Marc “Caedrel” Lamont used a recent stream to unload on one of League of Legends‘ most divisive trends right now: mages taking over bot lane. The former LEC jungler turned co-streamer ranted for several minutes about AP carries like Mel, Ziggs, Brand, Syndra, Hwei, Veigar, Seraphine, Swain, and Vladimir crowding out traditional marksmen in the farming bot role.
The complaint is about lane feel. Mage bot picks bring strong early spell trades, long range, fast waveclear, and enough utility to stay relevant even when behind. Traditional ADCs like Caitlyn, Jinx, Kai’Sa, Ezreal, Xayah, and Varus need auto-attack range, support pressure, and two or three items before they come online. Against a mage who can shove the wave from half a screen away, that scaling fantasy gets crushed.
Caedrel’s main gripe was the lack of interaction. When a mage falls behind, they can still farm safely from range and play for teamfights. When an ADC falls behind, they have to walk into auto range under tower and pray. That asymmetry is what makes the matchup feel miserable for marksman players.
Bot lane or APC lane
Mage bot isn’t fringe anymore. AP carries are hovering around a 20% pick rate in higher elos, often with win rates that match or beat traditional marksmen. Pro practice has trended the same way, with Mel and Ziggs popping up in scrims and players like Peyz reportedly grinding Vladimir and Syndra bot in solo queue.
Veterans have seen this movie before. The current state is drawing direct comparisons to Patch 8.11 in 2018, when Riot gutted crit items and bot lane briefly turned into a Swain, Mordekaiser, and Vladimir playground. ADC mains have not forgotten.
