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Hello, my name is Rudolph, and this is my first guide! Now, this isn't necessarily how you have to play Anivia, this is just how I choose to play her and have had much success. In this guide I will cover as much as I can, but if I miss something or if you would like to see something added, let me know. I will move on to the guide now, but remember; any form of criticism is welcome and encouraged!

Pros + Rebirth is a free Guardian Angel. + Really strong farming ability with Glacial Storm. + Scales really well into late game. + High potential burst with Frostbite. + High AP ratios. + Multiple forms of CC ( Flash Frost, Crystallize, Glacial Storm). + Strong in teamfights. + Crystallize gives potential to make plays. + You're a bird.

Cons - Fairly weak early game. - Extremely mana dependant. - Crystallize has potential to backfire. - Slow movement speed. - Flash Frost has a long cooldown. - Can be difficult to last hit. - If you miss Flash Frost, you lost a lot of damage output. - Vulnerable to gap closers. - Low base stats.

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Marks

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration is by far the most important mark you could use on Anivia. With 9 of them, it gives you a total of +7.8 flat magic penetration. This increases your early game damage by a good amount and it carries over into late game.

Greater Mark of Attack Damage is something I have heard CAN work but have never attempted myself. It would help with last hits and harassing with long range auto attacks. I don't recommend.
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Seals

Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration is the seal that I prefer. Anivia is already extremely mana starved, so I feel this helps you for those times you don't have your blue buff. The one problem I have with these is that I don't feel they do anything late game.

Greater Seal of Scaling Health seals have become a lot more popular since armor seals have become weaker. gives +216 hitpoints at level 18, which is a fair bit more health than a free Ruby Crystal. These runes can also be a strong choice on Anivia because the amount of effective health you get is doubled due to Rebirth.

Greater Seal of Armor is still a viable option after nerfs. I would actually recommend it if you are ever up against an AD mid such as Pantheon or Zed. It allows you to take a few more hits in lane, increasing survivability. These have more of an impact than the mana regen seals in the late game.

Greater Seal of Magic Resist is a possible choice if you don't feel comfortable starting without MR. However I don't recommend it as much, because getting an early Chalice of Harmony gives a good amount of MR already.
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Glyphs

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power is what I recommend because Anivia is a champ that is based off of Ability Power. While the flat AP glyphs might seem better at first glance, these scaling ability power runes start to outclass the others at lvl7.

Greater Glyph of Ability Power is something that I do NOT recommend. As I said, while it may give you more ability power initially, the scaling ability power runes become stronger at lvl7. Anivia is a mid-late game champ and most of her damage potential comes after she gets her Glacial Storm.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist is a possible choice if you don't feel comfortable without starting with MR. However I don't recommend it as much, because getting an early Chalice of Harmony gives a good amount of MR already.
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Quintessences

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power is what I prefer and highly recommend. These 3 runes alone give you a whopping +15 extra AP, giving your early game damage a huge boost.

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed is a viable option. Together they give a total 4.5% bonus movement speed. Anivia's base movement speed is ridiculously slow (which is also one of her biggest weaknesses) so these really help out.

Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration is yet another viable choice, yet I don't recommend it as much as the others. My reasoning behind this is that while her base damage on her abilities is really high, they scale really well with ability power as well.

Offensive

I feel like taking Double-Edged Sword is a good idea because while you take slightly more damage, it increases all of your damage output, making your burst potential more potent. Two points into Sorcery gives a bit of cooldown reduction (2.5%) which adds up and can be useful considering her decent length cooldowns. With one point in Butcher reduces the difficulty in her already tedious last hitting and allows us to select Feast, granting more sustain in lane.

I recommend taking Mental Force for more ability power per level and Arcane Mastery for some flat ability power, increasing early game potential. Archmage gives an extra 5% bonus AP, which becomes stronger as the game goes on. Putting 3 points into Executioner greatly increases killing potential, while putting a point into Dangerous Game gives a little boost in health/mana for every kill. Devastating Strikes is completely necessary for the +6% magic penetration. Arcane Blade gives your basic attacks a little boost in damage, which scale as the game goes on. Lastly, we have Havoc which is a must, as it increases all of your damage dealt by 3%.

