Riot Games didn’t shake things up too much for season 13 when it comes to the itemization for AP mages. AP champions have access to multiple different mythic items, each of which offers unique strengths.
However, it’s not always easy to pick the right mythic item for your champion. This is due to the fact that some AP champs work well with only one mythic item while others work well with all of them.
For example, Brand can’t really be played with anything else than Liandry’s Anguish while Xerath can build anything he wants.
Because of this, in this post, I’m going to rank the best mythic items for AP champions in season 13 and recommend them for specific mage champions so you can make an informed decision in-game.
Here it is.
1. Liandry’s Anguish
Liandry’s Anguish is the best AP mythic item in every possible aspect. There’s no situation when it’s wrong to build this item and it’s always useful, regardless of the mage you’re playing.
The primary thing that distinguishes Liandry’s Anguish from the rest of the AP mythic item is the burn damage. With it, your abilities deal extra magic damage that scales with your ability power and your target’s maximum HP.
But that’s not all.
Liandry’s Anguish also increases your damage based on how much bonus health your enemy has. In other words, the tankier your target is the more damage you’re going to do with Liandry’s Anguish.
Even not counting its base stats, the item is a great one to build against tanks in League of Legends. But since season 13 is a pretty tanky season in itself, it’s an excellent item to get and not fear that you’re missing out on anything.
To simplify things, Liandry’s Anguish will give you the most amount of damage you can possibly get from a mythic item as a mage. It also lets you stack bonus ability haste which is instrumental on so many mages in the game.
And lastly, the best way to take advantage of Liandry’s Anguish is to build other burn items in combination with it such as Demonic Embrace.
The best champions for Liandry’s Anguish are:
- Brand
- Karthus
- Malzahar
- Zyra
- Swain
2. Luden’s Tempest
Luden’s Tempest is Liandry’s rival and the majority of players usually pick between these two when they’re playing mages in League of Legends. And here’s what you need to know in order to make the best decision out of the two.
Luden’s Tempest gives you more upfront damage but less damage than Liandry’s overall. This is due to the fact that Luden’s deals bonus magic damage when you first hit an enemy champion with an ability. And this damage scales with your AP.
However, you simply can’t replace the damage-over-time effect from Liandry’s Anguish because of how valuable it is throughout the game, especially in matches where your opponents are tanky.
Nonetheless, Luden’s is a great mythic item for all bursty AP champions. It allows them to hit their target harder and set up the rest of their damage.
The item is also great on poke champions because every once in a while their long-range abilities do more damage. And in combination with Shadowflame or Horizon Focus, Luden’s Tempest can be lethal.
The additional magic penetration you get from Luden’s is really excellent and it can definitely help you against tanky compositions in season 13. So if you aren’t building Liandry’s Anguish, make sure to build Luden’s Tempest.
The best champions for Luden’s Tempest are:
- Zoe
- LeBlanc
- Lux
- Vex
- Viktor
Read Also: The 7 Best Lethality Items
3. Rod of Ages
Rod of Ages made a sudden comeback in season 13 to the delight of all mage players, including myself. It’s great to see that the item is in the shop again although it’s obvious that it doesn’t have the same effect on the gameplay it once had.
Rod of Ages is perhaps the best AP mythic item you can get for scaling mages in League of Legends. The item works on stacks which you get every 40 seconds (in the past it was 60 seconds) after you purchase it until you collect 10 stacks.
With each stack, Rod of Ages gives you a bit of health, mana, and ability power. And if you’re playing a champion like Kassadin for whom the early game is all about farming and scaling, Rod of Ages perfectly fits into that idea.
Additionally, Rod of Ages restores a bit of mana and health during combat so it’s definitely a useful tool for team fights, especially in the late game.
But the harsh truth here is that Rod of Ages lacks flexibility. It only really works on champions that have high damage output in the late game regardless of the items they build. And it’s pretty useless on early game mages.
The best champions for Rod of Ages are:
- Kassadin
- Ryze
- Twisted Fate
- Cassiopeia
- Aurelion Sol
Read Also: The Best Items Against AP Champions
4. Everfrost
In the previous seasons, Everfrost was in a much better state. Nowadays it’s not the strongest AP mythic item although some champions really depend on it.
