What's the difference of playing Kennen top vs mid?

Visper·2/15/2019, 10:38:32 AM·3 votes·4,060 views

So I am a Kennen main and I pretty much just play him top, but recently I've been playing him mid because I want to be closer to the dragons and team fights while also being able to roam a bit. I have played lots of games with him mid but a recent game I went into my whole team was saying "Kennen mid?" When I asked what was wrong with playing him mid one team mate said, "his disengage is decent" while another said, "he doesn't work mid" Those answers don't really make sense. My question is whats the difference of playing him top vs mid? For example I have fought Akali both mid and top with Kennen, so If Akali can mid and top why can't Kennen do both lanes? Is it bad to play him mid and should I only play him top?

6 Comments

Noor Sakata2/15/2019, 11:06:38 AM4 votes

He used to be played mid a lot And no there isn't difference , probably only range issues but Kennen us fine in mid since he doesn't require mana And people play him in Top because he doesn't need mana , got some MS to reach lane early and abuse his range against melee picks

CrazyMonkeyCZ2/15/2019, 11:12:47 AM4 votes

In my opinion, it is just about preferences, top lane Kennen feels like melee destroyer while being relatively safe, it is pain to play vs kennen as melee. Mid lane is just in centre of things, easier roams, dragons, counterjngling etc.

There might be a problem with waveclearing, since mid laners love to shove waves and run around, you may end up in never ending clearing under turret. Kennen has to use his escape or protobelt, so that might be problem.

I did same transition with Rumble 2 years ago and I'm happy with it. Don't listen to players, if it works for you, go for it.

Sometimes Fizz2/15/2019, 4:58:23 PM3 votes

He doesn't bully as many matchups mid as he does top IMO. He also does better in a longer lane because of his kit.

Anu3isII2/16/2019, 5:12:51 AM1 votes

Kennen doesn't have a reliable tool for waveclear amd Mages tend to shove him badly and keep him in lane. There is also the problem that he is pretty squishy Early Game, making him an easy target for burst.

I don't say he is bad mid, I think he is decent. But he tends to be based heavily on his match-up and most of the good ones tend to be top.

Dark Nephthys2/16/2019, 6:21:34 AM1 votes

Personally I prefer to play him mid lane, and I never liked playing him top lane. I love playing him but I hate the idea of abusing the fact that I'm range over melee, so I don't play him top lane unless I was facing another range top laner like Gnar Teemo Urgot or any other mage/adc top lane.

I like him mid lane also mainly for the fact that it's much easier to actually 1v1 your laner as most mid laners are squishy champions and you aren't forced to just sit there and slowly kill a tank that builds full MR against you. At least with mid lane you can actually have kill threat and kill them without the need of your jungler. Also as you mentioned, it allows you the better option of roaming, and makes it easier to collapse if a fight breaks out in the river/jungle. Then there is also the fact that playing mid lane Kennen would free up top lane for another good split pusher and you don't need to take that role and can stay with your team and not have to rely solely on a lucky teleport flank.

Though the biggest reason why I feel he isn't played mid which was already mentioned was his weak wave clear which is generally the strength of your mid laner. Match ups can be a hit or miss, but personally I feel his match ups mid lane aren't as bad as people were saying. What people should remember is that Kennen is a flexable champion when it comes to builds. While it is generally ideal to rush item 3152 into item 3157 and in most cases, you would do that...Kennen isn't punished as hard for being forced to counter build as most mages since he doesn't use mana and is not some one who needs early CDR.

If you are playing Normals, then screw what your team says and just play him mid if you want to. He's viable there and I feel can be really strong when you get the right match up, though I'll admit he is still better top but to me hes more fun mid. Now if this is ranked, then maybe I'd stick with him top lane.