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Defensive

You can always choose to use the Defensive tree, as it is completely viable. If you do choose this tree over Utility, I would recommend putting a point into Block and a point into Unyielding . Having two points into Recovery will grant a little bit more sustain in lane. Three points into Veteran Scars gives +36 health, which is a huge amount of health in the early game. Putting your final point into Juggernaut greatly increases survivability, as it increases your maximum health by +3%.
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Utility

Is what I prefer in season 4. Putting three points into Fleet of Foot gives +1.5% movement speed, which increases mobility - one of Anivia's weaknesses. Having two points into Meditation gives a little bit of mana regen, though that is negligible considering the mana regen items in-game. Putting three points into Summoner's Insight reduces all summoner spell cooldowns by 10%, which on long cooldown summoners such as Flash, has a major impact. Your last point should go into Runic Affinity since it allows you to keep Blue Buff 20% longer, meaning instead of lasting 2:30 it will last 3:00.

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Getting your Q( Flash Frost) at level one is ideal. It's a strong AOE stun that can be used either offensively (invade for example) or defensively (lvl 2 jungle gank) giving more options than your other choices. It also applies the "chilled" debuff on enemies it passes through or hits, making E( Frostbite) best suited for your next skill. At level 3, you have the option to either put your first point into Crystallize, or upgrade Frostbite. I recommend the latter in most cases, because I feel the extra damage output outclasses the wall this early in the game. Level 4 is the latest you should put a point in Crystallize because it has great utility and is almost necessary for level 6.

I recommend putting a point into your Frostbite every chance you get, because it is your main damage output. It has extremely high base damage on a chilled target, as well as an amazing ability power scaling of 1, meaning 400 ability power does an extra 400 damage. This combined with the high base damage means pre6, you can Flash Frost - Frostbite combo and try to poke them out of lane. Once you reach level 6, as always you want to put a point into your ultimate, Glacial Storm. At this point your ability to farm is severely increased and so is your poke potential.

Post level 6, you shouldn't need to rely on your Flash Frost - Frostbite to harass, because your ultimate Glacial Storm also applies the "chilled" effect. This means you can effectively toggle your ult on and off for a second, then while they're chilled use Frostbite. This is a really annoying and effective way to poke your opponent out of lane. After maxing your Frostbite out, I recommend maxing out your Flash Frost for increased damage output. Flash Frost also has an amazing 1*ap ratio, however it is much more unreliable than Frostbite because it's a slow moving skillshot.

I prefer to max out my Crystallize last. Teamfights is where it usually has the strongest effect, and as we approach late game, teamfights are much more common. You have to be careful about when and where you use it because it has so much potential to either make or break a teamfight. I find that teamfighting in a jungle gives all of Anivia's abilities a much stronger effect, but especially your Crystallize. It has the potential to completely block off a pathway, essentially cutting off an escape route or cutting some strays off from the pack.

Recommended Summoner Spells

This is your get out of jail free card. If you get caught out of position this spell can teleport you instantly to safety, or you can use it aggressively if you so choose.

Adds extra damage to Anivia's burst to help secure kills. Due to the short range however, it may put you at risk if you try to use it. Early kills can lead Anivia to snowball, and ignite can assist with that.

Now gives a high burst of movement speed, as well as the heal itself. This added bonus helps negate one of Anivia's biggest weaknesses, as it greatly increases mobility. Can be used offensively or defensively.
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Viable Summoner Spells

Can be used to help effectively gank other lanes while being sneaky, or less practically, teleport back to lane after going back. The latter is not a recommended use in most cases.

I would recommend this to new Anivia players because she runs out of mana fairly quickly, and it may take time to adapt. Experienced Anivia players may want to take a different spell.

This is a shorter cooldown than Flash and gives increased mobility for a longer period of time, which is one of Anivia's biggest weaknesses.

Exhaust in my experience can be effective against an AD midlane such as Pantheon, reducing attack speed, damage, armour and magic resist. This spell becomes extremely strong late game.

I think this summoner spell can be fairly strong against really bursty champs such as LeBlanc or if you feel like you might get focused .
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Not So Viable Summoner Spells

I personally don't feel revive is a strong pick in most cases. If you did revive, there still isn't much you can do unless you have a global ult such as Karthus.

I think Barrier would be a better option than Cleanse, because barrier tends to give a good amount of - although temporary - health.

Anivia is not an ideal jungler. If you want to play her as one, good luck!

