League of Legends has plenty of classes, each designed to fill in a certain niche.
And while everyone knows the usual classes such as assassin, poke mage, or marksman, there are plenty more playstyles out there.
For this list we’re getting into burst mages:
Those champions that have the burst of a true assassin, but also have AoE at the cost of mobility.
There are 15 champions under this category so far (as of this writing), and we’ll be ranking them from worst to best based on their kit and the ease at which they do their job. Let’s go!
I was initially surprised that Seraphine was even listed as a burst mage, but it does make sense when you think about it.
If you decide to ditch the support class and just go full AP, she can set up some nasty combos that both cover a wide area and provide decent CC.
An E into an enhanced Q and a well-timed R is bound to melt any squishy that is in your way.
The only reason I’m putting her at last place is because of how easily she gets countered by MR, as well as the fact that you’ll rarely get the dream scenario.
Karma has a similar vibe as Seraphine – but with a few key distinctions.
She doesn’t really have a full combo, but rather just relies on her R+Q to get the job done, with her E providing some protection and her W keeping the enemy in place.
She’ll rarely burst you down in an instant, however, her R+Q combo is so easy to hit and powerful that I have to put her above Seraphine.
Even as a tank or battlemage, Karma is a real threat. So her kit is obviously made to put out some big damage.
In my opinion, Twisted Fate’s burst is just hilarious.
Seeing a little card fly out of a bush and chunk half of your HP is equal parts depressing and fun, depending on which side of the deck you find yourself.
He does require quite the setup, however, as his W is the main source of his damage.
So stacking up your E and getting that Lich Bane early on is essential if you want to blow someone up.
Not to mention that he has to run up to you in order to throw out his W.
So not the easiest when it comes to one-shotting someone, but still a very solid pick.
If a Lissandra player is dead-set on murdering you, there’s very little that can stop her. Using her E from the fog of war, doing a quick Q, W ulting you, and then throwing out an entire Q, is simply disgusting.
She’s also quite a threat in a team-fight, as her passive will absolutely destroy a squishy if they’re not paying attention.
So stop sleeping on the Ice Queen and go freeze some poor souls to death.
She has poke, CC, shields, wave-clear, and you guessed it, burst damage.
A regular squishy is bound to go color-blind after a simple Q, E, and R. But even peskier enemies can be dealt with if you manage to weave in some auto-attacks and proc your passive.
Her combo is rather easy, and the fact that you can do it while staying out of range is pretty nuts.
However, other burst mages manage to have an even easier/ more powerful combo, so I can’t place Lux too high.
A person might be able to mend a broken heart – but only tanks can get over this foxy fling.
Her iconic Charm is just ridiculously good when it comes to melting someone down.
Not only does it ensure that you Q hits both parts (ensuring the true damage), but it even amplifies your damage towards that target.
Her W and R aren’t as impactful when it comes to damage, but can surely help to get rid of that last sliver of health if the enemy somehow survives the initial burst.
The fact that she’s also one of the few burst mages that has excellent mobility just makes her an overall good pick.
Orianna has a very similar vibe to Brand, however she is a bit more consistent.
She doesn’t need multiple people to unleash her full damage potential. But she still is a monster in team-fights.
A well placed R is game-changing, her W is extremely powerful, and all of her other abilities add that little oomph that you might need in order to completely murder someone.
She’s not the easiest to play – but when mastered, she can outperform most mages in terms of game presence.
It has all the power of an AP Nunu ult, but is way easier to execute.
A well-used W or the classic flash over the wall can catch the entire enemy team completely off guard – and half health them in an instant.
The fact that her Q and E also do very good damage (and it’s AoE) just further ensures that no one is going to walk out of that fight alive.
She even has an AA enhancer with her W, so she’s not out here playing games.
If you truly want to see the potential that this champion brings, I suggest hopping into an ARAM game, praying a few times to get Neeko, and then using the Mark summoner spell to land instant ults on the enemy team.
LeBlanc is the most debatable when it comes to the tag “burst mage”, as everything about her screams assassin!
I will abide to the wiki gods here. But the fact that it’s even debatable just showcases how powerful she is.
It doesn’t even matter in which order you really do it, just as long as you get everything off, you are getting a kill.
The fact that she can also stay extremely safe with her passive providing wiggle room and her W giving you juke potential, just further adds to her impressive burst assassin CV.
Ah Zoe, the champion we all love to hate and hate to love.
On release she was absolutely insane.
And now, she’s still pretty much insane.
Nothing fills me with so much fear as a bubble fitting me from nowhere and putting me to sleep, giving me just enough time to pray before that cosmic child shows her demonic face and bursts me for everything I’m worth.
If you have ever gone against a Zoe with three functioning fingers, you know my pain.
And that’s why she is definitely top tier when it comes to this burst mage list.
And finally, we have the short mage maniac Veigar.
No matter how I look at it, this guy has to be at number one.
Even though he doesn’t fill me with the same amount of rage as Zoe, he has infinite scaling and disgusting scalings – so I had to give him the crown.
He’ll commonly get 1k AP (or even more).
And with his W having a 100% AP ration and his ult being an execute, even tanks become potential targets.
If one-shotting a tank doesn’t make you the king of the burst mages then I don’t know what does.
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