The Top 3 Mid Lane Gods with Zyrhoes

One of the most impressive things about Team Dignitas at the Masters LAN recently was seeing them all flex their mechanical skill on some of the best/their favourite gods. Considering the high level Team Dignitas plays at, their favourite gods are more often than not going to be some of the best gods in their respective roles right now. Considering this, we asked our star mid laner Joakim "Zyrhoes" Verngren to tell us about the 3 best mid lane gods right now and give us some reasons as to why.

Thoth

Thoth has always been a powerful mage since his introduction, as his ability to deal a lot of damage while remaining fairly safe made him very hard to deal with in teamfights. After some nerfs, Thoth took a back seat for a while, but right now he's back and better than ever.

Strengths

According to Zyrhoes, "Thoth's biggest strength is his long range. On top of his range, he's also relatively safe." 

While some mages like Poseidon or Zeus need to be in or right next to the teamfight to be able to do damage and make a difference, Thoth's unique skillset allows him to be so far back that he can essentially snipe enemies. With all three of his damaging abilities being line targeters and all of them have their range extended by the Glyph of Pain to really allow you to pick off enemies in relative safety.

Winning Matchups

Zyrhoes says, "Thoth is strongest against gods that don't have an instant escape ability such as a dash/jump. It's very easy to confirm all your damage on a target that doesn't have an ability to avoid your abilities."

The stun on Thoth's 2 really allows you to lock people down, especially from long range when fired through his 3. A 2-1 or even a 2-Ultimate combo can spell the end of any squishy characters in the later phases of the game.

Requirements?

Zyrhoes says, "Not really, but if you surround yourself with strong early game gods, you can play more aggressively and that's when Thoth can really shine."

The best thing about Thoth is how easily he can slot into teams because of how strong his damage is. As Zyrhoes mentions, he shines in aggressive early teams but even without that, his damage is always going to make a difference.

Thoth also excels at objective control, as his high damage and good range allows him to safely secure objectives from a distance. His range also lets him do potential steals, which can swing games in your favour

Weaknesses

According to Zyrhoes, "Not the greatest early game, no CC immunity in his kit, and he can't move through walls."

Thoth himself is one of the gods Thoth is good against. While his dash is quick and omnidirectional, it has no CC immunity as Zyrhoes mentions and the lack of a leap or teleport ability means that when enemies do engage Thoth they can trap him very easily. This is why keeping your distance is so important.

Losing Matchups

Zyrhoes says, "Thoth doesn't really struggle in any mid matchup because he's very good at passive farming if needed. However, he's pretty weak before you get your first couple of items and if you do fall behind early, it can be hard to stay relevant."

Thoth's abilities take a while to get going and he only gets full clear with one ability around level 7. If you're pressured before then it can be very easy to fall behind. This is another reason why an aggressive early team can be so potent with Thoth, as they can help him and keep him relevant until he comes online.

What makes him fun?

"All his abilities feel very satisfying to hit," Zyrhoes says, "Also, even though Thoth is a fairly easy god to play, I think his skill cap is very high. There's a big difference from a good to a very good Thoth player."

Thoth has the combo of having very fun abilities to use and a lot of different ways to use them. This combined with the high skill ceiling Zyrhoes mentioned means that there's a lot of fun to be had playing one of the longest range mages in the game.

The Morrigan

Smite's resident shapeshifter, the Morrigan was considered a bit of a meme pick upon release, but ever since then she's only been getting better and more popular. Every powerful god that gets released is a new quiet buff for the Morrigan.

Strengths

Zyrhoes says, "What makes the Morrigan so insane compared to other mid laners is the fact that she can act as an initiator with her stealth. Also late game, she has a lot of burst damage with her combo."

While the Morrigan's kit outside of the ult might seem a bit plain, the amount of damage she can put out combined with her incredible stealth lets her fight on her own terms while also keeping the fights short because of her high burst damage. Her ult also allows her to level the playing field against powerful enemy gods, especially utilising ultimates like Hun Batz's or Poseidon's.

Winning Matchups

Zyrhoes states that "if there's a good transformation available when you hit level 5, you can solo kill pretty much anyone if they're slightly out of position."

The fact that most gods tend to be good against themselves really makes the Morrigan a deadly god to face off against in a 1v1. As she can not only bring a hard counter, but she can bring 7 abilities to the table.

Team Requirements

Zyrhoes says, "Items if anything. The more items you get, the closer you get to one-shot potential."

