Sleight of Hand: Merlin Season 6 Conquest Mid Guide

The newest mage added to SMITE, Merlin is a triple-stance AoE and burst god with great mobility and range. True to his lore, he is best used in the backlines, shielded by his tougher allies but still influencing the battlefield from the behind the scenes. Because of this, his CC is small and risky, and fits into compositions that can lockdown opponents down for him.
Balanced, as all things should be.

Merlin

Eclipse

Radiate

Frostbolt

Vortex

Eclipse

Dragonfire

Dragonfire

Blizzard

Frostbolt

Flicker

Merlin was birthed in a new era of SMITE, but mage builds are as old as magic. As he is a mainly tick/DoT kind of spellslinger, the following options will help you maximize the damage you can deal while also controlling the battlefield and keeping yourself in the best condition possible.
To briefly talk about the core items listed, Book of Thoth is essential towards your power spike and early-to-mid game pressure. Chronos' Pendant is also needed, as Merlin has relatively high cooldowns for abilities that he would like to spam very much so, especially his Flicker and Elemental Mastery.


Spear of the Magus

Radiate

Dragonfire

Chronos' Pendant

Bancroft's Talon

Eclipse

Now it is time to take Merlin into the Middle Lane. The purpose of a MidLaner is to be the most influential in a fight. Either through massive damage output or insane CC setup, they are meant to be the one packing a punch. That is why the middle lane is the literal center of the map, meant for the centers of attention. Here is how to play in this area. Walls of text incoming.
Side note, when talking about the early stages of the game, starting is up to preference, but they all have varying levels of clear and it will most likely take both your Clear and CC ability to clear the minion waves up until at least either your second item or around level 9.

1. First, there are one of two starts to go. The more popular one is to help clear the Yellow Speed Buff Camp with the jungler. This provides a good amount of early gold and xp that, if the other midlane did not take advantage of, can put you at level 2 after about a wave and a half. You can also start straight in the midlane, clearing the wave as fast as possible before the enemy comes. The minion wave gives the most xp in the early game, so it can help get you online earlier.
2. Next, you would go to your red camp after clearing your wave. Ping your jungler to help you, as it is not wise to do so by yourself or you will have to back after. Securing your red buff is crucial, as it gives extra power by a flat and percentage amount. After your buff, go back to lane and clear wave.
3. At this point, the mid Harpies should still be up if not already done by the jungler. If done with wave, check the left one, because that is the side opposite of the opponent jungler. This is because the jungler will always look to either shut down the solo or mid, and they do this with the assistance of their speed buff, on the right side of the map. If it is there, clear quickly and get back to wave. If not, return to lane. Also, your jungler might lead you to his Harpy camp. This is again to XP and Gold share, helping you both and providing assistance if a fight does start. Return back to lane afterwards.
4. Now we are fully in the laning phase, only leaving when there is no wave and camps are up. Once you reach level 5, you should be looking towards poking your enemy and calling/going for ganks.
   • Calling your ganks involves using VGS and pinging your jungler to aggress on the enemy mid laner. Wait for the greenlight response from your jungler and start to either back off if they are by your tower, or push up if they are by their tower. No matter what, when preparing for a gank, switch stances as to keep the enemy guessing to what you will do, not paying attention to their surroundings. I suggest Arcane stance for the Vortex pull. This results in setup for your jungler for their whole kit combo, and should result in either a relic burned by the enemy, or a kill. However, the enemey jungler could be doing the same on you, so a 2v2 in midlane can happen, and the jungle will most definitely look to shut you down.
   • Additionally, you can also gank at this point. Usually, you should be looking to gank the duo lane. Do this by calling VGS to gank the duo lane, and ask for help from the jungler to come with you. Your best CC combo is Blizzard> Flicker> Elemental Mastery> Vortex. From there, have the duo lane push up for a chain CC and a kill on the ADC or support. Once you have left the midlane however, it will become obvious to the enemy midlane and jungler that you are ganking the duo lane, so they will look to gank on you. Be prepared for a team fight in the duo lane. Once you do land a CC and some damage, rotate onto your own support in case this happens.

1. When talking about ganks, not only should you keep pressure on the duo lane, but start looking towards the solo lane too. The solo laners have been farming all game, and it will be clear who has been trouble. If your solo laner is ahead in level and gold, then the gank should be looking for a tower or Pyromancer kill. Don't forget to ping for both the solo laner and the jungler for assistance before committing. If the solo laner already has killed a tower, then go for Pyromancer and immediately back. The movement speed buff it gives when exiting the base can help towards a second rotation towards Gold Fury or a mid tower.
2. When looking for Gold Fury, first ensure you have vision on it. This can be done through the oracle camp or some wards. Then, start to look for a gank on duo. Pressure onto either their purple or red buffs. These are crucial for you because your CC works the best in tight spaces that are the same amount of space as your AoEs. Focus the mid and ADC, as they are the damage dealers that can be able to actually down the Gold Fury if the fight breaks out early. The jungler will try to backline, which means you must stay behind your support, but not too stranded by yourself so you can get picked easily. After a kill or two, the enemies will back off as they will not have enough damage or steal potential to contest.
3. Most importantly, ward up. The most beneficial places to ward are
   • The mid lane in front of the first tower. This covers three pathways: the mid lane, the left jungle, and the right jungle entrances. Through the map movement of the enemies, you can see if they are going for a buff or a gank.
   • The Red Buffs of both you and your enemy. Your red buff means you are watching your backline. The enemy red buff could signify a gank to mid if you see the jungler and support going down from the red towards the mid camps.
   • Near the Pyromancer. This signifies if the solo lane has left lane to rotate into mid, which does happen and usually means a team fight to secure a tower, and also where the jungler is, as that is their side of the jungle mainly. It can also notify the solo laner if he is about to get ganked or his blue buff taken.
   Don't forget to ping VFF (Enemy missing) and VII (Enemy incoming) if you do spot something on the map.

1. This point in the game is where the Fire Giant becomes the main focus. MAke sure there are at least two wards by it: One sentry on the actual pit so the enemy doesn't have vision, and one by the blue or speed camp, to see if people are incoming or grouped up. For a teamfight to start, wait for the initiation by your support. This will usually be a Hard CC like a stun. From this, use your ult-stun combo over a wall to catch two people, meaning your solo laner can go in and frontline most of the damage. Save your dash and relics to be able to get out. Most likely, almost, if not all, ults and relics will be on cooldown by the end of the fight. If you guys did win the fight, and there are still three or four of you, go for Fire Giant. If not, rush towards either mid or solo lane for a Tier 2 tower. This opens up a phoenix for the next push. After the phoenix, you can either end the game or pressure even more for complete obliteration.
2. When killing phoenixes, look for more than just a phoenix. If you have the time, go for two. The ones on the side lanes are better to get because the fire minions are often overlooked until too late. The mid phoenix should be killed after a good teamfight, so you can apply greater pressure and get some damage on the Titan. If looking for the duo lane phoenix, try to fight by their back harpy camps, as that tis the best place for your bomb stuns, and provides a lot of cover by the red buff and escapes into Gold Fury pit or middle lane. Lastly, ward up by their left and right phoenixes, in those little crevices that lead into their jungle. If pushed back to your phoenixes, ward in your own spaces.

Merlin is one of the funnest god SMITE has released in the last few. He does require some training to getting used to, as most of his mastery comes from little tricks here and there. I hope you find as much fun playing him as I did making this guide for you.
This has been IceColdPappsi, and this drink tastes magical.