Mid lane is home to all types of champions in League of Legends. From the AP control mages to the bursty AD assassins and the occasional tanks and enchanters – you can literally play anything in this role.
And despite what the meta dictates, there are a few particularly powerful AD champions who almost always dominate the mid lane.
As a mid laner myself, I often use these picks to counter my opponents in solo queue, crush the early game, and snowball my leads.
You definitely want to have a couple of AD pocket picks, especially if your team goes full AP.
Remember, there are tons of armor penetration and lethality items in LoL, so physical damage can always result in high damage, regardless of the champion you play.
So if AP champions aren’t your cup of tea and you want a strong AD pick for mid lane, scroll down, and let’s discuss the 7 best options you have.
These Are the 7 Best AD Mid Lane Champions in LoL:
7. Akshan
When Akshan was first introduced, he actually destroyed mid lane meta. His “400 years” ability kit makes it so his weaknesses are never present, especially when he gets ahead early on.
What Akshan does brilliantly in lane is poking, harassing, and bullying the opponent. His auto-attack range allows him to farm from a safe distance and his Q extends through the whole minion wave.
This comes in handy both against ranged and melee mid laners.
When Akshan is up against mages, he can usually trade with Q and engage with his E. And versus assassins and fighters, Akshan can endlessly poke them with auto-attacks and Q to drive them out of the lane.
Akshan’s early game power is a key strength that you should always want to take advantage of.
His damage during the laning phase is super high and it can’t be missed since it comes from his basic attacks, not skill shots.
In matchups where Akshan can’t solo kill the enemy or the opposing laner is simply playing too defensively, Akhan’s wave-pushing power allows him to quickly shove the wave and roam elsewhere.
Thanks to his W, Going Rogue, Akshan can enter camouflage and gank other lanes with ease.
It requires you to be a bit careful and watch for enemy red wards. But being permanently invisible isn’t something any other mid laner can do in LoL.
In the late game, Akshan becomes an extremely powerful AD carry. His build consists of items that grant true damage and lots of armor penetration, so he’s perfectly comfortable being the only physical damage dealer in his team.
| Good Against | Bad Against |
| Kassadin | Annie |
| Akali | Veigar |
| Sylas | Swain |
Read Also: The 10 Most Fun Mid Lane Champions
6. Qiyana
Unlike Akshan, Qiyana is an AD melee assassin with a complicated but explosive playstyle. She isn’t the easiest champion to learn. But when mastered, Qiyana is one of the strongest carries you can play in the mid lane.
As a physical damage assassin, Qiyana is a strong counter to the majority of the AP mages in League of Legends.
She has enough mobility through her W and E to dodge most of their skill shots and her damage (buffed by lethality items) is often enough to one-shot them.
At the start of each game, Qiyana usually focuses on farming until level 3. But then she starts to get favorable trades in most matchups and eventually ends up solo-killing the opposing laner.
Her burst damage is unbelievable even in the early game, so she can easily pick up advantages in lane.
However, one of Qiyana’s biggest strengths is roaming. This champion is fantastic at getting around Summoner’s Rift quickly but also executing on ganks.
She has mobility, damage, and crowd control – the perfect recipe for a successful assassin.
Many players are discouraged to play Qiyana because her kit is difficult to grasp at first and she has an overwhelming amount of different ability combos.
But give her enough practice and she’ll give you unbelievable carry potential.
Qiyana is brilliant in 1v1 duels but she can also set up 5v5 teamfights with her ultimate, Supreme Display of Talent. And she’s exceptional at eliminating targets one by one while dancing on the battlefield.
| Good Against | Bad Against |
| Orianna | Vladimir |
| LeBlanc | Ahri |
| Viktor | Katarina |
5. Talon
Speaking of roaming assassins, Talon is the embodiment of that idea. He’s simply the best when it comes to quickly shoving the minion waves and moving around the map for a greater impact.
Talon’s kit is surprisingly simple. He’s an AD assassin with a dash, an AoE damage ability, and an ultimate that helps him escape or finish off his target.
Talon’s physical damage is always backed by lethality items and he’s always ready to one-shot the enemy ADC.
Talon’s E, Assassin’s Path, allows him to jump over any wall on Summoner’s Rift. The ability has no cooldown, but it can’t be used on the same terrain until some time has passed.
However, Assassin’s Path is the ideal spell for quickly getting into position for any fight on the entire map.
For example, Talon can always reach any skirmish in the jungle before the enemy mid laner. With two jumps, he’s already on top of the enemy ADC or jungler, ready to assassinate.
And the same goes for all bot lane fights too.
As Talon, your main job is to shove minion waves and move up or down Summoner’s Rift. Ganking is the biggest advantage you have and you want to constantly apply pressure on the whole map.
It’s really tough to play against a good Talon player because you constantly fear his ganks.
In lower elos especially, Talon smurfs get up to 20 kills in each game simply by walking to bot or top lane and collecting gold for free.
In lane, Talon fairs well against most mid lane champions. His bigger counters are early game bullies like Akshan or Syndra.
But even in bad matchups, Talon can simply abandon mid lane and focus on ganking instead of farming.
| Good Against | Bad Against |
| Orianna | Akshan |
| Malzahar | Vex |
| Ryze | Diana |
Read Also: 5 Best Champions You Can Main for Both Mid & Jungle
4. Irelia
Irelia is one of the best duelists in League of Legends. And if you’re looking for a pick that allows you to 1v9 your solo queue games, Irelia should be your main champ.
First of all, Irelia is an AD fighter with the advantage of building bruiser items that boost her damage as well as survivability.
Irelia is packed with lots of self-healing and she can win against most champions in the game.
Because of this, Irelia is a counter to most AP and AD assassins in the mid lane.
