After the huge changes to the Jungle and the Anti-Snowball adjustments, this patch is a follow-up to help the rough edges (Bel'Veth) and nerf the new overperformers thanks to the games being slower (Dr. Mundo).
Mid Lane changes in Patch 13.21
There are only two champions in the mid-lane receiving changes in Patch 13.21. Aurelion Sol and LeBlanc are the picks.
Once the patch made games take much longer, scaling champions such as Aurelion Sol started to win so many more games that quite frankly weren’t as deserved. Because Sol is not particularly the best champion early, they are hitting his scaling part.
Q - Breath of Light
- Magic Damage per Second: 15/25/35/45/55 (+30-80 (based on level)) (+60% AP) ⇒ 45/60/75/90/105 (+55% AP)
- Burst Magic Damage: 40/50/60/70/80 (+20-30 (based on level)) (+35% AP) (+ 3.1% Stardust) percent of target maximum health ⇒ 60/70/80/90/100 (+35% AP) (+ 3.1% Stardust) percent of target maximum health
These changes will make Aurelion Sol's results depend more on his early game being played properly instead of just stacking waves in the sideline and scale to win without too much effort.
The second change is a small buff to LeBlanc.
Despite dominating a few patches with her Statikk Shiv build, the broken item is finally nerfed enough so she returns to be a normal champion. With this in mind, she was quite gutted by the amount of nerfs she received so in this patch Riot has finally acknowledged her state (45% win rate according to LeagueofGraphs) and they are buffing her.
- Distortion (W) AP ratio increased from 65% to 75%
- Ethereal Chains (E) full tether AP ratio increased from 70% to 80%
Are these buffs conservative? Yes, but good LeBlanc players should make good use of the extra AP ratio.
Without further ado, let’s jump into the list.
5. Kassadin
The Void Walker jumps to the 5th spot on this list
One huge winner of the patch was Kassadin. Despite him slowly rising the tier lists after his hidden change back in patch tktk, in Patch 13.21 his power level went to the top.
There are not much better scaling picks than Kassadin in the game, his Riftwalk (Ultimate) not only grants mobility but allows him to play a freestyle gameplay where no one can run from him.
What made this even better is the rune nerfs, the lack of early combat power allows Kassadin to navigate his weak early way easier. Also, most meta mid-picks, such as Orianna or Syndra, struggle against Kassadin once he has a few levels under his belt, making this the perfect time to pick him up.
However, there are significant drawbacks when playing Kassadin. His early game SUCKS, and he can be countered hard by point-and-click CC.
That’s why to be successful with Kassadin you need to learn how to lose gracefully (Easier said than done). Also, using well your Riftwalk stacks to maximize damage while not running out-of-mana requires experience, and a few more advanced tips such as using fog of war to create unique pick/team fight angles, Zhonya’s usage, etc.
There’s a lot to learn in order to play Kassadin at his maximum potential, fortunately, you can learn him in a few games if you are guided well. And as always, a good Kassadin that is farming well, will take over at any point of the game and 1v9 to steal some LP.
To learn Kassadin, check our recommended MOBAFire guides.
There are a lot of counters to Kassadin, you can pick Pantheon, or an early-game bully you will find later in this list.
4. Vex
Easily the most beginner-friendly pick with higher carry potential. The Gloomist is here in our 4th spot
Vex has been great since buffs in Patch 13.17, but what made her such a strong pick in the mid lane is the fact that most mid picks don't have the best matchups against her and that she fits great in the meta (Especially to blow up Jinx's players)
Her long-range allows her to be safe with both her Mistral Bolt (Q) and Looming Darkness (E). She has shields with Personal Space (W) that make her harder to kill and deal tons of damage. Finally, she has great matchups against most melee picks (Kassadin and Sylas) with her Doom'Gloom passive and has one of the best semi-global engage with her Shadow Surge (Ultimate).
She has problems though, although Vex counters mobility she doesn’t have on her own, making her vulnerable to assassins or long-range champions (Xerath).
Her highest win rate build is a bursty one, making her weak against heavy frontline comps with champions like Zac.
And her best ability Shadow Surge (Ultimate), if players are aware can be easily dodgeable. Sadly, Vex without her ultimate is not much of a champion.
Vex is one of the easiest champions to play in mid right now, and one you consider playing in Patch 13.21.
To learn Vex, check our recommended MOBAFire guides.
To counter the Gloomist, check CounterStats to discover the best champions against her.
3. Naafiri
The best AD assassin for beginners
This Pack of hounds was low-key one of the best picks of Patch 13.20, and with the nerfs to other lanes, expect Naafiri to dominate Solo Queue.
