprive them of their mobility spells before they come close, and don't use everything at once if they are especially slippery (such as Fizz).

Clearing waves

Both as the team thats ahead, and the team that is behind, clearing waves is a good thing, to ensure your towers are safe, and the enemy's aren't. Anivia has especially good waveclear, and can take down waves fast with R > Q, and possibly an E on the canon minion. A single Flash Frost can usually take out all of the caster minions.

Ending the game

Ending the game can sometimes be hard, especially if the enemy team have waveclear. Try to take down baron nashor when given the opportunity, or get the elder drake , as they both provide an insanely good buff for closing out the game.

Blocking off areas with your ult

Your wall isn't your only tool for blocking off areas. Placing down your ult can disqourage most enemies from coming your way.

R > W > Q Combo

A useful "combo" with Anivia is to place down your Glacial Storm, and then place Crystallize behind the enemy champions caught in the blizzard once they try to leave. Throw your Flash Frost towards the side they try to leave.

Your ult gets cancelled by CC

Anivia's Glacial Storm gets deactivated if Anivia gets crowd controlled (specifically those that prevents spellcasting), so be careful around champions with cc when using your ult, and try to keep your distance in fights.

Deactivating R for extra damage

When you recast your R Glacial Storm, it deals one last tick of damage. This can be used to "last hit" minions when clearing waves with R.

Checking bushes with R and Q

To check if there's someone in a bush, simply place your Glacial Storm on the bush you want to enter.
If your Arcane Comet is fired into the bush, someone is in there. If not, just deactivate it to save mana. You can also use your Flash Frost, though they may dodge it.

Stunning champions with spellshield

If you throw your Flash Frost at a target with a spellshield, simply wait a very short moment for the initial damage to remove the spellshield, then recast for the stun.
Notes: I know it is not called "chilled" anymore, I just find it easier to explain it that way, and honestly, it makes more sense.

Notes: The guide may be lacking a few video's / gifs. They will be there once I get them. Also, the threats and synergi section will have more champions added as I remember who is good with Anivia and who is dangerous for her.

Thanks for reading my guide!

And a special thanks to Jovy for the lovely banners!

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