Recently, many players in the Korean rank have suddenly been bringing out old mages from the “last century” to the mid lane. The reason these champions, which are not in the current meta, are being utilized is because their skill sets can effectively counter many champions, most notably Nunu in the hands of the Demon King Faker.
Here are those “outdated” mages:
Anivia
Although not part of the meta in any region around the world, Anivia has recently been a familiar name in Korean rank.
In the laning phase, Anivia can farm a bit awkwardly if she can’t poke the opponent with her Q+E combo. However, instead of farming, Anivia can effectively stop many surprise roams from the enemy team. The most effective way is to block Nunu’s snowball ability with her Ice Wall (W). Champions without mobility skills who lose Flash will also be very wary of Anivia’s W.
In the later stages, Anivia can clear minions in just a few seconds using her ultimate, having one of the best wave-clearing abilities in League of Legends. For the opponent, pushing minions to destroy towers while Anivia is alive is a “challenge like reaching the sky.” In a siege, Anivia can block nearly 90% of the enemy team’s paths with W, giving her team a favorable fighting angle or making it easier to secure major objectives.
Annie
Currently one of the champions with extremely low play rate, Annie has a very good matchup against troublesome champions like Nunu Mid. In the early game, Annie can clear minions without spending much mana with her Q or W. After clearing the minions, Annie can “vanish” back to base and return to lane with great speed or roam unexpectedly, rivaling Nunu.
By mid-game, this is when Annie is most dangerous as her R+W+Q combo can take down the entire enemy team if they are clustered together. Additionally, the enemy’s fear of Annie and their tendency to split up out of fear of “grouping too much” also allows Annie’s team to quickly eliminate one enemy and retreat when the enemy team is too far away to react.
In the late game, Annie possesses all the elements that many of the hottest mid lane champions in the meta desire, such as strong initiation, massive area damage, a very high survivability without needing teammate coverage, and finally, the ability to utilize the damage and tankiness of the “sixth member of the team” – Tibbers.
Veigar
With just one well-placed E, Nunu and many champions in front will have to “turn back” or face a direct stun.
In the early game, Veigar can farm evenly and slowly stack his Q to gain late game power. Once he gets his first item, Hextech Gunblade, Veigar can start to roam aggressively with his team. By using the Frost Upgrade, opponents who get slowed often find it hard to escape from Event Horizon (E), allowing Veigar and his teammates to deal damage to those trapped or stunned by E.
By mid-game, Veigar’s annoyance level skyrockets with two items that continuously slow enemies for roaming with his team. If the enemy team hesitates for just a moment, they will be caught by Veigar and eliminated in a single combo. Like Anivia, Veigar can corner and block paths with E, making it extremely easy for his team to secure large objectives. Veigar’s favorite fighting spots are around the dragon pit and Baron pit. If neither team wants to fight and just farms, the advantage still leans towards Veigar thanks to his ability to infinitely scale. The longer the game goes, the higher his damage becomes.
