Feel free to copy/share By: Ionian (EUW) a.k.a. Pool#0185 a.k.a.

l#0185 a.k.a. /u/foxes_are_the_best Mid lane bans if picking Ahri: Galio > Kass/Malz > Azir > Akali > Orianna > Leblanc
The purpose of this spreadsheet is to quickly get key info about a certain matchup, it's not meant to be a very detailed matchup guide Check below this table for additional info!
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Matchup Difficulty Fight when or at what level Items/stats you need 2nd summoner spell Tips
Ahri Easy 3-5 (learn Q>E>Q), 6+ if she has no ult or charm Boots + CDR, health if behind Ignite > Cleanse Push first 2 waves. Trade when her Q is on cd. Try to get 6 first and use ult advantage
Akali Medium 1-5, 6 if you have exhaust Mantle, rylais Ignite > Exhaust Autoattack a ton pre 6. Wait out her passive (the 2 empowered autos). Most of her burst is Q proc
Anivia Medium 1-5, 6+ all in if you have ult and she has no egg Early tier 1 boots Ignite > Exhaust Dodge Q, respect R dmg, check if egg is on cd or not before trying all in (4 min cd)
Annie Medium 3-5, 6+ with cleanse up Banshee or some hp (GLP/rylais) Cleanse > Ignite Cleanse removes stun AND ignite. All in when she has 1-2 stacks
Aurelion Sol Easy 1+ Standard build Ignite Easy to dodge Q, W and passive, ult to his face and he can only autoattack
Azir Very hard 6+ when he has Q or E on cd Lots of potions, ring + 1-2 seals Teleport > Ignite > Exhaust Sustain 1-5. 6+ engage after he uses Q, can ult through his ult after soldiers stop moving
Brand Easy 3-5, 6+ when he wastes / you juke stun Early tier 1 boots, zhonya is good Ignite Dodge stun, run from allies if ulted. All in 6+ when you see him alone
Cassiopeia Medium 3+, when her W is on cd, do not trade if poisoned Early tier 1 boots, lots of potions Exhaust > Ignite Dodge Q, 6+ turn around after each spell/auto to dodge ult stun, W does not allow you to ult/flash
Cho'Gath Medium 6+ with boots, lich / liandry greatly help Early tier 1 boots, rylais, morello Ignite He outsustains and outpokes you 1-5. Becomes tanky very quickly, focus on roaming instead of 1v1
Corki Easy 3+, 6+ when he has no package Standard build Ignite 6+ all in when you see him alone, do not stand on empowered W. Package has 4 min cd
Diana Medium 1-5 Banshee or some hp (GLP/rylais) Ignite > Exhaust Autoattack a lot pre 6. 6+ dodge Q so she can only dash once, then charm or ult away and kite her
Ekko Easy 1+ Standard build Ignite Autoattack spam. Dodge Q, easy charm when he uses E on you. Do not let him proc passive
Ezreal Easy 3+ Standard build Ignite All in 6+ when you see him alone, terrible at 1v1 no matter if ap or ad
Fizz Medium 1-5 with ignite, 1+ with exhaust Banshee Exhaust > Ignite Autoattack a lot pre 6. Exhaust/shield his ult dmg, bait E before charming. His R is easy to dodge now
Galio Very hard 1+ Standard build Ignite Too tanky to kill 1v1, and can deny kills on others with his ult. Push wave and roam, be sure to kite in 1v1
Gangplank Easy 1+ Standard build, armguard later Ignite Autoattack. Dodge barrels, be prepared for surprise 3 barrels chain or W heal, ult/Q out of his ult
Heimerdinger Easy 3+, when he has no ult or you can escape his R+Q Standard build Ignite 7+ with decent AP a Q can oneshot his turrets. Dodge W/E as being hit by those empowers his turrets!
