Which Champions are Strongest When Mastered? - July 2015

As per popular demand, we're back with another update to the "Strongest Champions When Mastered" series. Again, this series isn't meant to be a frequently updated list as it should rely on the champion skillset rather than purely the nerfs and buffs Riot decides on.

However, sometimes some buffs simply place certain champions over the top and lead to them becoming one of the strongest, despite seeming like a somewhat short lived cheese play. As a result, this update IS including AP Ezreal mid with smite, but may be updated if Riot decides it doesn't follow good gameplay guidelines.

Season 5 - Patch 5.13 Champion Gallery

"Strongest Champions When Mastered "

Introduction

As per popular demand, we're back with another update to the "Strongest Champions When Mastered" series. Again, this series isn't meant to be a frequently updated list as it should rely on the champion skillset rather than purely the nerfs and buffs Riot decides on.

However, sometimes some buffs simply place certain champions over the top and lead to them becoming one of the strongest, despite seeming like a somewhat short lived cheese play. As a result, this update IS including AP Ezreal mid with smite, but may be updated if Riot decides it doesn't follow good gameplay guidelines.

Updates

• Mid lane - Anivia, Katarina, Leblanc replaced by Ezreal, Talon, Azir
• Top lane - Fizz, Lissandra, Hecarim replaced by Rengar, Ryze, Gnar
• Jungle - Fiddlesticks, Sejuani replaced by Diana, Kayle
• Support - Bard and Tahm Kench added

Purpose

Winning in solo queue is a complex affair. There are so many variables involved outside of player control such as lag, that consistency plays a massive part in climbing the ranks. Some champions excel in outplaying other champions, while others rely on brute force or special skills to win.

However, in an ideal situation with teammates that select champions that reasonably synergize with you, which champions offer the most bang for their buck when mastered?

What Makes a Champion "Strong"? 

Damage based champions rely mostly on sheer damage, usually via skillshots to overpower their enemies;

Utility based champions do something unique and game-changing, creating situations that are extremely beneficial to their own team or create detrimental effects for the enemy team that can't be ignored.

Outplay based champions make the enemy miss skills that would otherwise definitely hit, mitigating large amounts of potential damage.

Although some champions may overlap, the criteria above is used and the following criteria that we use for solo queue are omitted: 

1. Ease of play; 
2. Synergy with popular champions; and
3. Margin of error.

Strongest Mid Laners

Ezreal (AP) [Damage/Outplay] - New!: Replacing Anivia this patch around is Ezreal, specifically Ezreal with smite. Despite changes that disallow Luden procs on his Q, he still packs a huge punch and gains the ability to waveclear via the Runeglaive proc.  Similar to how he is as an AD carry, an Ezreal who can hit every skillshot suddenly becomes an insanely powerful champion with nearly limitless potential. His ability to dodge powerful skillshots via his E on a short cooldown also make him very good at staying alive.

Talon [Damage] New! - I'm likely going to get a lot of flack for this one, but I honestly believe that Talon in his current state IS one of the strongest champions mid lane once he's mastered. At a nearly instantaneous burst rate, a good Talon can double flash initiate, resulting in instantaneous annihilation of a single target and deal almost equivalent damage to every target around him. This leaves very little room for outplaying, and can easily turn the tide of any game.

Azir [Damage/Utility] New! - This one I've already received criticism for not already having him on the list, the emperor of Shurima himself. With his powerful spells and insanely difficult positioning techniques, he packs a surprisingly sound amount of both burst and sustained damage. His ability to block essentially every spell that Janna's Tornado can block also gives him huge room for outplay (albeit at a higher cooldown).

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Removed Champions

Anivia [Damage/Utility]: Still a decent pick, it just seems that the speed of her projectile and the comparison to other champions leaves her feeling a little less amazing than others. She's strong, but doesn't provide as much at the highest levels.

Katarina [Damage/Outplay]: After repeated nerfs to Katarina, her snowball potential continues to decrease. She's still one of the fastest pentakillers in the game bar none, but her opening choices have been limited by her reduced defenses.

Leblanc [Damage/Utility/Outplay]: As one of the most beloved mid laners on the rift as of yet, I may be pre-emptive in taking her off the roster. Many of you will likely demand that she replace Talon on the list, but the fact of the matter is that with her W as her primary source of damage, the ability to outplay it is actually pretty high as long as you know what to watch out for, thus negating her damage.

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Champions Returning For Another Round

Ahri [Damage/Utility/Outplay]: Ahri is simply insane, renown for her ability to dodge and outplay with her ultimate. This combined with the damage potential and CC from her kit makes her very strong at the moment, and although she dipped in power for a while, she quickly rose back up before this list updated.

