The Mid Lane is heavily dominated by AP Mages and casters, leaving little room for any other playstyle. However, AD Champions also find their place on the Mid Lane, being capable of much more than is usually attributed to them.
AD Mid Laners are largely comprised of high mobility Assassins that prioritize kills over anything else. The Mid Lane is situated where it brings out the best in these Champions, and they love being able to get to any point on the map in no time.
There are also some others, with their own unique abilities, so I suggest you read up to the end to find that out.
Without further ado, let’s begin with our list!
Also read: How to Farm Under Tower?
7. Zed
This Champion can be disadvantaged, underleveled, with half an item, and still manage to eviscerate your HP. Zed is more than blatantly overpowered. His kit grants him passive damage, a shadow to blink to; his notorious Death Mark is there; he has it all.
You can never escape Zed, and in every game with Zed, you’ll see the entire enemy team build Zhonya’s and Guardian Angels. These two items are most likely the only natural defense against Zed. He becomes less dangerous when his Ultimate is not up. Beware that his Cooldown in the late game is likely about 10-20 seconds. Insane, I know.
As I said previously, his Death Mark will allow him to stack up damage on even the tankiest of enemies. He can literally deal thousands of damage to Champions if they have a big enough health pool to withstand his initial attacks.
Zed used to be an early game Champion that would thrive off of killing easy targets and fall off during the late game when people built more defense. Not anymore. The new itemization systems, and the meta changes, made Zed an apex predator.
He is an Assassin that remains on top of his game from beginning to end.
6. Talon
Talon is an exceptionally mobile Champion, capable of traversing from one end of the map to another. He currently enjoys a huge amount of popularity, and for several good reasons. His presence in the game has never gone underappreciated, with people dreading seeing him on the opposing team.
Talon has incredible base damage, giving him a lot of edge in the Lane. Though his early game is a bit slow, it is entirely overshadowed by what comes next. Once Talon hits level 6, a whole new playstyle begins and he will be roaming around the map seeking out kills. He won’t bother too much with fighting his opponent on the Lane, as it is counterproductive to his kit.
He’s not exactly a duelist, though he can man up if he wishes to. His potential is fully realized when he’s played as a proper, mobile AD Assassin capable of eviscerating enemy players. Talon adapts that “in-and-out” playstyle perfectly, as his mobility and terrain jumping give him enough escape and engage tools on their own.
Adding his Ultimate and E to that makes Talon a true prowling beast that everyone fears on the map.
I highly recommend you give Talon a try. He’s super strong right now, so make sure to grab him while he’s still hot. The upcoming 12.10 patch will nerf Assassins and one-shotting Champs severely, so make use of what you can while you can.
5. Yone
Yone is somewhat of a Yasuo clone, with a few alterations to his kit. But its gist is the same – you use the wind to your advantage, you have knock-ups, etc. His laning phase is nice, as long as he doesn’t pick too many fights in a row before he hits around level 5. At level 5 he’ll have all three of his spells, allowing him to use his vicious combos that involve a lot of damage and a safe retreat.
Later on, throughout the game, Yone’s Ultimate will be a deciding factor in team fights. As a multi-targeted CC, it can have a huge impact on the outcome and deal substantial damage. He’s a good team-fighter, roamer, and laner, and I highly suggest you try him out if you want to play an Assassin. Keep in mind that he will falter when faced with some of the more OP picks these days.
Also read: Most Overloaded Champions
4. Yasuo
This is perhaps one of the rare lists where you’ll see me include both Yone and Yasuo in the same list. I’ve argued before, whenever I include either one of them, that I find them mutually exclusive.
This is due to how similar both their gameplay and their characters are. But, since Assassins in League of Legends are few in numbers (and some of them have made a transfer to the jungle), I am forced to do it. But that just gives you more options to choose from in my list, so I guess it is not that bad of a thing.
Yasuo is an AD Assassin that specializes in speed, critical strikes, and damage. He can dash through minions, knock you up with tornados, and keep you up with his Ultimate. His W, promptly named Windwall, is a horror for projectile reliant Champions, especially marksmen.
