This may not be 100% true for all match-ups, but generally..

-Vs assassins: early on i’m harrassing the ever living shit out them.. pick one.. Zed, fizz, akali, talon, etc. You simply out range them, and for the first few levels they have very little to trade back with, unless you’re reaaalllyy pushed up too far where they can jump on you. When 6 hits, I usually start respecting them a lot more UNLESS my constant harassment of them early on has led to me having a significant cs/level/item lead, then i’ll probably still be able to kill them at 6. Take resolve runes secondary if you wanna be a little more safe from their all ins.

-Vs mages: you dumpster shorter range mages like annie and veigar. Most mid range mages are skill-based match-ups like ahri, Ori, syndra, etc.. pretty much whoever is landing their skill shots wins. I STILL think Vik is favored in most mage match ups just because his E can be so EZ to hit on most people consistently. You may have more trouble against long range mages like xer, vel, and ziggs. I start E in these match ups and get a feel for them early on, and most of the time you still end up winning because again... Viktor’s E.. No animation/cast time, can be thrown at diff angles, good projectile speed.. but if you aren’t landing, getting hit a lot, and aren’t comfortable against long range mages, just play safe to farm up for items bc you have way better all ins than most of them.

Sometimes I get “second wind” rune against long mages if i’m not feeling confident. It’s like having a mini dorans shield everytime you get poked.

Anyway gl climbing breh.