[Top 15] LOL Best Top Laners That Own The Lane

[Top 15] LOL Best Top Laners That Are Powerful

Updated:

06 Sep 2023

We're nearing the end of Season 12 and the start of Season 13. The preseason is when we get to try out the new in-game features that Riot Games has prepared for us. Nothing matters at this point in the game, and whether you play ranked or normals doesn't make a difference. A slew of changes has been made to the game, particularly with champions who have received buffs and nerfs.

With the introduction of these buffs and nerfs, power has shifted between champions, with some that were strong becoming weak and others that were weak becoming strong. Today, I'll go over the best top lane champions in the game. Along with that, I'll give you some pointers on how to play that specific champion and how to win matches with it. Let's get started with the list!

15. Pantheon

“No God can kill me.”

Let us begin this list with Pantheon, the God of Gods. He's probably the manliest champion you've ever played, and as soon as you pick him, testosterone begins to flow through your body. To play this champion correctly in the top lane, you should maximize your Q “Comet Spear” ability and be prepared to use your W “Shield Vault” to stun the target. When you have your passive ability ready, engage the enemy target to maximize your damage output.

Don't be concerned if you get caught off guard while attempting to trade with the enemy; you can always use your E “Aegis Assault” to block all incoming damage. If the opposing team does not know how to deal with Pantheon, you will own your lane and they will be powerless to stop you. When playing Pantheon, my advice is to jump onto the target when the enemy wave is small or they can't return the damage.

Remember to use the full combo of W>Q>E on them, and you can add some auto-attacks between your Q “Comet Spear” and E “Aegis Assault”. If they get too far away from you, you can always catch them because you have Pantheon's ultimate ability “Grand Starfall”, which allows him to jump a long distance and deal damage to anyone in his path. This skill is also useful for roaming or assisting your mid-laner. If you are unable to secure a kill, do not use it.

What Makes Pantheon A Strong Top Laner:

He’s able to block all incoming damage from the front thanks to his E “Aegis Assault”.
You can easily roam with the champions thanks to the ultimate ability as it allows you to jump long distances.
Trading against an enemy with Pantheon is easy especially if you have your passive ability “Mortal Will” up as it allows you to deal more damage to the enemy than they will to you.
The passive ability “Mortal Will” enhances the next ability you cast and it makes the ability stronger and much better during combat.

See Pantheon In Action (Video by Challenger Replays):

14. Singed

“How about a mystery drink?”

Although he is one of the oldest champions ever created, I am overjoyed to see him on this list. He made the list because he is a strong champion who can hold his ground again. He excels at proxying and is the best. When playingSinged, my advice is to go behind the enemy lane and farm his minion wave. If they start coming towards you, dip and hide somewhere. After they've gone to their turret, you repeat the process.

This way, you can put pressure on the lane while farming easily. To quickly farm minion waves, press Q “Poison Trail” to leave a trail of poisonous gas. If someone gets too close to you, you can slow them down with your W “Mega Adhesive” or flip them over your head like you're working at McDonald's with the E “Fling”. If you can't proxy the enemy laner, farm the wave and push it as far as you can into their turret while making the enemy jungler's

What Makes Singed A Strong Top Laner:

The best proxy champion for farming waves behind the enemy turrets allowing you to put pressure on the lane.
Great at pushing huge waves thanks to the Q’s “Poison Trail”.
You can throw champions over your head with the E “Fling” ability if they get too close to you so that way you create distance between the enemy and yourself.
You can slow enemies with your W “Mega Adhesive” ability or create ambushes with it.

See Singed In Action (Video by LoL Pro Champion Replay):

13. Illaoi

“The Kraken talks to me, I swear.”

If you've never played Illaoi, I strongly advise you to do so right now. She's the queen of tentacles, you see because she worships a Kraken-like God or something. It's a massive squid that gives her power and communicates with her via the massive lantern she carries. Illaoi is one of the champions you should avoid when competing against her. She is a top laner fighter who excels at fighting, especially if the enemy can't counter her.

If you're the one playing Illaoi, my advice is to play around your tentacles because they can easily hit the enemy target if they aren’t careful. Illaoi is also very good at dealing with a large number of enemies and can easily get a Penta kill. You see, her ultimate ability “Leap Of Faith” scales as more people surround her.

