Itemization should always be approached strategically in League of Legends. Of course, you want to get the core items for your champion but you also need to build items that counter your opponent in one way or another.
And this is especially important when playing against AP champions in LoL. Most of their damage comes from their abilities and it’s often accompanied by either an AoE effect or a crowd control effect.
So, countering ability power champions is never easy but it’s definitely doable. It’s generally done with items that either block their damage/CC effect or items that significantly reduce their magic burst damage. And tank items that increase your magic resist.
But in this post, I’ll talk about the best items you can build against AP champions in LoL and explain how they work in-game and when you should buy them. So let’s get started.
These Are the Best Items to Build Against AP Champions:
Abyssal Mask
The item Abyssal Mask has been reworked a couple of times in League of Legends. And in its current state, it’s one of the most underused and underutilized items in the game.
Abyssal Mask grants bonus health and a bit of magic resist. But the reason why the item is good against AP champions in LoL is really its passive.
You see, Abyssal Mask lowers the magic resist of all nearby enemy champions, and for each affected enemy, the item increases your magic resist. In other words, Abyssal Mask makes you tankier against AP champions while also making them squishier for you.
Because of this, Abyssal Mask is a great item for AP tanks such as Shyvana and Zac. It allows them to stay tanky while also enhancing their magic damage.
Force of Nature
Force of Nature is perhaps the strongest item against AP in League of Legends. It grants a lot of bonus magic resist and greatly reduces the magic damage enemies do to you. But that’s not all.
When enemies damage or crowd control you, Force of Nature builds up stacks. And at max stats, the item gives you bonus movement speed and allows you to take reduced magic damage.
Force of Nature is ideal for champions like Hecarim who depend on moving quickly while being super tanky. The item makes it impossible for AP mages and assassins to one-shot you, so make sure to build it from time to time.
Read Also: LoL Best Items Against Shields
Banshee’s Veil
Banshee’s Veil is the best item you can build against AP champions if you play an AP champion yourself. Besides a lot of ability power, the item also gives you enough magic resist, and even ability haste.
Banshee’s Veil places a spell shield on your champion that blocks the first ability that hits you (excluding AoE ground effects). It nullifies both the damage and the effect of the ability, rendering it useless.
For example, Banshee’s Veil can block Ahri’s E, so you won’t get charmed nor damaged by it.
A great thing about Banshee’s Veil is that it builds with Verdant Barrier, an item that increases your magic resist when slaying minions. So, you can purchase it during the laning phase to become tankier against your lane opponent.
Banshee’s Veil is a great item for mages who need extra defensiveness against other mages in LoL.
Read Also: Top 10 Best Items Against Tanks
Edge of Night
The AD equivalent of Banshee’s Veil is Edge of Night. Although their stats are different and this one doesn’t give magic resist, the spell shield works the exact same way.
Just like with Banshee’s Veil, Edge of Night gives you a spell shield with a 40 seconds cooldown after being broken. It regenerates automatically when you aren’t getting damaged by enemy champions. In other words, you have it at the start of every fight.
The great thing about Edge of Night, as well as Banshee’s Veil, is that it can completely destroy the setup of many AP champions. For example, the shield can block Annie’s stun and let you avoid her damage.
Edge of Night is often recommended on AD mid lane assassins because it also grants lethality.
Read Also: The Best Items Against AD Champions
Mercurial Scimitar
Mercurial Scimitar is a great item against both AP damage and crowd control.
First of all, the item grants magic resist so it reduces the magic damage you take overall. And second, it allows you to clear all CC effects from you with its active, including suppressions such as Malzahar’s ult.
Mercurial Scimitar builds with Quicksilver Sash, QSS, which also grants magic resist. It doesn’t cost too much gold and you can use it to counter AP champions early on.
Mercurial Scimitar is mostly built on ADCs, but it’s useful on AD champions all around.
Read Also: The Best Items Against Vayne
Maw of Malmortius
Maw of Malmortius is one of the most popular items against magic damage in League. And the bonus magic resist it grants is invaluable in the mid game for many AD champions.
Maw of Malmortius gives you a huge shield that blocks magic damage and triggers when your HP drops below 30%. It’s similar to items like Sterak’s Gage with the key difference that it only works against magic damage, not physical.
Hexdrinker is an item component for Maw of Malmortius and it has the same shield effect as the full item. It even grants a bit of magic resist and you should always build it as an AD mid laner.
This item makes it so AP champions can’t one-shot you and it significantly boosts your endurance against them.
Read Also: The Best Items Against Mordekaiser
Wit’s End
Wit’s End is another popular item for countering magic damage dealers although it has been nerfed a couple of times already.
Wit’s End grants more than enough magic resist for the early and mid game. It also gives you a lot of attack speed as well as attack damage. And on top of that, it even enhances your auto-attacks to deal bonus on-hit magic damage.
So, the item is perfect for fighter champions such as Yasuo, Yone, or Irelia.
Read Also: How to Counter True Damage in League of Legends?
Other Items Against AP
The clear strategy for countering AP champions in LoL is to stack as much magic resist as possible.
But if I can recommend just a few more items, they would be Spirit Visage, Silvermare Dawn, Mikael’s Blessing, and Locket of the Iron Solari.
These items work similarly to the ones I described above either by giving you more magic resist, a CC cleanse, or a shield that blocks damage.
Conclusion
As I mentioned above, any tank item that grants magic resist is generally a good item against AP champions. The more magic resist you build the less damage your AP opponents do to you. And the more health you have the less effective they are overall.
So make sure to start implementing these items in your builds. The benefits can be huge!
Read Also: 5 Best Tanks Against AP Champions
