A strong mid-lane is a key to winning every League of Legends game. There are many champions to choose from, and they all have different styles when it comes to their abilities and builds.

On today’s menu is LeBlanc! A high-burst assassin mage champion with a high skill ceiling.

Introduction

When it comes to playing LeBlanc in League of Legends, one thing is clear. She is hard to play and even harder to master. She can be frustrating for opponents to play against due to the speed of her burst. She is a very rewarding champion to learn as she allows you a large impact on the game if you get ahead in lane.

Overview

Prestige LeBlanc skin splash art: LeBlanc in magician's suit holding a poro

LeBlanc is known for her high burst potential, mechanics willing. LeBlanc generally wants to target squishier targets but has the potential to burst combo anyone when ahead. LeBlanc will generally be played at the edge of the team fights, looking for large area-of-effect (AoE) combos with her Distortion (W). LeBlanc can be very punishing, with one well-timed crowd control (CC) locking her down long enough to be burst by her opponents. She is both high risk and high reward.

LeBlanc’s passive, Mirror Image, can help in a pinch. LeBlanc will split into two identical copies, one can be controlled as normal with right click and the duplicate can be piloted using right-click and CTRL.

Her Sigil of Malice (Q) is a point-and-click ability that damages the enemy. It also marks them for the next 3.5 seconds and will deal the same damage as the base Q if LeBlanc hits them with another ability within the time period.

Her Distortion (W) is her main source of damage, her bread and butter. It can be used for devastating AoE damage in team fights or as an escape tool, making LeBlanc harder to lock down. LeBlanc can use the ability again to return to the location she originally cast it from, allowing for amusing juke potential.

Her Ethereal Chains (E) are a straight-line skill shot that if landed, form a tether between LeBlanc and her opponent. If the tether remains unbroken for 1.5s then the enemy will become rooted for an additional 1.5s.

LeBlanc’s ultimate Mimic (R) allows her to recast any of her abilities and can be used in a variety of situations. Want to pack even more AoE damage into a combo? Then mimic your Distortion (W). Need to keep your opponent locked down for even longer? Then mimic your Ethereal Chains (E) and so on.

Position

She is explicitly a mid-lane champion, but of course, if the situation permitted she can also go top lane if the matchup allows. You may have also seen her as an off-brand support but this generally is not recommended outside of cheese lanes. LeBlanc needs gold to be useful and this is best accomplished in a favourable mid-lane matchup where she can solo-kill her opponent or roam for kills.

Playstyle

LeBlanc is generally best utilised as a potential kill lane in the early game and as a sidelane threat in the mid to late game. In lane, she has solid gank setup with her Ethereal Chains (E) and post-6 she may even be able to all-in for a solo kill with ignite if favourable trades were taken in the early landing phase.

As mentioned early, LeBlanc is best utilised as a split pusher in the mid to late game. Her high mobility allows her to quickly escape collapses from the enemy and she has the potential to solo kill any singular opponent if she's not behind. She can quickly roam to team fights around the middle of the map as well if the situation permits.

Phase-By-Phase Guide

Program LeBlanc Skin splash art: LeBlanc in program style skin fighting with her clone in the background

Early Game

LeBlanc thrives in the early game. If you execute the early game well, you will reap the rewards. On the other hand, if you fail to get ahead LeBlanc becomes more challenging to play in the mid-game. You should be using your strong gank setup and kill potential (matchup dependent) to bully your lane opponent.

If the situation permits, you should be moving to help your jungler contest the enemy jungler. LeBlanc is very strong in small skirmishes because of her raw damage output.

Mid Game

LeBlanc shines in the mid-game when ahead. With a few kills under her belt, she quickly becomes the bane of squishies. If you got an early-game lead, you should be attempting to transition it to the rest of the map. Shoving the enemy mid laner under tower and moving to gank side lanes or helping your jungler invade is the name of the game.

Once a bot lane tower falls and the bottom lane duos rotate, LeBlanc should be occupying this lane. As mentioned previously, she's effective in the side lane.

LeBlanc is no slouch in teamfights if she can approach the fight from the right angle, she'll generally be avoided if she approaches from the front of the teamfight. However, a flank on the back line can make all the difference and LeBlanc's mobility tools allow her multiple avenues to approach a teamfight.

Late Game

LeBlanc should still be utilising her side lane threat in the late game. However, the ever-looming presence of Baron Nasher and potentially dragon souls or the Elder Dragon mean you'll have to play off your team more. A full build LeBlanc packs a lot of raw burst damage but enemies have more tools to deal with her in the late game. Your play will be very situational as every game of League is different, but looking for picks on priority targets is always a good way to help your team. Barring that, if you're forced into a team fight then just try and do as much AoE damage as possible and play around cooldowns.

Conclusion

LeBlanc is not an easy champion to play but learning her is very rewarding. She is very versatile and has serious carry potential if executed correctly. She is a very cerebral champion due to her high-risk nature, positioning and decision-making are paramount on The Deceiver.