How to Play Ahri in Season 12

Welcome to our LoL champion gameplay guide series. In this series, we've decided to put together an informative feast for you, covering how to play the most popular champions in League of Legends, along with basics like which runes you should bring into a game. Today's champion is a Mid Lane pick, a favorite of mid lane players, Ahri. We'll give you some information on what kind of build works well for Ahri, and which champions are better against her, i.e. her counters (ct). Ready? If you are, let's get this informative feast started right away. Here's our article on how to play Ahri in Season 12!

Who Is Ahri in LoL? A Quick Rundown

Ahri is one of League of Legends' most popular champions, having long been a favorite mid lane mage-assassin. Whether you're a veteran or picking her up for the first time, here's our ultimate guide to mastering the Nine-Tailed Fox. Yes, that's what we call her. Released in 2011, Ahri is one of League of Legends' older champions. Over her decade-long tenure in the Rift, her identity remained largely the same aside from a few changes in Season 8.

All of that changed in Season 12, with the Nine-Tailed Fox getting a mini-rework that pushed her well up the tier list. Ahri is a fox-like being trying to find meaning in her life in Runeterra. Her earliest memories involve hunting alongside a pack of ice foxes before she decided to enter the mortal world in Ionia. In her search, she discovered the ability to absorb — and even alter — the soul essence and memories of those who died. Now, she's trying to understand her own past and reclaim her own memories. On Summoner's Rift, Ahri is a mid lane mage who lures enemies in and absorbs their soul essence with a healthy dose of burst damage.

What Are Ahri's Season 12 Abilities in LoL?

Ahri's kit is packed with mobility and durability. Still, like all mages, she has a wave clear hook and burst damage on-demand. Her kit used to be about landing Charm and bursting enemies down. However, the Nine-Tailed Fox now has a more dynamic playstyle built entirely around maximizing her essence-theft passive, which makes her an excellent teamfighter. In lane, you mostly want to use your Q just to push waves. Combined with your W, this can quickly clear a wave so you can roam to help your jungler. Still, if you want to trade, landing your E and throwing all your spells at your opponent will easily take away half their health.

Ahri really shines in teamfights these days. With her Charm — paired with an item like Everfrost (to be built later) — she can easily lock down an enemy carry thanks to Spirit Rush's mobility. She can also technically pick up eight instances of an ability that deals enough damage and makes her hard to pin down.

With all of her healing, she can also be quite hard to kill, so if you do get locked down, hit Zhonya's Hourglass and wait for the crowd control to wear off before running around again.

• Passive: Essence Theft — When Ahri hits nine enemies with her abilities, her next ability heals her for each enemy it hits.
• Q: Orb of Deception — Ahri sends out and pulls back her orb, dealing magic damage going out and true damage coming back.
• W: Fox-Fire — Ahri gains a brief burst of Movement Speed and releases three fox-fires that lock onto and strike nearby enemies.
• E: Charm — Ahri blows a kiss that damages and charms the first enemy it hits, immediately stopping their movement abilities and forcing them to walk toward her.
• R: Spirit Rush — Ahri dashes forward and fires essence bolts, damaging nearby enemies. Spirit Rush can be used up to three times before going on cooldown, and gains extra charges when Ahri takes down enemy champions.

What Is Ahri's Best Build in Season 12 in LoL?

Before we get to Ahri's build, let's clarify what people mean when they ask "what's the best build." Since "build" means to construct something, in the game you're essentially constructing a champion from the ground up, item by item. The final result after all items are purchased is what's called the build in gaming terminology.

Ahri being a pseudo-control mage and pseudo-AP assassin means her build can feel a bit clunky compared to other picks. Diving onto an enemy, locking them down, and then CC-chaining them with Charm is extremely powerful. It also gives her the mana she needs so badly. Still, if you need more damage (which can be an issue post-rework since she was nerfed), Luden's Tempest is a solid standalone option for snowballing.

If you go with Everfrost, you'll want to get your damage from Legendary items. Shadowflame and Void Staff are a strong combo that cut through the enemy's magic resist like butter, while Rabadon's Deathcap simply gives her a huge chunk of AP. Need some defensive options for your final item? Zhonya's Hourglass is always a great flexible pickup, but Banshee's Veil can also be a good choice against AP-heavy teams.

Best Meta Ahri Items in Season 12:

• Legendary: Everfrost / Luden's Tempest
• Boots: Sorcerer's Shoes
• Starting Item: Doran's Ring or Corrupting Potion
• Shadowflame
• Void Staff
• Rabadon's Deathcap
• Mejai's Soulstealer (comes back into play for an early Dark Seal if you start snowballing)
• Zhonya's Hourglass (the most flexible defensive item)
• Banshee's Veil (against heavy AP)

What Is Ahri's Best Rune Choice in Season 12 in LoL?

Ahri's runes are designed to do two things: give her the burst damage she needs to take down an enemy in a single combo, while also giving her some staying power to hold lane dominance. Electrocute is the best option for this. Taste of Blood and Biscuit Delivery keep her health and mana in check, while Eyeball Collection and Ultimate Hunter let her scale into the late game so she can keep securing kills.

There are a few things you can swap out. For example, if you need more sustain, you can take Ravenous Hunter instead of Ultimate Hunter. But this standard rune page will work well in 95% of matchups — for the other 5%, just adjust to cover your weaknesses.

Best Meta Ahri Runes in Season 12:

• Electrocute
• Taste of Blood
• Eyeball Collection
• Ultimate Hunter
• Biscuit Delivery
• Time Warp Tonic

Who Are Ahri's Best Counters (CT) in Season 12 in LoL?

If the enemy team's mid laner picked Ahri, or if you want to beat the opposing mid laner, you'll want to pick the champion who's the worst — or best — matchup against her. This is statistical information as of LoL Season 12, and it stays just between us :)

Here are the top 5 champions you can play against Ahri.

• Akshan (50% higher win rate)
• Qiyana (50% higher win rate)
• Fizz (50% higher win rate)
• Veigar (50% higher win rate)
• Zoe (50% higher win rate)

The 5 worst champions you won't want to play against Ahri.

• Lucian (Lucian's win probability in games between the two champions: 40%)
• Jayce (Jayce's win probability in games between the two champions: 41%)
• Neeko (Neeko's win probability in games between the two champions: 41%)
• Ryze (Ryze's win probability in games between the two champions: 43%)
• Le'Blanc (Le'Blanc's win probability in games between the two champions: 44%)

In Conclusion

Ahri may look mechanically dense to a new League player, but she definitely serves as a bridge to some of the game's more complex champions. Still, there's nothing scarier than an Ahri who knows what she's doing, and this guide should have given you every tip you need to become a Nine-Tailed Fox master. Stay tuned for more :)

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