Akali vs Riven MID Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Akali

VS

Mid

Riven

Akali vs Riven

Updated Jun 4, 2026

Overview

Use Akali's high early agency and mobility to pressure Riven and deny her cooldown-based trades.
Prioritize lane priority and snowballing by punishing Riven's cooldowns to prevent her from gaining lethal all-in windows.

Trading pattern

Initiate trades with (Q) poke into passive autos, then commit with (W) for safety and (E) to follow up when Riven is exposed.
Punish immediately after Riven uses (Q) and (E) since her mobility and shield are down.
Avoid trading when (W) is down to prevent getting locked down by Riven's stun and burst.

Danger windows

Avoid extended trades when Riven has all cooldowns available, including (Q), (W), (E), and (R).
Be cautious when your (W) is down, as you lose your safest trading and escape tool against Riven's crowd control.
Respect (W) stun and third (Q) knockup combo to avoid getting locked down in trades or all-ins.

Early game

Use (Q) poke at levels 1-2 to chip Riven and avoid engaging without (W) ready.
At level 3, unlock the (Q)-(W)-(E) combo and trade aggressively when Riven's mobility or stun are down.
Avoid extended trades before level 3 to prevent getting punished by Riven's burst and crowd control.

Power spikes

At level 3, use the (Q)-(W)-(E) combo to trade safely and aggressively while Riven lacks cooldowns.
Respect Riven's level 6 (R) execute window by holding (W) and (E) for defense or calculated all-ins.
After completing your first AP assassin item, increase wave and trade pressure to force Riven to respect your burst.

Win conditions

Use (W) to create safe windows for extended trades and all-ins, denying Riven cooldown resets.
Punish Riven's cooldowns by engaging after she commits mobility and stun, snowballing lane control and enabling side-lane pressure.
Track (R) availability to secure picks or escape dangerous situations, leveraging burst and mobility to outplay Riven's combo.