Introduction Corki, the Daring Bombardier, is a unique marksmen that has found a comfortable home in the Mid Lane. With his mixed damage, high mobility, and strong poke potential, Corki can be a formidable force in the hands of skilles players. This guide aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of how to play Corki effectively in the Mid Lane.

Pros + Strong poke with Phosphorus Bomb and Missile Barrage + Mixed damage (physical and magic), making him hard to itemize against + High mobility with Valkyrie + Safe laning phase due to long-range abilities + Good wave clear with Missile Barrage

Cons - Relies heavily on hitting skill shots - Mana hungry in the early game - Limited crowd control abilities - Vulnerable to hard engage and burst damage

Team Composition
Corki fits well into team compositions that lackMagic Damage or need a strong mid-game spike. He synergizes well with champions that can set up kills or provide Crowd Control, allowing him to land his skill shots more easily

Ideal Teammates

• Engage Tanks (e.g., Malphite, Sejuani)
• Crowd Control Supports (e.g., Leona, Thresh)
• Physical Damage Top Laners or Junglers (e.g., Darius, Lee Sin)

Runes

PRECISION

Corki benefits greatly from the Fleet Footwork rune, which offers both sustain and kiting potential. With this rune, moving and basic attacking generate Charges, accumulating up to 100. Once you reach 100 Charges, Corki becomes Energized, amplifying his next basic attack. This empowered attack not only deals damage but also heals Corki for an amount ranging from 10 to 130 based on his level. Moreover, the heal is boosted by 10% of his bonus Attack Damage and 5% of his Ability Power. Additionally, this Energized state grants Corki a burst of 20% bonus movement speed for 1 second. When dealing with minions, the healing is slightly reduced, offering 20% effectiveness for melee attacks and 10% for ranged ones. It's worth noting that each basic attack on-attack generates 6 Energize stacks, while moving a distance of 24 in-game units also adds 1 stack. This movement can be through any means, including normal walking, using dashes, blinks, or even being displaced. Furthermore, hitting abilities that apply on-hit effects will also contribute 6 stacks towards Energizing Corki.

For Corki, the Presence of Mind rune proves invaluable, offering both mana sustain and reduction to his ultimate's cooldown. When Corki secures a takedown against an enemy champion, this rune restores 15% of his maximum mana. However, there's a brief 1-second delay before the mana is replenished. Moreover, damaging an enemy champion provides Corki with enhanced mana regeneration. For ranged champions like him, the regeneration falls between 1.2 and 8.8 mana per second over a duration of 4 seconds.. This rune not only bolsters Corki's mana pool but also ensures he can use his ultimate more frequently, amplifying his overall effectiveness in the game.

For Corki, the Legend: Bloodline rune is a solid choice, providing valuable lifesteal to enhance his survivability in combat. This rune grants Corki 0.35% lifesteal for each Legend stack he accumulates, capping at 5.25% when he reaches maximum stacks. At this peak, Corki also receives a bonus of 85 health. Corki can earn these Legend stacks through various means in the game. He gains 100 points towards a stack for champion takedowns and epic monster takedowns alike. Large monster kills contribute 25 points each, while minion kills add 4 points to his stack count. In terms of gold efficiency, the Legend: Bloodline rune starts at a value of 0 when Corki has no stacks, meaning 0% lifesteal. However, at full efficiency with 15 stacks, its value soars to 472.75, translating to 5.25% lifesteal and the bonus 85 health. This rune synergizes well with Corki's playstyle, offering sustained survivability and allowing him to stay longer in fights and skirmishes.

Coup de Grace is an excellent rune choice for Corki, enhancing his ability to finish off low-health targets with a powerful blow. With this rune, Corki deals an additional 8% damage, excluding true damage, to enemy champions who have less than 40% of their maximum health remaining. It's crucial to note that Coup de Grace's bonus damage only activates on Corki's subsequent attacks or abilities after he has brought the enemy champion's health below this 40% threshold. This rune synergizes well with Corki's bursty nature, allowing him to capitalize on weakened foes and secure eliminations more effectively in skirmishes and team fights.