Simply because she’s more enduring and the majority of her damage comes from auto-attacking, she can survive the opponent’s damage and outlast them.
Early on, Irelia can safely farm with her Q, Bladesurge. It’s a dash ability that resets when the targets is slain, so Irelia can execute all minions in the wave while also dodging the opponent’s skill shots.
After level 6, Irelia can 1v1 any mid lane champion if she hits her ultimate.
Vanguard’s Edge traps enemies inside and allows Irelia to use her Q multiple time, making her exceptional at chasing down enemies, even those that Flash away.
In the mid and late game, Irelia can focus on split pushing in the side lanes.
However, she’s also great in team fights because she can fight two or more enemy champions at once. Diving the back line is easy for her, so you don’t need to fear 5v5 teamfights.
What I really like about Irelia is that no matter how much you’ve fallen behind and lost the early game, you can always come back and be on a relevant power level. So I truly recommend her!
| Good Against | Bad Against |
| Azir | Yasuo |
| Kassadin | Cassiopeia |
| Taliyah | Vex |
Read Also: 7 Best Mid Lane Hyper-Carries in League of Legends
3. Yasuo
Despite being a meme nowadays, Yasuo is really one of the best mid laners in League of Legends. In the right hands, Yasuo is almost impossible to beat and he has all the right tools for carrying games.
There aren’t too many unfavorable matchups for Yasuo in the mid lane. Yasuo beats most assassins and he’s pretty good at laning versus the mages.
Tanks and enchanters can be difficult for him early on, but he often overcomes and outscales them anyway.
Yasuo’s particularly strong in two aspects – dealing physical damage and being mobile. Besides his Q, Yasuo’s ultimate grants bonus armor penetration after casting it, so he can shred most tanks without a problem.
His E, Sweeping Blade, allows him to dash through multiple targets and reposition himself at all times. In lane, Yasuo can use his E to gap-close the enemy or dodge their skill shots.
Later on, the ability is simply phenomenal for outplaying enemies in teamfights.
Yasuo’s kit flows very well together and there’s a synergy between his abilities. When you get good at Yasuo, you start to see how much potential this champion has simply because of the available mechanics.
His combos can literally 1v5 the enemy team.
As an AD fighter, Yasuo usually builds items that increase his damage and durability. He’s not the easiest champion to take down because he has lots of self-healing to work with.
On top of this, Yasuo has his Wind Wall to block so many different spells and attacks.
Yasuo is one of my favorite champions in League and he’s incredibly strong as a mid laner.
| Good Against | Bad Against |
| Twisted Fate | Swain |
| Sylas | Vladimir |
| Lux | Vex |
2. Yone
If you like Yasuo and his general gameplay, chances are that you’ll also like Yone. Despite being brothers in the lore, Yasuo and Yone have very similar playstyles in LoL with only a few different aspects.
First of all, Yone’s Q, Mortal Steel can be used in the same way as Yasuo’s Q, Steel Tempest. However, instead of a ranged tornado attack, Yone’s Q dashes him forward and applies the airborne effect.
Buy Yone’s safety doesn’t come from having a Wind Wall. Instead, it comes from his E, one of the most broken cooldowns in the game.
For example, Yone can completely nullify the effects of Zoe’s Sleep Trouble Bubble and remove the sleep altogether by going in his E and coming back.
But what I like most about Yone is how easy it is to get really good at the champion. If you’re good at Yasuo, you’ll instantly be good at Yone just because of how intuitive his ability kit is.
As a champion, Yone is notorious for dealing unbelievable amounts of physical damage and having one of the highest self-healing in the game.
Seriously, this champion can 1v2 the enemy bot lane on 5% HP if he’s left to only auto-attack.
Yone is a great pick for players who like to solo carry games by splitting in the side lane or players who enjoy the wombo combo in teamfights. Yone’s kit allows for both and he scales incredibly well in the late game.
| Good Against | Bad Against |
| Zoe | Katarina |
| Azir | Irelia |
| Malzahar | Vex |
Read Also: 15 Best Mid Laners for Beginners
1. Zed
Hands down, Zed is the ideal AD mid lane champion in League of Legends. He has everything you need to carry your team from mid lane and you’ll never get bored of playing him.
Zed is an AD assassin that values two stats – lethality and cooldown reduction. Unlike Irelia, Yasuo, and Yone, Zed relies more on his abilities than on his auto-attacks.
And if you can aim all of his shurikens, there’s no champion in the game that can survive his burst.
With Zed, you’re always looking to play safely until level 6. True, level 3 is a big power spike for Zed and he can combo his abilities in order to get favorable trades.
However, once Death Mark is unlocked, Zed becomes a threat to the entire Summoner’s Rift.
Because of this, ganking as Zed is more than recommended. With his R available, Zed can look for kills on any lane and solo almost any champion.
His damage is pretty high early on and it only gets higher with lethality and attack damage items.
With a proper lead, Zed can snowball so hard that nothing can stop him carrying his team to victory. It’s very difficult to survive Zed’s damage when he’s ahead, especially as a mid laner, ADC, or support.
One of the things that Zed struggles with is Stopwatch or champions that become untargetable. You have to be careful and you often want to wait for your enemies to use their cooldowns before you jump onto them.
However, with enough cooldown reduction, Zed’s R becomes a 30-second cooldown ability, so you have more than enough chances of assassinating anyone you want.
| Good Against | Bad Against |
| LeBlanc | Lissandra |
| Syndra | Swain |
| Pantheon | Irelia |
Read Also: 7 Best Mid Laners Against Tanks
Conclusion
There are so many more AD picks that I could recommend to you.
Off-meta mid laners such as lethality Varus or lethality Renekton are so powerful that you can absolutely dominate each game with them.
However, the 7 champions on this list are all powerful AD picks that will help you crush your opponent and win more games in solo queue.
