LoL 14.12 Mid Lane Champions Tier List: Best Ranked Picks

We will rank the worst and best League of Legends midlaner champions you can play in Ranked in Patch 14.12.

LoL 14.12 Mid Lane Champions Tier List: Best Ranked Picks
Riot Games

LoL Patch 14.12 is here and it brought the controversial Hall of Legends event, while some players are gearing up for an Ahri perma-ban boycott. You might be asking yourself what's the next OP pick for solo queue in League of Legends, now that the mid meta has changed. You're in the right place - we'll discuss which buffed and nerfed champions are the best for climbing the LoL Ranked Ladder.

We will give several examples of champions per tier, so you can decide for yourself which pick fits your play style and which midlaner will give you the best chances of carrying your team to victory.

Given how much the meta can shake things up, you should pay attention to each patch as your favorite champion might be hit with a nerf or buff.

Tier List Explanation


Mid Lane Tier List
Riot Games

This tier list will examine some of the most-played League of Legends champions in the mid-lane.

  • D-Tier: You should avoid playing these champions as much as possible.
  • C-Tier: Although they can be somewhat decent, you are better off with other picks.
  • B-Tier: Viable and reliable in most situations, you can manage rather decently.
  • A-Tier: Great options but lacking just slightly either in terms of damage or utility.
  • S-Tier: The best champions you can use to ensure you are always victorious.

NOTE: Although this tier list strives to be as objective as possible in terms of viability, you should not limit yourself to strictly adhere to this list, but rather experiment and see which champion feels fun to play with.

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League of Legends 14.12: D-Tier Mid Champions


Corki
Corki

Corki has the lowest win rate of all midlaners. Picking him for Ranked is useless and a horrible choice. Sorry Corki mains, you'll have to sit this one out.

PROS:

  • AoE Damage

CONS:

  • Squishy
  • Dependent on gold and stacks
  • Quite weak
Azir
Azir

Azir is still very weak and in a desperate need of a buff buff in the current meta.

Orianna

Orianna

Orianna had her glory days not long ago but she's currently hard stuck in the D-Tier. She's really weak compared to other mages and she's not good even as support. Avoid this champion pick!

PROS:

  • Low ban and pick rate
  • A lot of utility
  • Zoning abilities

CONS:

  • Squishy
  • Hard to master

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League of Legends 14.12: C-Tier Mid Champions

Lucian

Lucian

Lucian has been in the C Mid-Lane tier for a while now. The mid-lane is not the right place for ADCs, aside from Tristana.

PROS:

  • Mobile
  • Great duelist

CONS:

  • Short range
  • Weak early game
Katarina

Katarina

Kata is a classic LoL champion but she's currently not a good choice for Ranked. The thing about her is that she's hard to master and a very hit-or-miss pick - you either carry or get completely stomped.

PROS:

  • High snowball and carry potential

CONS:

  • Very difficult to master, quite easy to feed with her
Akali

Akali

Akali's Shuriken Flip's AP got nerfed but the AD got buffed, so her state isn't as bad as it might seem on paper. However, she's not in her prime.

Karma

Karma

Karma is currently a great support, thanks to the buff she got, but she's not doing as well as a midlaner.

PROS:

  • Versatile
  • Great shield
  • Easy to play

CONS:

  • Not enough damage

Other C-Tier mid-lane champions to consider are Ezreal, Ryze, Zed, and Syndra.

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League of Legends 14.12: B-Tier Mid Champions


Yone
Yone

Yone got a buff in LoL patch 14.12. However, it seems like these changes to his base armor weren't enough to boost his performance significantly. 

PROS:

  • Strong early game
  • Lots of carry potential, similar to his brother
  • Annoying lane bully, just like Yasuo

CONS:

  • High ban and pick rate
Vladimir

Vladimir

Vladimir is another mid-lane champion who got a buff in the last patch. His W got a significant boost, when it comes to health and healing, making him a better choice for Ranked than what he used to be.

Neeko

Neeko

Neeko has been in this tier for a while now, proving to be somewhat balanced in her current state. She's fun and easy to play, giving you everything you might need - AoE, stun, escape and so much more.

PROS:

  • Great roaming and CC
  • Amazing wave clear 
  • Easy to play

CONS:

  • Falls behind easily and can't get good again
LeBlanc

LeBlanc

LeBlanc has been doing much better since her buff in patch 14.9. We're happy to see this mage out of the D-Tier, however, there's still a lot more to want from her when it comes to her performance. 

PROS:

  • Low pick and ban rate
  • Very mobile

CONS:

  • Squishy
  • Mana hungry
Yasuo

Yasuo

Yasuo is performing as well as he did in the last patch but beware of his extremely high pick (10%) and ban rate (22%). He's currently the most banned mid-lane LoL champion but we aren't surprised, as he's a perma ban for a lot of players in low elo.

PROS:

  • Huge carry potential in low elo
  • Annoying lane bully
  • Dominates team fights

CONS:

  • High ban and pick rate
  • Low elo players don't play him well (huge feed potential)
Heimerdinger

Heimerdinger

There's a lot more to ask from Heimerdinger but he's currently doing alright in the mid-lane meta. The downside to him is that he's unable to carry. 