SORCERY

For Corki, the Manaflow Band rune is a pivotal choice that directly addresses his mana management needs throughout the game. Whenever Corki successfully affects an enemy champion with one of his abilities, his maximum mana receives a permanent boost of 25 points. This effect can stack over time, allowing Corki to increase his maximum mana by up to 250 points. Importantly, the mana gained from Manaflow Band doesn't immediately fill Corki's mana pool but instead maintains his current mana level, ensuring he can continue using his abilities effectively. Once Corki hits the cap of 250 bonus mana, Manaflow Band offers an additional benefit by providing ongoing mana restoration. Specifically, Corki will permanently restore 1% of his missing mana every 5 seconds, further enhancing his mana sustainability. This regeneration allows Corki to stay active in fights, consistently casting his spells and abilities without worrying about running out of mana. It's worth noting that Manaflow Band operates on a 15-second cooldown, meaning Corki can benefit from its mana-boosting and restoration effects regularly throughout the game. Overall, Manaflow Band is an invaluable rune for Corki, significantly improving his mana management and enabling him to maintain pressure on enemies with his powerful abilities.

For Corki, Gathering Storm is a potent rune choice that scales his damage output as the game progresses. This rune grants Corki increasing amounts of Adaptive Force every 10 minutes, offering a choice between bonus Attack Damage or Ability Power based on which stat he has prioritized or gained the most bonuses for. For Attack Damage, the bonuses offered are 0, 4.8, 14.4, 28.8, 48, and so on, while for Ability Power, the bonuses start at 0, escalate to 8, 24, 48, 80, and continue to increase infinitely based on game time. It's important to note that Gathering Storm defaults to granting bonuses based on the stat that Corki has the most bonuses for, defaulting to Attack Damage if both are equal. Overall, Gathering Storm enhances Corki's scaling potential, allowing him to become increasingly powerful as the game goes on. This rune synergizes well with Corki's scaling nature, rewarding him with significant boosts to his damage output and making him a formidable threat in the later stages of the game.

Summoner Spells

FLASH Flash serves as a versatile tool in League of Legends, functioning both as an escape and engage mechanism. It allows champions to quickly reposition themselves during critical moments, making it invaluable for both defensive maneuvers and aggressive plays.

TELEPORT Teleport is another essential summoner spell, offering the ability to swiftly return to lane after a recall, ensuring minimal loss of experience and gold. Additionally, Teleport can be used to assist teammates across the map, turning the tide of battles or securing objectives.

Core Items

45 Attack Damage 20 Ability Haste 33% Attack Speed 300 Health Trinity Force is a powerful item choice for Corki, synergizing well with his kit and enhancing his burst damage potential. One of the key features of Trinity Force is its Spellblade passive. After Corki uses an ability, his next basic attack within 10 seconds is empowered to deal 200% of his base Attack Damage as bonus physical damage on-hit. This empowers Corki's basic attacks significantly, adding a burst of damage to his auto-attacks immediately following his spell casts. It's worth noting that there is a 1.5-second cooldown that starts after the empowered attack is used. Additionally, Trinity Force offers Corki increased mobility with its Rage passive. When Corki lands a basic attack, he gains a bonus of 20 movement speed for 2 seconds. This bonus movement speed can be crucial for Corki, allowing him to reposition quickly in fights, chase down enemies, or evade incoming threats. Overall, Trinity Force amplifies Corki's burst damage potential and enhances his mobility, making it a valuable item choice for him. The Spellblade and Rage passives of Trinity Force synergize perfectly with Corki's playstyle, allowing him to deal significant damage while maintaining agility and control in combat situations.

Magic penetration for increased poke damage

Mana and Ad, scaling well with Corki's abilities

-OR-

Cleanses crowd control effects

Increased crit damage and Ad. Defensive option against burst damage

-AND-

Abilities

PASSIVE ABILITY

Hextech Munitions Innate - Hextech Shrapnel Shells: Corki's passive, Hextech Shrapnel Shells, transforms his basic attacks into a unique blend of magical and physical damage. Specifically, his basic attacks are adjusted to deliver 80% Ad magic damage alongside 20% Ad physical damage. Despite this dual nature, the mixed damage is applied in two simultaneous instances, though it behaves as a single instance for most in-game effects, such as those related to Conqueror's stacking. In the sequence of this mixed damage, the magical component is administered first, followed immediately by the physical component. Both of these instances are classified as basic damage, allowing Corki to naturally benefit from lifesteal with each strike. Importantly, on-hit effects are activated only once at the initiation of the attack. Regardless of which damage component proves fatal, both the magical and physical damage components are applied to the target. For instance, should an enemy champion fall due to the magical damage, the physical damage component is still applied. Conversely, if the target's demise results from the on-hit damage, the magical damage is bypassed entirely, and only the physical damage is inflicted. Moreover, critical strikes further bolster Corki's damage potential with this passive, amplifying both the magical and physical damage instances as usual. Overall, Hextech Shrapnel Shells enhances Corki's combat capabilities by adding an element of unpredictability to his damage output, making him a versatile and formidable force on the battlefield. Innate - The Package: Corki's unique passive, The Package, becomes available after the 10-minute mark in the game. At this point, a special package is delivered to both corners of Corki's team's fountain. Corki can select and channel for 1 second to pick up this package. Upon successfully picking it up, Corki receives one cast of Special Delivery for 45 seconds. This ability temporarily replaces his W spell, Valkyrie, during this period. While Corki holds The Package, he benefits from a substantial 40% bonus movement speed when out of combat, enhancing his mobility and positioning capabilities on the map. Additionally, when Corki picks up The Package, a global siren is emitted, alerting all players on the map to this event. A noteworthy feature of The Package is that Corki can pick it up even if he hasn't allocated a skill point to Valkyrie, making this passive accessible regardless of his skill progression. Overall, The Package amplifies Corki's mobility and tactical options, providing him with a powerful tool for engaging, repositioning, and surprising enemies during crucial moments in the game.

