The Lissandra buffs in League Patch 13.1 could push the Ice Witch back into the meta

Riot Games posted a preview of the changes that might come with the first patch of League of Legends’ 2023 ranked season, and among the buffed champions there is one that stood out from the rest: Lissandra.

The mid lane mage has been off the radar for quite a while, with her last nerf dating back to Patch 12.10, the durability update that affected all champions in the game. At that time, Lissandra was hit with a nerf to her ultimate, reducing her base numbers and AP ratio on her ultimate’s healing.

After more than half a season, the Ice Witch is receiving some small buffs that might, however, push her back into the meta.

Lissandra’s buffs in League Patch 13.1 

Lissandra will get a total of three buffs in Patch 13.1, according to Riot Phlox’s patch preview. First, she will get an increase in her health growth, from 104 to 110. 

In other words, she will gain an extra six maximum health per level. In the late stages of the game, this will amount to a total of 108 bonus health she gains essentially for free. While it may not seem like much, for a control mage like Lissandra, the bonus health can make the difference between living or dying.

The second buff will be done to her Ice Shard’s (Q) slow, increasing it by four percent at rank one up to eight percent at max rank. Since it’s the spell that Lissandra usually maxes first during games, players will be able to immediately feel the difference in landing her spells.

To round out the list of buffs, Lissandra will also have her Ring of Frost’s (W) cooldown reduced by two at all ranks. Even if she doesn’t max the spell early on, the two seconds shaved off will allow her to cast the ability more often and could be a game-changer during mid-game teamfights. 

Overall, Lissandra’s upcoming buffs are substantial and they will surely boost her win rate and pick rate, which are currently stuck at 48.79 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, according to u.gg.

Whether she will become an S-tier pick, though, will depend more on which other mid lane champions are meta. If melee mids like Akali, Sylas, and Zed are going to remain popular, then Lissandra will become a primary choice to counter them. 

Laning-wise, Lissandra has always been strong at pushing waves and having lane priority over the opponent. With the increased slow on her Q, the ability will be even more punishing on enemies since they’ll be more vulnerable to her combos, gank setups, or even dives.

Having said that, Lissandra’s greatest strength lies in her ability to disrupt enemies with her spells. She can use them to peel for allies getting engaged or quickly shut down the enemy carries. In a meta dominated by late-game ADCs, she can be the perfect answer to quickly neutralize the main threats.

League players can start to get a feel for how these buffs impact Lissandra when Patch 13.1 goes live on Tuesday, Jan. 10.