His Q tornado can be multi-targeted, meaning Yasuo can Ult more than one opponent and do massive damage and CC. If he is paired with good knock-up Champions like Malphite, Braum, or Zyra, Yasuo becomes a lethal team fighter that is second to none.
If he gets fed and farmed, Yasuo can single-handedly carry games. This has been true ever since he was released and has kept him banned in most Champion select screens. He has a lot of mobility, and his passive doubles his Critical Strike Chance, making his build more open-ended than some other Crit-specializing Champions.
His 1v1 is deadly, but be careful not to allow him to team-fight in a full capacity, as you will lose. I’ve never bought Yasuo in my life, and he remains one of the few Champions I don’t own out of principle. This tells you all you need to know about him.
3. Gangplank
Gangplank starts off poorly. Gangplank must play everything safely and from range slowly and without many fighting options. If faced with a potent Bruiser like Fiora or Irelia, Gangplank is more or less in for an insta-lose if he dies even once. Forfeiting your Lane immediately isn’t something you want, and thus you must be very organized with GP.
However, as the game progresses and GP manages to get even a couple of items, things drastically change. You see, his barrels get faster and faster based on his level. Like Kayle, GP’s power grows when he crosses levels 7 and 13. Barrel spam begins at level 7 and reaches its whole potential post level 13.
Those are the critical power spike points for GP. If he has the tools necessary (At least his mythic and one legendary), he should be able to wreck the enemy team with ease. A couple of barrels and the squishies are gone. If he happens to have enough Crit, even a single barrel will suffice. Maintaining yourself is pivotal to succeeding with Gangplank. Never succumb to your match-up.
You will have to be meticulous, careful, and aggressive when the situation allows. Falling back too much will remove any potential for scaling. Gangplank eventually scales, no matter what, but you should remain in line with the enemy to maximize your winning potential.
2. Lucian
Lucian is a Champion who can be borderline insane in terms of mobility when played by the right person. This is all due to how his E and passive function, so let’s talk about that.
Lucian’s passive is Lightslinger which gives him an extra attack after using a spell. For each of these bonus attacks, Lucian gets his E’s cooldown reduced by 1 second. This is doubled to 2 seconds when attacking Champions.
With the proper build that amounts to enough Ability Haste and the right person behind the keyboard – Lucian can be dashing with his E every couple of seconds. I don’t need to tell you just how broken this is, and it can turn Lucian into a kiting beast that you won’t be able to either catch or run away from.
It is challenging to pull off, though, and the items Lucian usually builds don’t give enough Ability Haste to make this spell spammable that much. It is, however, still on a pretty low cooldown whenever Lucian is in a fight with enemy Champions – and that itself is enough.
Also read: Best Waveclear Mid Laners
1. Katarina
Katarina is one of the oldest Champions in the game and has remained largely the same despite receiving some updates to her kit.
She is a fast, blink-of-an-eye type of Champion that can go from target to target with lightspeed. Most of her damage lies in the daggers she leaves on the floor. Walking into these daggers resets some of her cooldowns and does AOE damage around her.
Her Q and W leave daggers around, and with a good Ability Haste build and some practice, you’ll be slicing and dicing through enemy HP. Her E is a dash, and her Ultimate does AOE damage around her, applying Grievous Wounds. Not just any Grievous Wounds, but the 60% version.
As you can see, she specializes in AOE and performing said AOE blazingly fast. She can deal hundreds and thousands of damage at once with her spells and combos, meaning her team-fighting potential is as amazing as it gets. She is one of the more roam-reliant Champions in the game and perhaps most of the ones listed here.
Her laning phase, though not bad, is nothing compared to her roaming potential. When playing Katarina, roaming Bot to pick up a few kills or assists in your laner’s absence is key to remaining on top of the game. If you obtain an advantage substantial enough, the game is pretty much over. I love Katarina, and you will, too, so give her a spin to see what she’s all about.
Conclusion
Mid Laners are often seen as almost having to be AP. However, that is not the case. As we can see above, AD Champions are perfectly capable of playing in the Mid Lane effectively. Though most of them fall into a particular class – the Assassins, there are many others that utilize Mid Lane’s strategic position to their advantage.
I hope you’ve found this list informative and fun to read and I wish you all the best on the Summoner’s Rift!