Zed [Damage/Outplay]: Staying on the list for a fourth straight term is Zed. Despite feeling his age lately after the youngsters started picking up Luden's Echos, he remains a very strong candidate in terms of sheer talent. In terms of team utility, Zed essentially has none. He is a pure damage and outplaying machine, and efficient management of poke, clones, and all-in timing is crucial to pull off that sweet ultimate + nuke + fade away back into the shadows. However, pulling off amazing plays with him is probably one of the most satisfying things you'll ever do in League of Legends.

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Honorable Mentions: Annie, Cassiopeia, Ekko, Morgana, Xerath, Yasuo. These champions often have the ability to dominate solo queue by themselves. However, at the moment their damage output isn't quite as strong as others in their pool in the current patch. I would keep them tight on the radar though, as they're strong contenders in their own right.

Strongest Top Laners

Rengar [Damage/Outplay] - New!: Since no listing is complete without at least one highly debated pick, Rengar's going to be our selection for the strongest top laner list I'm predicting will raise the most eyebrows. Without knowing how many bushes you can jump from while retaining that fraction of a second extra passive cache, it's hard to understand what kind of B.S. a truly experienced Rengar can pull off. Coupled with Irelia and Yasuo at some of the most frustrating champions in the game to gank, it's nearly impossible to pin down a good Rengar when there are creeps nearby.

Rengar is also one of the fastest snowballing top laners in the game. Once he gets a kill, it becomes near impossible to survive in lane for very long. This combined with the fact that he can easily roam mid while pit stopping at the crab for passive stacks makes him extremely impactful on any game.

Ryze [Damage/Utility] - New!: This one should come as no surprise to you. As one of the most feared champion across all divisions, this seemingly faceroll champion sees much more success in higher divisions. Proper management of his passive coupled with pinpoint skillshots and spacing makes Ryze an absolutely crazy CC and damage machine.

Gnar [Utility] - New!: With his extremely high team utility, Gnar is one of the best engagers in the game if he can land a five man ultimate into a wall. While he does need to manage his rage bar and make sure his teammates don't go hero mode while his melee form is down, if everything goes according to plan he's very effective.

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Returning Champions

Riven [Damage/Outplay]: Riven is still in a great spot right now for those that use her well. It's no surprise from the videos that you watch what she's capable of, and when executed to her fullest potential, she gives her opponent(s) little to no time to respond with her fast execution combos and short cooldowns.

Irelia [Damage]: Irelia is a champion that can snowball insanely hard from the get-go, or slowly whittle down enemy top laners until they can no longer stay in lane with her, even from a losing position. She's extremely powerful right now due to her ability to quickly navigate via minion waves, coupled with her sustained true damage.

Honorable Mentions: Other very strong champions include Vladimir, Hecarim, and Fizz. Lissandra, who was removed from the list after staying on for a while, is no longer a top level champion after repeated nerfs. She's still playable, but Ryze has stolen the spotlight.

Jungle

Kayle [Damage/Utility] New!: The newest addition to the top jungler tier list is Kayle, with the newest changes on the devourer enchantment, Kayle's damage is absolutely through the roof now. Her clearspeed and damage potential are greatly increased, and her consistently obnoxious ultimate is still a major game changer. Against highly coordinated teams, the possibility of her blocking almost the entirety of the enemy team's burst damage can fiercely turn tides in her favor.

Diana [Damage/Utility] New!: Proper cooldown management on her R allows Diana to snowball out of control during a teamfight, dealing insane amounts of AOE and single target damage. Technically, her E (moonfall) can likely block the majority of spells that Janna's Tornado can, although at a much more difficult level. The new Runeglaive enchantment buff is bringing her to new levels, and the sheer mobility from her is more than enough to take out champions before they can react.

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Returning Champions

Nunu [Utility/Outplay]: As always, Nunu's invading power continues to be insanely high, and also scales into late game as an insanely good ASPD reducer and peeler. With the majority of popular ADCs being sheerly auto attack based like Jinx, Sivir, and Ashe, his synergy and counter ability is very good. With his above average early game movespeed, he can easily avoid dangers and outrun any that he finds. With strong jungling knowledge, Nunu is easily the most powerful champion in the game for controlling the pace.

Gragas [Damage/Utility]: A very popular champion at the moment, his utility allows him to be a huge nuisance all over the rift. From a purely skill based standpoint, the things that Gragas can do with his ultimate can be potentially game shattering by itself if played at a perfect level. Meanwhile, in his current state he scales super hard into the late game, dealing a great amount of sustained damage, blocking skillshots, and in providing a huge amount of CC. If I were to recommend a jungler for the long term, Gragas is an excellent choice.

