League of Legends Patch 9.7 tier list: mid lane edition

Which mid laner stands above the others in League of Legends following the Patch 9.7 changes?

League of Legends Patch 9.7 brought buffs to Azir and nerfs to Lissandra, Morgana, and Sylas. There were also nerfs to the Dark Seal and some rune changes that could cause some unexpected changes in our tier list for the mid lane.

We’ve aggregated data from eight other sites to give you our best estimation of where each League of Legends champion ranks in the mid lane. What do the data and the opinions of experts have to say about the supports in Patch 9.7?

The tier list

S tier: Zed, Vladimir
A tier: Ahri, Fizz, Yasuo, Morgana, Katarina, Taliyah, Malzahar, Talon, Lux, Xerath, Sylas
B tier: Kassadin, Vel’Koz, Karthus, Twisted Fate, Anivia, Zoe, Veigar, Orianna, Zilean, Ziggs, Leblanc, Neeko, Ekko, Annie, Corki, Diana, Lissandra
C tier: Akali, Viktor, Cassiopeia, Kayle, Irelia, Swain, Ryze, Azir, Syndra, Jayce, Aurelion Sol
D tier: Rumble, Heimerdinger, Aatrox, Galio

Rising champions

Morgana (C tier to A tier)

Very curious to see Morgana actually rise in the mid lane tier list when the nerfs she received in Patch 9.7 were specifically aimed at that position. Nevertheless, Morgana was consistently rated as B tier or above by every one of the tier lists we audit save for one.

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That oversight by Ranked Boost is probably what kept her from being a high A tier pick rather than just mid A tier. Even getting a C rating on their tier list would have pushed her to a high A pick.

Annie (C tier to B tier)

LS rejoices as the Dark Child has finally been vaulted out of the depths of being considered off-meta in her main position to at least being a viable pick. She’s not strong, by any means, as only one tier list even rates her above a B. Most tier lists have her pegged as somewhere between a C and a B, so it makes sense that she ended up right in the meat of the pack.

Ziggs (C tier to B tier)

The opinion on Ziggs is much more divided than Annie, as two tier list rate him as A tier. Four others, though, consider him to be C tier, and Ranked Boost didn’t list him in their mid tier list at all. He may be ranked higher than Annie, but he’s still a below-average B pick. Given how there are a lot of opinions that he should be lower, we can’t say that he’s in a great spot.

Taliyah (B tier to A tier)

Taliyah was also held back this patch by not being ranked (Tierlist.gg omitted her) but we should note that the Weaver rose in the ranks due to the opinion of her strength improving. Two different tier lists rate her as S tier right now (none did in the last patch) and other than not being ranked only one tier list has her below a B. There are some differing opinions, but the general consensus is that she is a good pick at the moment.