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AP Ezreal in the Mid Lane

Ćub·4/14/2015, 9:08:32 PM·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

Kouga4/14/2015, 9:28:23 PM1 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+