My Preferred Final Build

==This is my preferred final build the majority of the time - swap out items as you see fit==

give an extra 15 magic penetration. This combined with your magic penetration marks gives you a total of 22.8 magic penetration. In my experience, most mid champions don't run magic resist runes, so they will usually have between 30-40 magic resist. If that is the case then with these boots you will be ignoring more than half of it.

is one of the core items on Anivia. The magic resist, ability power, cooldown reduction, and the mana regeneration is insane. This item was made for Anivia, as all of these stats are invaluable on her.

is another core item on Anivia in my opinion. The amount of health and mana on it gives a large amount of survivability and sustain, and prepares you for late game. With full stacks it gives a total of +630 health, +650 mana, and 80 ability power. This can also set you up for even more ability power if you purchase a Seraph's Embrace.

fully stacked will give more than 130 ability power, making it the single highest AP item in the game. The active shield can also get you out of a tough spot if you get caught or focused. I usually buy a Chalice of Harmony and a Tear of the Goddess when I go back the first time, which allows me to start accumulating stacks early in the game.

gives you the most ability power in the game. Straight up it gives 120 ability power, but the unique passive increases your total ability power by 30%. This is the best item in the game if you just want more AP, and since Anivia has such high AP scaling, this is a core item.

is what I prefer to get as my last item, because the enemy team is usually building a lot of magic resist at this point. With a Void Staff I ignore 35% of the enemy's magic resist, so I continue to do massive amounts of damage.
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Offensive

grants some cooldown reduction and is one of the highest AP items in the game. It's unique passive can add a lot of burst to Anivia, but its single target. I recommend this item if you need to focus a specific champ. CDR can be helpful as well.

is an excellent choice if the enemy is not building a lot of magic resist or if they are building a lot of hp. The extra magic penetration helps a lot, and the unique passive is really strong on Anivia because she has many different AOE spells, Liandry's Torment will deal double damage when applied with Flash Frost or Glacial Storm because they impair enemy movement.
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Defensive

is a fairly popular defensive item on Anivia, giving a massive amount of hp and hp regen. Anivia can become really hard to kill with this item. Effective hitpoints are doubled because of Rebirth. You get +1000 hitpoints while you are alive, but if Rebirth is triggered you get +1000 health while an egg, increasing the likelihood you will revive.

is an amazing defensive item on Anivia, especially against a heavy AD team. It gives really high AP and armour, as well as an awesome active, making you invulnerable for 2.5 seconds. Grants a lot of survivability and damage. Can achieve quickly if starting with Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potion's.

is a strong pick against a heavy AP team, giving a fair amount of magic resist and a good amount of ability power. It can also increase burst significantly because of the unique aura, reducing all enemy magic resist by 20. That aura combined with your magic penetration can be devastating.

got changed quite a bit going into season 4. It now gives some cooldown reduction and mana regen now, making it more viable on Anivia than before. Though the removed the spell vamp aura, which hurts some of the utility it would give to the team.

gives you a third life. Third time's the charm?

Anivia Works Well With

has a lot of synergy with Anivia because of their ultimates. If Jarvan IV uses Cataclysm with Anivia's Glacial Storm it can be incredibly deadly. Not to mention if you add Crystallize to the mix there is a ton of impassable terrain, possibly making it easier to land Flash Frost.

has amazing synergy with Anivia because his Ice Blast and his Absolute Zero both apply the Chilled debuff, allowing Anivia to Frostbite as she pleases. Absolute Zero and Glacial Storm also have good synergy because they both slow, making it more likely they will take the damage from both Nunu & Willump's ult and Frostbite.

is already a really scary jungler. If he chooses to gank mid and uses his Twisted Advance it makes it extremely easy to land Flash Frost - Frostbite combo. Post level 6, when Maokai ganks there will be so much CC that if the enemy mid is overextended even a little, they'll have a really bad time.

with Anivia has potential to be a really scary combo. If either Cho'Gath or Anivia land a Q then its over. Its similar to Maokai because there is just too much CC for the enemy to deal with. Slows, stun, knockup, silence, an ice wall, with tons of damage to follow up.

is able to easily flip people into your Flash Frost with his Thundering Smash, allowing you two to inflict massive amounts of damage. He is also extremely tanky in nature so Anivia is able to keep her distance when fighting. Having multiple sources of CC is always effective when fighting.

is here for a similar reason to Jarvan IV. If Wukong can initiate and activate Cyclone at a good time, it will knock up the entire enemy team potentially keeping them all in Glacial Storm. This also makes it really easy to land Flash Frost and gives time to try and cut people off with Crystallize when they scatter.