Irelia Very hard 1-3, 6+ with exh/cleanse and help from team Ring+seals -> ruby crystal -> rylais Exhaust > Cleanse > Ignite HP>armor! Farm what you can and go roam, she melts you 4+ and can easily force your ult with Q/E
Jayce Hard 3+ Standard build Ignite > Exhaust Dodge EQ poke. Avoid fighting him 1v1. Keep in mind hexdrinker/maw shield during an all-in
Karma Medium 3+ Standard build Ignite Huge lane bully. Do not get baited by shield + W heal. Go roam, you outscale
Karthus Easy 3+ Boots, banshee if he's fed Ignite Easy to juke his Qs, without those he has no damage early, all in 6+ when you find him
Kassadin Medium 1+ Standard build Ignite Autoattack, don't use abilities on him until his Q shield expires, 6+ go roam as he starts to beat you
Katarina Easy 1, 4+ (she's insanely strong at levels 2-3!) Standard build Ignite > Exhaust Autoattack, 6+ charm her ult and stay away from daggers. Most try to cheese you at levels 2-3
Kayle Easy 3+ Standard build Ignite > Exhaust Farm lane until 6. 6+ try to save hard cc for when she is low so you burst her before she can ult
Kennen Easy 3-5, 6+ if you can kite or tank the ult Treads, banshee if he's fed Ignite > Exhaust AP Kennen's burst (ult) got nerfed hard. AD should have no oneshot potential on you
Leblanc Medium 1, any time if she misses E Banshee or some hp (GLP/rylais) Ignite Avoid trading if marked. E+passive is her only way to outtrade you. Slow 100-0 and needs to hit E
Lissandra Medium 3-5, 6+ if you can cleanse/spell shield the ult Treads, banshee if she's fed Ignite > Cleanse Throw charm at E's destination, 6+ go roam as you lose vs roa Liss (can all in vs squishy Liss)
Lucian Medium 3+ Standard, armguard if he's fed Ignite > Exhaust Engage with W/R so he dodges nothing with his E. His level 2 is super strong. You outpush him midgame
Lulu Easy 3+ Standard build Ignite Farm lane, a decent Lulu will just never die to you. You also won't die to her. Go roam 6+
Lux Medium 3+ Ring+seal -> sorcs/treads Ignite > Cleanse Do not trade while her passive is on you, all in 6+ when you see her alone
Malzahar Medium 3+ QSS/banshee if he always ults you Ignite Break his passive with an auto or W flame. 6+ do not fight without banshee or qss if he has ult
Mordekaiser Easy 1+ Boots, rylais, morello helps Ignite Autoattack and kite him all day, care for flash + 3rd Q surprise burst
Morgana Easy 3+, when her E is on cd Early tier 1 boots Ignite Farm lane, don't bother using E if her spell shield is up, 6+ go roam if she builds roa
Orianna Hard 3+, can play aggro when her Q is on cd Standard build, mantle helps Ignite Sustain 1-5. 6+ dodge her ult with your ult. Go roam if it's barrier/roa Ori as she is too tanky then
Ryze Hard 3+ Standard build, mantle helps Ignite Stay back if tagged with E, your E outranges his W so you can trade that way, 6+ he has no combat ult
Swain Easy 3+ Morello Ignite Simple farm lane, his only damage on you should be from E. 6+ go roam, too tanky
Syndra Hard 6+ if you have banshee and/or exh ready Banshee; treads are optional Exhaust > Ignite 6+ you can engage first, dodge stun+W, and hold exhaust until she ults. You'll win 1v1 that way
Taliyah Easy 3+, 6+ easily as she has no combat ult Early tier 1 boots Ignite 6+ you can dodge her entire kit, just don't ult on her minefield, use Q movespeed to get out
Talon Medium 1-5, 6+ if he has no ult Armguard Ignite Autoattack, don't be in Q range. Bait his ult before attempting an all-in. Ward, he roams very quickly
Teemo Easy 3+ Standard build, oracle trinket Ignite Push wave when you can, he has no waveclear pre 6, 6+ get pinks or oracles
Twisted Fate Easy 3+ Standard, banshee is optional Ignite > Teleport > Cleanse All in 6+ when you see him alone, zhonya his stun if you can
Varus Easy 3+ Armguard if he's fed, tier 1 boots Ignite Pre 6 he wins lane but 6+ you can all in him easily, care for his R+E+Q burst dmg though
Veigar Medium 1-5, 6+ spell shield his ult or dodge/cleanse stun Banshee; treads are optional Ignite > Cleanse Can aggro him right away, push lane so he misses stacks. Zhonya his ult if you can
Vel'Koz Easy 3+ Ring+seal > sorcs/treads Ignite Can dodge everything he has, he stands still during ult = easy charm, all in 6+ when you see him alone