The Morrigan's base damage is fairly low but her scaling is some of the highest in the game, which makes her reliant on items more than most mid laners. Playing safer in the early game to get your core build is definitely a big deal with The Morrigan

Items like Rod of Tahuti are incredibly important for the Morrigan to build. However, as most of her core items are expensive, surviving until a later phase of the game is paramount to her success.

Weaknesses

Zyrhoes says, "Early game when you only have a few points in your ult, the cooldown on that ability is very long. So once your ultimate is on cooldown in the early/midgame, she's very vulnerable."

Her ultimate is a very powerful one and therefore has a long cooldown. If you mess it up and don't make an impact with it, you become a detriment to your team for a long time, especially in the early game.

Losing Matchups

According to Zyrhoes, "The Morrigan doesn't really lose lane to anyone, mostly because her passive gives her cleave attacks and with that solid wave clear. Gods with DoTs can give her problems though since those abilities break her stealth."

In common with all other stealth gods, damage over time effects can really limit your effectiveness. Not having a true escape also means she's locked down by large area abilities so needs to be careful when laning against gods like Poseidon and Kukulkan.

What makes her fun?

Zyrhoes says, "Because of how her kit and ultimate work, you can have so many different playstyles which I enjoy a lot. It's almost impossible to play a game as the Morrigan and say afterwards "I played that game perfectly". There's always something you could've done better mechanically or decision-making-wise."

As Zyrhoes says, there's no two games with the Morrigan that are the same. Her skill ceiling is almost nonexistent, which means there's always something to learn, always something new to try, and always an interaction you didn't expect.

Janus

Zyrhoes says, "First of all, I want to say that not long ago I wasn't too fond of Janus because I never thought he was that good. That has changed in Season 5." Janus has seen a resurgence in Season 5 because the larger map combined with it being filled with more walls allows for so much more utility with Janus. 

Strengths

Zyrhoes explains, "Janus is VERY mobile and only very few gods are able to lock him down and punish him. He also has global pressure with his ult which is a big deal in S5. Janus kind of only has one ability that consistently deals damage but with a lot of CDR and some of the items that are available in S5, that's more than enough to deal a lot of damage"

Everyone has experienced how slippery Janus is. A god that is incredibly hard to kill, Janus' lower damage is mitigated by the fact that he stays alive in fights for so long. His portals, speed boost, and cross map teleport ultimate allow him to evade enemies better than any other god in the game.

Smite's new map for Season 5 has so many more walls and potential pathways which makes Janus a lot more powerful. The corridors in the jungle are also closer together, which allows him to have an escape route more often.

Winning Matchups

Zyrhoes says that "Janus works especially well against immobile gods with his ability to cut their paths off with his ultimate and mobility for himself and his teammates, making it very easy to punish the enemy"

Janus excels at outmanoeuvring his enemy and making sure that his team can catch up to them and kill them. Janus also works well as a defensive god, as his abilities work well at slowing down advancing enemy teams and making sure your team can get out.

Requirements?

Zyrhoes says, "No, and that's why Janus is such a strong pick right now. He fits in pretty much any team comp. If you and your team want to play passive and farm, Janus is pretty much the best mid laner at farming. If you and your team want to play aggressive, Janus is pretty much the best mid laner at rotating and fighting"

Janus' ability to slot into any team also makes him great when you're solo queuing, as it allows you to easily adapt to your team and make sure you can work with them cohesively.

Weaknesses

According to Zyrhoes, "Janus's weakness is that his ultimate is kind of 50/50: either you hit a big snipe and win your team the fight or you miss it and you won't have as much impact. Also even though Janus is very mobile and safe, he can be punished fairly easy if he's not close to walls"

Janus requires finesse to play and also requires you to hit his abilities as he only has a few damaging ones. A Janus that doesn't hit his abilities or use them in a smart way will be dead weight for his team.

What makes him fun?

Zyrhoes says, "His kit is very fluid and also feels very nice to use. Janus also has a lot of carry potential which is always nice"

Portals are always fun and Janus' whole thing is portals. His ability to trick and outplay enemies gives him endless replayability and fun.

While metas do shift and change, these gods will mostly likely maintain their strength for a while because it all comes from core features of the game right now. If you need a mid laner in your ranked games right now, any of these three would be a good choice. Thank you for reading and many thanks to Zyrhoes for his contributions!