Throughout the years, many AP champions have been meta and off-meta picks for the bot lane in League of Legends. Their popularity usually skyrockets on certain patches (when Riot Games buffs them) but they’re always great pocket picks to have as an ADC main or an off-role player.
Playing a mage instead of a marksman in the bot lane has many advantages. For example, mages usually have a safer ability kit, including crowd controls like stuns and snares. On top of that, they deal AoE damage instead of single target damage, so they’re good at carrying fights.
But the biggest factor for playing an AP carry instead of an AD one is the type of damage they deal. Instead of physical, AP champions deal magic damage, and picking them can be a great solution when your team is all AD.
That said, here I’ll give you the 5 best AP carries you can play in bot lane in League of Legends. All of them have unique strengths, power spikes, and playstyles, so choose the one that fits you the most.
Let’s start.
The Best AP Carry Champions for Bot Lane in LoL
5. Seraphine
In recent seasons, Seraphine has become one of the hottest picks for the bot lane, and more often as an AP carry instead of a support. The champion is packed with lots of useful tools for carrying games even in professional matches, so let’s go over them.
Seraphine can effectively deals lots of AoE magic damage, crowd control multiple targets at once, and even keep her allies alive. She starts every game slowly but scales extremely well and becomes a great carry in the late game.
Seraphine can clear waves almost instantly from level 5 onward. Her E and Q (when it’s double cast) can one-shot the entire minion wave, leaving Seraphine and her support free to roam or stay safe under their turret.
On top of that, Seraphine’s W offers both healing and shielding for her and her partner. It’s a very powerful spell that can counter every gank from the enemy jungler.
Once Seraphine gets to level 6, she also gains access to her ultimate. This is a very powerful spell that can Charm all enemies in its path and deal decent damage. It’s a huge winning factor in team fights and 2v2 skirmishes, so it needs to be aimed carefully.
You have two ways of building Seraphine – supportive build that focuses on keeping her allies alive and the mage build that offers a lot more damage and burn effects. Both builds are viable and can carry games, so choose the one that your team needs.
Top 3 Supports for Seraphine
Read Also: 5 Best Supports for Seraphine ADC/APC
4. Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia is one of my most recommended AP champions for players who are looking to diversify their bot lane roster. She’s a powerful pick, a late game carry that can 1v5 the entire enemy team if played correctly.
One of the reasons why Cassiopeia works so well as a bot lane pick is that her playstyle is almost identical to that of an AD carry.
To clarify things, the way you deal damage with Cass is similar to that of Vayne, for example. You constantly need to move and kite enemies left and right. And instead of right-clicking and auto-attacking, with Cassiopeia you’re just spamming your E button.
Aside from that, Cassiopeia offers insane scaling for the late game and she’s pretty comfortable being the only damage dealer in your team. The only thing you need to worry about is not feeding during the early game. Instead, focus on farming.
Even though Cass is pretty good at capitalizing on the mistakes of her opponents and winning 2v2 skirmishes, she really shines in 5v5 team fights.
With the support beside her, Cassiopeia can effectively outplay the entire enemy team, apply magic damage to everybody and crowd control multiple opponents at once. Her R – Petrifying Gaze can turn a team fight upside down, so she carries huge potential in her.
Top 3 Supports for Cassiopeia
- Nami
- Seraphine
- Zyra
3. Karthus
We’re safe to say that Karthus doesn’t have a primary role in League of Legends nowadays. He can be played as an off-meta jungler or an off-meta support, but he’s also quite effective as an AP carry too.
Once you try playing Karthus in the bot lane, you realize how fitting the role actually is. For starters, Karthus has a weak early game and he absolutely needs a support to keep him safe. And if he’s allowed to farm, Karthus can become one of the best late game champions.
But depending on the support, Karthus’ playstyle can also be more aggressive. For example, if the support is Amumu or Zilean, Karthus can play very offensively and constantly harass the opposing duo.
