League of Legends - Annie Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

Annie

Basic Information

Champion Stats

Lore

Skills

Icon	Description
	Pyromania  INNATE: After casting 4 spells, Annie’s next offensive spell will stun the target for a short duration.
	Disintegrate (Target Range: 625, Cost: 60/65/70/75/80, Cooldown: 4)ACTIVE: Annie hurls a Mana infused fireball, dealing damage and refunding the Mana cost if it destroys the target.Deals 80/115/150/185/220 (+80% Ability Power) magic damage. Mana cost and half the cooldown are refunded if Disintegrate kills the target.
	Incinerate (Effect Radius: 600, Angle: 50 degrees Cost: 70/80/90/100/110 Mana; Cooldown: 8)ACTIVE: Annie casts a blazing cone of fire, dealing damage to all enemies in the area.Casts a cone of fire dealing 70/115/160/205/250 (+85% Ability Power) magic damage to all enemies in the area.
	Molten Shield (Cost: 20 Mana, Range: 0, Damage Reduction: 16/22/28/34/40%, Magic Damage: 20/30/40/50/60)ACTIVE: Grants Annie and Tibbers increased percentage Damage Resist and damages enemies who attack with basic attacks.Annie grants herself and Tibbers 16/22/28/34/40% damage reduction for 3 seconds.While the shield is active, enemies who basic attack it take 20/30/40/50/60 (+20% Ability Power) magic damage.
	Summon: Tibbers (Target Range: 800, Effect Radius: 290, Cost: 100 Mana; Cooldown: 120/100/80)ACTIVE: Annie wills her bear Tibbers to life, dealing damage to units in the area. Tibbers can attack and also burns enemies that stand near him.Summons Tibbers, dealing 150/275/400 (+65% Ability Power) magic damage to enemies in the target area. For the next 45 seconds, Tibbers burns nearby enemies for 10/15/20 (+10% Ability Power) per second and attacks for 50/75/100 (+0) as magic damage. Annie can control Tibbers by reactivating this ability.Tibbers Enrages when: summoned; Annie uses Pyromania on an enemy Champion; and when Annie dies. Enrages: Tibbers gains 275% Attack Speed and 100% Movement Speed, decaying over 3 seconds.

Strategy

Annie can be either a Mid Lane or Support Champion. Be sure to read our Mid Lane Champion Strategy Guide or Support Champion Strategy Guide.

Mid Lane

• Annie’s (Q) Disintegrate allows her to effectively last hit minions. Using this skill on minions is encouraged as it procs her Pyromania (Passive) and even returns the mana used as well as cutting the cooldown in half if you successfully kill a minion.
• Don’t try to hold your skills when your Pyromania (Passive) procs as trying to force it on your opponent would just trigger aggro from the minions. It would be more beneficial if you focused on accumulating gold in the earlier stages of the laning phase.
• Remember that if you want to initiate a kill, your  Pyromania (Passive) proc should be stacked and ready. This will allow you to stun your target enemy and dish out your combos more effectively.
• Annie’s basic combo is dishing her ult (R) Summon Tibbers first followed by the Summoner’s Skill Ignite, + her (Q) Disintegrate and (W) Incinerate into (E) Molted Shield and auto attack the rest of your opponents hp bar to zero.

Support

• Your primary role as a support Annie is to harass the enemy with your (Q) Disintegrate as much as possible. Be careful not to overextend as they can quickly kill you if you get too close.
• Remember to keep your Pyromania (Passive) procs in mind since this will play an important role in initiating the kill.
• Once you get your Sightstone, remember to place it in key areas like near the Dragon to have vision of any possible interception by the enemy.
• Annie is still capable of bursting enemies down so don’t be afraid to fight back on surprise ganks.
• Once your team is safely stable, you can always opt to pickup items that will further enhance your damage output.
• Remember that Annie doesn’t need to depend on her allies for the burst damage because she herself possesses the capability to nuke down an enemy champion.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Mid Lane		Support
Flash	Ignite	Flash	Exhaust

Flash – With Annie having zero mobility and escape skills, flash is an important and necessary Summoner Spell to pick up.

Item Builds

Mid Lane

Starting Items

Starting Items
Doran’s Ring	Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation (x2)	Warding Totem

Core Items
Morellonomicon	Luden’s Echo	Zhonya’s Hourglass

Morellonomicon – Morellonomicon complements Annie’s huge burst damage, as it restores a portion of her max mana each time she kills an enemy champion or gets an assist for her team. This item also inflicts Grievous Wounds to enemies who are low on health, further limiting their ability to regenerate fully.

Luden’s Echo – This item helps Annie farm for her items during the laning phase, as well as harass her enemy laner if they get too close to the minion wave. Luden’s Echo gives good bonus Ability Power and movement speed which provides Annie with some mobility she badly needs.

