AP Master Yi Mid

Hi! Thanks for clicking on this guide. I'm usually not one to write guides, but I have been so excited to play this champion as someone that started in S9 that I want to share it with everyone.

AP Master Yi is the infamous resetting AP carry; dive in with his Alpha Strike (Q) to nuke someone and chase down the next target to Alpha Strike (Q) them too. When in trouble, your handy Meditate (W) heals you a metric ton while using its immense AP scaling and resistances to keep you alive while standing still. Forget auto-attacking; your spells are enough to kill people.

AP Yi is primarily played in the Middle Lane to take advantage of the shorter lane length to retreat more easily and scale safely without the threat of brawling fighters and tanks in the Top Lane. AP Yi Mid also often has lane opponents that are naturally squishier (like assassins and mages), which are great first targets for him to kill to start snowballing.

Pros:

• Waveclear machine: Alpha Strike (Q), simply put, is one of the strongest waveclear tools in League history, including League Classic. Its incredible base damage and AP ratio mean Yi can start one-shotting minions with 1 cast before level 6. This is not even including the ability's 50% chance to deal bonus damage to minions!

• Unbeatable sustain: Similar to Alpha Strike (Q), Meditate (W) is a laner's worst nightmare. With some skill points and AP, Yi is simply unkillable in lane without the necessary CC to stop the channel of this ability. He also laughs at turret damage later on, gaining an incredible 250+ Armor/Magic Resist when channeling at later levels.

• Uninteractive Harass: Alpha Strike (Q)'s bounces between enemies make dodging it nearly impossible in some scenarios. Combined with its amazing waveclear, Yi can and will force a lot of one-sided trades in lane that are difficult to punish.

• Teamfight GOD: Every squishy champion, from mages to marksmen to supports, fear you. Simply getting one kill in a teamfight with a resetting Alpha Strike (Q) creates potential for a pentakill.

Cons:

• Very, VERY linear: You aren't building AD, so you're relying on your Alpha Strike (Q) to deal all your damage for you. If you're behind in the game... good luck.

• Despises CC: Master Yi hates CC more than every other champion, as being interrupted out of his Meditate (W) usually means swift death for him.

• Needs gold and items: Building AP items means you're usually buying lots of expensive components and items, so get used to farming a lot even while ahead.

• Mana hungry: Between your Alpha Strike (Q) and your Meditate (W), mana preservation is important on Yi as you're a walking melee minion without your abilities.

While Alpha Strike (Q) looks similar to its modern counterpart, there are some considerations to keep in mind:

• Cannot choose where to reappear: You cannot choose where to reappear after you Alpha Strike (Q), which is worth considering during turret dives.

• Does not bounce to the same target: If there are fewer than 4 targets nearby for Alpha Strike (Q) to bounce to, the ability will end prematurely and place you back at your initial target (or the location you initially cast it if the target is dead)

  • Notably, this means isolated Alpha Strike (Q) damage bonuses are not a thing; you only deal 1 bounce worth of damage to a single target.

• Wuju Style (E) and Highlander (R) do NOT pause while in Alpha Strike: This is primarily noteworthy for Highlander (R), as the duration running out before you get a takedown means your abilities won't reset.

In almost every matchup, your gameplan before level 6 is to farm safely, taking whatever opportunities you can to chip at your laner's health bar with Alpha Strike (Q) when possible; the ability's trait of bouncing helps create a 'threat range' farther than the ability's initial range, making opponents respect you. Don't target the enemy champion directly! This places you right next to them, letting them punish you greatly. When there are 3 or fewer minions left, use Alpha Strike (Q) as the opponent walks up near the wave, having one of the bounces target them to deal damage. These kinds of trades are what you're looking for before level 6; don't waste your mana on the minions too frequently.

Your level 1 is the most important stage of the early lane, as you won't have access to your Meditate (W) yet. Once you get level 2 (the first melee minion of the second wave), grab it immediately and heal up if you are under 50% HP or so. One cast will heal you ~250 HP at rank 1, which is an immense amount of HP restored. You want to contest the minion wave with auto-attacks so you aren't forced to farm under tower all game, so don't be afraid to take some poke and heal up when needed.

Level 6 is when your threat range increases tremendously; using Ignite and Highlander (R), you're usually pretty set for a turret dive once the enemy is under 50% HP or so. When your opponent dies, you can use Highlander (R) again to gain its movement speed boost again (alongside Flash) to escape to safety afterward.

AP Yi primarily looks for 2 factors in a lane opponent: movement and strong CC.

AP Yi doesn't have any other kind of gap-closing ability besides Alpha Strike (Q), so you need to consider the enemy's movement abilities that can get away from its bounce range in the lane, such as Kassadin. A smart enemy will let a greedy Yi target them with Alpha Strike (Q), then immediately retreat to their tower using Flash or movement abilities to force Yi to reappear under it and take heavy damage. Don't be that Yi!

Moreover, strong CC abilities are tools you need to be wary of. Being a League Classic champion, you'll have to deal with many point-and-click stun skills, so knowing when they're available is important. Some common examples are Annie, Twisted Fate, and even AP Sion. In lane, you want to play very passively when these skills are available to your enemy, as you do not want to waste your Meditate (W) by having it cut short. Against teams with multiple forms of CC, opting for Quicksilver Sash can be smart to stop an enemy peeling you away from a reset opportunity.

These are some champions you can consider banning:

Sion (AP): He often takes Cryptic Gaze (Q) early to deny your sustain, and combined with the massive shield from Death's Caress (W) that he maxes first, poking him out with Alpha Strike (Q) is a struggle. Worse, it doubles as his primary poke tool, being an unavoidable AoE nuke (sounds familiar... hmm). These abilities being able to deny your poke alongside your sustain create lose-lose scenarios for you.

Kassadin: Fairly self-explanatory; his passive reduces your primary damage tool, and similar to Sion, his Null Sphere (Q)'s silence effect will stop your Meditate (W) early as a ranged ability. His ultimate, Riftwalk (R), also laughs in the face of Highlander (R) as a mobility tool, making him relatively harder to catch than other champions.

Malzahar: Malzahar's threat is primarily in his utility after level 6; he's manageable in the early lane as he doesn't have any movement abilities nor strong burst to instantly kill you with (if anything, his voidlings just give you more potential for Alpha Strike (Q) bounces). His ultimate, Nether Grasp (R), is simply one of the best tools to deal with Master Yi, being able to stop you from doing anything. If you're going to buy Quicksilver Sash in a game, this is when you do so.