Best Solo Carry Mid Laners for Season 12
To climb in LoL, you’re granted to win more games when you’re playing champions who are strong and rely less on their allies. For instance, someone who can get solo kills on their own, or someone who is very good at skirmishing or getting picks and helping their allies are good for Solo Queue.
In the third part of the mini-series, we are going to list 12 of the best champions to play in the Mid lane to climb with.
All the champions on today’s list are very good at solo carrying games, and if you want to find out how to carry harder on them, then make sure you sign up for a free Mobalytics account.
Best Solo Carry Mid Laners for Season 12
You can find more advice for each of these champions, or if you’re not much of a reader with our Mobalytics video!
1. Vex
Vex is the first Mid Laner we would recommend playing if you want to solo carry. Vex has tons of damage and good kill pressure at all stages of the game. At level 9, she can clear waves quickly and be a huge nuisance for the enemy team.
She is pretty good at roaming with her Ultimate, which she can land from afar. Even if she cannot roam, she can just stay in the mid lane, draw pressure, wave clear and be a nuisance for the enemy laner.
In the late game, Vex is pretty solid and hard to handle. She can easily catch players out and start a fight with her Ultimate when combined with her CC and Zhonyas.
Tips and Tricks:
- Whenever an enemy uses a dash, make sure you deal damage to them as you can deal extra damage to marked targets.
- Use your Ultimate on targets that are moving across the map. Reactivate your Ultimate once they leave will allow you to follow them and possibly equal out the numbers at the fight.
- Use your W to block abilities that deal large amounts of damage. Do not use it to block small damage like auto-attacks early.
2. Katarina
Katarina is one of the most keyboard rolling, 1v9 champions in League of Legends. We all hate playing against Katarina as she always seems to get super ahead when she is on the enemy’s team.
One reason why Katarina is so good is because of her unpredictable movements. It can make Katarina challenging to play against because it is hard for you to land skill shots on her. You can deal a lot of damage to some enemies without them being able to damage you in return.
Of course, Katarina is great in team fights and skirmishes. She is good at them thanks to her AOE Ultimate. She can jump in, deal lots of damage and jump out again before dying. Getting a reset (a kill) will also make her much more potent. Although, you’ll only be good at Katarina if you master timing.
Tips and Tricks:
- In team fights, try to engage and use your Ultimate once the enemy’s CC abilities are down so they cannot interrupt your combo.
- When looking to fight the enemy laner, try and wait for them to use an ability before going in. This will make the trade more favourable and the enemy will not be able to deal tons of damage back to you.
- If you’re not able to kill the enemy laners, try and roam! Katarina is a very good roaming champion and can easily pick up kills in the side lane.
3. Talon
The first AD champion on our list is Talon. Talon’s a very strong roaming champion who can move around the map incredibly quickly and help his allies. If you like to roam and help your allies, then Talon may be the solo carry for you.
Talon is known as the strongest level 2 champion in the game. In fact, he has the most first bloods of any champion. This is great for Solo Queue as if you can get an early kill or 2, you can snowball that into more and more kills.
Players tend to roam around in the mid-game on their own. The enemy Support will often go to ward objectives, which you can capitalise on to execute and assassinate them. With the numbers advantage, you can look to force a team fight or take the Dragon.
Tips and Tricks:
- Talon is one of the strongest early game champions. Look for an early first blood to get an early lead.
- Flank in team fights to make it easier for you to take down squishy champions with your Ultimate.
- As Talon is an assassin, look for picks on enemies who are walking around the map alone. Ambush enemies who go to ward alone as they’re easy to kill.
4. Kassadin
While Kassadin’s early game is far from the strongest, he is an amazing late-game carry. Once he reaches level 16, he will be a huge great to the enemy for a plethora of reasons. The first is that he will put 3 points in his Ultimate.
If you have a Jungler that wants to sit you early, you can be extremely toxic to play against in the late game. The more gold he gets early, the stronger he will be and the harder Kassadin will hurt.
Any small advantage you get early is exacerbated in the later parts of the game as you will be able to deal tons of damage in fights with your Ultimate and other basic abilities. Kassadin is a really strong team fighter if he is ahead!