Anivia Is Strong Against

should be one of the easiest champs to deal with. Anivia has long range auto attacks that she can bully Akali with before level 6, as well as Flash Frost - Frostbite combo. After level 6, Akali becomes fairly bursty but can no longer hide inside Twilight Shroud due to Glacial Storm. It would be ideal to keep a Flash Frost saved to stun her if she ever uses Shadow Dance on you.

is weak against Anivia for the same reasons as Akali. Auto attacks can bully her in lane. Just dodge Crescent Strike and you should win the lane easily. Flash Frost - Frostbite combo is really strong harass against Diana, and having a Chalice of Harmony will also help negate some burst if she does manage to land a Crescent Strike.

has a really hard time farming under tower. Pushing the lane and keeping it warded will help deny a lot of farm and granting you the lead. His Rune Prison is just a snare, and he has to stand still while casting abilities, so you should be able to land a Flash Frost - Frostbite combo. He does however become much more powerful late game, and once he gets a banshees it may be tough.

has most of his strength come from his ultimate, Destiny. What a good Twisted Fate wants to do is push his lane, and then use Destiny to gank another. With Glacial Storm you can push harder than he can, threatening the tower if he leaves lane. You also straight up do more damage if you fight, or you can poke him down with a chilled Frostbite.

isn't the most tanky champion in League of Legends. In fact, he's one of the easiest to kill. If you can land your Flash Frost - Frostbite combo on him a few times before level 6 he would likely need to recall, granting you a huge advantage. If not, your harass potential becomes so much easier and more powerful after you put a point into Glacial Storm. As always, let your team know he's level 6. He becomes a monster late game.

has the majority of her damage come from her ultimate, Death Lotus. The problem with that however, is that it can be interrupted. To beat her in lane you just have to use Flash Frost to stun her any time she tries to ult. Before level 6 you can harass with basic attack, after 6 use Glacial Storm -> Frostbite to poke her down. She is extremely mobile so landing Flash Frost may be troublesome.

is a monster late game, but in lane phase you should have a good time. Swain has low movement speed and far less burst. Landing Flash Frost --> Frostbite to burst him down early shouldn't be hard. Anivia also has a range advantage, in both abilities and autoatacks. The only thing that you must be careful about is Nevermove, because it has long range and Anivia's slow movement speed makes her susceptible to the snare.

is here for similar reasons as Twisted Fate. If you push the lane then she wont be able to roam, which is what makes her such a threat. After level 6, Evelynn shouldn't be able to farm without getting poked by a Glacial Storm -> Frostbite combo, dealing serious damage. She also shouldn't be able to kill you due to being severely outranged, but if she does manage to get in your face then her Hate Spike can deal quite a bit of damage.

can be incredibly annoying to lane against. Siphon of Destruction allows him to push the lane extremely quickly, and his passive Iron Man helps reduce the damage from your pokes. However, he lacks any form of crowd control and escape. Anivia, having a much longer range and multiple forms of crowd control ( Flash Frost, Crystallize, Glacial Storm) should be safe from any potential damage and should gain the upper hand after level 6.

has really high damage output, and can even make herself invulnerable using Intervention. Luckily, she can still be stunned and slowed by Flash Frost and Glacial Storm, which is good to help escape from her sustained damage. She doesn't take hits very well, and can get poked down quite quickly from Flash Frost --> Frostbite, or if the combat is post level 6, Glacial Storm -> Frostbite.

Anivia Is Weak Against

can be really annoying to deal with as Anivia. He has Playful / Trickster which allows him to avoid anything you throw at him. Pre 6 you shouldn't be able to Flash Frost - Frostbite combo unless he's not paying attention. After 6, you may be able to bait his E with your Flash Frost and then follow up with Glacial Storm - Frostbite. Play safe.

is here because due to the lack of mobility on Anivia it can be difficult to avoid Noxious Blast. This with the low base stats on Anivia and the crazy dps of a good Cassiopeia can leave you in a bad spot. I think starting with Boots and 4 Health Potions is a viable option in this scenario. If you can avoid Noxious Blast and her Petrifying Gaze you should be able to kill her quickly.