The more people you ult, the more tentacles will spawn, and the more tentacles spawn, the more damage will be done. Also, keep in mind that your most important ability during the laning phase is the E “Test Of Spirit”, which rips the enemy's soul and deals an amount of damage to the enemy equal to the amount of damage you deal to the water soul. You can easily bully them out of the lane if they aren't careful.

What Makes Illaoi A Strong Top Laner:

Great at bullying people in the laning phase because of the passive “Prophet Of An Elder God” ability that spawns tentacles around the lane.
Great at fighting a huge number of enemies thanks to the ultimate ability “Leap Of Faith” since it deals a ton of AoE damage.
The W “Harsh Lesson” is an empowered auto-attack that can be great at CS’ing cannons or stealing kills from your team.

See Illaoi In Action (Video by What A Great Tip!):

12. Irelia

“I hate Noxians.”

Irelia is one of my favorite champions to play in the game because she can be powerful even if you're 0-5-0. This is a very low score, but if you're Irelia, it could be considered normal. When you get your first item, "Blade Of The Ruined King," you'll be able to dominate the lane like never before. The item provides sustain by increasing life steal and attack speed, as well as dealing more damage if the enemy has more HP.

Not only that, but Irelia is formidable even without the item. If you can fully stack your Q “Bladesurge”, your auto-attacks will deal more damage, and the Q “Bladesurge” will be reset each time anyone receives a mark from Irelia's passive. My advice is to farm the lane with your Q “Bladesurge” until it's fully stacked, and then engage the enemy with your E “Flawless Duet” because it's a CC and leaves a mark on them.

You can use the Q “Bladesurge” with the mark and it will be reset without any consequences. If things start to go wrong, you can ignore the incoming damage by pressing W “Defiant Dance”, which completely reduces the damage taken. Irelia's ultimate power allows her to mark multiple targets at the same time while slowing them down. Excellent for zoning the enemy.

What Makes Irelia A Strong Top Laner:

Irelia can reduce the incoming damage taken by using the W “Defiant Dance”.
Can CC multiple people with her E “Flawless Duet”.
The Q “Bladesurge” gets reset on a minion kill or when a mark is consumed from her passive.
The ultimate ability aka R “Vanguard’s Edge” can be a great zoning tool or an engagement tool during certain situations.

See Irelia In Action (Video by domsiumReplay: Irelia):

11. Sett

“Who wants to fight?”

Sett is the champion to play if you want to play a WWE game in League of Legends. Because this guy is all about fighting people with his hands and knocking them out. If they decide to fight back, he can return that damage with the W “Haymaker” in true damage, but only from the middle part. People in the path of the W “Haymaker” should flee before being one-shot by a single ability. The more damage Sett takes, the greater the true damage from the ability. Not only that but when Sett auto-attacks, his left-hand hits faster while his right-hand hits harder.

If the target has more HP than him, his Q “Knuckle Down” will also deal damage. It works well with tanks. Sett's E “Facebreaker” ability forces two people to headbutt each other, stunning both. When playing this champion, my advice is to fight your opponent, particularly if they are a tank. When you cast W “Haymaker”, you gain a massive shield while also dealing a massive amount of damage if you hit them. To hit them successfully every time, make sure you stun them with your E “Facebreaker”.

It may be difficult to land the stun, but if you can't, you can always slow them down and pull them toward you with the ability. If you get ganked, you can always take someone and supplex them beneath your turret with the ultimate ability R “ The Show Stopper”. The suplex range is extremely long and will put a significant amount of distance between you and the enemy. This ability is also useful in team fights, but make sure to use it on the target with the most HP.

What Makes Sett A Strong Top Laner:

Deals a ton of true damage from his W “Haymaker” if you manage to hit someone directly with the middle part.
Sett gains a huge shield from the W “Haymaker” when casting it that way he’s able to survive huge bursts.
You can stun two targets at once with your E “Facebreaker” if you aim it correctly.
His Q “Knuckle Down” deals more damage to targets that have more HP than him.
The ultimate ability R “The Show Stopper” deals more damage to large targets aka people with a ton of HP such as tanks.

