Mages are one of, if the not the most fun class in the entirety of League of Legends. Assassins and ADCs are right behind them, but assassins come down to mobility/burst while ADCs are more “point and click”. Mages on the other hand, require a lot more skill as they are required to land crucial skillshots. Of course, this makes them harder to play, but a lot more rewarding!
If you’re looking to get going in the mid lane and need some fun champions to choose from, this list will be all you need. Please note that this is purely from a fun, casual standpoint. Many of the champions on this list are fairly sub-optimal competitively. Even then, any champion can be strong in ranked if you put the time and effort into learning them!
10. Brand
Despite being shafted into the support role in recent years, Brand is most certainly capable of competing in the mid lane. Being able to flex into the support role is a small added bonus, he’s just as fun there.
Of all mages in the game, Brand is one of the most likely to earn pentakills. His insane aoe damage is a nightmare to deal with for enemies, you’ll find it quite easy to tilt enemy mid laners and/or junglers!
Price: 4800 BE/880 RP
Skill floor: Medium
Skill ceiling: High
9. Ryze
If you can position yourself well and get through the early game unscathed, Ryze rewards you considerably. During the laning phase, you’ll want to focus on farming as best as you can. If your jungler pays you a visit, you can E-W for an incredible gank set-up.
Towards the mid-late game, Ryze becomes increasingly strong. Q crits can really start to hurt, using Ryze’s movement speed boosts will help you move to favorable positions quickly. He’s tough to play but very fun!
Price: 450 BE/260 RP
Skill floor: High
Skill ceiling: Very High
8. Anivia
If you can manage her dreadful and vulnerable early game, Anivia can go on to carry a game with ease. As soon as you get a fully stacked Tear and Rod of Ages, you’ll have the mana capacity to delete huge waves.
Anivia is a great zone and burst focused mage. Her wall can split enemy teams up and her ultimate can create a high damaging, slowing zone indefinitely. With one of the most awkward auto attack animations in the game as well as the least amount of mobility, it takes skill to play her well.
Price: 3150 BE/790 RP
Skill floor: High
Skill ceiling: High
7. Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger has actually been meta relevant in all roles, except jungle of course, this season. His reworked passive, granting movement speed near turrets, is much more useful than his old one. Great zoning power, outplay potential with Zhonya’s Hourglass and high damage ratios make him a strong choice.
His laning phase is a bit boring to be fair as he slowly pushes his lane opponent out but after 10 minutes or so, Heimer is fun!
Price: 3150 BE/790 RP
Skill floor: Low
Skill ceiling: High
6. Vladimir
Considered a mistake by Riot themselves, Vlad’s entire thematic screams “unfair to play against”. To play as though, the Crimson Reaper has bags of outplay potential, tankiness and damage. His W offers safety in lane, shying away from ganks with ease. Constant Q’s keep his health topped up and his level 6 powerspike can mean an early kill if you take Ignite!
Towards the late game, you can build off-tank and still have the damage to delete squishies. A lack of range does hurt him though.
Price: 4800 BE/880 RP
Skill floor: Low
Skill ceiling: Medium
5. Lux
I don’t know about anyone else but I can’t use Lux to save my life, which sucks since I got the Elementalist Lux skin in a Hextech Chest!
Completely skillshot related, whiffing all your abilities means your team is fighting 4v5. If you can land them, you’re heavily rewarded with crazy high damaging abilities. Lux’s R has such a short cooldown it can be used to clear creep waves from a screen away!
Price: 3150 BE/790 RP
Skill floor: Medium
Skill ceiling: High
4. Ziggs
There’s just something about an explosive maniac that’s so appealing. Ziggs is an artillery machine, constantly barraging enemies with bombs from short to long range. Containing a satchel charge in his arsenal, he’s one of the best champions in the game for destroying towers. So much so that he can even be played on-hit in the bot lane!
Ziggs hasn’t really been meta for a while though and his skillshots can be tricky to get used to, so don’t try playing him competitively until you’re fully used to him!
Price: 4800 BE/880 RP
Skill floor: Low
Skill ceiling: High
3. Ahri
Technically more of an assassin than mage, although Ahri can perform both roles well.
Completely dependent on landing her E for assassinations, Ahri can delete carries in half a second. She can also act as a wave-clear mage, clearing side lanes to help her team defend objectives.
With no zoning power, her role as a mage is lessened but overall, she’s definitely a good option!
Price: 4800 BE/880 RP
Skill floor: Low
Skill ceiling: Medium
2. Azir
Shurima shuffling in and out of the meta, Azir just keeps coming back. No matter how many mechanics Riot removes from his kit, Azir’s soldier mechanics will always be a huge thorn in their ass.
Azir utilisies high attack speed to increase the DPS of his soldiers, which also gives him awesome siege power. Mobility and shielding in his E make him surprisingly difficult to take down and offer easy escapes from otherwise fatal ganks.
Arguably Azir’s most fun aspect is the Shurima shuffle, used to dash into enemies then push them into your team with his R!
Price: 6300 BE/975 RP
Skill floor: High
Skill ceiling: Very High
1. Zoe
Most fun for you, not the enemy team. A creation of CertainlyT, Zoe has become the most hated champion in League of Legends. Her completely unfair one-shot potential is plain for all to see, even if you miss her main damaging skillshot (Q), her passive auto-attack boost still deals a ton of damage.
During the laning phase, you’ll have access to free summoner spells and item actives, so long as you can last hit the minions carrying them. Trading is easy if you get the right drops, having an extra Ignite is crazy strong.
While Zoe has been heavily nerfed recently, she’s still capable of one-shotting and sweeping through the laning phase. Maybe she isn’t the ranked hard-carry she once was but if you want some fun, no other mage will serve you better!
Price: 6300 BE/975 RP
Skill floor: High
Skill ceiling: Very High