PROS:

  • Good wave clear
  • Great poke and zoning
  • Amazing AoE and CC

CONS:

  • Squishy
  • Can't carry
  • Useless without turrets

Other B-Tier mid-lane champions to consider are Kassidin, Taliyah, Jayce, and Qiyana.

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League of Legends 14.12: A-Tier Mid Champions


Talon
Talon

After being stuck in the D-Tier for a few patches Talon is back thanks to a buff to his Q and W. We've missed seeing him in the Summoner's Rift and we're glad he's not useless anymore.

PROS:

  • Good in the early game
  • Easy to pick up

CONS:

  • Hard to master
  • Weak in late-game
Swain

Swain

Swain is doing way better, compared to patch 14.11. He's way more stable and reliant so pick him up while he's still good!

PROS:

  • Versatile
  • Lots of AoE damage
  • Great in team fights

CONS:

  • Mana-dependent and mana-hungry
  • Immobile
Tristana

Tristana

With insane chase down your opponents won't be able to escape this menace! Tristana is really good both as a midlaner and an ADC.

Diana

Diana

Diana is a stable and decent champion pick for Ranked, thanks to her great mobility and insane damage. Her roaming is insane and extremely easy, so you'll have every situation under control.

PROS:

  • Mobility
  • Roaming
  • One combo and the enemy is a goner
  • Great in team fights

CONS:

  • No easy way out once you go all in
Ahri

Ahri

Ahri has finally been dethroned as the queen of the mid-lane. Keep in mind that the Ahri boycott will make it way more difficult for you to pick her in Ranked.

PROS:

  • Great wave clear
  • Amazing mobility

CONS:

  • Squishy
  • Uses a lot of mana and she's heavily reliant on it
Twisted Fate

Twisted Fate

Twisted Fate got some serious nerfs in patch 14.12. The good news is that this doesn't change his position in the mid-tier list, although he's weaker than he used to be.

PROS:

  • Easy and effective roaming (you can pop off even if you're losing your lane)
  • He looks like Gambit, which is just cool.

CONS:

  • No carry potential
  • Can feel weak against assassins
Ekko

Ekko

Ekko is a decent choice for mid, scaling well and having insane burst damage. He's also extremely hard to kill if you play safe.

Other A-Tier mid-lane champions to consider are Annie, Nasus, Pantheon, Hwei, and Zoe.

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League of Legends 14.12: S-Tier Mid Champions


Naafiri
Naafiri

Patch 14.12 brought a huge buff to Naafiri's passive and Q ability, which skyrocketed her to the S-Tier of mid-laners.

PROS:

  • Great burst damage
  • Strong late game

CONS:

  • Uses a lot of mana and she's heavily reliant on it
Malzahar

 Malzahar

Malzahar is killing it in patch 14.12 thanks to itemization buffs. Pick him up in Ranked while he's still OP.

PROS:

  • Good scaling 
  • Great wave clear

CONS:

  • Weak before level 6
  • Squishy
Lux

Lux

When hasn't Lux been extremely powerful? She's a menace in the mid-lane and one of those very annoying champions to play against. Three patches in a roll she's in the S-tier.

PROS:

  • Great burst damage
  • Easy to play
  • Short cooldowns late and mid-game

CONS:

  • Squishy
  • Skillshot-reliant
Akshan

Akshan

Akshan was in his prime during the last patch but he got hit by a serious nerf. Thankfully, he's still a great pick for Ranked. He's just not as OP as he used to be.

PROS:

  • Great wave clear
  • Amazing mobility

CONS:

  • Squishy
  • Uses a lot of mana and she's heavily reliant on it
Sylas

Sylas

Sylas has sustain, shields, and amazing damage, which keep him in the mid-lane S-tier.

PROS:

  • Versatile
  • Duelist

CONS:

  • Short range
Brand

Brand

Just take a look at that win rate! Brand is one of the most OP LoL champions in almost every role for a few patches now and we're surprised Riot hasn't nerfed him yet. He's easy to play with some insane damage. 

PROS:

  • Amazing AoE damage
  • Easy to pick up and master

CONS:

  • Bad utility
  • Easily out-sustained 
  • High ban rate
Vex

Vex

Vex is still here, and she's still killing it in the mid-lane! She's an amazing counter for almost all champions in the current meta.

Veigar

Veigar

He's one of those always-good but underrated champions. Veigar can absolutely make you rage quit if you end up going up against him in mid.

Other S-Tier mid-lane champions to consider are Xerath, Irelia, Galio, and Aurelion Sol.

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Summary


The most recent League of Legends patch was huge but it didn't bring a lot of changes to midlaners. Most of the ranking is due to item buffs or nerfs.

TIER CHAMPION
D-Tier Orianna, Azir, Corki
C-Tier Lucian, Katarina, Karma, Akali
B-Tier LeBlanc, Yone, Neeko, LeBlanc, Yasuo, Heimerdinger, Vladimir
A-Tier DianaTwisted Fate, Talon, Swain, Tristana, Ahri, Ekko
S-Tier AkshanLux, Brand, Vex, Sylas, Malzahar, Naafiri, Veigar

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