We’re almost halfway through Season 8 now, and although the meta has changed quite a bit over the season, there are some champions that stand out. Regardless of what rank you’re at now, if you want to climb, you’ve got to learn to play with or against the best champions.
These ten champions (two per lane) are the best ones to learn to make your way to the top this season.
In the top lane:
Camille
Camille is an incredibly versatile top lane champion. Her long range engage and disengage makes her a great split pusher, while her burst and ultimate makes her a great diver. Work with your team or dominate in the split push to carry games with Camille. The reason Camille is such a powerful champion is that she can do something few champions can still do, which is singlehandedly change the game. Whether that means pulling pressure by split pushing, or bursting/locking down ADC’s, Camille is probably the best soloqueue toplaner in the game.
Gangplank
Gangplank is such an incredibly safe yet powerful matchup right now. You can lose lane without losing a gold lead, your ult will always be relevant, and your barrel chains can open up games. Although he is undoubtedly best when your team is in the lead, his death brushes can be insanely powerful. Most importantly, using your ult to zone in teamfights can separate opponents, and open up easy kills. The two most important parts of your kit are the free gold from your passive/masteries, and your ultimate. It’s almost impossible to fall behind on Gangplank, so it’s more important to stay safe and not let your opposition get ahead. Although you want to be using your ultimate for offensive plays and securing drakes, don’t be afraid to use it to stop dives against yourself or others.
In the jungle:
Udyr
You can’t go wrong playing Udyr. His clear speed and speed around the map, plus his built in CC make him one of the best ganking junglers. A good Udyr is frustrating to play against. Don’t be afraid to charge straight into your opponents, and make sure to proc your stun as often as possible. Udyr consistently sports one of the highest winrates in competitive, despite not being an incredibly popular champion. One of the big reasons for this is that he has no skills that offer outplay. His main strength is his speed and stun, so gank from far away and outside of vision, and try to get their support to burn their CC before going in too deep.
Kha’Zix
Kha requires a lot more game knowledge than some of the other champions to pull off. But if you can, well you will win, and you’ll do it fast. His true stealth and incredibly damage should strike fear into the enemy’s hearts, and should give you total control of the jungle. The single target burst is useful against enemy champions of course, but its also important to consider the burst he can apply to scuttle and drake secures. The danger is that if you fall behind or the game goes late, you risk becoming nothing more than a fast ward.
In the mid lane:
Zoe
Although Zoe has dropped in priority since her release, she still has game warping damage on an incredibly mobile kit. Zoe was definitely the champion to climb in the first half of the season, and she’s still a strong sleeper pick now. Abuse her angles, and don’t be afraid to roam with her, as her passive is best in teamfights. With the longest range on non-ultimates in the game, Zoe is an incredible poke champion who can slow down the enemies advance, or provide great picks to speed up your own game.
Aurelion Sol
When you pick Aurelion Sol, the other team has to rethink their lane strategy and ward placement immediately. You don’t need a lead to start roaming with Aurelion, and once you do you can help snowball other lanes. He is very safe from counterpick, and his ability to always roam first makes him one of the best mids in the game right now. Take advantage of the great early game waveclear to trap your opponent under their turret and get out of lane to help your teammates.
In the bot lane:
ADC
Ezreal
With new builds and strategies constantly being tested in Korea and China, Ezreal seems like he will be staying in the meta for a long time. The safest ADC in the game is looking very strong in a less tanky meta, and although his damage is less consistent, his ability to maneuver in teamfights makes him a great ADC choice. Additionally, his double tear build that has been growing in popularity amongst pros sets him up for some of the strongest poking in the late game.
Kai’Sa
Kai’Sa is a bit of an odd addition to this list. Her ultimate is always a dangerous game, as she can dive deeper than most ADCs want to or should. The kit is naturally high-risk/high-reward. If you can clutch your ultimates, you will dominate in teamfights. If you screw them up, it can lose your games. However I predict that Kai’Sa is going to grow in power and priority over the season, as she is an exciting and powerful champ with lots of playmaking potential. Despite recent nerfs, Kai’Sa is still one of the strongest ADC’s in the game right now, and her burst damage is perfect for dominating soloqueue.
Support
Xayah/Rakan
This special mention for ADC/Support is the lovers botlane. These two champions work best together, and both are qualified enough to make the list. Rakan’s incredible engage/disengage is the strongest amongst supports. He is the best playmaking support currently in the game. Additionally, his item build has been extra strong on recent patches. Meanwhile, Xayah has good damage, a great disengaging/dodge ult, and a strong bit of burst damage on her feather pullback. Although she doesn’t have quite the poke range of Ezreal or the diving burst potential of Kai’Sa, her ultimate makes her very safe while still being powerful. Neither one is quite complete without the other, so they are best for duos, but these two are wholly deserving of the list, and can be combined with a variety of other champions while remaining effective.
Janna
Janna is probably the best support for a good ADC, because she is the best true “support”. Her ability to shield is unmatched, and her disengage/healing ult denies dives merely by being off cooldown. However, although she might be the best support in the game right now, her lack of engage can make it hard to carry games. She can buff your ADC, and her shields can save lives, but she can’t speed up the laning phase with harass or engage. If you have a good ADC however, she is one of the best support choices.
What do you think of the list? How did you get out of Bronze, and what are your plans for reaching Challenger?
You may also be interested in:
