FOTM Ranked Solo Queue Tier List (High Elo) ~ Patch 8.5 - March

Kai'Sa's tearing up the rift as both a marksman and a jungler..after her mid-patch buffs. Players are still getting used to her kit and understanding when to use her ultimate appropriately, but otherwise, she feels like a longer-ranged Vayne.

Meanwhile, Zoe's returned to the rift at partial strength, but enough to land her a top spot as a mid-lane champion.

Check out the full list below!

SEASON 8 - March - PATCH 8.5
FOTM RANKED META TIER LIST

"PLAY LIKE A PROFESSIONAL"

Preface Chatter

Kai'Sa's tearing up the rift as both a marksman and a jungler..after her mid-patch buffs. Players are still getting used to her kit and understanding when to use her ultimate appropriately, but otherwise, she feels like a longer-ranged Vayne.

Meanwhile, Zoe's returned to the rift at partial strength, but enough to land her a top spot as a mid-lane champion.

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 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 8.5 Summary

Buffs: Jhin, Nocturne, Olaf, Rengar, Shyvana, Swain, Tristana, Twitch, Zoe
Nerfs: Azir, Galio, Ryze, Skarner, Volibear, Sion

Many Item/Rune changes as well, more details here

Toolkit and Options

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The Tier List

God Tier [High Priority Picks]:
Mid: Zed, Yasuo, Ahri, Katarina, Fizz
Jungle: Kha'Zix, Warwick, Jarvan IV
Marksmen: Xayah, Caitlyn
Top: Sion, Darius, Fiora, Camille
Support: Janna, Lulu, Thresh

Tier 1 [Meta Picks]:
Mid: Zoe, Orianna, Veigar, Twisted Fate, Ekko, Ryze, Xerath, Vladimir, Lux, Kassadin, Anivia, Galio, Viktor, Swain, Azir
Jungle: Rengar, Sejuani, Jax, Zac, Kayn, Kai'Sa, Lee Sin, Volibear, Evelynn, Master Yi, Camille, Nocturne, Skarner, Olaf, Shaco, Shyvana, Nidalee
Marksmen: Kai'Sa, Ezreal, Vayne, Tristana, Varus, Jhin, Jinx
Top: Yasuo, Gangplank, Riven, Nasus, Swain, Vladimir, Gnar, Jax, Illaoi, Teemo, Shen, Cho'Gath, Rengar, Volibear, Malphite, Renekton, Maokai
Support: Blitzcrank, Alistar, Nami, Braum, Sion, Rakan, Leona, Morgana, Brand, Tahm Kench, Soraka, Zoe, Bard, Taric, Karma

Tier 2 [Crowd Favorites]:
Mid: Cassiopeia, Corki, LeBlanc, Malzahar, Vel'Koz, Taliyah, Brand, Syndra, Diana, Ziggs, Talon, Aurelion Sol, Morgana, Annie
Jungle: Rammus, Udyr, Xin Zhao, Vi, Nunu, Elise, Rek'Sai, Hecarim, Twitch, Amumu, Kindred, Fiddlesticks, Riven, Graves, Gragas, Wukong
Marksmen: Draven, Lucian, Twitch, Miss Fortune, Sivir
Top: Irelia, Garen, Ornn, Singed, Urgot, Jayce, Kled, Olaf, Tryndamere, Poppy, Yorick, Akali, Pantheon, Trundle, Tahm Kench, Aatrox
Support: Zyra, Sona, Shen, Lux, Zilean, Veigar, Teemo, Xerath, Vel'Koz, Nautilus, Fiddlesticks, Ornn, Malphite

Tier 3 [Playable]:
Mid: Akali, Karthus, Lissandra, Zilean, Karma, Jayce, Heimerdinger
Jungle: Pantheon, Cho'Gath, Ivern, Singed, Tryndamere, Diana, Aatrox
Marksmen: Ashe, Kog'Maw, Kalista
Top: Galio, Rumble, Dr. Mundo, Kennen, Wukong, Kayle, Mordekaiser
Support: Miss Fortune, Maokai, Annie, Nunu, Poppy, Trundle

Tier 4 [Rarely Seen]:
Mid: Kayle, Gragas, Kennen
Jungle: Trundle, Maokai, Poppy, Dr. Mundo, Quinn
Marksmen:
Top: Heimerdinger, Quinn, Nautilus, Lissandra, Karthus
Support: Gragas, Kayle, Kennen

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

• Caitlyn [God Tier Marksman] - Caitlyn's rise to popularity is a direct result of this lane rotation meta where early game leads can quickly escalate into multiple towers and objectives for team advantages. While players in most divisions of solo queue likely can't abuse this quite as hard as the professionals do, they can still succeed in doing it to some extent even if they don't understand every reason why.
• Jarvan IV [God Tier Jungle] - Jarvan in the current patch is extremely popular now that Tristana isn't in every single game anymore. His gank pattern allows him to be extremely effective throughout the game, and Electrocute does absurd amounts of damage with his E->Q auto combo.
• Kai'Sa [Tier 1 Marksman] - In her release state Kai'Sa was popular but not very strong. After the mid-patch update, she's not quite overpowered, but definitely playable. Most people are taking her in as a marksman, but some are playing her somewhat like a low-mobility Nidalee jungle.
• Sion [God Tier Top] - With all the crowd-control that Sion provides, it's tough to find a top laner that's quite as overpowered as Sion is in his current state. His ability to engage on whim is incredible, and the damage output he dishes for going full tank is absurd.
• Swain [Tier 1 Mid] - The buffs Swain got in Patch 8.5 are good enough to place him up high as a dominating mid-laner. His low-cooldown burst damage makes him exceedingly strong late game, and he feels like a Vladimir on steroids.
• Warwick [God Tier Jungle] - Playing against Warwick used to be all about pressuring early before he got his ultimate. Now, it's almost impossible to avoid getting ganked early by this guy. Meanwhile, once he gets his ultimate he's impossible to escape, even with Flash.
• Zoe [Tier 1 Mid] - After her partially reverted nerfs, Zoe is in a decent spot now. She's not one-shotting everyone from long-range, but she feels good in that she can kill people with two clean mechanic combos.

Disclaimer:

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

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

Looking for older versions of the FOTM Tier List?

Check out prior versions via this link!