Why does no one play Gragas Mid?

Ralanr·Jan 23, 2016·1 votes·1,173 views

So I played mid for the first time and I don't understand why people only play him as a jungler. You can see the match in my normals history, I was facing a and I always killed him before he killed me (and then I got fed). Granted this was my first time and the could have been terrible, but looking at his abilities I just don't understand why he isn't played mid against assassins.

I mean, his W is pretty much a punishing tool when someone (like who kept ulting me despite it never working well for him) all ins you. His Q is a decent zoning tool. His E is great at messing up all ins so you can land the W better. And his Ult, oh god his Ult is just beautiful when timed right. R->E->W is beautiful.

So why do people play him more in the jungle than in mid lane? Especially with all of these assassins?

5 Comments

AlwaysByMySideJan 23, 20161 votes

Because it doesn't work unless you're cheesing an assassin, and if you want to cheese assassins just play Chogath

iDrink Moar BeerJan 23, 20161 votes

It's because of damage output. Besides his Q and ult, he Gragas doesn't do enough damage output that other mid laners have the potential to do.

What I mean by that is someone like Lux or Brand is better because they're able to dish out more damage in team fights, Lux can stun/slow (with high damage) as well as finish off people with an ult. Brand can cripple an entire team with an ult plus a follow up of any one of his spells.

Don't get me wrong, Gragas can be played mid, but there's better options out there, and in competitive ranked play people are optimally going to choose the "best" option out there to increase the chance of a win.

He's a better jungle because his utility is so sick, the slow/knock-up abilities he has on top of the ult can change up the outcome of a team fight, but once that is done someone is needed on the team that can dish out the damage.

RalanrJan 23, 20161 votes

That makes sense. I noticed my tower was the last to fall and without ignite I wouldn't of got the first kills off of Zed.

Was pretty fun outplaying him though. Like when I ignited him, he ults me. So as the shadows come I place down my Q and walk towards it. Soon as he reappears I make it explode. Another kill for me.

Zero Skill TankJan 23, 20161 votes

He currently has 39% winratio in midlane. I know stats aren't everything but when a champ is below 40% it means something.

OnlyGragasOnlyGGJan 23, 20161 votes

My conclusion is: The higher the elo, the harder it is to prosper with Gragas despite what role you go. Also his skill requirements are the highest in the game, which shows in his winrate.

Gragas mid is okay, he has enough damage but the problem is that he is a feeble farmer in most matchups since the Q does reduced damage to minions. That's why I prefer leveling E first, it will save you mana and has better damage than in Q (before the barrel turns red). I'd say that if you play want to run full AP Gragas you should do that as support.

Sad thing he has lost his potecny even in LCS and haven't been picked there at all.