Tips and Tricks:
- Focus on staying healthy, farming well and making low risk plays during the early laning phase. Try and avoid putting yourself in a position where the enemy can exploit your weakness and set you behind.
- Be as selfish as you can up until level 16. Once you’re level 16, you are going to be much stronger and should look to use your power spike to finish off the game.
- Post 6, when looking to trade, make sure the enemy has a key ability on cooldown before using your Ultimate aggressively. If you go in when all their abilities are up, they will have a lot of damage and be able to trade back with you.
5. Viktor
Viktor isn’t seen too much nowadays, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a Solo Queue monster. Viktor is really good in Solo Queue as his kit has lots of different tools that his team needs to survive the mid and late game.
Firstly, he has tons of wave clear with his upgraded E. He can clear waves very quickly: quicker and more cost-effective than the majority of the other mid laners in the game. With this early advantage, he can apply pressure to the enemy’s tower and earn extra gold.
Viktor can deal a surprising amount of damage with his empowered abilities and his Ultimate. In team fights, he can poke the enemy down, and then kill them with his Ultimate.
Tips and Tricks:
- Delay a team fight for as long as possible while you harass and poke the enemy down with your E.
- During the laning phase, try to aim your E so it hits both the minion wave and the enemy laner.
- Focus on playing safe in the early game, getting your Hextech upgrades and then abusing the extra strength they give you to gain a gold advantage.
6. Vladimir
Vladimir is another champion that isn’t played much nowadays, however, he is still quite strong thanks to his scaling potential. He scales incredibly well with items and time, and in the late game he can singlehandedly deal tons of damage.
He is a very good champion in Solo Queue as he is a rather safe champion. He shouldn’t die too much during the laning phase, which allows him to scale incredibly well and be really strong later on.
Regardless of this, he is always good in team fights even when he’s behind thanks to Vladimir having multiple abilities that are AOE including his W, E and R which allows him to deal damage to multiple enemies at once.
Tips and Tricks:
- Avoid using your W at all costs as it costs you tons of health. Use it at the last possible second if you have to commit to using it.
- You’re weak in the early game. There’s no need to commit to trades or go for kills from the get-go. You need time to come online.
- Flank in team fights to make it harder for the enemy to disengage or blow you up before you can get on top of them.
7. Akali
Many of the other champions on our list are flex picks, and that includes Akali. Akali can be played in both the Mid and Top lane, and she can carry equally as hard on them with a small lead.
Akali is a pain to deal with. She has good damage early which allows her to outrade many enemy champions in her respective roles. This enhanced damage allows her to get early kills. Like we said, with a small lead, she can become a real problem and carry with that lead.
In team fights, she is hard to lock down thanks to her Shroud as it offers her increased survivability. Similarly, she can take down targets easily with her insane damage output. One-shotting a carry or the Support could give her team the numbers advantage they need to win the fight.
Tips and Tricks:
- Keep a constant eye on your energy levels and avoid trading unless you have a lot of energy to spare.
- In team fights, look to assassinate the squishiest member of the enemy’s team. Play around and inside your Shroud to stay alive for longer.
- Be prepared to sacrifice some CS for XP and health. If you’re against a ranged champion, you need to remain healthy at all times otherwise you’ll not be able to trade with them. Stand back when you’re not looking to last hit or trade.
8. Fizz
Fizz is the next champion on our list. Fizz has always been known as a hyper carry with his hyper-aggressive early game. In Solo Queue, Fizz can wreak havoc thanks to players generally underestimating his early game damage.
Fizz can get kills as early as level 3 or 4. Using his E, he can dodge damage and close the gap on the enemy. While he may not be able to kill the enemy laner, Fizz can often blow Summoner Spells which could enable his Jungler to gank his lane.
Like some of the other champions on our list, Fizz is an assassin and can catch enemies out during the mid and late game. If he is able to take down a carry or the enemy Support as they go to ward, he could enable his allies to take an objective.
Tips and Tricks:
- Try and go for extended trades as frequently as possible. Focus on using your Q and W to trade with while holding on to your E to escape with.
- Spend your mid-game split pushing and duelling enemies who try to stop you. If you need to group, flank from the side with your Ultimate.
