League Classic matchup
Annie vs Kassadin
The lane, from both sides
Annie’s side
- Weak against Kassadinfrom the AP Burst Mage build (Mid)
RiftwalkRiftwalkRActive: Kassadin blinks toward the target location, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies upon arrival. He then gains a stack of Riftwalk for 8 seconds, refreshing on subsequent casts and stacking up to 10 times. Riftwalk: For each stack, Riftwalk deals 60 bonus magic damage at an increased 100 mana cost. leaves after the combo lands, so Annie spends the whole rotation for nothing, and 
Null SphereNull SphereQActive: Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at the target enemy that deals magic damage and silences them. silences the next one before 
PyromaniaPyromaniaPassiveInnate - Pyromania: Annie generates a stack of Pyromania whenever she hits an enemy with Disintegrate or casts her other abilities, stacking up to 4 times, at which she gains Energized. Energized: Annie empowers her next cast of Disintegrate, Incinerate, or Summon: Tibbers to consume all Pyromania stacks to stun enemies hit for 1.75 seconds. has recharged.
Kassadin’s side
- Strong against Anniefrom the AP Assassin build (Mid)
Kassadin's burst plus
RiftwalkRiftwalkRActive: Kassadin blinks toward the target location, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies upon arrival. He then gains a stack of Riftwalk for 8 seconds, refreshing on subsequent casts and stacking up to 10 times. Riftwalk: For each stack, Riftwalk deals 60 bonus magic damage at an increased 100 mana cost. mobility beats Annie's lack of an escape; shut him down before level 6 or he snowballs into a late-game one-shot.
The lane in detail
AnnieKassadinAnnie's lane ends when Riftwalk starts
Pyromania spends four casts to arm; Riftwalk spends one to be elsewhere.
Before six, Kassadin is a 125-range melee mage standing in front of 625. Null SphereNull SphereQActive: Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at the target enemy that deals magic damage and silences them. at 650 is the only spell of his that reaches her, and levels 1 to 5 are the whole of Annie's lane.
Who has the lane, level by level
1–23–511–18- 1–2Annie: A 625 poke against a 125 melee
- 3–5Annie: Four casts arm a 1.75 second stun
- 6–10Even: Riftwalk answers the rotation, once
- 11–18Kassadin: A blink every 6 seconds, stacking to ten
- 2Force PulseLevel 2: Six charges, and Annie's own casts count toward them
- 3Molten ShieldLevel 3: The cheapest stack on her bar: 20 mana, every 10 seconds
- 6Summon: TibbersLevel 6: 45 seconds of pet, hitting for 35 a second inside 350
- 6RiftwalkLevel 6: 700 units for 100 mana, every 7 seconds
- 9Null SphereLevel 9: Two full seconds of silence, and 110 mana to buy them
- 11RiftwalkLevel 11: Rank 2 cuts the wait to 6 seconds
The numbers, head to head
AnnieKassadinThe nuke at rank 1
Annie fires a second time while Null SphereNull SphereQActive: Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at the target enemy that deals magic damage and silences them. is still on cooldown.
The lockdown each one owns
Her stun is 1.75 seconds and takes four casts to arm; his silence needs one.
Mana for one button, rank 1
Nether BladeNether BladeWPassive: Kassadin's basic attacks restore mana each hit. If the target is an enemy champion, the mana restored is tripled. Active: Kassadin empowers his basic attacks on-hit for 5 seconds to deal bonus magic damage. hands back 24 on a champion hit; Annie is refunded only by a kill.
What six changes for each of them
Maximum damage needs ten existing stacks; reaching it also raises the cost of every successive blink.
Range on the basic attack
125Until six, Kassadin crosses that ground on foot and in the open.
Who gets to leave
700 units · 7sAnnie walks out of fights she started; he blinks out of fights he lost.
Reach, from above
Annie
Kassadin
Rings are ranges in game units, both radars on one scale. Abilities wear their icon, the basic attack wears the champion’s own face; the dashed ring wearing the opponent’s face is their longest reach.
The item race
Annie
400gAll four of Kassadin's spells are magic, and this is the cheapest 20 points of the answer.
1600gHalf of Deathfire Grasp already, and 80 ability power that Disintegrate carries at 75%.
3100gRod of Ages hands him 450 health, and this takes 15% of whatever the number ends up being.
