League of Legends has entered its ninth season and is still as popular as ever. With the season officially underway, everyone is looking to climb the ladder and advance their rank. While everyone wants to carry every game, it can be hard to follow the meta and know which champions are going to offer you the best chance to dominate. While every champion can be played to perfection, there are definitely some top tier picks that will give you an edge.
The meta has been shifting drastically lately, and Riot wasn’t able to iron out all of the changes during the preseason. From removing the monstrosity that was Akali to bringing back crit ADC’s, there are some massive changes in patch 9.4 that have definitely altered the meta. The good news is that it is a great time to be playing if you want the ability to carry the game and put the team on your back. There is a wide variety of champions who are currently very strong no matter what your preferred role. Whether you’re looking to drag yourself out of the pits of Iron or maintain your high level, these are the strongest champions in each role.
Top Lane
Top Lane has always had to ride the line between tanks and carries and thankfully in 9.4, both are viable. At the top of the tier list are Riven, Nasus, Yorick, Vladimir, Darius, Sion, and Garen. For those that prefer to play on a carry, Riven is the obvious choice.
For quite some time Riven has stood out for players that want to make serious outplays and really show what they can do. This patch is an excellent opportunity, as Riven is in a really good place. For tankier options, Nasus is still extremely strong. He can build very healthy while keeping a lot of damage through his stacks. Sion is the ultimate choice for a tank. His health can get to the point of him being almost unkillable and he still provides plenty of utility for the team. Top Laners should be happy with this patch because there are plenty of options available that suit every play style.
Jungle
With Junglers seeing nerfs to the amount of experience gained from every monster camp, they are under increased pressure to play what is strong. Fortunately, even though there were nerfs to jungle overall, there are still champions that can be incredibly strong in the role.
The top of the tier list are Karthus, Kha’Zix , Lee Sin, Kayn, Shyvana, Xin Zhao, and Nunu. While champions like Lee Sin have been strong for quite some time, Nunu and Karthus really stand out at the time. Karthus allows for a more carry type of Jungler who is capable of dealing a lot of damage. His ultimate makes sure that no matter what, he will have an impact across the map.
For a Jungler, a global ultimate is very valuable, and Karthus can easily use his to secure kills. The rework of Nunu has put him in an incredibly good spot, especially in the jungle. He can secure objectives, provide tons of utility, has great teamfight abilities, and is a tank. Nunu has become the Jungler’s dream.
Mid Lane
The monster of the Mid Lane, Akali, was recently nerfed to a point where she’s almost unplayable. Despite this, there are still plenty of options for Mid Laners who want to carry the game and show they can be the next Faker. Yasuo, Zed, Fizz, and Kassadin are all at the top of the tier list. Though they are incredibly strong, new players should be hesitant to play them. Right now the mid lane is rewarding high skill level Champions but they can also be useless if not used correctly. It has become a meme that a Yasuo on your team will do nothing but feed while a Yasuo on the other team will be a complete god. All of the best Mid Laners right now fall into the category of being hard to master, but if you have the time and dedication to practice, the payoff can be very high.
Bottom Lane
Bottom Lane has been a roller coaster during the past season and preseason. It looks like change is finally coming, as Riot has decided to buff up crit items once again. This will bring the meta back towards the traditional ADC. Mages enjoyed their time in the Bottom Lane, but it’s time to get things back to a state where everything is a little bit normal.
Right now the strongest champions in the Bottom Lane are Lucian, Ezreal, Draven, Sivir, and Caitlyn. Ezreal is still not what you would think of as a traditional ADC, running kleptomancy and building Manamune. It’s indicative of just how much the Bottom Lane is returning to form Caitlyn as being strong again; she is the definition of a crit ADC. It will be interesting to see how long Riot wants the bottom lane to stay more traditional, it may not be long before we see Heimerdinger going bottom lane again.
Support
Support has always been the least coveted role in League of Legends, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t fill an important position. While oftentimes support is occupied by an autofilled player, it is still definitely possible to carry games in solo queue playing support, especially with the introduction of Pyke.
Pyke is a unique support Champion in that he offers the ability to deal significant amounts of damage and take over as a killing machine. He currently is extremely strong and is a great option for those trying to climb the ladder. Traditional supports are also still viable picks, with the top ones being Thresh, Morgana, Nami, and Sona. These supports thrive on the utility they add to the team, and the pain of being forever trapped by Morgana will tilt the enemy off the face of the earth.
