League of Legends Patch 9.9 tier list: mid lane

New Additions

Galio
Gone are the days when Galio was basically a pick/ban mid laner at the start of the season. Right now, half of the tier lists don’t even rank him, so it’s entirely possible that could change next patch and he’ll fall right back off again.

Nautilus
After all the buffs Nautilus got over the last few patches, this unique playstyle of AP bruiser Nautilus in the mid lane. Faker has broken it out in solo queue on occasion, and we’ve even seen it played at MSI. But how is it in solo queue?

Well, according to our tier lists…we don’t know. Half of the sites we evaluated don’t even list Naut as a viable mid laner and of those who do, half have him A tier or higher and the rest have him C tier or lower. My judgment, then, is to say that you shouldn’t be looking to abuse this cheese pick before it gets nerfed because it might not actually be that great.

New Subtractions

None

Rising Champions

Orianna (B to A tier)

She didn’t get any direct buffs or even indirect ones through runes or items (at least none that would disproportionately favor her). This is just a pure example of more sites having increased faith in her viability this patch as opposed to the last one. Almost every patch that rated her as a B or C in 9.8 bumped her up to an A or B now.

Neeko (B to A tier)

This bump is also the product of more tier lists just ranking her higher than any direct buffs or nerfs. Neeko looks to be in a pretty nice spot, but she’s still towards the low-end of the A tier.

Vel’Koz (B to A tier)

Vel’Koz has been hanging right around that low-A to high-B boundary for three patches now, hopping back-and-forth. Right now, he’s hopped into the A tier, but I wouldn’t expect him to rise much higher or drop much lower.

Ekko (B to A tier)

Ekko was very much towards the middle of that B tier last patch, but he’s moved on up to A tier now. I didn’t think the buffs he got in Patch 9.9 were anything major, but it was enough to bump him up to the A tier.

Anivia (B to A tier)

Anivia just barely crept her way into the A tier in Patch 9.9, but I don’t think this is the start of her meteoric rise to OP status. Like Vel’Koz, she’s been a high-B pick for several patches and it looks like the chips fell to where she’s now A tier.

Cassiopeia (C to B tier)

One of the biggest moves up our tier list, Cassio did get some nice buffs to her E – Twin Fang cooldown in Patch 9.8. Between that buff and the nice buff to her core item, Muramana, Cassio has been doing quite well and might rise up to A tier next patch!

Sylas (C to B tier)

With news that I’m sure won’t make any mid mains angry, Sylas has made a nice rise after the buffs in Patch 9.9 to the high-B tier. Don’t fret though, there are still more than a few sites that think he’s a C tier pick or lower at the moment.

Akali (C to B tier)

The hits just keep on coming. Akali also got nerfs in Patch 9.9, but she has still risen up to be at least a viable pick. If it’s a comfort, only two of the sites we reviewed had her as an A or B tier pick (and none as S tier).

Ryze (C to B tier)

If you need more evidence of how big that Muramana change was, just look at maybe its biggest user, Ryze. No direct buffs or nerfs in the last few patches, but Muramana has 10 extra damage added to it and suddenly he has the biggest jump of any mid laner in Patch 9.9.

Jayce (C to B tier)

Jayce is a bit harder to peg as to the reason for his rise. The buffs to some of the Domination tree runes didn’t really affect him, and it’s a flimsy argument to say that the five damage buff to Scorch would account for this rise. More tier lists are rating him in Patch 9.9 but there’s still a wide spread of opinion from A to D rankings.

Syndra (C to B tier)

Another curious rise, Syndra was low-C tier last patch and took a decent rise in Patch 9.9. No site has her as an A tier pick but plenty have her in that B tier pick. Unfortunately, about half also have her in the C or D tier.