Sylas is a great example here. He works extremely well with Everfrost because he can combine it with his Q and E. If he manages to root a target with Evefrost’s active, he can stun them and deal extra damage to them without the fear of missing his abilities.
So, Everfrost goes well with champions that can combine it with their own CC abilities. The item allows you to slow and root enemy champions, grants bonus health to make you tankier, and its cooldown is pretty short.
Evefrost offers almost the same base stats as Liandry’s Anguish and Luden’s Tempest, but you definitely don’t want to build it on a pure damage champion. It works best on AP bruisers and champions with lots of utility.
The best champions for Evefrost are:
- Sylas
- Lissandra
- Ahri
- Gragas
- Veigar
5. Riftmaker
An argument can be made as to Riftmaker not being a mage item but rather a bruiser item. And to a certain extent, this is true – there aren’t too many mages utilizing Riftmaker in LoL.
However, Riftmaker is a really valuable item in season 13 because it provides bonus true damage during a fight. It goes best with champions that have damage-over-time effects or the ones that can survive longer in combat.
The true damage that Riftmaker provides can help you combat most tanks in League of Legends. And combined with the bonus Omni Vamp it gives, Riftmaker is the go-to item for many non-mana AP champions in League.
Speaking of, the only downside that Riftmaker has is that it doesn’t provide any mana or mana regeneration. Champions like Cassioepia would be completely broken with Riftmaker if they didn’t need the mana from Liandry’s or Luden’s throughout the game.
And that’s why you mostly see it on AP top lane champions and some AP junglers.
The best champions for Riftmaker are:
- Vladimir
- Mordekaiser
- Lillia
- Katarina
- Gwen
Read Also: The Best Items Against AD Champions
6. Crown of the Shattered Queen
Riot Games introduced Crown of the Shattered Queen as the answer to all the assassins in the mid lane. It was supposed to be the go-to mythic item for all long-range champions that needed a bit more defensiveness.
But because the damage that Crown of the Shattered Queen provides is so low, it’s simply a forgotten item in League’s in-game shop. In fact, there are almost no advantages of building Crown instead of Liandry’s Anguish or Luden’s Tempest on mage champions.
Crown of the Shattered Queen offers decent stats like AP, ability haste, health, and mana. It also gives you a shield that reduces the damage you take but it breaks almost immediately after you receive damage.
In reality, your opponents can break your shield with a single poke spell and you have to get out of combat for 40 seconds to gain it again.
Crown can work when you’re up against multiple assassins but don’t expect to buff your damage too much.
The best champions for Crown of the Shattered Queen are:
- Xerath
- Viktor
- Orianna
- Zilean
- Vel’koz
What About Hextech Rocketbelt and Night Harvester?
Hextech Rocketbelt and Night Harvester are the last two AP mythic items that you could consider building on a mage champion in League of Legends.
Both items are built with Hextech Alternator which increases your burst and gives you a better opening. However, these items are a much better fit for assassins rather than mages in LoL.
For example, Hextech Rocketbelt is mostly used on AP assassins such as Ekko and Fizz who use it to gain range and proc Electrocute faster.
On the other hand, the champions who utilize Night Harvester are Nidalee and Akali, characters that need to do a lot of damage initially and burst down the target as fast as possible.
Night Harvester and Hextech Rocketbelt don’t provide you with mana or mana regeneration so they can’t help you too much on a mage champion.
But don’t be afraid to experiment and see how they fit your playstyle.
Read Also: The Max Lethality Build in League of Legends
Conclusion
To summarize things, I think that the best mythic item for mages overall is Liandry’s Anguish. There’s really no downside to building it and it works against any team composition. The second most useful one is Luden’s Tempest.
Rod of Ages and Everfrost are more niche mythic items while Crown of the Shattered Queen and Riftmaker should only be built on specific champions in specific scenarios.
I hope that clears the confusion and helps you figure out what you should be building on your champion!
