The roamer meta that defines Patch 2.1.47 has done mages no favors. Engage compositions are faster, assassin counters are being drafted more aggressively, and the mid lane is no longer a safe farm lane. Mages who can't function under pressure or contribute outside their lane are getting left behind.
This is the current mage tier list for Patch 2.1.47, based on Mythic and Mythic+ data from mlbbhub.com/tier-list. Win rates are from the current season's ranked pool.
#Mage Tier Rankings at a Glance
| Hero | Tier | Win Rate | Type | Primary Lane |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kadita | S | 53.0% | Burst/Assassin | Mid |
| Zetian | A | 51.4% | Damage/CC | Mid |
| Vexana | A | 51.0% | Poke/Control | Mid |
| Zhuxin | B | 50.9% | Damage/CC | Mid |
| Cecilion | B | 50.8% | Poke/Scaling | Mid |
| Kagura | B | 50.8% | Poke/Finisher | Mid |
| Lylia | B | 50.7% | Push/Damage | Mid |
| Xavier | B | 50.4% | Damage/Burst | Mid |
| Yve | B | 50.1% | Zone/Poke | Mid |
| Lunox | B | 49.6% | Burst/Damage | Mid |
| Pharsa | B | 49.7% | Burst/Poke | Mid |
| Eudora | B | 49.0% | Control/Burst | Mid |
| Novaria | C | 47.8% | Poke/Burst | Mid |
| Luo Yi | C | 48.7% | CC/Utility | Mid |
| Harith | D | 45.6% | Chase/Damage | Gold/Mid |
| Valentina | D | 41.3% | Burst/Finisher | Mid |
#S-Tier Mages
Kadita: 53.0% Win Rate
Kadita is the only true S-tier mage right now, and the gap between her and the field is real. A 53.0% win rate at Mythic is not flukey. She is a burst mage that plays like an assassin, which means she dodges a core weakness of the role: getting dove and killed before outputting damage. She does the diving herself.
Her passive HP regeneration after taking damage gives her staying power that other mages can only dream about. In the current tank-heavy, dive-heavy meta, that passive is doing significant work. Kadita excels at punishing immobile backliners, and with Pharsa and Cecilion both sitting in B-tier with no real escape tools, she has plenty of targets.
The roamer meta also benefits her directly. When your frontline is creating chaos in team fights, Kadita's wave dive comes in untouched. She is not a late-scaling pick. She spikes at items 2-3, which aligns perfectly with when S39 ranked games tend to hit their decisive fights.
Best against: Pharsa, Cecilion, Yve (all immobile B-tier mages she can target) Countered by: Kagura (Purify dodges her wave combo reliably)
#A-Tier Mages
Zetian: 51.4% Win Rate
Zetian sits just inside A-tier and is the most contested pick in the mage pool right now. Her global ultimate reveals the entire enemy team and stuns targets who fail to dodge it, which at lower Mythic brackets translates to a free stun every time it hits. At Mythic Glory, opponents dodge it. But the map pressure it generates is real regardless.
What separates Zetian from the B-tier cluster is her early game. Her S1 long-range poke combined with built-in spell vamp from her passive means she doesn't need a difficult laning phase to get her footing. She farms safely and transitions to a relevant teamfighter at item two.
Benedetta (43.1% WR against her) and Joy (45.9% WR against her) are the hard counters. Both are mobile fighters that can close the gap and kill her before she sets up. If the enemy drafts either, Zetian becomes a liability.
Vexana: 51.0% Win Rate
Vexana at A-tier is one of the more surprising developments in the current patch. Post-revamp Vexana is a different hero. Her fastest wave clear in the game is not an exaggeration. The chain explosions from her passive Nether Curse turn her into a minion-deleting machine, and mid lane wave clear speed translates directly to rotation speed.
Her Hanabi matchup is a 59.8% WR, the largest positive differential of any mage this patch. Akai and tank-heavy comps are her preferred opponents. The current meta, which features roamer-heavy compositions with tank initiators, is exactly what Vexana wants to see.
Ling and Esmeralda are her main counters. Neither is dominant this patch, which partially explains her A-tier status.
