Looking for an underrated champion to play that will surprise your opponents? Have we got the champion for you! In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know to get you started playing Anivia, the Cryophoenix.

Anivia is one of the strongest control mages in the game. The zoning and utility she provides for her team is quite unparalleled when compared to other champions. Not to mention, her sieging power is pretty strong making her a very good split pusher in the later stages of the game. She has good poke, excellent wave clear, great crowd control, and incredible burst damage. Top it all off with a free revive thanks to her passive and you have a champion worth sinking your hours into.

Abilities

Anivia’s abilities are all about dealing damage and taking control of her lane.

Passive – Rebirth

Upon dying, Anivia will revert into an egg and will get an armor and magic resistance modifier. If the egg can survive for 6 seconds, she is reborn with the same percentage of health that her egg had left.

Q – Flash Frost

A massive chunk of ice flies toward the target location, dealing magic damage. At the end of its range or if Anivia activates the spell again, the missile detonates, dealing magic damage in a small area and stunning enemies. Enemies damaged by Flash Frost are also slowed for 3 seconds.

W – Crystallize

Anivia condenses the moisture in the air into an impenetrable wall of ice to block the movement of all units. The wall lasts 5 seconds before it melts.

E – Frostbite

Anivia blasts her target with a freezing wind, dealing magic damage. If the target has been slowed by Flash Frost or a fully formed Glacial Storm, they take double damage.

R – Glacial Storm

Anivia calls forth a driving rain of ice and hail that increases in size over 1.5 seconds, dealing magic damage per second to targets, slowing their Movement Speed. When the Glacial Storm is fully formed, it slows targets’ Movement Speed by an additional 50% and does 300% damage instead.

Runes and Item Builds

When it comes to items, your focus should be to buy ability power items that enhance Anivia’s damage over time.

Starting Items

There are two good starting items when playing as Anivia. The best overall choice is to go for Corrupting Potion. Anivia has a weak early game and having this item helps her sustain and trade against aggressive opponents. Another safe option would be to go with Doran’s Ring. This item increases your ability power and mana sustain early on and can be quite useful in certain situations.

Mythic Item

For your Mythic item, you have two great choices: Liandry’s Anguish or Everfrost. The better overall choice is Liandry’s Anguish since it gives Anivia all the stats she needs and imbues her abilities with a burn effect that can easily whittle down the health bars of her opponents. If you’re looking to add more utility and crowd control, then you can go for Everfrost instead.

Full Build

After purchasing your desired Mythic item, go for tier 2 boots. Since you’re a mage, you’ll need Sorcerer’s Shoes for the magic penetration. Next, go for Archangel’s Staff so that you can stack it as soon as you can to solve your mana regeneration problems. After, go for Zhonya’s Hourglass to increase your survivability. Top off your build with Demonic Embrace and Shadowflame to further increase your DPS and damage over time.

Runes

For runes, go with the Domination tree and take Electrocute as your keystone. This will increase your overall burst damage whenever you hit someone with your combos. Next, take Cheap Shot for bonus damage against champions with impaired movements or actions, Eyeball Collection for bonus damage, and Relentless Hunter to help you roam around the map. For your secondaries, take Presence of Mind and Coup De Grace. Presence of Mind increases your mana regeneration while Coup De Grace increases your damage against low health champions. For rune shards, take Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and Magic Resist.

Useful Tips

1. Timing Flash Frost and Frostbite can be a very deadly combo that can take a chunk out of your opponent’s life.
2. Anivia is countered by Yasuo, Talon, Azir, Xerath, and Akali. If you’re matched up against these champions, try to play it safe instead of being aggressive.
3. For your summoner spells, take Flash and Ignite to give you more utility and to help you secure early leads. If you want to play it safe, you can swap out Ignite for Ghost, Barrier, Exhaust, or Cleanse.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Anivia in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!