Nidalee [Damage/Outplay]: With her strong jungle clear and insanely good counterjungling abilities, Nidalee is an extremely powerful presence in the jungle right now. Her ability to gank over dragon wall leaves almost no time to react, even with wards up. Her ganks with a successful spear are exceedingly successful, and even if they quickly flash away, the damage from impact is more than enough for your teammates to win their lane. While forcing a flash is good, oftentimes you'll see your allies still lose lane. However, from 10% remaining HP, few people can outplay their opponents. This combined with the amazing utility from her cougar form W have earned her a place amongst the greats.

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Honorable Mentions: Rek'Sai, Shyvana, Lee Sin, Evelynn

Strongest Supports

Some of you are going to complain about Alistar not being on this list, but honestly he can technically be outplayed by people that are constantly focused watching out for his initiation. Instead, the following two new additions are being added:

Bard [Damage/Utility] New!: After an initial shaky start followed by a multitude of buffs, Bard is finally in position to take over as the one of the strongest supports in the game. With his extremely short cooldown on a potential two man stun, he's definitely one of the strongest supports if he's played a mastered level. If only the temptation to facecheck bushes to pick up chimes wasn't so high...

Tahm Kench [Utility] New!: With his insanely short cooldowns  and powerful utility-based spells, it seems obvious that Tahm Kench can potentially pull allied units right in the nick of time out of dangerous situations or remove dangerous champions from the battle to create immense confusion. While this doesn't always work out in practice, the sheer potential of his skillset is overwhelming.

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Returning champions:

Janna [Utility]: Janna is close to being indisputably the best support in the game in terms of sheer utility that she provides by herself. Through both her tornado and her monsoon (ultimate), Janna has the ability to block a massive number of champion "jump" attacks mid-air, including but not limited to the following:

Lee Sin, Akali, Kha'zix, Tristana, Corki, Lucian, Jarvan, Ahri, Fizz, Pantheon, Shen, Wukong, Xin Zhao, Vi, Fiora, Amumu...the list goes on and on. Check out this link for a full list!

Not only that, but she provides nearby teammates the ability to simply be faster than enemy champions whether it's for running away or for chasing down. This combined with the ability for her shield to deny death and also give an insanely strong damage buff cements her as a top tier support.

Thresh [Utility]: Where Janna is the queen of preventing plays from happening, Thresh is the offensive version, and king of making plays happen. His lantern and hook make him essentially the best support initiation in the game, as he can bring a friend with him during his initiation as a free gap closer. Additionally, all the champions listed above that Janna can block Thresh can also block with his flay (although with a shorter range/window of opportunity).

Blitzcrank [Utility]: Where Janna and Thresh keep teams ahead of the game, Blitzcrank has the ability to take away leads from even careful enemy teams. With his hook, he has the ability to create advantageous teamfights without needing to get close enough to the rest of the enemy team. This, combined with his speedboost makes it so that he can get the job done.

Strongest Marksmen (AD Carries)

The ADC list could arguably pull in Ashe or Jinx over some of these champions, but the fact of the matter is a fed ADC is still a fed ADC, and any of them could potentially pull ahead with some sweet support and jungle plays.

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Vayne [Damage/Outplay]: In a world full of powerful tanks and skillshot based champions, Vayne is by far the one soldier to take them all head-on. Although very difficult to master, her sheer potential is high enough to make her one of the strongest ADCs on the rift at the moment. Better yet, she doesn't require as many crazy requirements as some other marksmen to reach her full potential (who can really hit every Ezreal Q anyway?

Ezreal [Damage/Utility]: Technically speaking, if you were to hit every one of his Qs on enemy champions every time it came off CD except when they flashed or otherwise dodged it on purpose, Ezreal would be the most broken AD carry in the game, bar none. Luckily, most people seem to only be able to hit around 20%, if that.

Sivir [Damage/Utility]: Where Ezreal and Lucian feel smooth to play with the complicated mechanics, Sivir falls short in the quality of life department, and often feels the pain of her somewhat slow boomerang and sometimes clunky auto attack reset animation from her W. However, when mastered her burst damage is absolutely outrageous, and can easily chunk someone like Sona down to half in a single combo at level 3.

Draven [Damage]: Draven has the strongest level 1 burst damage in the game bar none. 1v1, he will beat everybody. If he's able to all-in level 1 with a creep advantage, he essentially wins his lane then and there, provided he catches all his axes.

Kalista [Damage/Utility]: Kalista provides overwhelming chase power along with mid game utility and snowballing strength via her passive.Melee champions with high cooldowns on gap closers stand absolutely no chance against Kalista, and catching or chasing her often provides to be a self-defeating task.

Honorable Mentions: Jinx, Ashe - Technically they should be fairly easy to outplay, but their global ability to catch-up in solo queue allow them to snowball. In an ideal game full of super fast reflexes, these two champions shouldn't receive so many free kills with relatively slow projectiles.

Previous Versions:

• May 2015 Edition
• March 2015 Edition
• December 2014 Edition

Thoughts on other champions who should have made the list? Comment below!