Solo Queue FOTM Tier List - May - Patch 5.8

Hi everyone! Since I was a bit late on the last few Flavor of the Month tier lists, I figured I'd release a quick update on the new solo queue meta as there's been a ton of changes, largely in the way of top laners and junglers.

SEASON 5 - May - PATCH 5.8 FOTM TIER LIST

"THE POPULAR KIDS"

Preface Chatter

Hi everyone! Since I was a bit late on the last few Flavor of the Month tier lists, I figured I'd release a quick update on the new solo queue meta as there's been a ton of changes, largely in the way of top laners and junglers.

I'll adjust this list in a few weeks as the community digests the changes. I'm expecting a slight shift in the AD carries and possibly a rise in top lane Mundo and mid lane Ryze.

Highlights include the return of Shyvana top with smite, along with an unexpected rise in Urgot's popularity in solo queue with recent LCS play. Check out the full listing below!

The purpose of the "Flavor of the Month" ("FOTM") list is to show which champions are popular in today's metagame, so you can learn how to beat them!

If you're looking for the regular solo queue tier list, be sure to check it out via this link!

For a list of champions with the highest *potential* in the game without regard to difficulty or team synergies, check out the list of strongest potential champions in each position!

Patch 5.8  Summary

Buffs: Ryze, Bard, Blitzcrank, Dr. Mundo, Kha'Zix, Mordekaiser, Pantheon (Clarity Buff);
Nerfs: Ahri, Caitlyn, Graves, Jinx, Nunu, Sion;
Tweaks: Shen, Yasuo;

Toolkit and Options

Click to toggle champion movement history

Search for a champion:

Updates:

• 4/29: Volibear jungle moved up, Pantheon jungle moved down

The Tier List

God Tier [Pee Your Pants - BAN]:
Mid-Lane Gods: Leblanc, Zed, Katarina
Jungle Gods: Sejuani, Hecarim, Gragas, Nidalee, Rek'Sai
AD Gods: Graves, Kalista, Jinx
Top Lane Gods: Hecarim, Irelia, Vladimir, Riven, Sion,
Support Gods: Morgana, Janna

God Tier Rising: Gragas (Jungle), Kalista (ADC), Morgana (Support), Rek'Sai (Jungle), Vladimir (Top),
God Tier Falling: Sion (Top)

Tier 1 [Expected Powerhouses]:
Mid-Lane: Cho'Gath, Xerath, Ahri, Annie, Lissandra, Diana, Nidalee (AP), Cassiopeia, Orianna, Vladimir, Lux,
Jungle: Vi, Nautilus, Amumu, Nunu, Lee Sin, Jarvan IV, Fizz, Maokai, Zac, Volibear, Pantheon, Fiddlesticks, Shaco, Rengar, Xin Zhao, Kha'Zix,
AD Carry: Vayne, Sivir, Lucian, Caitlyn, Corki
Top Lane: Shyvana, Lissandra, Fizz, Rumble, Nasus, Cho'gath, Kennen, Gnar, Darius, Pantheon, Jax, Rengar, Lee Sin, Jarvan IV, Fiora, Jayce
Support: Thresh, Annie, Nautilus, Blitzcrank, Leona,

Tier 1 Rising: Amumu (Jungle), Annie (Support), Jarvan IV (Jungle), Lee Sin (Jungle), Lucian (ADC), Nunu (Jungle), Shyvana (Top), Vayne (ADC), Volibear (Jungle)
Tier 1 Falling: Pantheon (Jungle)

Tier 2 [Crowd Favorites]:
Mid-Lane: Viktor, Lulu (AP), Talon, Yasuo, Ziggs, Jayce, Twisted Fate, Urgot, 
Jungle: Malphite, Master Yi, Warwick, Wukong, Sion, Evelynn, Elise, Nocturne, Udyr
AD Carry: Tristana, Ezreal, Draven, Quinn, Twitch,
Top Lane: Rek'Sai, Yasuo, Tryndamere, Maokai, Wukong, Nidalee, Renekton, Malphite, Trundle, Lulu, Gragas, Olaf, Xin Zhao, Warwick, Swain, Urgot, Dr. Mundo, Zed
Support: Braum, Sona, Nami, Lulu, Karma, Alistar

Tier 2 Rising:
Tier 2 Falling: Quinn (ADC), Tristana (ADC), Viktor (Mid)

Tier 3 [Playable]:
Mid-Lane: Fizz, Akali, Syndra, Azir, Pantheon, Kayle, Morgana, Zilean, Mordekaiser, Swain, Brand, Vel'Koz, Malzahar, Anivia, Ryze, Galio, Kassadin, Zyra, Karma, Veigar, Heimerdinger, Karthus, Gragas, Kha'Zix, Tristana, Kennen
Jungle: Rammus, Skarner, Olaf, Trundle, Kayle, Jax, Dr. Mundo, Nasus, Shyvana, Diana, Tryndamere, Aatrox, Cho'Gath, Shen, Darius
AD Carry: Ashe, Kog'Maw, Miss Fortune, Varus, Urgot
Top Lane: Kayle, Ryze, Singed, Akali, Kassadin, Teemo, Shen, Yorick, Garen, Quinn, Aatrox, Elise, Volibear, Udyr, Kha'Zix, Karma, Poppy, Vi, Master Yi, Viktor, Gangplank, Zac, Mordekaiser, Talon, Azir
Support: Zyra, Kennen, Soraka, Taric, Fiddlesticks, Vel'Koz, Zilean, Nunu, Gragas

Tier 3 Rising:
Tier 3 Falling: 