is here for the same reason as Cassiopeia. Due to Anivia's lack of mobility it can be really difficult to avoid Barrel Roll which does a lot of damage at low levels. He also has a lot of sustain due to his passive and Drunken Rage. I think starting with Boots and 4 Health Potions is a viable option in this scenario.

is still strong after the rework. In most cases he is easily bullied before level 6, so you can try to take advantage of your long range auto attacks while he tries to farm. Might be best to try and get an early gank from the jungler because after 6 Riftwalk makes him nearly ungankable. Chalice of Harmony gives MR which can help deal with his burst.

is a really scary champion in laning phase. Like Kassadin there isn't too much to be scared of before level 6, but afterwards you have to be careful. Taking Barrier isn't a bad idea because it can negate some of her Mimic burst. I recommend keeping the lane pushed so she can't get too much farm, and keeping wards up so you wont get ganked.

is really strong against most mage champions due to his extremely high burst, gap closer, and silence. I like to save my Flash Frost for after he uses Cutthroat, that way I can stun -> Frostbite and run away. Try not to commit to a fight without your jungler unless you are ahead. An early Seeker's Armguard may be ideal.

isn't as common as he used to be, but has high burst and good sustain in lane due to his Void Spike. If you can land Flash Frost you may be able to poke him down. Post 6 it is possible for him to burst you down quickly, especially if he evolves Taste Their Fear(which has become more popular), so I recommend playing safe. An early Seeker's Armguard may be ideal.

is becoming a lot more popular, and has potential to be extremely dangerous if played by an experienced player. Her Dark Sphere can be hard to avoid due to your low mobility, made even more difficult after Force of Will. At level 6, Syndra has the highest potential burst damage out of all current mages if she casts Unleashed Power after using Dark Sphere enough times.

Before a teamfight, you have fairly decent poke potential. I personally don't recommend using Flash Frost to poke because it would be invaluable in a teamfight, but you can always Glacial Storm and Frostbite to poke and do a bit of damage before a fight.

As Anivia, you have many forms of CC. This gives multiple options in a teamfight. You could try and peel for your AD carry, you could try and burst down the enemy AD/AP carry, you could try to CC anything that moves. In my opinion it is all circumstantial.

• If you did poorly in lane or just didn't end up getting fed, but your AD did, you should just try to peel for them. Just stun or slow anyone who goes in for them.
• If you ended up doing well in lane, then you should try taking advantage of that by killing the biggest threats on the enemy team.
• If you and your AD end up doing well, just CC everyone and have a good time.

As mentioned previously, Crystallize can make or break a teamfight. It may take practice to know when/where to use it, because it can always backfire. I usually use it to divide the enemy team, making it a 5v3 or something along those lines. Even cutting just 1 person off from the pack can have a huge impact, either making them waste their Flash or just outright killing them.

Since most of Anivia's skills are AOE, fighting in confined spaces is always more effective. The jungle is the most confined space in the map, so fighting there would usually be the ideal situation.

This section is dedicated to a few simple tips and tricks that can reap in huge benefits.

Catching People

Even a level 1 Crystallize can be useful if used in the proper area. In this picture Crystallize is used to block the enemy Warwick's retreat path, cutting him off from Ryze and his tower. In the following picture the same thing happens with Zilean, though at a later time. As you can see, Zilean also wastes his ultimate.




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Breaking Them Up

As I mentioned before, using Crystallize to break up the team can be crucial. In this picture I used the wall to instantly start a 3v5 fight, giving us a huge advantage. This will either force some flashes or grant you and your team some kills.

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The Blue Buff

Using Crystallize, Anivia should be able to easily solo blue buff without taking much damage at all by the time the third one spawns. You can just wall off while activating Glacial Storm and Frostbite. After the wall runs out you can use Flash Frost to stun the golem and finish it off with Frostbite.

In my opinion, Anivia is one of the hardest champions in the game to last hit with. The point into Butcher should help a bit, but it will still be difficult. It does require practice as you have to become familiar with her attack animation and projectile speed. Do NOT use abilities to farm pre 6 unless you have a lot of excess mana or need to push the lane. Anivia is already a really mana heavy champion, and if you run out of mana in lane you'll have a bad time.

After level 6 you can just use Glacial Storm and clear the minion wave in a few seconds. :)

This guide is still under construction, so I will continue to add more. If you learned something - anything, then I feel I did my job. Like I said in my introduction, any form of criticism is welcome and encouraged. Thank you for reading! Leave a comment and lemme know what you think!
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