Solo Queue FOTM Tier List - September- Patch 5.18

Hi everyone and welcome back to the latest in the FOTM series. This week's patch shows some movements on the second tier of juggernauts that didn't get hyperlovin' from Riot such as Olaf. We're also starting to see strong shifts in the support arena with the introduction of Tahm Kench as a core support pick.

SEASON 5 - September - PATCH 5.18 FOTM TIER LIST

"THE POPULAR KIDS"

Preface Chatter

Hi everyone and welcome back to the latest in the FOTM series. This week's patch shows some movements on the second tier of juggernauts that didn't get hyperlovin' from Riot such as Olaf. We're also starting to see strong shifts in the support arena with the introduction of Tahm Kench as a core support pick.

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 division climber 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 5.18 Summary

Buffs: Anivia, Caitlyn, Ezreal, Galio, Jarvan IV, Morgana, Syndra, Tahm Kench, Twitch, Veigar, Zyra;
Nerfs: Braum, Darius, Elise, Fiora, Garen, Gangplank, Mordekaiser, Skarner;
Tweaks: Lulu;

Toolkit and Options

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Updates:

• Added:
• Link to FOTM Veigar article
• 9/29: Strongest Champion List updated

The Tier List

God Tier [Pee Your Pants - BAN]:
Mid-Lane Gods: Yasuo, Diana, Zed, Ahri, Fizz
Jungle Gods: Skarner, Lee Sin, Master Yi
AD Gods: Vayne, Mordekaiser, Jinx
Top Lane Gods: Garen, Darius, Fiora, Irelia
Support Gods: Thresh, Blitzcrank

God Tier Rising: Darius (Top), Diana (Mid), Fiora (Top), Irelia (Top), Lee Sin (Jungle), Master Yi (Jungle), Zed (Mid)
God Tier Falling: Fizz (Mid)

Tier 1 [Expected Powerhouses]:
Mid-Lane: Annie, Lux, Viktor, Ekko, Leblanc, Twisted Fate, Orianna, Katarina, Azir, Malzahar, Vladimir, Morgana, Brand, Anivia, Cho'Gath, Talon
Jungle: Elise, Rengar, Diana, Shyvana, Xin Zhao, Ekko, Vi, Evelynn, Amumu, Fizz, Gragas, Jarvan IV, Nidalee, Rek'Sai, Kha'Zix
AD Carry: Caitlyn, Tristana, Graves, Sivir, Lucian, Ezreal, Draven
Top Lane: Gnar, Gangplank, Renekton, Vladimir, Shen, Riven, Olaf, Nasus, Wukong, Cho'gath, Tryndamere, Maokai, Rumble, Fizz, Lissandra, Malphite, Ekko, Rengar, Jax,
Support: Soraka, Morgana, Braum, Janna, Tahm Kench, Nautilus, Annie, Alistar, Lulu

Tier 1 Rising: Amumu (Jungle), Anivia (Mid), Caitlyn (ADC), Diana (Jungle), Draven (ADC), Ekko (Mid/Jungle), Evelynn (Jungle), Jarvan IV (Jungle), Gragas (Jungle), Leblanc (Mid), Lux (Mid), Malzahar (Mid), Morgana (Mid), Olaf (Top), Rek'Sai (Jungle), Rumble (Top), Soraka (Support), Tahm Kench (Support), Twisted Fate (Mid), Vladimir (Mid),
Tier 1 Falling: Azir (Mid), Elise (Jungle), Janna (Support), Lucian (ADC), Gangplank (Top), Riven (Top), Shyvana (Jungle), Tristana (ADC), Viktor (Mid)

Tier 2 [Crowd Favorites]:
Mid-Lane: Veigar, Syndra, Xerath, Lissandra, Lulu (AP), Swain, Ziggs, Vel'Koz, Kassadin, Varus, Cassiopeia, Ezreal (AP), Kog'maw (AP),
Jungle: Nocturne, Shaco, Udyr, Warwick, Wukong, Jax, Sejuani, Rammus, Tahm Kench, Pantheon, Volibear, Fiddlesticks, Hecarim, Malphite
AD Carry: Kalista, Corki, Ashe, Twitch, Miss Fortune, Varus
Top Lane: Kennen, Pantheon, Diana, Hecarim, Jarvan IV, Jayce, Sion, Cassiopeia, Yasuo, Nidalee, Volibear, Trundle, Lulu, Aatrox, Gragas, Tahm Kench, Dr. Mundo
Support: Leona, Nami, Bard, Sona, Shen, Karma, Zyra, Taric, Zilean, Brand

Tier 2 Rising: Fiddlesticks (Jungle), Lulu (Mid), Malphite (Jungle), Nami (Support), Nocturne (Jungle), Shaco (Jungle), Syndra (Mid), Tahm Kench (Jungle), Veigar (Mid), Vel'Koz (Mid), Zilean (Support)
Tier 2 Falling: Hecarim (Jungle), Kalista (ADC), Kennen (Top), Leona (Support), Lissandra (Mid). Pantheon (Top), Udyr (Jungle), Warwick (Jungle)

