AP Ezreal in the Mid Lane

Ćub·Apr 14, 2015·1 votes·1,022 views

Just out of curiosity, why isn't this a viable option for competitive play and/or Solo Q.

I remember this week I went against a team who had an AP Ezreal and that Ez just chunked everyone with his ult and W for so much damage, it was ridiculous. Oddly enough, free week came and Ezreal was available. I'm like okay why not, I have a little over 4800 IP, if this works, then why not buy him (Had my eyes on Xerath or Cass or Leona but hey..)

And the results were great. I lost lane both times, not terribly bad, but still lost. First game I don't remember against who, second against Vlad who just heals too much and I'm unaware of how much damage he deals so it's hard for me to play against him. Either way I came back in the game, garnered triple kills and just did either the most or second most damage on my team. I understand his lack of CC and stuff, but I feel like if you have a team with champions that can CC for you, and engage and disengage, then this is beyond a viable option. Yeah he's pretty skillshot reliant, but so are champs like Zed and Ahri.

So I'd love to hear your guys opinions, anyone who's played him, played against him, plays at a higher level, etc.

3 Comments

KougaApr 14, 20151 votes

He's definitely viable, not just popular.

Ezreal as a Champion, whether AD or AP, takes familiarity. He is a 100% Skill Shot Champion with 0 CC, so he has a little bit of a learning curve. He is relatively safe, though, given his reliable blink and strong poking range.

As for AP/AD, AP Ezreal has a lot going for him; all 4 abilities scale with AP, Lich Bane/Nash can make his Q nuke just as hard (harder) as AD Ez, and he has strong ratios all together. However, he misses out on his passive; it doesn't really help him.

His biggest problem in the early game, though, is mana management. Not that he can't be played, but you have to be careful. His W is extremely expensive early game, and even though it passes through creeps it is shorter range than his Q (although it is deceptively wide)

If you want to take AP Ez mid, here is what I suggest:

Take Doran's Ring first, the mana recovery on its passive is a huge benefit
Do NOT last hit with your Q if you can help it at all. You're wasting mana and its just inefficient. Try to last hit with AAs if you can; although since AP Ez has lower AA damage, it can be harder to secure these. You can use it sparingly, especially if you need to secure a Cannon creep from afar, but don't rely on it.
Rank Q level 1. Its cheap and reliable and still does good base damage. If you fear an early gank from an aggressive jungler, get E second. If not, W. At 3, get whichever you haven't ranked.
You can either focus W or get 2 ranks in both Q and W by level 5; leveling Q gives you stronger cheap harass, and W's mana cost increases more per level than Q (W costs about 2x Q)

I don't recommend stunting your damage by building a tear or chalice; I hang back and farm and then go straight for AP. Depending on how much gold you have on your first back: item 1058 > item 3057 > item 1026 Rod will give you a big damage spike (this is if you have a farm mid lane or you get some early kills), Sheen will make your Q harass stronger while giving you AP/Mana for your W, and Rod is cheap but builds towards your eventual Cap.

Ezreal has good ratios (.4, .8, .75, .9) so you want those high value AP items. Also, his Q has a .4 AP ratio, but with Lich Bane and Nashors you can get this over 1.0+

ĆubApr 14, 20151 votes

When I played him, I went with Morello first (which is standard for AP mid-laners am I right? Because I see it on LeBlanc and Ahri all the time being built first). I went for Rabadon's second, followed by a Void Staff for extra pen and just true damage overall. In 2 different games I went for Lich Bane fourth, and then second game Will of the Ancients cause I wanted to see how the Spell Vamp would work. Do you think Will of the Ancients can be a good item on Ez? Because I feel like the spell vamp is useful.

KougaApr 14, 20151 votes

Item builds, especially for AP mages, tends to be fairly flexible (especially compared to ADCs who basically rush their AD/Crit items of choice every game) so the following is purely My Own Opinion And Not Necessarily The Statistically Strongest:

I don't like Morellos, but that is my own thing. Most mages rush it for the mana, but if you play it smart you don't necessarily need it. (You might start out with it, because until you get used to his casting ranges/speeds and such its easy to miss his skill shots and you'll bleed your mana dry trying) but once you become confident in being able to land your shots, I don't need it. The components alone for it cost ~1400 gold, and I'd rather wait for 1600 and start building to me 120 ap item. Plus, most ap mages don't build an early Sheen. Sheen for 1200 feels better to me than the components for morello. Ezreal's Q gets good harassment with just a Sheen, and the mana helps his mana problems just as much as the regen, and it has a little bit of AP to sweeten your other spells.
I recommend getting Lich after your first major AP item (your choice if you want rabadons, zhonya, or Luden's depending on the team comp. If you're gonna get dived by a Zed, rush Zhonya. If you think you can steamroll your opponent, rush Rabadons. If you want to trade and play safer, harass with Ludens)

Adding Lich Bane not only helps your main AP skills but it turns your Q from your lowest ratio skill into your highest - from .4 to .9 and greatly increases your ranged harass. You can now use your cheapest, longest-range ability to poke. So I like to get it early, 2nd ap item.

Void is good if they stack MR but I don't get it every game. MPen is particularly efficient for mages with high base damages, but low ratios (Fiddle, Liss) but high ratios like Ez/LB like getting high AP values.

Spell Vamp is an underserved mechanic overall; the stat just isn't supported very well. And for Ez's W and R, it has reduced effectiveness (multi-target or AoE spells grant reduced Spell Vamp) so you only get it on his Q and E at full effect.