The best champions in League of Legends constantly change with each patch. While player skill can certainly make a difference, smart players know that keeping up with the changes is critical to gaining an advantage.
Summoner’s Rift is the main game mode that Riot balances their champions on, and it’s where skill and strategy clash in either a one on one in lanes, or a full on team fights. Riot Games shakes things up with each patch, buffing, and nerfing champions to keep the game fresh and balanced. Right now, patch 14.14 is in, and it’s brought some exciting changes to the meta. In this article, we’ll break down the top five best champions so you can be sure you’re making the right choice in champion select.
You can see a list with all the best League of Legends champions for the current patch here.
Top lane: Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser stands as an oppressive champion in the top lane. His unique ability to isolate his target in the Death Realm makes him a threatening presence in the team fight. The Iron Revenant’s toolkit allows his players to adapt to different team compositions, able to build as both a tank and an ability power bruiser. His consistent, and excellent performance across seasons shows his reliability, not only due to his tankiness, but also his damage profile. His ultimate provides uncontested control over objectives such as dragons and the baron, and his shield generation pumps up his tankiness in extended fights. For players seeking a champion that combines raw power with towering might, Mordekaiser is an excellent choice.
Jungle: Nocturne
Nocturne’s presence after level 6 alone puts his enemies on edge, reflected in his high ban rate in ranked matches. His unique ultimate ability, Paranoia, offers map pressure and gank potential that triumphs other jungle champions, making him a strong pick. Nocturne’s ability to dive the backline and eliminate high priority targets makes him a constant threat, while his spell shield adds skill expression that rewards experienced players. His consistency across patches and ability to adapt his build path, from assassin to bruiser, and even sometimes tank, showcase his adaptability. Nocturne’s contribution to team success extends beyond kills, as his ultimate can be used to secure objectives or simply remove most information enemies get from the map. For those seeking a champion that combines stealth, burst damage, and love putting the bot lane in constant pressure, Nocturne is an excellent choice.
Mid Lane: Ahri
Ahri‘s popularity and high skill expression in mid-lane go hand in hand. Her intuitive kit allows her to adapt to various playstyles, both poke and all-in compositions. Ahri’s charm ability gives her an advantage in a 1v1 or team fights, while her ultimate provides both offensive and defensive options, allowing her to go in and chase, or escape safely. Ahri’s contribution to her team’s success is due to her ability to roam to side lanes quickly, secure vision, and turn team fights with well-timed charms. Her ability to kite and reposition in fights makes her a reliable carry in the hands of skilled players. For those seeking a champion that combines mobility, crowd control, and burst damage, Ahri remains a top-tier choice in the mid lane.
ADC: Jhin
Jhin‘s uniqueness as an ADC and explosive personality made him one of the most enjoyed champion in that role. He’s different from a normal ADC in the sense that his auto attacks are a cycle of 3 normal auto attacks, and one empowered auto attack, normally referred to as 4th shot, and then he has to reload to start the cycle anew. while he steadily gained higher winrate to plateau at the higher end, his popularity has been there ever since he got released, he’s able to cc the enemy with long range roots, while also having great vision thanks to his traps, he’s a safe pick for bot lane, granted you can get used to his unique auto attack mechanics.
His ultimate is an incredible tool to finish up team fights by picking up stragglers, it’s a large cone where you can shoot four shots, each doing increasing damage and slowing the enemy till you get to the empowered 4th shot. If you’re looking for a unique adc, with a lot of personality, and the ability to get picks, Jhin is your outlet.
Support: Leona
Leona‘s dominance in the support role is due to her oppressive toolkit, and flexible playstyle. She can adapt to any ADC in her lane, from the need to go all in, to the wait-and-scale playstyle she can separate the enemies from her ADC, while also locking them down for her allies to finish off the kills.
Leona is a great roaming support as well, thanks to her ultimate which can stun and slow her targets, Leona can take her enemies by surprise allowing her team to get picks comfortably and making a team fight a 5v4 in favor of her team. She’s also inherently tanky, so she doesn’t need much gold to be effective and useful to her team, making her the ultimate support that is a jack of all trades, while also being a master of all playstyles.