- If you can’t pick up kills in the mid lane, look to roam with your Ultimate.
9. Akshan
Akshan is a deadly Mid laner who can be flexed into many different roles. He is very good in the Mid lane because he can roam around the map and help his allies. It can be hard to track an Akshan thanks to his invisibility.
Akshan is a very good champion who can catch enemies out during the mid and late game. He can execute enemies who are walking around Summoners Rift alone such as the enemy Support or Mid laner.
His Passive is also very good. He can revive his allies after killing the champion who killed them. It is possible that him getting this kill alone could revive his whole team depending on who he kills.
Tips and Tricks:
- Refrain from using your E unless you really have to. During the laning phase, you’re quite vulnerable to an all-in if you’re caught out of position without it.
- Auto-attack before using your Q as your Q applies stacks that allow you to get your Passive procs with ease.
- To avoid getting your Ultimate cancelled, try and use it when the enemy wastes CC tools, or whenever you’re not going to get it interrupted.
10. Qiyana
The next champion on our list is Qiyana. Qiyana is very strong in the early game which allows her to get kills and snowball. She can quickly turn 1 kill into many depending on the matchup. Even if she can’t get kills early, she will be very good in the mid and late game.
In team fights, Qiyana is really good as her Ultimate can CC the whole enemy team at once if they fight around an objective or in the jungle. While we all know we should avoid fighting Qiyana in the jungle, we often auto-pilot and fight inside there.
Even if you don’t fight in the jungle, you’re an assassin who can quickly kill any champion who is alone thanks to her insane burst damage. Look for picks and then call for objectives like the Baron, Dragon or a tower.
Tips and Tricks:
- Look for fights when the enemy is close to a wall. Pushing them into it will result in a lot of damage dealt and allow your team to win the fight. Fighting in the jungle is highly preferred on Qiyana.
- If your Jungler comes to gank, make sure you have your River Enchantment ready (by using W on the river) to root the enemy.
- Qiyana is very good in the early game. Try to get a lead so you become harder to deal with in team fights.
11. Veigar
Veigar has unlimited scaling and will be a major threat to the enemy if he is left alone during the laning phase. All Veigar needs to do is farm with his Q and he will be a huge carry in the late game.
With the insane amount of AP he can generate from his Passive and Q, Veigar’s Ultimate can deal enough damage to one-shot a target. Just pressing “R” on the enemy ADC or the Support could allow you to one-shot them. Using this numbers advantage, you can easily win the fight.
Veigar also has very good pick potential. He will max E second which reduces his cages cooldown. He can try to catch enemies out frequently with this ability and start a team fight.
Tips and Tricks:
- Do not use your E unless you are going for a kill or to set up a gank. It costs a lot of mana and is main source of escape.
- Look to farm with your Q to gain stacks and increase your AP. Line up multiple minions for extra damage.
- Use your Ultimate on squishy targets to execute them at the start of the fight and make it 5v4.
12. Ahri
The last champion on today’s list is Ahri. Ahri has always been a good champion in Solo Queue, and she is one of the most popular champions in the game. Riot always keeps their poster child, Ahri, strong so people continue to play the game! Okay, maybe not, but she is good in Solo Queue.
She has very strong pick potential and can frequently look for kills during the mid part of the game. Her E has a long CC duration, which provides time for her to deal damage or for her team to follow up.
Ahri is a great roamer and has tons of impact throughout all stages of the game. She can deal a lot of damage and get tons of picks when she is ahead.
Tips and Tricks:
- Constantly look to poke and chip away at the enemy’s health bar before looking for the all-in.
- In team fights, look to peel at first. When an enemy steps too far forward or is caught out of position- look to all-in them.
- If you’re not able to kill the enemy in lane, push the wave and roam with your Ultimate. Ahri is really good at roaming, so make sure you’re proactive about it.
Summary
Mid laners have one of the most impactful roles in the game, so make sure you’re playing one of these strong champions to solo carry your team to victory. As always, if you have any questions about this guide, don’t hesitate to ask! If you’re interested in learning how to play any of these champions on today’s list or any other champion in LoL, head to the Mobalytics site.
