Weird Picks #92: Janna Mid

 Janna's one of those champion who VERY rarely enters into other lanes. Her kit has two non-damage related spells including her ultimate, which means she lacks the output that most players expect from their mid-laner.

However, with champions like Karma and Lulu played mid with the rise of hypercarries, might we see some Janna mid as well? She's certainly very strong in her support role. Check out what players are picking up with Janna in the mid lane!

Introduction

Janna's one of those champion who VERY rarely enters into other lanes. Her kit has two non-damage related spells including her ultimate, which means she lacks the output that most players expect from their mid-laner.

However, with champions like Karma and Lulu played mid with the rise of hypercarries, might we see some Janna mid as well? She's certainly very strong in her support role. Check out what players are picking up with Janna in the mid lane!

How to Play

Abilities: W, E, Q then prioritize R > Q > E > W
Summoner Spells: Flash + Heal
Starting Items: Doran Ring + Health Potions
Core Items: Luden's Echo, Athene's Unholy Grail, Ionian Boots, Ardent Censer, Redemption, Rabadon's Deathcap

Rune Setup

Standard Janna masteries here, so I won't go into crazy detail for each one. 

Domination Secondary

An alternative build could be to run with Domination as a secondary tree for Cheap Shot and Relentless Hunter. However, this reduces the overall effectiveness of her build.

Other Inspiration Runes

Against certain assassins like Zed, Perfect Timing could be picked up. Some players also elect to go Minion Dematerializer for additional waveclear.

Why It Works

Short CD Long-Range Waveclear and Crowd-Control

At 45% cooldown with runes and full build, Janna has a long range full waveclear and mass crowd-control potential once every 6.6 seconds with 3 seconds charge time. This ends up similar to when Twisted Fate is rotating through cards and allows her to zone out opponents as they try and guess where she's throwing her tornado.

Excellent Ardent Censer Scaling

More melee supports are coming into play in today's meta, resulting in lower chances of having an Ardent Censer on your team. This equates to quite a bit of DPS loss, which can be mitigated by running Janna mid.

Removes Janna From Enemy Hands

In her current state, Janna not only deals an incredible amount of damage but also makes it near impossible to kill her teammates. If Janna ends up unbanned and your support decides not to play her, picking Janna up for mid-lane prevents you from facing a potentially toxic peel composition.

Incredibly Early Game Cheese
As any marksman finds out quickly, a Janna that starts level one W is much different from a level one shield Janna. Janna's Zephyr is a very short range spell that synergizes perfectly with her passive on auto attacks. This results in a potential first blood against common melee mid-laners such as Zed. If you've ever died to Janna as a Zed or seen your ally do the same, you can only imagine how tilting that feels.

Potential Pitfalls

Lower Burst Damage

Although Janna is capable of dealing quite a bit of damage, she's not exactly a burst damage type champion. She relies on either getting in close with her auto attacks or hitting long-range Howling Gales [Q] for damage. However, she plays similar to a Lulu or Karma mid, with more dodgable spells and higher utility.

Conclusions

Janna mid in her current state is playable, but not optimal. She does most of the things you expect from a mid-laner, but is lacking in the damage output that most players want to see unless she is a Howling Gale Goddess. However, it might be worth picking her up if your team is running a Leona + Kennen comp and forgot to ban her out.

Suggested Tier: Tier 3

What do you think about Janna Mid? Comment below!

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