Most Popular Meta Ranked Champions FOTM Tier List ~ Pre-Patch 6.14 (July)

Hi everyone! Here's a new thing I'm going to be doing from now on, which is a pre-patch update. The reason for this is that the beginning of the patch often has new things come in that are slowly soaked in over the course of the week. As a result, it's nice to see developments as they progress.

Additionally, there is definitely some wait time between when the patch hits and when the patch is available, so this is a great connector to take a look at last patch's movements.

SEASON 6 - July - Pre-PATCH 6.14 FOTM RANKED META TIER LIST

"THE POPULAR KIDS"

Preface Chatter

Hi everyone! Here's a new thing I'm going to be doing from now on, which is a pre-patch update. The reason for this is that the beginning of the patch often has new things come in that are slowly soaked in over the course of the week. As a result, it's nice to see developments as they progress.

Additionally, there is definitely some wait time between when the patch hits and when the patch is available, so this is a great connector to take a look at last patch's movements.

Check out the full list 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!

Be sure to check out our new Optimal Champion Bans by Division Listing!

Patch 6.13 Summary

Nerfs: Blitzcrank, Zyra, Irelia, Kindred, Swain, Trundle, Vladimir, Volibear

Buffs: Lulu, Thresh, Gnar, Jarvan IV

Tweaks: Tahm Kench

Item Buffs: Ancient Coin Line, Ruby Sightstone

Item Nerfs: Hextech Protobelt-01

Item Tweaks: Forbidden Idol, Ardent Censer, Mikael's Crucible

Toolkit and Options

Click to toggle champion movement history

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Updates:

• 7/20: Optimal Ban list updated!

The Tier List

God Tier [Pee Your Pants - BAN]:
Mid-Lane Gods: Zed, Azir, Viktor, Leblanc, Yasuo
Jungle Gods: Hecarim, Lee Sin, Kha'Zix
Marksman Gods: Vayne, Caitlyn, Lucian
Top Lane Gods: Irelia, Darius, Yasuo, Vladimir
Support Gods: Blitzcrank, Thresh, Zyra

God Tier Rising: Caitlyn (Marksman)
God Tier Falling:

Tier 1 [Expected Powerhouses]:
Mid-Lane: Vladimir, Ahri, Fizz, Swain, Lux, Twisted Fate, Annie, Malzahar, Katarina, Anivia, Orianna, Brand, Veigar, Syndra, Ekko, Taliyah
Jungle: Kindred, Volibear, Rengar, Gragas, Amumu, Zac, Master Yi, Graves, Nidalee, Elise, Shaco, Rek'Sai, Vi, Fizz, Jax, Evelynn, Sejuani
Marksman: Jhin, Ezreal, Ashe, Jinx, Miss Fortune, Sivir, Twitch
Top Lane: Swain, Riven, Illaoi, Gnar, Jax, Gangplank, Malphite, Trundle, Fizz, Shen, Renekton, Fiora, Ekko, Nasus, Garen, Pantheon, Teemo, Olaf, Maokai, Wukong
Support: Soraka, Braum, Morgana, Janna, Lulu, Brand, Alistar, Nami, Annie

Tier 1 Rising: Alistar (Support), Annie (Support), Graves (Jungle), Katarina (Mid), Shen (Top), Sivir (Marksman), Teemo (Top), Wukong (Top)
Tier 1 Falling: Fizz (Top)

Tier 2 [Crowd Favorites]:
Mid-Lane: Vel'Koz, Lissandra, Diana, Karma, Cassiopeia, Morgana, Xerath, Gangplank, Kassadin, Ziggs, Talon, Akali, Ryze, Zilean, Varus
Jungle: Nocturne, Fiddlesticks, Diana, Udyr, Wukong, Xin Zhao, Ekko, Olaf, Jarvan IV, Shyvana, Warwick, Skarner, Trundle, Rammus, Pantheon, Malzahar,
Marksman: Draven, Tristana, Kog'Maw, Varus, Kalista, Corki
Top Lane: Tryndamere, Volibear, Hecarim, Kennen, Sion, Ryze, Rumble, Tahm Kench, Cho'gath, Rengar, Jarvan IV, Kayle, Dr. Mundo, Graves, Poppy, Akali, Jayce, Lissandra, Singed, Nautilus, Malzahar, Zac, Quinn,
Support: Tahm Kench, Leona, Bard, Karma, Sona, Taric, Zilean, Nautilus

Tier 2 Rising: Diana (Jungle), Karma (Mid)
Tier 2 Falling: Draven (Marksman), Hecarim (Top), Leona (Support), Tahm Kench (Support)