#B-Tier Mages: The Crowded Middle
B-tier contains eight mages with win rates between 49.0% and 50.9%. This cluster is functionally the mid-tier where matchup awareness determines outcome. They are all viable but all situational.
| Hero | Win Rate | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhuxin | 50.9% | CC + Damage, easy floor | Vulnerable early; mana-intensive |
| Cecilion | 50.8% | Infinite scaling, late-game terror | Needs 20+ min; zero escape |
| Kagura | 50.8% | Safe, Purify built-in, high ceiling | High skill cap, low floor |
| Lylia | 50.7% | Wave push pressure, ult self-reset | Selena and burst assassins delete her |
| Xavier | 50.4% | Global ult, outranges everything | Zero mobility, skillshot dependent |
| Yve | 50.1% | Zone control, stun grid | Lancelot and Natalia ignore her ult |
| Pharsa | 49.7% | Safest poke in the game, long range | Stationary ult, assassin bait |
| Lunox | 49.6% | % HP dark ult, tank shredder | Difficulty 90, Gusion/Lancelot counter her hard |
| Eudora | 49.0% | Point-and-click stun, one-shot combo | No mobility, no repeat engage |
Zhuxin has the easiest skill floor in B-tier. Her kit is forgiving, and the CC output is consistent even when played suboptimally. The 50.9% WR reflects this.
Cecilion is the purest late-game gamble in the mage pool. His 200+ stack potential makes him nearly unkillable in sustained teamfights past the 25-minute mark. The problem in Season 39 is that ranked games aren't reaching 25 minutes as often. He's a draft risk. Pick him into compositions without dive heroes or he becomes a feeding machine before he scales.
Kagura has the highest skill ceiling in B-tier. At 50.8% win rate across the ranked pool, high-mastery Kagura players are inflating this number significantly. At average Mythic execution, her win rate is lower. She rewards umbrella placement and repositioning precision that most players don't have.
Xavier is a sleeper pick that doesn't get enough respect. His global ultimate can snipe Cecilion across the map (57.8% WR against him) and cancel Yve's channel entirely (56.5% WR against her). The zero-mobility drawback is real, but the payoff when ahead is severe.
#C-Tier and Below
The Fallen: Harith and Valentina
These two numbers tell the story without much elaboration needed.
| Hero | Win Rate | Tier | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luo Yi | 48.7% | C | Ultimate requires team coordination, solo queue poison |
| Novaria | 47.8% | C | Poke kit outclassed by Zetian and Xavier |
| Harith | 45.6% | D | Mobility nerf hit his tempo; assassins (Gusion, Chou) shut him down |
| Valentina | 41.3% | D | Hard-countered by the current meta; ultimate theft value is situational |
Valentina deserves a separate mention because of how far she's fallen. The site shows her at D-tier with a 41.3% win rate, a figure that puts her in the bottom 10 of all heroes regardless of role. Her ultimate-stealing mechanic is entirely dependent on enemy picks. Against a comp without copied-ultimate value, she's a low-mobility mage with a mediocre kit. The current meta has plenty of roamers and fighters. She can't copy those ultimates for meaningful value.
Harith at 45.6% is a product of the CCed meta. His Chrono Dash rhythm gets broken by point-and-click CC from Chou (44.0% WR against him) and Gusion's instant burst (43.5% WR). The mobility that made him S-tier in previous seasons is now actively punished by the heroes that dominate this patch.
#Burst vs. Sustained Damage: What the Numbers Suggest
The current patch slightly favors burst mages over sustained damage dealers. Here's why:
The roamer meta means team fights are shorter and more decisive. A Cecilion or Yve who needs 3-4 rotations of abilities to convert kills is less reliable than a Kadita or Zetian who hits once, hard.
| Category | Best Picks | Win Rate Range |
|---|---|---|
| Burst | Kadita, Zetian, Eudora | 49.0-53.0% |
| Sustained/Poke | Cecilion, Yve, Pharsa | 49.7-50.8% |
| Scaling (late) | Cecilion, Lunox | 49.6-50.8% |
Sustained mages are not unviable. They're just operating on a narrower margin. Cecilion at 50.8% is perfectly playable. But the risk of losing before you scale is real in the current 15-20 minute average game length.
#Draft Priority at Mythic
In solo queue ranked at Mythic, prioritize mages in this order:
- Kadita if available and not countered. 53.0% win rate. Best mage for climbing.
- Zetian if the enemy has immobile targets. Map pressure from her global ult is underrated.
- Vexana if facing tank-heavy compositions. Fastest wave clear, good CC, exploits the current roamer meta.
- Zhuxin as a safe third pick. Low floor, consistent CC, doesn't throw games.
- Cecilion or Lylia in compositions that can stall to late game.
For gold lane mage flexes, Harith is not the answer right now. His 45.6% win rate confirms it. If you're running a mage in the gold lane, find a composition where Harith's mobility actually has time to function. In the current burst-heavy jungle meta, it rarely does.
Check the full hero breakdown for any mage on mlbbhub.com/heroes for matchup data and current stats.