Ahri received a mini rework in League of Legends patch 12.3 that was well received by the community. Back in the meta, solo queue and pro players have been using her in the mid lane.

Most recently, DRX star mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon picked her twice against Gen.G’s Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo’s LeBlanc and Orianna to much success. Other mid laners in the LCK, LPL, LCS, and LEC, such as T1’s Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, JD Gaming’s Zeng “Yagao” Qi, Cloud9’s Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami, and MAD Lions’ Steven “Reeker” Chen, are also popularizing her in major regions.

One pro player, however, has other ideas.

G2 Esports’ Rasmus “caPs” Borregaard Winther caused a stir after he was spotted spamming AD Ahri in solo queue on the EU West Challenger ranked ladder. Rushing Kraken Slayer as his first item, caPs has been playing AD Ahri in bot lane and mid lane.

Recognizing that she’s “been a little too strong since”, Riot Games decided to nerf her in patch 12.5, albeit slightly. Fox-Fire’s base damage has been decreased by 10 at all levels, and together with Charm, their mana cost increased. These changes, however, do not affect AD Ahri, who casts spells while weaving auto attacks in between to stack Lethal Tempo’s passive.

Caps playing AD Ahri in solo queue on Twitch stream
Screenshot by Amanda Tan/ONE Esports

Ahri nerfs in League of Legends patch 12.5

W – Fox-Fire

  • Damage decreased from 60/85/110/135/160 (+30% AP) to 50/75/100/125/150 (+30% AP)
  • Mana cost increased from 25 to 30

E – Charm

  • Mana cost increased from 50 to 60

Ahri rework in League of Legends patch 12.3

Base stats

  • Health growth decreased from 92 to 82
  • Health decreased from 526-2090 (levels 1-18) to 500-1894 (levels 1-18)
  • Base health regeneration decreased from 5.5 to 2.5
  • Armor 21-80.5 (levels 1-18) ⇒ 18-77.5 (levels 1-18)

Passive – Essence Theft

  • Pieces of you: Killing minions or monsters grants Ahri an Essence Fragment
  • After obtaining 9 Essence Fragments, Ahri consumes them to heal for 40-120 (+25% AP)
  • When Ahri scores a takedown against an enemy champion within 3 seconds of damaging them, she feasts upon their Essence, healing for 80-200 (+35% AP)

Q – Orb of Deception

  • Damage per pass increased from 40/65/90/115/140 (+35% AP) to 40/65/90/115/140 (+40% AP)
  • Mana cost decreased from 65/70/75/80/85 to 60/70/80/90/100

W – Fox-Fire

  • Damage increased from 40/65/90/115/140 (+30% AP) to 60/85/110/135/160 (+30% AP)
  • Mana cost decreased from 40 to 25
  • Flame duration decreased from 5 seconds to 2.5 seconds
  • Bonus move speed duration increased from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds

E – Charm

  • Damage increased from 60/90/120/150/180 (+40% AP) to 80/110/140/170/200 (+60% AP)
  • Mana cost decreased from 70 to 50
  • (Removed) Ahri’s abilities no longer deal bonus damage to enemies hit by Charm

R – Spirit Rush

  • Initial duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds
  • (New) Spirited Chase: Consuming a champion’s Essence with Essence Theft while Spirit Rush is active extends Spirit Rush’s recast duration by and up to 10 seconds, and grants an additional cast of Spirit Rush (up to 3 casts stored)

How caPs has been playing AD Ahri in solo queue

So far, caPs has been matched up against meta mid lane champions like LeBlanc, Viktor, and Ryze, to name a few in his ranked games.

Since these mage champions require items, he showed AD Ahri’s potential to out damage them in the early game. Despite eating LeBlanc’s Electrocute combo, for example, caPs’ AD Ahri manages to turn the trade around by auto attacking after the opponents’ spells go on cooldown.

He also makes use of reworked Ahri’s increased mobility, dodging skill shots then turning the tables on his opponents with Spirit Rush.

In fact, he’s even attempted the same build on AD LeBlanc.

“If you really, really like Ahri and you want to be like Faker…,” caPs explained on stream. “I also want to be like Faker. If you don’t know how to hit any skill shots, you just max W, go full AD, then you don’t need to hit anything.”

“So you’ll basically be like Faker. Throw some auto attacks, press W and R every now and then. Boom!”

Currently holding an average 6.6/9/5.3 KDA and 23% win rate on AD Ahri in solo queue, the G2 mid laner has won three games on her, and lost 10.

caPs’ AD Ahri runes

  • Precision: Lethal Tempo (keystone rune)
  • Triumph
  • Legend: Alacrity
  • Coup de Grace
  • Domination: Taste of Blood (secondary tree)
  • Ultimate Hunter
  • +10% Attack Speed
  • +9 Adaptive Force
  • +6 Armor

caPs’ AD Ahri build

  • Kraken Slayer (Mythic)
  • Berserker’s Greaves (Boots)
  • Runaan’s Hurricane
  • Infinity Edge
  • Lord Dominik’s Regards
  • Blade of the Ruined King or Navori Quickblade

AD Ahri Starting items

  • Long Sword
  • 2 Health Potions 

How Faker builds Ahri in his ranked games

Faker, on the other hand, has a rising 47% win rate on AP Ahri on the Korean ranked ladder where he rushes Everfrost for the extra utility. Racking up a positive 6.2/3.5/7 average KDA, it seems he’s found more success on this champion the conventional way.

Faker’s AP Ahri runes

  • Dominion: Electrocute (keystone rune)
  • Taste of Blood
  • Zombie Ward
  • Ultimate Hunter
  • Inspiration: Biscuit Delivery (secondary tree)
  • Time Wrap Tonic
  • +10% Attack Speed
  • +9 Adaptive Force
  • +6 Armor

Faker’s AP Ahri build

  • Everfrost (Mythic)
  • Ionian Boots of Lucidity (boots)
  • Dark Seal into Mejai’s Soulstealer
  • Morellonomicon
  • Rrabadon’s Deathcap
  • Void Staff

The full League of Legends patch 12.5 notes can be found here.

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