Playing meta champions is the safest route to climbing the ranked ladder, but it’s not the only one. For players who want to have fun and still win games, this guide dives into three off meta mid laners that blend creativity and a little bit of surprising strength.
1. Tank Sion Mid
My number one off meta pick by far, Sion mid. The game plan is simple. Start with Doran’s Shield, take Grasp of the Undying, and open with W for early trades max health stacks from the first wave.
I like to rush Heartsteel to start scaling right away, then follow up with a Bami’s Cinder item, either Sunfire Aegis or Hollow Radiance, depending on the matchup. Once you’ve got those core pieces, you become a literal wall. You can soak up absurd amounts of damage, clear waves safely, and still threaten all ins thanks to your Q and passive.
One of the biggest strengths of this pick is its map pressure. Sion can delete an entire wave almost instantly, even at early levels, giving you the freedom to roam, contest river fights, and set up early objectives. Most meta mid laners simply don’t have the sustained damage to punish you before you scale, which means you can safely push, absorb pressure, and transition into the late game as a tower crashing, teamfight dominating mound of flesh and violence.
Who to Ban:
I would say your must ban for this matchup is Cho’Gath. Most mid laners you can either bully into their turret or outscale through sustain, but Cho is just a nightmare. He can cancel your Q with either his knockup or silence, and every trade feels awful because his E chunks you with percent health damage. Even if you play it well, you’re losing health for free. Just ban him and save yourself the headache.
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2. The Fat Dragon (Bruiser Smolder)
Smolder earns a strong second place on this list. Start with your Q ability, take Grasp of the Undying, and build directly into a Spear of Shojin. This setup keeps your early game survivable while giving you enough damage to apply pressure in lane. Your core items are Spear of Shojin, Black Cleaver, and Overlord’s Bloodmail, taking full advantage of Grasp’s scaling along with all the bonus attack damage and health you naturally gain as the game progresses.
While not nearly as tanky as Sion, Smolder trades some durability and map pressure for raw damage and survivability. Once your stacks start building, your Q becomes one of the most terrifying scaling abilities in the game. Combined with your bruiser setup, you can take extended fights, heal through burst damage, and still output the kind of consistent DPS that keeps even assassins wary of diving you.
Smolder mid may look troll at first glance, but once you reach your item spikes, the dragon starts breathing fire for real.
Who to Ban:
The main mid laner you’ll want to ban here is Sylas. Just about everything in his kit makes your life harder than it needs to be. He can interrupt your trades, out sustain your poke, and punish every extended fight. On top of that, he makes better use of your ultimate than you do, turning one of your biggest tools into his own win condition. If you see a Sylas hover in champ select, save yourself the headache and lock in that ban immediately.
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3.The Necromancer (Lethality Yorick)
While Yorick is often dismissed as a split-push merchant, this version unlocks his hidden potential as one of the most dangerous assassins in the game. His Q gives him steady sustain in trades, and once he hits level six, the constant lane priority from his Maiden and ghouls makes him almost impossible to ignore. Against immobile mages or melee mid laners, he becomes a relentless threat, pressuring the map, forcing defensive vision, and deleting squishies who underestimate how much damage those ghouls can actually do.
This build sacrifices some of Yorick’s base burst for the explosive damage you get when you land your E with a wave of minions nearby. The ghoul combo amplifies your lethality procs and makes even short trades devastating.
Start by building Eclipse for its strong trading power and sustain, then move into a core of Serylda’s Grudge and Spear of Shojin. Eclipse gives you early dueling strength, while Serylda and Shojin let your ghouls stick to targets and shred through anyone who dares to contest mid priority.
Who to Ban:
Your must-ban matchup when running Lethality Yorick mid is Irelia. Her entire kit is almost perfectly designed to counter everything Yorick wants to do. She has the mobility to dash out of your W, the burst to punish your weak level one, and the ability to instantly kill your ghouls to stack her passive for free. Once she gets rolling, you’ll find it nearly impossible to keep her off you or maintain lane control. Save yourself the frustration. Just ban her every time.
Off meta doesn’t mean weak. Tank Sion, Bruiser Smolder, and Lethality Yorick all have what it takes to dominate mid lane in ways your opponents won’t see coming. Wave crashing, insane dueling, or surprise burst, these picks do it all. Play them smart, hit your item spikes, and watch people tilt as your unconventional picks carry the game. Forget the cookie cutter meta. Get creative, go off meta, and climb that LP ladder.
