How Good is Nidalee in Solo Queue?

Preface

Originally supposed to be a post on both Nidalee and Alistar, I procrastinated a bit and Riot smacked Alistar top with the nerfbat.

Thus, this post will be dedicated to Nidalee, specifically top lane Nidalee. As anybody who's following the professional scene knows, Nidalee has been a hotly contested pick along with the likes of Dr. Mundo (maybe this post should have been about Mundo too...if there's enough interest it could happen.)

"On paper, she's an extremely strong and safe pick."

What Makes Nidalee Strong?

I think this is best served by a bulleted list; Nidalee has the following:

• Early level multiple use gap closer/escape method;
• Strong early game sustain;
• Strong early game poke/all-in potential; 
• Solid 1v2 laning potential; and
• High base damage.

This makes her a great pick/counterpick against the majority of top laners. So what's up with her mediocre 49% solo queue win rate? On paper she's very strong and very safe...

What Makes Nidalee Difficult?

Again, let's go with a bulleted list:

• Necessary Skills:
1. Heal targeting (smart cast/self-cast hotkeying)(support skill);
2. Ranged auto-attacking (ADC skill);
3. Melee bruiser (top skill);
4. Long range skill spell is core;
5. Unique leap skill; and
6. All-in is burst and not sustained damage, thus requiring knowledge of damage potential.

Clearly she needs a lot to master.

How Hard is Nidalee?

This time, we could go with a table, but since you're probably expecting a bulleted list instead, so here's bulleted list #3:

• Bronze: 45.75% win rate
• Silver: 48.14% win rate
• Gold: 50.41% win rate
• Platinum: 50.66% win rate
• Diamond: 52.06% win rate
• Challenger: 55.34% win rate

I think I see a pattern here, do you?

Final Conclusions

Nidalee is clearly a VERY high skill cap champion that's also VERY rewarding at the highest levels of play. While some might say she's "not good in teamfights" or  "not good in [insert badness here]", she's clearly got enough utility and lane pressure to do well in solo queue.

The main question however, is do YOU (or think your teammates) possess all the skills necessary to play her to a level where you can consistently win?

For over 90% of the population, the answer is probably no...BUT if you have the dedication to master Nidalee (before she gets nerfed), then climbing the ladder to a prestigious position is definitely possible.

Even if you don't win a lot with Nidalee, you'll learn a lot of transferable skills to other champions. However, if winning is your sole goal in solo queue, there are better choices. For many champions, mastering just one aspect of Nidalee's many required skills can land you into a higher tier.

Thoughts? Comment below!