Karthus’ kit is very simple and doesn’t have anything too impressive. His Q and E are his basic damage dealers with W being the only crowd control (slow) effect he has.
However, once Karthus unlocks his level 6, his Requiem becomes one of the most feared cooldowns in the game. Karthus’ ultimate is a global ability that damages all enemies on the map with heavy magic damage, regardless of where they are.
Depending on how you use Karthus’ R, you can actually get a lot of kills in each game. It’s easy to collect a champion takedown when an enemy is trying to Recall, so pay attention to the rest of the map as well.
In the late game, Karthus’ damage is literally unbalanced. And a single cast of his ultimate can bring all 5 of his enemies below 50% HP. So definitely give him a try!
Top 3 Supports for Karthus
- Zilean
- Brand
- Janna
2. Syndra
Syndra has been one of the best AP champions for the bot lance since the early seasons of League of Legends. And she’s definitely powerful enough to carry games from that role as well as the mid lane.
Syndra has a relatively safe laning phase because she can farm from range. Her Q can be cast while moving, so she effectively dodge skillshots while dealing damage herself.
Because of this, Syndra’s support doesn’t need to focus too much on keeping her alive early on. Yes, Syndra doesn’t have mobility or defensive spells and can be punished when ganked, but her ability kit allows her to counteract.
For example, Syndra’s Q + E combo can stun multiple enemies at once from a great range. This allows her and her support to engage or keep the opponents away from them. On top of that, Syndra’s W also applies AoE slow effect, so she’s an excellent control mage.
Getting kills in the bot lane with Syndra is actually pretty easy, especially after level 6. No matter which champion supports Syndra, her basic combo is bound to take 50-60% of the enemy’s HP.
And Syndra’s R – Unleashed Power is a great finisher since it’s a point-click spell and can’t be missed.
Additionally, this champion also scales extremely well and has a lot of damage in the late game. In team fights, Syndra can assassinate one target almost instantly, effectively doubling her team’s chances of victory.
Top 3 Supports for Syndra
- Lux
- Pyke
- Maokai
Read Also: Top 7 Best Synergy ADCs for Braum
1. Ziggs
Ziggs is the most effective AP champion you can play in the bot lane and there’s almost no bad matchup for him. His ability kit allows him to dominate the laning phase and take over the whole game, so there’s no reason not to play Ziggs as an APC.
First of all, Ziggs’s abilities are all AoE magic damage dealers. Two of them (W and E) can also knock up and slow enemy champions, so they can be used to create a setup for the rest of Ziggs’ damage.
On top of this, Ziggs outranges all ADCs in League of Legends and can farm from afar. And if the enemy duo is ahead or the jungler camps the bot side, Ziggs can simply sit under turret and still get all the minions.
However, you can also play very aggressively with Ziggs, poke and harass, especially with supports like Lux and Brand. His bombs do a lot of damage since the early game. And they only become stronger the longer the game goes on.
One of the things that Ziggs is great at is destroying turrets. His passive auto-attacks and W damage turrets and he can quickly take multiple turrets down if left alone.
On the other hand, Ziggs can pick up kills on other parts of the map thanks to the huge range on his R – Mega Inferno Bomb. That way he can assist his allies elsewhere while staying in the bot lane and collecting all the gold and experience.
And even though there are many, these are the best supports for Ziggs in the bot lane.
Top 3 Supports for Ziggs
- Morgana
- Heimerdinger
- Swain
Read Also: The 5 Best Synergy Supports for Cassiopeia APC
Conclusion
Of course, there are more than 5 good AP carries in League of Legends. For example, Veigar is one of the most powerful AP champions you can take in the bot lane. And if you’re interested, here are the best supports to play with Veigar bot.
However, the 5 champions I showcased here are all excellent carries that will give you more than enough chances for carrying games in solo queue. So, definitely try them out!
Read Also: 5 Best Synergy Supports for Swain APC