Annie

Annie asks for no dexterity and rewards all your game sense. Her mechanic is one word: Pyromania. Her spells charge a stun that goes off with the next ability, no projectile to dodge, no delay. When the charge is ready, she locks a target down and chains it before it can answer.

If you like watching for the right moment and deleting a target with a single combo, you'll love her. The trap is elsewhere: without her stun charged, Annie is a fragile, short-range mage with no real escape. All the skill is in managing that charge, not in the execution.

Her stun is something almost nothing else has: instant, guaranteed, impossible to dodge. Paired with Tibbers, it locks a target and drops an area blast that can erase several bunched-up enemies. Disintegrate refunds her mana when she finishes a target or unit, giving her endless lane pressure as long as she doesn't miss her last hits. And Molten Shield speeds her up, her only real out.

Against that, a classic no-mobility mage fragility. Her range is short to land the hit, she has to step into the danger zone to cast her combo, and once the stun is spent she stands several seconds with nothing to defend herself. An opponent counting her charges knows exactly when to close in safely.

Your best wave-control tool is Incinerate: one cone clears the minions and chips the opponent at the same time. Keep an eye on your stun charge at every moment: build it quietly on minions, then hold it to punish the slightest enemy step-up. An opponent walking in to farm within range while your charge is ready is a free kill.

Watch your mana pool despite Disintegrate's refund: missing your last hits drains it fast. Never step up to land your combo without knowing where the enemy jungler is, since you have nothing to survive a dive. Molten Shield is there to tank a trade as much as to reposition when you feel the gank coming.

Annie explodes in power the moment she hits her ultimate. Before it, she controls her lane; after it, a stunned target facing Tibbers is a dead target, often two if the enemy team groups up badly. Each ultimate rank makes that combo more devastating.

Her second awakening comes from her power items: from her first big piece, her combo goes from heavy damage to an outright kill on any squishy. Play your windows when your stun charge is ready and your ultimate is up. Outside those, you're a vulnerable mage: bide your time, farm, and force nothing.

In a teamfight you have two ways to play, and you have to choose before the engage. On initiation, you step up at max range, charge ready, and drop Tibbers on the enemy pack to stun several targets at once: it's one of the best engages in the game. On reaction, you save that same combo to stop cold the assassin diving your backline.

Whatever you choose, remember your fragility. Once your ultimate is cast, you have nothing left to protect yourself. Stay behind your front line, expose yourself only long enough to place your stun, and trust your allies to absorb what comes next. A well-placed Tibbers can win the fight on its own; cast into empty space, it leaves you bare in the middle of the brawl.