Q

Phosphorus Bomb Phosphorus Bomb is Corki's Q-spell, a versatile ability that costs between 60 to 100 Mana depending on its rank and has a cooldown of 8 seconds. This targeted ability has a range of 825 units and casts quickly with a 0.25-second cast time. The bomb travels at a speed of 1000 units per second and explodes upon reaching its target location, affecting enemies within a radius of 275 units. Upon detonation, Phosphorus Bomb inflicts magic damage on all enemies caught in the blast. The damage scales with Corki's level and bonuses: it starts at 70 and can reach up to 255, and it benefits from 70% of Corki's bonus Attack Damage and 50% of his Ability Power. Additionally, the bomb provides vision of the targeted area for 6 seconds, granting valuable map awareness. Moreover, any enemy champions hit by the explosion are revealed for the same duration, making it a useful tool for scouting and tracking opponents. Overall, Phosphorus Bomb is a potent spell in Corki's arsenal, offering a combination of damage, vision control, and utility, which can be crucial in both offensive and defensive situations during the game.

W

Valkyrie Valkyrie is Corki's W-spell, a dynamic mobility and damage ability that costs 80 Mana and has a cooldown that decreases from 20 seconds to 12 seconds as it ranks up. With a target range of 600 units and no cast time, Corki can swiftly navigate the battlefield using this skill. The ability also features a collision radius of 100 units and an effect radius of 200 units. Upon activation, Corki dashes to the targeted location at a speed of 650 units plus 100% of his current movement speed. As he moves, he drops bombs that create up to three blazing patches along his path, depending on the distance he travels. Each of these patches persists for 2.5 seconds, creating zones of danger for enemy champions. Enemies caught within these blazing patches suffer magic damage every 0.25 seconds, with the damage scaling based on Corki's Ability Power. The damage per tick starts at 15 and can scale up to 45, with an additional 15% of Corki's Ability Power contributing to each tick. A unique feature of Valkyrie is its synergy with Corki's Gatling Gun ability. Corki can cast Gatling Gun during the dash of Valkyrie, allowing him to unleash sustained damage while repositioning. If Valkyrie is cast beyond its maximum range, Corki will automatically dash to the maximum distance before deploying the bombs. In summary, Valkyrie is a versatile spell in Corki's kit, providing him with mobility, area control, and damage potential. Its flexibility allows Corki to engage, disengage, and duel effectively, making it a cornerstone of his gameplay. Special Delivery: Special Delivery is Corki's unique ability gained through his passive, The Package. This ability allows Corki to dash to a targeted location with displacement immunity, covering a vast distance of 1800 units. With a collision radius of 100 units and an effect radius of 200 units, Special Delivery has a swift speed of 1500 units per second. As Corki dashes, he knocks aside all enemies in his path, displacing them by 500 units. Upon landing, a trail of fire is left behind for 5 seconds, providing vision of the area for its duration and an additional 3 seconds afterward. Enemies hit by Corki's dash or those within the fiery trail are inflicted with a potent burn that slows them by 90% for 2 seconds. This slow effect refreshes every 0.25 seconds while they remain within the area. The burn damage dealt is based on Corki's level, bonus Attack Damage, and Ability Power, ranging from 7.5 to 25 magic damage every 0.25 seconds. One of the most impactful features of Special Delivery is its interaction with Valkyrie. Casting Special Delivery instantly resets Valkyrie's cooldown, enabling Corki to chain his mobility spells for enhanced maneuverability and engagement potential. Additionally, enemies who remain within the trail for its entire duration suffer significantly increased damage. This damage is also based on Corki's level, bonus Attack Damage, and Ability Power, totaling between 210 to 700 magic damage, plus a whopping 1400% of his bonus Attack Damage, and 168% of his Ability Power. In summary, Special Delivery is a powerful and versatile ability that provides Corki with unparalleled mobility, crowd control, and damage potential. It synergizes exceptionally well with his other abilities, particularly Valkyrie, allowing Corki to execute complex plays and dominate team fights when wielded effectively.