Viktor Hard 3+ A lot of doran's rings, tier 1 boots Ignite > Exhaust Fight him before he gets his E upgrade. After that, it's best to catch the wave and then roam
Vladimir Medium 3+ Morello, rylais Ignite Run when he has empowered Q, bait his pool before charming. Minions can block his E dmg
Xerath Easy 3+ Ring+seal > sorcs/treads Ignite Sustain 1-5. 6+ can kill him all day, save 1 dash to dodge his stun
Yasuo Hard 3+, bait wall and break shield before all in Armguard Ignite > Exhaust Autoattack to remove shield and bait windwall. 6+ you start winning lane and you stomp him midgame
Zed Easy 1-5 when his W is on cd, 6+ charm/exh his ult Armguard, Zhonya if he's fed Exhaust > Ignite Autoattack. W has 22s cooldown, big trading window. Only gains AD if you die to his ult
Ziggs Easy 3+ Ring+seal > sorcs/treads Ignite Sustain 1-5, free kills 6+
Zilean Easy 3+ Standard build Ignite Farm lane, go roam if against roa Zilean. Against squishy Zilean, engage, wait out his ult then kill
Zyra Easy 3+ Standard build Ignite Step on seeds to destroy them. 1 W kills 1 plant. Can all in 6+ if you dodge root

Item overview: Changelog

Sorcs/treads - these boots are still great and worth rushing against skillshot-heavy opponents like Syndra or Lux. 2 rings -> t2 boots and you can cheese these lanes easily. 7.5 - updated Leblanc, Irelia, Fizz, Syndra, Talon, item overview.
Ionians/tabis - worse than the other 2 boots. Flat magic pen is rare and required, and you should kite enemies instead of tanking autoattacks. Added mid laners to ban when picking Ahri.
Zhonya/armguard - ugh. Don't get it if you don't really need it. Armor pen got nerfed so armguard is really good now. Armguard>GLP against AD burst. 7.6 - no real changes. May update if my perception of the Galio matchup was wrong.
Morello - still an amazing item. Very reliable and gets you some quick CDR+mana. Updated bans.
Rylais - very situational, the slow and stats are both mediocre. Excels against champs that heavily rely on movespeed (Hecarim, Shyvana, Udyr, Garen, Darius, etc.) 7.7 - no changes to matchups. Updated other tips.
Protobelt - is ok again. Feels like an inferior GLP, but it's quite cheap and offers 10% CDR. The dash is situationally useful too. If you absolutely need some quick CDR+burst, this is the fastest way to get it. 7.8 - no changes to matchups. New banlist. Amumu and Ryze got really annoying.
GLP - builds from revolver, tanky, good damage active, scales well. Lacks CDR but overall it's very worth purchasing. Synergy with mejais (makes you hard to catch/kill). 7.9 - updated matchup items/tips, item overview, general tips, early item combos.
Ludens - replaces lich bane if you're against team comps where you cannot be in autoattack range or you die (Annie, Irelia, Jayce, etc.) 7.10 - updated Heimer tips, added banshee to item list / item combos.
Lich bane - one of Ahri's best items. Bad build path (sheen) but extremely rewarding. 7.11 - Malz can 100-0 you again.
Gunblade - not bad, but it's so overrated. Trash build path, no cdr, no mana. A lot of its value is on the omnivamp passive, which only matters in extended sieges. Banshee costs more but is more gold efficient and gives more MR. Overall stronger.
Mejais/seal - god tier if you can get 15+ stacks. Mejais is efficient at 7+ stacks, dark seal resells for a lot in case things go wrong. Great when paired with zhonya/GLP/rylais. 7.12 - RIP Lord of the Rings build.
Deathcap/void - still the same, void before deathcap is recommended as void lets you powerspike way sooner. Locket nerfed! 7.13 - No changes to matchups. Added the possibility of buying abyssal mask.
Liandry/guise - worse dps and burst than lich, but lich+liandry is the best way to deal with tanks as Ahri. The HP and 15 pen are quite good too. 7.14 - No relevant changes. Anivia's passive actually has a 4s cd (ty Brodern).
Banshee - situationally awesome, sometimes even overpowered. Decent stats and an active that pretty much makes zhonya never worth buying again (unless you need the armor). 7.15 - updated bans, no other changes. Akali is still manageable in lane, but she outscales you harder and faster.