The Anti-Snowball changes have slowed the pace of the game by a ton, the extra nets of safety are appreciated for Naafiri, and despite being an assassin, she’s most well-suited to scale and dominate in the later stages of the game.
What makes Naafiri strong is her reliability in catching targets AD carries with Hounds' Pursuit (W), and her strong scaling with her Darkin Daggers (Q) and The Call of the Pack (Ultimate) shields making her a menace in late game.
One tip: Play Comet against ranged matchups to chunk them up, and use First Strike against hard melee matchups to scale.
Also, with the number of mages in the late game (And Jinx running around), her pack allows her to tank most skill shots that would save them.
However, Naafiri's main drawbacks are her one-dimensional playstyle and being vulnerable to slippery assassins like Fizz, which fortunately aren't as picked in this meta.
She’s benefitted from the changes in Patch 13.20 and without nerfs she’s one of the picks to look out for and earn LP.
To be honest, she's the best AD assassin if you play in lower elos. Her strength starts to fall off in the highest tier of play.
To learn the Hound of a Hundred Bites, check our recommended MOBAFires guides.
To match this pack of hounds and don't let them feast on you, check CounterStats to learn the best counters against Naafiri.
2. Orianna
She's dominating Worlds and Solo Queue as well
Orianna is been terrorizing High Elo. Even before Patch 13.20 changes that made scaling much more effective, Orianna was having great success.
The buffs to her Command: Dissonance (W) and Command: Shockwave (Ultimate) turned what was previously a scaling mage into a hard-hitting burst mage. And if we know something about the mid lane is that burst mages do much better in Solo Queue.
Especially in high Elo, Orianna has a 50.8% win rate in Masters+ with a 16.8% Pick rate (Highest overall in Mid), and she's in every mid lane champion pool of most Challengers, heck, she’s highly contested in Worlds as of right now.
Orianna does have a weakness though, her difficulty. Unlike other control mages who need to be careful of their positioning while hitting skill shots, Orianna has one more layer of complexity, controlling the Ball (Innate passive).
For that reason alone, she’s more well suited in higher tiers of play with players that use her at its fullest. Other cons of playing Orianna are their lack of mobility spell aka Jarvan IV can lock him in his Cataclysm (Ultimate), and her hard matchups against assassins that if you don’t know how to play well… kind of run over her.
Despite all of these big weaknesses, in the hand of a good main, Orianna is considered by most players the BEST pick to play in Patch 13.21, you just need to put in the work to learn her.
Pros
- Oppressive laning phase
- Game-changing Ultimate with her Shockwave
- Provides both utility and damage to the game
Cons
- Need hands
- No mobility
- Gets outranged against the likes of Xerath
To command your allies to victory with Orianna, check our recommended MOBAFire guides.
To find out about Orianna's hardest counters, check CounterStats.
1. Sylas
Our 1st spot in this list
Since his mana buffs back in Patch 13.16, Sylas has been on a tear, and in Patch 13.21 his taking the number one spot.
While players don't think of scaling when talking about Sylas, once he gets a few levels the ability to take over matches is among the best.
Moreover, the meta constantly revolving around scaling picks benefits Sylas even more, especially after most of his matchups are neutral if you know the different rune setups (First Strike/Electrocute/Conquerors).
Right now if you use Night Harvester, he's far more deadly and can 1v9 most games, keep in mind that this build path is riskier.
The cons of playing Sylas are really dependent on your ability to pilot him, while his damage in early is really good if you hit your full combos, if you miss, he's punished hard, especially if you miss your Abduct (E2).
Another con of Sylas is the knowledge gap of his Hijack (Ultimate), not only knowing how Sylas's kit interacts with the ultimates but knowing also what are the best Ultimates and how to pick them in different game situations. That skill itself can take you dozens of games to have a firm grasp.
However, Sylas being versatile with his First Strike build against range matchup maxing Chain Lash (Q), or being in the dirt with Conqueror's maxing Kingslayer (W) is what makes Sylas currently one of the best picks in the game.
To learn The Unshackled, check our recommended MOBAFire guides.
To counter him, check CounterStats to learn who are the best picks to deal against the Kingslayer.
Honorable Mentions
- Aurelion Sol – Nerfs in this patch hurt his case to be added to this list. But, if you play in low ELO, he’s one of the most OP, be careful with your Astral Flight (W) though!
- Syndra - Longer games, more Syndra scaling. She may be at the next top.
- Talon - He's terrorizing Solo Queue, his First Strike setup with great wave clear and he has a strong matchup against Kassadin, and a few of the picks from this list make him a worthwhile pick to consider.
