FOTM Ranked Solo Queue Tier List (High Elo) ~ Patch 7.2 - January

 Hi everyone and welcome to the latest Patch 7.2 tier list, featuring tons of movements in the bot lane with champions like Malzahar and Ziggs dominating and old favorites like Kalista slowly poking their heads out of the weeds.

Not much movement in the jungle, despite the over-arching nerfs to jungle experience, but Katarina and Gangplank are rapidly rising to the top as a result of viral highlight reels spinning across the web.

SEASON 7 - January - PATCH 7.2
FOTM RANKED META TIER LIST

"PLAY LIKE A PROFESSIONAL"

Preface Chatter

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest Patch 7.2 tier list, featuring tons of movements in the bot lane with champions like Malzahar and Ziggs dominating and old favorites like Kalista slowly poking their heads out of the weeds.

Not much movement in the jungle, despite the over-arching nerfs to jungle experience, but Katarina and Gangplank are rapidly rising to the top as a result of viral highlight reels spinning across the web.

Check out the full list below and definitely feel free to comment if you disagree with some of the changes.

The purpose of the "Flavor of the Month" ("FOTM") list is to show which champions are popular in today's metagame in terms of pro picks and high Elo choices.

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 the Optimal Champion Bans by Division Listing!

Patch 7.2 Summary

Buffs: Akali, Gragas, Graves, Lulu, Master Yi, Nidalee

Nerfs: Darius, Katarina

Tweaks: Yasuo

Reworks: Warwick

Toolkit and Options

Search for a champion:

Updates:

• Moved Varus up a bit

The Tier List

God Tier [High Priority Picks]:
Mid-Lane Gods: Yasuo, Katarina, Lux, Ahri, Orianna
Jungle Gods: Lee Sin, Vi, Hecarim
Marksman Gods: Vayne, Caitlyn, Draven
Top Lane Gods: Darius, Yasuo, Camille, Gangplank, Riven
Support Gods: Thresh, Blitzcrank, Malzahar

Tier 1 [Meta Picks]:
Mid-Lane: Syndra, LeBlanc, Ziggs, Zed, Corki, Veigar, Ryze, Annie, Gangplank, Fizz, Viktor, Ekko, Twisted Fate, Malzahar, Brand, Vel'Koz, Xerath
Jungle: Kha'Zix, Rengar, Zac, Shaco, Warwick, Shyvana, Nocturne, Amumu, Camille, Elise, Master Yi, Xin Zhao, Evelynn, Graves, Ivern, Poppy, Jax, Jarvan IV, Rek'Sai
Marksman: Jhin, Ezreal, Lucian, Ziggs, Varus, Jinx, Twitch, Kalista
Top Lane: Poppy, Fiora, Renekton, Jayce, Nasus, Garen, Irelia, Maokai, Malphite, Illaoi, Tryndamere, Jax, Nautilus, Singed, Gnar, Pantheon, Yorick, Kennen, Kled
Support:  Zyra, Morgana, Brand, Janna, Leona, Braum, Soraka, Nami, Karma, Lux, Annie

Tier 2 [Crowd Favorites]:
Mid-Lane: Cassiopeia, Kassadin, Azir, Morgana, Diana, Talon, Anivia, Jayce, Taliyah, Swain, Akali, Lissandra, Karma, Karthus
Jungle: Olaf, Sejuani, Rammus, Udyr, Wukong, Fizz, Twitch, Volibear, Gragas, Diana, Ekko, Skarner, Kindred, Nidalee, Fiddlesticks, Pantheon
Marksman: Miss Fortune, Ashe, Tristana, Sivir, Corki
Top Lane: Trundle, Shen, Swain, Ryze, Rumble, Ekko, Wukong, Dr. Mundo, Sion, Teemo, Olaf, Kayle, Cho'Gath, Jarvan IV, Shaco, Quinn, Vladimir, Akali, Graves
Support: Alistar, Bard, Sona, Nautilus, Veigar, Lulu, Vel'Koz, Tahm Kench, Zilean, Taric

Tier 3 [Playable]:
Mid-Lane:  Kennen, Galio, Aurelion Sol, Zilean, Vladimir, Kayle, Heimerdinger
Jungle: Aatrox, Nautilus, Maokai, Malphite, Tryndamere, Trundle, Nunu, Rumble
Marksman: Kog'Maw, Quinn, Urgot
Top Lane: Aatrox, Heimerdinger, Mordekaiser, Xin Zhao, Tahm Kench, Volibear, Talon, Rammus
Support: Fiddlesticks, Sion, Galio, Taliyah, Shen

Tier 4 [Rarely Seen]:
Mid-Lane: Cho'Gath, Fiddlesticks, Mordekaiser, Kog'Maw
Jungle: Kayle, Quinn, Sion, Cho'Gath
Marksman: 
Top Lane: Lissandra, Urgot, Warwick, Galio, Karthus
Support: Nunu

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

• Corki [Tier 1 Mid] - Corki mid is on a wild ride ever since solo queue legend Apdo/Dopa went public saying that he thinks Corki is the strongest mid and backed it up with an impressive 100% win rate. His damage is exceedingly high, and provides a good mixture of burst and poke damage for optimal versatility.
• Ekko [Tier 1 Mid] - Ekko mid is one of those champions that can get abused early game, but starts dominating hard during the mid to late game. His ability to outplay enemies puts him in highlight reel status, and if he snowballs it becomes possible to one shot enemy squishies and jump out for free,
• Gangplank [God Tier Top] - Gangplank's recieved a lot of reddit attention from Tobias Fate lately, and as one of the most fun champions in the game, he's now the second most popular top laner in the game.
• Kalista [Tier 1 Marksman] - Kalista's latest buffs put her near viability, and many players have picked her back up in the hopes of getting the chance to play an old favorite. She still suffers from a few mechanical difficulties with her passive ever since the old nerfs, but the change to rend increases her damage quite a bit.
• Katarina [God Tier Mid] - Despite her nerfs this patch, Katarina remains highly valued for her ability to rip apart enemy teams in rapid succession, the true beyblade champion of the rift.
• Kha'Zix [Tier 1 Jungle] - Kha'Zix remains highly valued for his ability to snowball through a team fight. Although Rengar is more "feared" in terms of game snowballing in solo queue, Kha'Zix is far more feared for this team fight snowballing prowess.
• Malzahar [God Tier Support] - Malzahar support continues gaining popularity as professionals place him in the spotlight on their games, mostly for his powerful early game and excellent crowd control ability.
• Poppy [Tier 1 Top] - After the nerfs to Poppy, she's steadily declined in favor of other tanks like Nautilus and Maokai, who have more engagement potential and close to as much durability as Poppy had pre-nerfs.
• Varus [Tier 1 Marksman] - Varus rose quickly through the ranks these last few patches as a result of his ability to deal long distance damage and apply crowd-control. In a meta where any marksman that gets too close gets instakilled, Varus fits in as a marksman who can remain relatively safe while still dealing good damage and snowballing through a fight with his passive.
• Warwick [Tier 1 Jungle] - Warwick's rework brought him into the limelight as a powerful jungler that is near inescapable once he gets his movespeed buff on a target. Although he's still unproven in terms of true strength, he's definitely a fun champion that can be frustrating to play against if he snowballs.
• Ziggs [Tier 1 Marksman] - Somehow, this actually became a thing. With the Ziggs marksman meta in full bloom, players are picking him up more than a lot of other marksmen for bot lane domination.

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!