Extra rings - ring stacking is dead. Seal instead of a 2nd ring is better now, and if you need more quick power a corrupting pot has good synergy with seal (+25% healing from potions). 7.16 - Cassio has some serious mana issues early on. Orianna's W/R were gutted.
Abyssal mask - a tank item that gives mana, cdr and damage. It's not better than banshee (most of the time), but it's worth considering against 4 or 5 (Corki) AP champions. 7.16 (hotfix) - Orianna's clunkiness was reverted. The number nerfs aren't enough to lower her difficulty.
7.17 - no changes, enjoy ardent and tank meta...
Other tips: 7.18 - see above :D
If the enemy AP doesn't have much magic pen, after a bit of MR (treads or banshee) HP starts to counter their damage better than additional MR would. 7.19 - Azir got way overbuffed. Wow. Veigar outscales way harder, but laning is still the same. Updated bans.
If all you need is armor, stick to armguard and stack it. Zhonya is only worth buying if you absolutely need the active. 7.20 - added Lucian matchup
Buying a mantle vs champions rushing magic pen or buying a cloth vs champions rushing armor pen will completely ruin their strategy as you counter all of the pen they bought and still profit a bit. 7.21 - wtf is this lol ban Galio
Do not take deathfire touch... it really sucks unless you're teamfighting in lategame (5-6 items).
Lich bane is better than liandry against tanks (as Ahri) if you can proc it every 1.5 seconds. Getting both + void staff is fine if the enemy team has 4 tanks.
Having a mejais with a good amount of stacks (10+) will make you the primary target of the enemy team. Play around this and bait/kite your opponents into bad situations. It's soloQ after all!
Since 7.9, the only MR options you have are mantle (25 MR) and banshee (45 MR). The cheapest defense against magic damage is mantle + health items (doran's rings usually).
Banshee's spell shield replaces zhonya in many of the matchups where you needed it for the active. Be sure to play around your spell shield when required (don't engage if it's on cd).

Possible early item combos:

Only when ahead:
Seal>lich>mejais - very high damage to objectives + burst and good roaming potential. Kill everyone you find.
Gunblade>morello>mejais - great burst and turns you into a very strong lane bully. Destroys melee opponents and oneshots carries. Hardcounters poke champs like Xerath.
Seal>morello>mejais - be everywhere, all the time. Less damage than lich+mejais but more cdr and mana so you can keep pushing mid and roaming, controlling the map. More team reliant build.
Protobelt>lich>mejais - reliable and cheap damage, by far outdamages morello+lich in a burst combo, but protobelt falls off quickly compared to GLP. Proto's hp helps you farm stacks.
If even / confident:
Morello>lich - has good snowball potential. 30% CDR (max with blue or runes) at 2 items, strong roaming and considerable damage output. Standard build.
GLP>lich - less CDR but tankier and more burst. Easy to farm mejais stacks with. The strength of this build path is countered by the lack of CDR in the early game. 20% scaling CDR runes recommended.
Morello>void - very situational, do it when enemies have a massive amount of MR early for some reason (Galio?).
Morello>ludens - if waveclearing matters more than taking objectives and you really can't get to autoattacking anyone safely. Situationally useful.
Morello>rylais - counters melees with no gapclosers very hard. Very team reliant build path.
Protobelt>lich - not a bad combo when even because it is reliable and cheap, and proto builds out of revolver. Useful if you need a lot of power very quickly, but proto falls off.
Protobelt>morello - 30% CDR, excels at getting picks (and oneshotting carries). More team reliant than proto+lich but much safer, however the build falls off.
If behind or in hard lanes:
Armguard>morello - if you need armor. Prioritise farming so you can quickly stack your armguard. Don't get zhonya if you don't need the active.
Zhonya>morello - only when you need the active. 30% CDR allows to get picks with ult+charm more often too.
Rings>mantle>morello>banshee - some quick durability followed by 30% CDR. Lets you survive super tough lanes or very fed AP champs.
GLP>banshee - very durable against AP. Your damage output and snowball potential will be very low, but you give your team a mpen aura and a bit of extra cc.
GLP>zhonya - same thing but against AD. Zhonya can indirectly help your team by baiting abilities and/or engaging with the active.
Rings>banshee - only worth doing if the enemy needs to hit 1 specific ability to start an all in (e.g. Lux Q).