TOP 5 ANIVIA COUNTERS MIDLANE

Anivia is a zone-control mage that thrives on waveclear, choke point control, and punishing immobile opponents. With Q (Flash Frost) stun, W (Crystallize) wall, and R (Glacial Storm) waveclear and teamfight presence, she excels in stalling tempo and scaling into 2–3 item power.

But Anivia also has very clear weaknesses: she's immobile, mana-hungry early, heavily reliant on cooldowns, and vulnerable before she gets defensive tools like Seraph’s or Zhonya’s. With the right champions, you can break her lane, dive her on repeat, or burst her before she activates her passive (Rebirth).

The top 5 counters to Anivia mid are: Vel’Koz, Naafiri, Swain, Hwei, and Kassadin. These picks either outrange her, overwhelm her early, or scale better while ignoring her zoning tools.

Top 5 Anivia Mid Lane Counters

1. Vel’Koz

• Playstyle: Long-range artillery mage
• Why it works:
  • Outranges her with every ability — she can’t trade without walking into poke.
  • R (Life Form Disintegration Ray) burns through egg form with true damage.
  • Clears faster and zones harder from level 6 onward.

Play Tips:

• Spam Q + E when she uses R to waveclear — you control lane tempo.
• Use R right after egg form triggers — it melts her before revive.
• Push waves constantly to stop her from contesting river or roams.

2. Naafiri

• Playstyle: Burst skirmisher / lane bully
• Why it works:
  • Dominates early lane — Anivia can’t survive her pre-6 damage.
  • Packmates block Q and make her zone tools harder to land.
  • Snowballs off early kills and forces all-ins Anivia can't handle.

Play Tips:

• Trade as soon as you hit level 3 — dodge Q, dive in, and burst her out.
• Go in when her passive is down — she's helpless if you reset.
• Build anti-shield if she rushes Seraph’s — you kill her before scaling.

3. Swain

• Playstyle: AP drain-tank / sustained control
• Why it works:
  • Pulls her out of safety with E (Nevermove).
  • Outheals her poke and controls teamfights better with R (Demonic Ascension).
  • Ignores her wall, slows, and eggs — he just outlasts her completely.

Play Tips:

• Harass early with Q and zone her off cannons.
• Fight post-6 — she can’t kill you and you sustain through every ult trade.
• Build Liandry’s + Zhonya’s and walk her down.

4. Hwei

• Playstyle: Versatile mage / poke + utility
• Why it works:
  • Can poke, root, or zone her from range — Anivia can’t match his toolkit.
  • WQ + EE combo bursts her fast and catches her before she reacts.
  • Rotates faster and scales similarly — but with more flexibility.

Play Tips:

• Abuse range early with QQ + autos to chip mana and HP.
• Use WW and QQ to zone her out of the wave and deny farm.
• Move to side lanes on push — your roams are much stronger.

5. Kassadin

• Playstyle: Anti-mage scaling assassin
• Why it works:
  • Passive + Q makes him nearly immune to Anivia poke.
  • R (Riftwalk) dodges all her key abilities and breaks zoning.
  • Scales harder and dives her even with egg up.

Play Tips:

• Farm under tower until level 6 — avoid poke and don’t overextend.
• Once you unlock R, trade aggressively and force egg.
• After 2 items, she can’t ever lane vs you again — roam and end early.

Bonus Tips to Beat Anivia:

• Buy early anti-shield: Executioner’s or Serpent’s Fang if she rushes Seraph’s Embrace.
• Break her passive first, then finish with a burst combo before she revives.
• Avoid fighting in jungle chokes — her wall and R thrive in tight spaces.
• Ping R cooldown: She’s much weaker without R up — force fights then.