Zhonya’s Hourglass – A standard defensive item for mages, Zhonya’s Hourglass is a good item for Annie, as she is usually a prime target for the enemy team due to her high damage output. During clashes, she can use its active spell to avoid enemy crowd control for a brief duration, allowing her to set up her skills to retaliate or for her teammates to assist her. Offensively, she can also initiate a team fight with a quick Flash + (R) Summon: Tibbers combo on the enemy team, followed by her (Q) Disintegrate + (W) Incinerate to burst an enemy squishy target then cast Zhonya’s item skill to protect her from getting disabled.

Full Item Build
Sorcerer’s Shoes	Morellonomicon	Luden’s Echo
Zhonya’s Hourglass	Void Staff	Rabadon’s Deathcap

Void Staff – Void Staff adds even more potency to Annie’s already formidable burst damage. It gives good bonus Ability Power and ignores enemies’ magic resistance, all of which empower Annie’s damaging skills.

Rabadon’s Deathcap – Another staple mage item, Rabadon’s Deathcap gives excellent bonus Ability Power to its wearer. Annie’s damage output ramps up significantly when she finally gets this item.

Situational Items
Banshee’s Veil	Rod of Ages	Mejai’s Soulstealer

Banshee’s Veil – For enemies who have strong crowd control and single-target burst damage, getting Banshee’s Veil is a good defensive item to purchase. It gives good bonus ability power, magic resistance and a spell shield that protects its user from one damaging skill.

Rod of Ages – If your team composition aims to have a prolonged match, getting Rod of Ages might be a good option to consider. It gives decent Ability Power, Health and Mana stats, but it needs to stack for a certain time.

Mejai’s Soulstealer – Conversely, you can opt to buy a Mejai’s Soulstealer if you feel that you have to end a game quickly. Mejai’s Soulstealer is a snowball item, which entails that you need to have a good laning and roaming phase to get its bonus Ability Power early and empowering Annie’s burst potential.

Support

Starter Items
Spellthief’s Edge	Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation x3	Warding Totem

Core Items
Sightstone	Redemption	Rylai’s Crystal Scepter

Sightstone – A standard item for Support champions, Sightstone provides bonus health and the ability to place sight wards on brushes and pathways. Get this item to ensure your lane is safe from potential ganks.

Redemption – Redemption gives Annie the active ability to heal her team during team fights. It also gives decent bonus health, as well as mana and health regeneration and cool down reduction.

Rylai’s Crystal Scepter – Getting this item gives Annie’s damaging skills a slow which benefits her team during clashes. Rylai’s Crystal Scepter also gives decent health and Ability Power bonuses.

Full Item Build
Sorcerer’s Shoes	Eye of the Watchers	Redemption
Locket of the Iron Solari	Liandry’s Torment	Rylai’s Crystal Scepter

Locket of the Iron Solari – A good defensive item, Locket of the Iron Solari gives Annie even more protective capabilities. This item complements well with Redemption – during team fights, once she has done her combo, she can then focus on protecting her team with heals and Locket’s shield while her skills are in cool down.

Liandry’s Torment – An item that goes hand-in-hand with Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Liandry’s Torment increases Annie’s damage output, and inflicts a damage-over-time debuff on enemies that are slowed by her skills.

Situational Items

Situational Items
Morellonomicon	Mikael’s Crucible

Morellonomicon – This item gives Annie a bit of mana regeneration each time she nets an assist for her team. Morellonomicon enables Annie to somewhat spam her skills.

Mikael’s Crucible – If the enemy team keeps on targeting your team’s carry with their disables, getting Mikael’s Crucible is a good item to help your teammate be rid of those pesky stuns, snares and roots.

Playing Against

• Annie’s skills are mostly short range. So dealing with her from a distance can almost guarantee your win against her.
• Check her pyro stacks, be sure to distance yourself when she’s up to three stacks already, as she can cast (Q) Disintegrate and quickly cast (E) Molten Shield while Disintegrate’s projectile is in mid-air to stun you.
• Annie has limited mobility, leaving her susceptible to ganks. Coordinate with your jungler or team to take her out during the laning phase and clashes.
• Be careful when Annie has casted (R) Summon: Tibbers. If she gets killed, Tibbers will immediately zero-in the champion who dealt the killing blow, gaining bonus attack speed and attacking that champion until either Tibbers or his target gets killed, or if Tibbers timer expires.

Hard Counter

• Brand – Brand can hit Annie from a distance and since Annie’s skills are mostly close-ranged, Brand can keep her at bay while continuously dealing damage from a distance. Brand’s ultimate, Pyroclasm can even be advantageous against Annie’s ult since it benefits from bouncing onto targets.
• Orianna – Just like Brand, Orianna can dish out damage and harass Annie from a distance. Orianna also has Command Protect to mitigate Annie’s spells.
• Lux – Lux also possesses skills that are casted from long ranges allowing her to freely harass Annie. She can also keep Annie in control with her Light Binding fully maximizing her control on Annie.

Strategy Video

COMING SOON

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