Laning Phase and Spacing
Ezreal thrives in Mayhem ARAM because the mode's reduced cooldowns and increased mana regeneration turn him into a constant poke machine. You do not need to conserve mana; you need to conserve your positioning. Stay on the fringes of the fight. The bridge is narrow, which actually works in your favor. Use the side edges to curve your Mystic Shots around minions. If you stand directly behind your melee allies, you eat random crowd control. Stand at an angle where you can land Qs without stepping into the direct line of fire.
Your early game goal is simple: chip the enemy frontline down to half health before they reach your tower. Do not waste time trying to hit the enemy backline with W unless they step forward. Focus Q on the nearest target. Every successful Mystic Shot lowers your other cooldowns, so hitting one Q often means you can fire a second or third much faster. This rhythm is critical. If you miss your Q, you lose pressure instantly. Do not fire blindly into the wave if the enemy has a hard engage champion like Malphite or Leona waiting for you to overextend.
Engage and Snowball Timing
Mark/Dash (Snowball) is your primary engage tool, but do not use it like a tank. You are not the initiator. Use Snowball to check bushes or to follow up on a teammate's crowd control. If your tank lands a stun, throw Snowball immediately. Wait for the enemy to burn their key cooldowns, then dash in, land an auto-attack and Mystic Shot, and Arcane Shift out immediately. This "smack and run" pattern is your only real way to contribute to an all-in without dying.
Never use Arcane Shift to engage. Save E strictly for disengage or repositioning. If you E forward to chase a kill, you will die to the enemy support's peel 90% of the time. The only exception is when the enemy team is retreating with zero cooldowns and you have Flash up. Even then, it is risky. In Mayhem, death timers are long enough that one bad E can lose you the tower.
Counter-Engage and Escape
When the enemy engages on your team, your job is to kite backward. Do not turn and run instantly if your team is fighting. Fire Trueshot Barrage (R) down the lane as the enemy commits. The narrow bridge makes it nearly impossible for them to dodge a full-width ultimate if they are charging forward. This is your best counter-engage tool. A point-blank R does massive damage and applies on-hit effects, which can turn a dive into a double kill for you.
If an assassin or diver gets on top of you, use E the instant you see the engage animation start. Do not wait for the damage to hit. If you react to the visual cue of a Malphite R or Zed R, you can often blink out of the follow-up damage. Once you land, fire a point-blank Q and W to stack your passive and get your E cooldown rolling again. If you are low health, keep running. Do not stop to auto-attack unless you are safe behind your tower.
Target Priority
Your primary targets are whoever is closest. Ezreal is not an assassin who can reliably delete a backline ADC through a frontline. Your Q has a low cooldown, but it is a skillshot. If you try to fish for their backline, you will likely hit minions or tanks. Instead, shred the frontline. Your Mystic Shot applies on-hit effects, so items like Blade of the Ruined King or Muramana burn down tanks quickly.
Switch targets only when the enemy backline mispositions. If their mage steps up to poke, tag them with W and an auto-attack for the attack speed buff. If an enemy is low and recalling under their tower, use R to snipe them. Do not hold your ultimate for a "perfect" five-man shot. A single kill is worth more than a theoretical big play. Fire R whenever you see a clump of enemies or a low-health target recalling.
Augment Trigger Windows
Mayhem augments can drastically change your playstyle. If you get an augment that adds damage to your abilities or reduces cooldowns further, play aggressive. Poke constantly. If you get defensive augments like shields or healing, you can afford to take slightly riskier trades. However, do not get cocky. A shield does not save you from a chain stun.
Watch for augments that trigger on ability hits. Since you are constantly landing Mystic Shots, you proc these effects faster than almost anyone else. If you have an augment that grants move speed or damage on hit, weave in auto-attacks after every Q. This maximizes your passive attack speed steroid. Your passive, Rising Spell Force, is easy to forget, but it gives you significant attack speed. Keep the stacks rolling by alternating abilities and autos.
Push and Pull Rhythm
Control the wave by targeting minions only when you want to push. If the enemy is dead or recalling, shove the wave hard. Use Q and R to clear the wave if you need to reset. If you are sieging their tower, poke the defenders. Do not hit the tower directly until the enemies are gone. Your damage to structures is mediocre compared to your poke damage.
If your team is losing, do not try to force a fight at your tower. Let the enemy push. Use Q to thin the wave before it reaches your tower. This prevents a dive. If the enemy dives you under tower, use R to hit as many of them as possible while they are committed. The tower aggro plus your damage often results in a turnaround.
Dive Timing
Diving as Ezreal is dangerous but possible. Only dive if the enemy is very low and you have E available. Throw Snowball to close the gap, auto-attack, then Q. If they flash, you can E to follow, but be extremely careful. If you E under the tower and fail to kill, you will likely die to tower shots.
The better dive strategy is to let your tank go in first. You stay outside, poke them down, and then E in only to secure the kill with a Q or auto. Once the kill is secured, E out of tower range immediately. Do not chase deeper. In Mayhem, the tower damage ramps up fast, and you are too squishy to tank more than two shots.
Playing from Behind
If your team falls behind, your role shifts to wave clear and long-range poke. Do not try to make hero plays. Stay behind your tower. Use Q to last-hit minions and chip enemies. Use R to clear big waves or stop a siege. Your goal is to stall the game until your team catches up in gold.
Look for enemies who overextend for kills. A greedy enemy who dives too deep is an easy target for a point-blank R and Q combo. If you catch someone out, your team can collapse. Do not face-check bushes. Use Snowball or Q to check for enemies waiting to ambush. Survival is your priority. If you die, your team loses its only wave clear, and the game ends.