Tier 3 [Playable]:
Mid-Lane: Kayle, Karthus, Lulu, Zyra, Aurelion Sol, Jayce, Cho'Gath, Pantheon, Kennen, Corki, Jhin, Quinn, Heimerdinger, Galio, Ezreal, Kog'maw (AP), Nidalee (AP), Gragas, Mordekaiser, Urgot,
Jungle: Maokai, Twitch, Rumble, Nunu, Quinn, Kog'Maw, Poppy, Kayle, Aurelion Sol, Dr. Mundo, Cho'Gath, Malphite, Taric, Tryndamere, Tahm Kench, Nautilus, Sion, Aatrox, Taliyah, Nasus, Shen, Darius
Marksman: Quinn, Graves, Urgot, Kindred, Kennen
Top Lane: Taliyah, Rammus, Gragas, Cassiopeia, Lulu, Xin Zhao, Heimerdinger, Aatrox, Aurelion Sol, Yorick, Diana, Nidalee, Lee Sin, Rek'Sai, Zed, Shyvana, Kassadin, Mordekaiser, Warwick, Udyr, Kha'Zix, Karma, Vi, Master Yi, Viktor, Talon, Azir, Urgot
Support: Trundle, Vel'Koz, Poppy, Malphite, Veigar, Shen, Lux, Sion, Kennen, Nunu, Gragas

Tier 3 Rising: Kog'Maw (Jungle), Maokai (Jungle), Twitch (Jungle)
Tier 3 Falling: 

Tier 4 [Not Amused]:
Mid-Lane: Jarvan IV, Kha'Zix, Wukong, Malphite, Teemo, Riven, Tahm Kench, Tristana (AP), Elise, Fiddlesticks, Sona, Evelynn, Leona, Soraka, Janna
Jungle: Leona, Zed, Fiora, Riven, Gangplank, Blitzcrank, Alistar
Marksman: Twisted Fate, Mordekaiser
Top Lane: Vayne, Elise, Galio, Braum, Alistar, Nunu, Soraka
Support: Taliyah, Galio, Fiddlesticks, Xerath, Teemo, Volibear, Kayle, Maokai, Anivia, Gangplank, Nidalee, Orianna, Yorick, Elise, Lissandra, Ashe, Leblanc

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

• Alistar [Tier 1 Support] - After an initial drop-off at the start of the patch, Alistar came roaring back in strength. Classically, he is one of the most popular supports on the rift as a result of his potential short cooldown AOE knock-up. However, when this patch first started off with major buffs for ranged heal/shield champions, Alistar quickly fell off the radar for a bit. Nevertheless, once players became used to the new items, Alistar once again became a go-to pick.
• Ashe [Tier 1 Marksman] - Despite Ashe's presence as a top tier marksman on the professional scene, the general consensus is that because she lacks escapes, she is sub-optimal for disorganized team play. I personally disagree with that, but here she is.
• Caitlyn [God Tier Marksman] - Caitlyn took over Lucian's spot recently as THE most popular marksman on the rift. The reason why Vayne takes a place over Caitlyn is simply because Vayne is banned more often (and feared by more people).
• Hecarim [Tier 2 Top] - After experimentation with the old Hecarim Top meta, players quickly decided that champions like Darius were still more fun and relegated him to the jungle. Most people will not complain about someone taking Hecarim top, but it occurs rarely now.
• Katarina [Tier 1 Mid] - Katarina is making a slow climb back up to the upper ranks after nerfs on a lot of the other assassins and the return of squishy mages to the mid-lane. The hextech changes also helped her significantly, and so you should expect to see more and more of her in the future.
• Kog'Maw [Tier 3 Jungle] - Somehow, Kog'Maw jungle is "a thing" that is more popular than a lot of classic junglers like Dr. Mundo, Maokai, and Cho'Gath. Check out more information on that via this article!
• Teemo [Tier 1 Top] - Teemo continues to become stronger and stronger in terms of both win rate and play rate, and it does not appear to be a result of any one particular build. His Frozen Mallet, Nashors AP build, and Hextech builds are all finding good success, and players are picking him up and playing him however they please.
• Twitch [Tier 3 Jungle] - Similar to Kog'Maw jungle, players are playing Twitch jungle at an alarmingly high rate, although nothing close to being "popular". At least he can do an invis gank at level 2! 

Disclaimer:

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

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

Looking for older versions of the FOTM Tier List?

Check out prior versions via this link!