You cannot factor in just how much Tyr truly and
and Athena for as far as other potential mid laners go,
amazingly shuts down any Mage he goes against.
and he is more than likely the most versatile god in all
His displacement is completely off the charts. He
of Smite. To me his potential as a mid-laner has yet
does the one thing every mid laner will die to almost
to be seen just because he is so great in several other
every time: being out of position. To this same
roles, but that does not mean it will never be seen.
effect, you may ask why Hercules is not on this list?
As far as unconventional mid-laners go, the
To put it simply: his mana consumption is too high
more you truly think about what a mid-laner does
and his only clear is his only escape. And in a place
the more you’ll find that Warriors in the middle lane
where it’s not completely unusual to see three man
are not all that unconventional. Several of them
rotations before level five, Hercules just is not beefy
provide the clear and burst that Mages can, along
enough quickly enough to survive through to the
with the survivability several do not enjoy. No, I’m
mid game where he really shines. Meanwhile Tyr
not here to say they are better than Mages in middle
brings all that with great escape and safer clear.
lane, just that they provide something completely
Sun Wukong- No doubt, I did save the best for
different and unique to serve varying play styles.
last. Recently he has climbed to the top, largely due
Overall, the weakness of Warrior middle is that it
to the changes to Bluestone Pendant, but that was
lacks that big money, one-shot ultimate that can
just the straw that broke the monkey’s back. Sun
single handedly win teamfights, but that can be
Wukong was always on the cusp of becoming great
replaced with setting the tone of a team fight so
again ever since Magic Cudgel, his main clearing
high into your advantage it’s impossible to lose it
ability, was buffed to get him through the early game.
or to place a god with that fight winning ultimate in
Sun Wukong brings amazing levels of early clear,
another lane (anyone remember the days of Vulcan
almost guaranteed free poke, ridiculous amounts
ADC?). Hey, it’s not for everyone, but I guess it
of survivability, and even a good amount of burst
wouldn’t be called going Against the Grain if it was. ■
By Brad Devillez
damage. His rotations are only out-matched by Janus
The Official SMITE Magazine Issue #19
The GameOn Magazine 45