Tier 3 [Playable]:
Mid-Lane: Jayce, Pantheon, Kayle, Akali, Galio, Zyra, Karma, Nidalee (AP), Heimerdinger, Karthus, Gragas, Kennen, Mordekaiser, Urgot, Ryze, Zilean
Jungle: Kayle, Nautilus, Sion, Olaf, Maokai, Zac, Nunu, Aatrox, Trundle, Dr. Mundo, Nasus, Tryndamere, Cho'Gath, Shen, Darius
AD Carry: Kog'Maw, Quinn, Urgot
Top Lane: Xin Zhao, Singed, Lee Sin, Nautilus, Rek'Sai, Kayle, Akali, Zed, Shyvana, Kassadin, Teemo, Swain, Yorick, Warwick, Quinn, Elise, Udyr, Kha'Zix, Karma, Poppy, Vi, Master Yi, Viktor, Zac, Mordekaiser, Heimerdinger, Talon, Azir, Urgot, Ryze
Support: Vel'Koz, Kennen, Trundle, Xerath, Fiddlesticks, Nunu, Gragas

Tier 3 Rising:
Tier 3 Falling: Aatrox (Jungle), Jayce (Mid), Kayle (Jungle), Maokai (Jungle), Nautilus (Jungle), Nidalee (Mid), Nunu (Jungle), Zac (Jungle)

Tier 4 [Not Amused]:
Mid-Lane: Jarvan IV, Kha'Zix, Gangplank, Wukong, Malphite, Teemo, Riven, Tristana (AP), Elise, Fiddlesticks, Sona, Evelynn, Leona, Soraka, Janna
Jungle: Leona, Zed, Fiora, Riven, Poppy, Gangplank, Malzahar, Blitzcrank, Alistar
AD Carry: Twisted Fate, Kennen
Top Lane: Vayne, Galio, Braum, Alistar, Nunu, Soraka
Support: Teemo, Volibear, Lux, Kayle, Maokai, Anivia, Veigar, Gangplank, Malphite, Nidalee, Orianna, Poppy, Galio, 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

• Ekko [Tier 1 Jungler] - With his powerful escapes and extra durable constitution, tank Ekko is definitely one of the stronger picks in jungle at the moment. Extremely fun to play, his damage output is surprisingly high, even without AP items. This combined with his natural utility and damage reversing ultimate makes him a very valuable member of the team when it comes to initiating and soaking damage.
• Gangplank [Tier 1 Top] - After the nerfs to Gangplank, he's definitely weaker than before. However, the changes were by no means game breaking and he's still very strong if played correctly.
• Kayle [Tier 3 Jungler] - Quickly falling out of favor due to her weak ganking power and slow early game snowballing, Kayle is no longer a crowd favorite, even amongst devourer junglers.
• Lucian [Tier 1 ADC] - After an initial spike in interest with Lucian's latest buffs and the project skin, it looks like interest is waning again as he just doesn't seem to offer the same kind of dominance that former Lucian players knew and loved. Nevertheless, he's still completely viable and can be played at a high level with some practice.
• Master Yi [God Tier Jungler] - Always on the mind and never forgotten is the unslowable double-attacking devourer Master Yi with sated buff. After the latest patch, it seems like his play rate jumped significantly. A very simple to play champion, Master Yi happens to also be a very rewarding one as well; a rare combination.
• Mordekaiser [God Tier ADC] - Despite nerfs to Mordekaiser this time around, he remains one of the most banned champions in the game. It seems that while it is counterable, playing against a Mordekaiser lane is just simply not fun and requires too much concentration to win. Meanwhile, the Mordekaiser side seems to just faceroll their way into victory.
• Olaf [Tier 1 Top] - The addition of Sterak's Gage and Dead Man's plate in recent patches is definitely allowing Olaf to stick to targets and survive for longer. As another unstoppable juggernaut, it seems like the new items are definitely worth a try on him, and his power is coming to light.
• Syndra [Tier 2 Mid] - The slight quality of life buff for Syndra is breathing new life into the champion, who now feels smoother than ever.
• Tristana [Tier 1 ADC] - Despite being a popular professional pick, players are showing signs of frustration in solo queue with playing Tristana due to her low champion vs champion damage compared to a lot of the popular late game hypercarries.
• Veigar [Tier 2 Mid] - The latest change to his Q allows Veigar to stack his ability power on assists. Surprisingly, this culminates into a fairly significant buff. Check out this article for more information!
• Zed [God Tier Mid] - Another cyclical champion, Zed's making his comeback this patch with his sick fadeaway kills. Although a difficult champion to master, the satisfaction of successfully assassinating a target and ducking back into the shadows before they can retaliate is hard to match.

Disclaimer:

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

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!