Season 43 Mid Lane Situation: Marksmen Transform into Mages, Supports Gain Major Control in the Mid Lane: Tier 0

Matchmaking in the mid lane is time-consuming. Practicing another class can improve the experience in this regard. Unless a player is very conflicted about whether to play their main class or is worried about having their lane taken by a teammate, you may need to understand the mid lane tier list and choose between strong or weak options. Towards the end of the season, choice is more important than effort. Regardless of skill level, the idea that "skill raises the ceiling" seems to be difficult to apply freely.

T0: Shen Mengxi

Shen Mengxi is almost a permanent Tier 0 mage. After the rework of the "Bomber Boy," his margin for error and flexibility have been greatly improved. In high-level games, he is hailed as the "Hexagonal Mage King." His stats and attributes are drastically superior to other mages. A few cannonballs can easily clear the first wave of minions, allowing him to engage in attrition warfare from level two onwards, frequently chipping away at enemy heroes' health. His mechanics include a dash, enabling him to roam freely to support side lanes and the jungle. He doesn't suffer from boots selection issues, starting with a built-in buff. Previously, his ultimate split into three small bombs; now it splits into five, providing area-of-effect damage in the late game. His second skill is useful for countering team fights. While he lacks flashy mobility, he leverages his speed to gain an advantage.

T0.5: Nuwa

After being nerfed by the developers, its popularity has cooled slightly. Its all-around capabilities were too flashy, boasting a map-wide ultimate for cleanup, a teleportation skill, and a matrix-space synthesis. The only drawback was its early-game struggle; its lower control ability was compensated for by its damage output. In Season 43, it finally became acceptable, with a ban rate of around 26.8% in high-level games, making it a top mid-laner and a thorn in the side of pro players. If it's unfortunately banned, no problem; the alternative strategies are Haiyue and Chang'e. Haiyue is vulnerable to flexible team compositions, while Chang'e is concerned about combo-control compositions. With no one specifically targeting it, its strength is estimated at 120%, and its performance depends on its tempo.

Of course, a hero's strength depends not only on team composition but also on the order of hero selection. Picking a hero first is almost guaranteed to fail, while picking one later can catch a team off guard and secure kills. A hero's strength can be T0.5 or T1.5, making the hero selection phase crucial. Generally, mages ranked higher in the tier are most directly affected by environmental protection and teammate awareness. Each mage has its strengths and weaknesses, and each has its own development period. They can have both single-target burst damage and crowd control. Being versatile doesn't mean being omnipotent. If the enemy is low on health and no one is there to clean up, or if teammates don't follow up after initiating a team fight, or if everyone leaves after providing support, then Shaco is essentially himself. In lower ranks, his laning environment in T1 teams isn't bad.

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