Tier 4 [Not Amused]:
Mid-Lane: Elise, Wukong, Malphite, Teemo, Gangplank, Riven, Fiora, Fiddlesticks, Kog'maw, Ezreal (AP), Sona, Soraka, Janna
Jungle: Leona, Zed, Yasuo, Fiora, Riven, Poppy, Gangplank, Malzahar, Blitzcrank, Alistar
AD Carry: Twisted Fate, Kennen
Top Lane: Heimerdinger, Alistar, Vayne, Galio, Nunu, Soraka
Support: Teemo, Volibear, Lux, Kayle, Maokai, Anivia, Veigar, Gangplank, Malphite, Nidalee, Orianna, Poppy, Galio, Shen, Bard, Yorick, Elise, Lissandra, Ashe, Leblanc, Caitlyn

Tier 4 Rising:
Tier 4 Falling: 

Instructions and Caveats:

• This tier list details which champions are most popular in today's current metagame, for better or for worse. Selecting a high popularity champion and doing mediocre is always favorable to selecting a low tier champion and doing mediocre for team morale.

Click Here for a description of the tiers

God Tier: These champions are common bans and are likely perceived as being "overall extremely strong/broken". They have very obvious and/or flashy skills that make them appear stronger than other champions. You'll likely see these champions picked early on if they're not banned.

Tier 1: These champions are the ones you'll see in the majority of your games and are good to familiarize yourself with as you'l be battling against them a lot.

Tier 2: These champions are relatively strong and have historically been picked more often than other champions. They may have been nerfed at one point at another, but are still perceived as strong in their current states.

Tier 3: These champions aren't quite as popular as the rest of the champions in the first 3 tiers, but picking them one at a time isn't going to cause much of a concern on your team. However, if you have a team of 5 of them your teammates are likely to feel a bit uneasy about your chances of winning in solo queue.

Tier 4: Selecting these champions will likely cause a rift between you and your teammates, who will proceed to flame you if you fail your lane. Exercise caution when selecting these champions, as team morale often plays a big part in victory or defeat.

Champion Explanations

• Cho'Gath [Tier 1 Mid] - At the moment, Cho'Gath is extremely popular as both a top laner and a mid laner. However, his mid-lane is currently the major cause of his spike in ban and popularity. The reason for this is that as the only remaining mid laner with a reliable silence, Cho is an absolute beast against many popular burst casters, especially with his naturally high defenses.
• Fizz [Tier 3 Mid] - With the changes to Fizz shifting him back from an on-hit Fizz to a more burst type caster, Fizz mid is starting to see minor upticks in popularity. However, it's not back to mainstream yet.
• Gragas [Jungle God] - With nerfs and constant bans on Sejuani, players are looking to new junglers with similar skillsets to replace and/or defeat her. Gragas fits the bill nicely and is largely considered by most professionals to be Sejuani's rough second in the jungle scene when played at a high level.
• Irelia [Top God] - Interestingly enough, Irelia draws a lot of bans, but isn't all that popular when she's open to play. It seems that people acknowledge her strength to carry, but simply don't play her as she's a somewhat boring champion for some.
• Janna [Support God] - Similar to Irelia, she draws plenty of bans simply because she counters a lot of people's favorites champions.
• Jarvan IV [Tier 1 Jungle] - With the new Cinderhulk meta, Jarvan players who prefered aggressive glass cannon J4 have slowly faded out, leaving the classical tanky support tank Jarvan IV players picking up where they left off.
• Kalista [AD God] - As a champion with plenty of sustained damage, she's become popular for kiting and shutting down the tanks in the current meta, especially as she is very effective against enemy slows with her passive.
• Kennen [Tier 3 Support] - Kennen support has risen in popularity due to professional play. While solo queue players tend to still be a bit skeptical of how effective it is, he's starting to gain acceptance in the position.
• Lee Sin [Tier 1 Jungle] - Tanky Lee Sin is starting to make a resurgence as players adapt to the Cinderhulk meta.
• Lucian [Tier 1 ADC] - As the field was completely dominated by Jinx and Graves in Patch 5.7, old favorites like Lucian have started popping up as people tired of playing just two champions.
• Lulu [Tier 2 Mid] - Classically more of a top bully role, with the introduction of smite top laners, Lulu has found her place back in mid lane with her strong poke, shields, and all around utility.
• Nautilus [Tier 1 Jungle] - Nautilus has become somewhat of a highly respected pick in solo queue at the moment ever since his buffs and subsequent introduction to Cinderhulk. 
• Nunu [Tier 1 Jungle] - With an absurd winrate, people couldn't ignore Nunu for long. He scales insanely well with Cinderhulk's bonus HP, and although his kit does require game knowledge to make a large impact, he's largely unkillable and uncatchable. Apparently that impacts games in a positive way. 
• Quinn [Tier 2 ADC] - After the initial interest in her faded away after her buffs and people started realizing "blind" means you can't hit her with autos, she's dropped back to where she was before the changes.
• Shyvana [Tier 1 Top] - With the smite teleport meta in full swing, Shyvana has become extremely popular as a top laner, especially in high Elos. She does also require a large amount of game knowledge to use effectively though, as solo invades tend to be risky in solo queue.
• Urgot [Tier 2 Mid Lane] - With his new scaling shield and strong popularity, Urgot's come back into mid lane as an accepted and somewhat feared bully.
• Viktor [Tier 2 Mid] - After the initial flavor of the month hype died down, it seems the new Viktor mains were left holding the bag as they realized he's pretty average after all. All aboard the Urgot train!

Disclaimer:

• The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for hero selection.

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!