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Taliyah is a battlemage in League of Legends who has seen many changes since she was first released in 2016. She received a mid-scope update on patch 12.9 earlier this year, making her one of the best mid-laners in the game.
Her kit saw a massive change as her Threaded Volley (the Q ability) got the area-of-effect damage back, Seismic Shove's (the W ability) cooldown and mana cost went down, however, it no longer deals damage, and Unraveled Earth (the E ability) now has a longer range and stuns champions that dash.
The ultimate ability, Weaver Wall, was tweaked too, as Riot Games added a leap off the wall, later range was upped, the early range was downed, and Taliyah will no longer get knocked down while casting the ability.
As of League of Legends patch 12.14, Taliyah had a 50.8% winrate in Platinum+ ranks and was ranked as an S-tier champion. In this in-depth guide, we will look at what items to build, which runes to choose, and how to play her as a mid laner in League of Legends.
Detailed runepath, item builds, and playstyle for Taliyah in League of Legends Season 12
Taliyah is one of the highest burst damage dealing champions in League of Legends who also has the ability to traverse across the Summoner's Rift. However, she also happens to be one of the squishiest champions that can be easily countered with heavy crowd control (cc).
Runepath
Primary Rune (Inspiration): First Strike, Magical Footwear, Future's Market, Cosmic Insight
Secondary Rune (Sorcery): Manaflow Band, Transcendence
Rune Shards: Offense (+10% Attack Speed), Flex (+9 Adaptive Force), Defense (+8 Magic Resist)
First Strike synergizes and scales well with the champion's early game. It also enables her to trade fairly well against the opponents as First Strike adds damage amplification and an extra 5 gold per strike helps her out during the early game.
Future's Market lets Taliyah reach the one-item powerpike early, and Cosmic Insight adds an extra CDR to summoner spells and items.
Secondary Runes further adds CDR, thanks to Transcendence. Manaflow Band's mana regeneration lets Taliyah use her abilities more often.
Item Builds
Mid lane Taliyah focuses on building Ability Power items to maximize her damage output and scaling. The following are the recommended items that players should build:
- Everfrost or Liandry's Anguish
- Seraph's Embrace
- Zhonya's Hourglass
- Rabadon's Deathcap
- Morellonomicon
- Sorcerer's Shoes
Players should choose to build Everfrost as their first mythic item if they are looking forward to a more tanky build with more control, whereas, Liandry's Anguish should be chosen when players are inclined towards a more damage-heavy and poke-oriented build.
Seraph's Embrace is a core item as it enables Taliyah to get a bigger mana pool, which lets her use her abilities more often.
Zhonya's Hourglass acts as a defensive item, Rabadon's Deathcap amplifies the damage output, Morellonomicon adds grievous wounds, and finally, Sorcerer's Shoes adds more magic penetration.
Playstyle
Taliyah's new gameplay revolves around her using the reworked Q ability with area-of-effect, as players can often underestimate the range of the ability.
If Taliyah is facing counter matchups like Katarina, Vel'Koz, Akshan, Zed, or Swain, she should stay behind the minion wave and play as defensively as possible. It is recommended to wait for the one-item powerpike and engage in fights whenever the team's jungler is nearby.
In terms of team fighting, Taliyah now works like a traditional control mage, where she focuses on putting out consistent damage and controlling enemies over a long period of time. Effective use of Unraveled Earth and Seismic Shove can drastically change the outcome of the team fight.
Proper usage of Taliyah's ultimate ability during mid-game is the key to getting ahead of the opponents. A recommended strategy to transition from mid-game to late-game can be clearing out the side waves and using the Weaver's Wall whenever a team fight starts in the other corners of the Summoner's Rift.