E

Gatling Gun Gatling Gun is Corki's E-spell, a sustained damage ability that costs 50 Mana and has a cooldown of 16 seconds. This ability has no cast time and affects a cone-shaped area with a 690-unit radius and a 35° angle in front of Corki. When activated, Corki unleashes a continuous spray of bullets from his Gatling Gun for a duration of 4 seconds. This barrage of bullets deals mixed damage, with equal parts physical and magic damage inflicted every 0.25 seconds to all enemies caught within the cone. The damage per tick scales with Corki's level and bonus Attack Damage, ranging from 7.5 to 20, plus 15% of his bonus Attack Damage. In addition to its damage-dealing capabilities, Gatling Gun also reduces the armor and magic resistance of enemies hit. This resistance reduction is applied with each tick of damage and lasts for 2 seconds, refreshing with subsequent ticks. The reduction per tick increases with Corki's level and ranges from 1 to 2.5, providing up to 8 stacks of resistance reduction over the ability's duration. Overall, Gatling Gun is a versatile ability in Corki's kit, offering sustained mixed damage and armor and magic resistance shred. Its cone-shaped area of effect and prolonged duration make it effective for waveclear, dueling, and team fights. Properly utilizing Gatling Gun in combination with Corki's other abilities can significantly enhance his damage output and utility in various situations throughout the game.

R

Missile Barrage Missile Barrage is Corki's R-spell, a versatile long-range ability that consumes 20 Mana plus one Ammo with a cooldown of 2 seconds. The ability has a cast time of 0.175 seconds and a recharge rate that decreases from 12 seconds to 10 seconds as the ability ranks up. Corki can store up to a maximum of 7 Missile Barrage charges, which are fully replenished upon respawning or picking up The Package from his passive, The Package. The standard missile has a target range of 1300 units and an effect radius of 150 units, traveling at a speed of 2000 units per second. Upon impact with the first enemy hit, the missile detonates, dealing magic damage to all enemies within its explosion radius. The damage is based on Corki's level, bonus Attack Damage, and Ability Power, ranging from 80 to 150, plus 25-75% of his bonus Attack Damage, and 12% of his Ability Power. Every third missile Corki launches is a Big One, which boasts increased range and explosion radius. The Big One has a target range of 1500 units, an effect radius of 300 units, and deals 100% increased damage compared to the standard missile. The magic damage from the Big One is also influenced by Corki's level, bonus Attack Damage, and Ability Power, scaling from 160 to 300, plus 50-150% of his bonus Attack Damage, and 24% of his Ability Power. In summary, Missile Barrage is a potent long-range poking and wave-clearing tool in Corki's arsenal. Its ability to store multiple charges allows Corki to maintain pressure on opponents and control objectives effectively. The alternating use of standard missiles and Big Ones provides Corki with versatile damage options, making him a threat from a distance and allowing him to contribute to fights even when he's not in close proximity to enemies. Properly managing and timing Missile Barrage charges is crucial for maximizing Corki's damage output and impact on the game.

Lane PhaseDuring the laning phase, focus on farming and poking your opponent with Phosphorus Bomb and auto attacks. Use Valkyrie defensively to escape ganks or aggressive engages. Coordinate with your jungler to set up kills, as Corki has limited crowd control.

Favorable Matchups

• Melee Assassin s (e.g., Zed, Yasuo)
• Immobile Mages (e.g., Lux, Vel'Koz)

Unfavorable Matchups

• High Mobility Assassin s (e.g., LeBlanc, Fizz)
• Long-range Poke Champions (e.g., Xerath, Ziggs)

Team FightingIn team fights, position yourself carefully to land Missile Barrage and Phosphorus Bomb on priority targets. Use your Valkyrie to reposition and kite back from threats. Corki excels in prolonged fights where he can make full use of his mixed damage.

Late GameDuring the late game, Corki's damage falls off compared to traditional marksmen. However, he can still be a threat with his poke and mixed damage. Focus on sieging objectives and providing consistent damage in team fights. Stay with your team and avoid getting caught out of position.

Conclusion Corki is a versatile Marksman that offers a unique blend of physical and magic damage, making him a strong pick in the mid lane. By mastering his skill shots and understanding his strengths and weaknesses, you can become a potent force on the Rift. Practice and adapt to different matchups and team compositions to maximize Corki's potential and carry your games to victory.