1100gMagic penetration helps against his growing resistance; movement speed lets Annie threaten Disintegrate.
3300gExtra ability power strengthens the damage packed into Pyromania before Kassadin can cast Riftwalk again.
Kassadin
1200gHe has to eat Disintegrate to reach six, and each level-up restores 150 health and 200 mana.
2800gThe initial 450 health cushions her stun combo; mana and further stacks fund escapes after Tibbers arrives.
- 1100g
Penetration helps against Molten Shield, though Annie still gains additional resistance as she ranks that spell.
3260gUse stasis before the stun hits to deny its follow-up damage; it cannot be activated while stunned.
Play it as Annie
- 1Hold the fourth stack: a 20 mana
Molten ShieldMolten ShieldEActive: Annie surrounds herself in a flame barrier, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance for 5 seconds. While Molten Shield is active, enemies who attack Annie take magic damage. arms PyromaniaPyromaniaPassiveInnate - Pyromania: Annie generates a stack of Pyromania whenever she hits an enemy with Disintegrate or casts her other abilities, stacking up to 4 times, at which she gains Energized. Energized: Annie empowers her next cast of Disintegrate, Incinerate, or Summon: Tibbers to consume all Pyromania stacks to stun enemies hit for 1.75 seconds. from outside his 650. - 2Keep
IncinerateIncinerateWActive: Annie releases fire in a cone in the target direction, dealing magic damage to enemies hit. for a stunned target or the wave; walking into its 600 range exposes Annie to Null SphereNull SphereQActive: Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at the target enemy that deals magic damage and silences them.. - 3Walk Tibbers at Kassadin rather than at the wave; 35 magic damage a second follows a blink he already spent.
Play it as Kassadin
- 1Save Null SphereNull SphereQActive: Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at the target enemy that deals magic damage and silences them. for the moment she banks the fourth stack, not for the wave.
- 2Buy Catalyst the Protector first: 200 health and 300 mana is how a 125 range mage reaches six.
- 3Answer Tibbers with distance. RiftwalkRiftwalkRActive: Kassadin blinks toward the target location, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies upon arrival. He then gains a stack of Riftwalk for 8 seconds, refreshing on subsequent casts and stacking up to 10 times. Riftwalk: For each stack, Riftwalk deals 60 bonus magic damage at an increased 100 mana cost. moves 700 units and his aura only reaches 350.
The catch
Annie can charge PyromaniaPyromaniaPassiveInnate - Pyromania: Annie generates a stack of Pyromania whenever she hits an enemy with Disintegrate or casts her other abilities, stacking up to 4 times, at which she gains Energized. Energized: Annie empowers her next cast of Disintegrate, Incinerate, or Summon: Tibbers to consume all Pyromania stacks to stun enemies hit for 1.75 seconds. outside the lane. When she does cast near Kassadin, those casts also build 
Force PulseForce PulseEPassive: Each time Kassadin or a nearby champion casts an ability, Force Pulse gains a charge, up to 6 charges. At 6 charges, Kassadin can activate Force Pulse. Active: Kassadin consumes all charges and emits a pulse of void energy in a cone in the target direction that deals magic damage to enemies hit and slows them for 3 seconds. toward its six charges. At full rank the cone deals 300 magic damage and slows 60%, but it still requires those charges before he can use it.
The kits at a glance
Annie
Full abilities- Pyromania
- Disintegrate
- Incinerate
- Molten Shield
- Summon: Tibbers
Kassadin
Full abilities- Void Stone
- Null Sphere
- Nether Blade
- Force Pulse
- Riftwalk
Base stats, side by side
| Stat | Annie | Kassadin |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 460 (+76) | 511 (+78) |
| HP regen | 1.01 (+0.11) | 1.49 (+0.1) |
| Mana | 300 (+50) | 275 (+45) |
| Attack damage | 50.625 (+2.625) | 56.2 (+3.9) |
| Armor | 16.5 (+4) | 21.2 (+3.2) |
| Magic resist | 30 | 31.25 (+1.25) |
| Attack speed | 0.579 (+1.36) | 0.64 (+3.7) |
| Move speed | 335 | 340 |
| Attack range | 625 | 125 |
Level-1 values with per-level growth in parentheses, read from the Classic client and re-checked against it on every update.
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