Mel vs Aphelios

Mel

Not enough games

Aphelios

Analyze a draft with Mel

Sustained DPSHeavy AD damageHigh burstHeavy poke

Build vs Aphelios

The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup

Starting items

—

x2—

Core build

1—

2—

3—

Standard

4Magic pen

5—

Summoner spells

80%

20%

Anti CC

4vs CC

Other options

—

Sorcery

Arcane Comet

Manaflow Band

Transcendence

Scorch

Precision

Presence of Mind

Coup de Grace

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Aphelios's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

The Hitman and the Seer (P)

Aphelios wields 5 Lunari Weapons made by his sister Alune. He has access to two at a time: one main-hand and one off-hand. Each weapon has a unique Basic Attack and Ability. Attacks and abilities consume a weapon's ammo. When out of ammo, Aphelios discards the weapon and Alune summons the next of the 5.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

Level	Q	W	E	R
3	9s	0.8s	0s	–
6	9s	0.8s	0s	2m
9	9s	0.8s	0s	2m
11	9s	0.8s	0s	1m50
16	9s	0.8s	0s	1m40
18	9s	0.8s	0s	1m40

Playing as Mel

Tips to maximize your impact

Poke from range with your volley
Stay back and poke with Radiant Volley (Q): its projectiles explode in an area up to 950 range, and each hit applies Overwhelm.
An auto after each spell
Land an auto after each spell: Searing Brilliance (passive) adds three projectiles to it per spell cast, and enough Overwhelm executes the target.
Reflect their projectiles
Save Rebuttal (W) for a dangerous projectile: the barrier sends it back to its caster, and you gain a shield and move speed.
Land your snare dead center
Hit your target head-on with Solar Snare (E): only the core of the orb roots, the aura around it just slows and damages.
Finish from range with your R
Cast Golden Eclipse (R) to finish from range: it hits every enemy marked by Overwhelm, wherever they are, harder with each stack.

Playing against Aphelios

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

Watch out for his cannon
Back off when he holds Gravitum and has slowed you: Weapon Abilities (Q) with the cannon roots every enemy that weapon has slowed.
Punish his lack of mobility
If you can engage, go for him when his support drifts away: his kit has no dash, and only Severum makes him run faster.
Spread out from your allies
Spread out from your allies when he has Moonlight Vigil (R): the blast explodes on the first champion hit, damages those nearby, then he attacks each of them.
Get away from his sentry
When he deploys the Crescendum sentry with Weapon Abilities (Q), leave its area: it attacks you with his off-hand weapon.

Other Mel matchups

Patch 16.21.1