See Sett In Action (Video by Daveyx3 Gameplay):

10. Riven

“My blade is broken but not my mind.”

Riven is as old as Singed, if not older, but she is also the most difficult champion to play on this list, and I am delighted to see her. She's a lot of fun to play, and the fact that she's difficult to play only adds to her appeal. Let's hope that Riven becomes OP again in the coming season. Riven's gameplay is centered on combos and jumping around. You'll be extremely weak at first, so focus on farming and last-hitting minions as much as possible. If you can't get gold from minions, at least get some XP because XP is everything when playing top lane.

Riven gains a shield from the E “Valor”, which is a simple dash. The Q “Broken Wings” is a small jump on the third cast, while the first two are small dashes. With W “Ki Burst”, you stun everyone in an AoE radius, and the ultimate ability R “Blade Of The Exile” allows Riven to recreate her sword, releasing a massive burst of energy when you cast it. Riven is all about combos and fighting multiple people at once, especially late in the game. Don't be afraid of going into a fight because she's difficult to kill, especially if you have some items. Try auto-attacking the enemy in between casting abilities. The auto-attack animation will not load, but the damage will be applied.

What Makes Riven A Strong Top Laner:

Ganking Riven successfully is hard because of the many dashes she has in her kit from the Q “Broken Wings” and E “Valor”.
The W “Ki Burst” is an AoE stun and stuns everyone around the champion.
The E “Valor” is a small dash that also gives her a shield.
Riven’s ultimate ability R “Blade Of The Exile” constructs her sword again and releases a wave of energy when you cast it a second time.

See Riven In Action (Video by domisumReplay: Riven):

9. Jax

“He has three sausage fingers.”

Like Riven and Singed, Jax is also an old champion who was introduced in the early stages of League of Legends. While Jax was the most broken champion for a long time, he faded in the latter stages of the game, particularly in season 8. Many people believe it's because they nerfed him too hard, but I believe it's because they took away his favorite item, "Spear of Shojin." But don't worry, the item is being reintroduced into the game, and we can already see an increase in Jax's popularity and win rate.

When playing Jax, you should concentrate on fighting the opposing laner because he is regarded as one of the second best duelists in the game right now. This is especially true given his E “Counter Strike” ability, which allows him to dodge all auto-attacks and, when recast, stuns people in a much larger AoE range than Riven's. The W “Empower” is an enhanced auto-attack that deals AP and AD damage, whereas the Q “Leap Strike” is a massive jump.

If you can press it, you can pretty much jump on anything. The ultimate ability R “Grandmaster’s Might” grants Jax magic and armor resistance, making him a more difficult target to kill. When playing this champion, I recommend fighting the opponent when you have a large wave or hitting them with the stun from your E “Counter Strike”. Don't overextend in the trade because Jax is quite squishy and can easily die if you're not careful.

What Makes Jax A Strong Top Laner:

You can build AP or AD or both at once as he’s a hybrid champion.
The E “Counter Strike” stuns people in an AoE range and allows Jax to dodge all auto-attacks but not abilities.
The W “Empower” is an empowered auto-attack that deals AP and AD damage.
The ultimate ability R “Grandmaster’s Might” gives Jax extra armor and magic resistance while speeding up his auto-attacks.

See Jax In Action (Video by domisumReplay: Jax):

8. Garen

“FOR DEMACIA!”

Who would have guessed that these old champions are having a good preseason? But I'm happy because it shows that they exist and that people are still playing these champions, despite their small player base. Garen is an old-school top laner who was introduced in the game's alpha stages and is currently one of the easiest top laners to play.Yes, he may have a learning curve, but isn't that true of all champions?

Garen is classified as a tank, but he can also be built as an AD crit dealer or a bruiser. People prefer the latter build because it provides Garen with both sustain and damage, whereas the full AD build only provides him with damage. During the laning phase, I recommend poking the opposing laner with your Q “Decisive Strike” or E “Judgement”, depending on what you're maxing first based on your match-up.

Garen doesn't have a mana bar, so you don't have to worry about managing your mana, only your HP. Also, once you reach level 6, don't be afraid to go all in with the champion because his ultimate ability R “Demacian Justice” deals true damage and acts like an execute if the target is below a certain amount of HP. When you use Garen's Q “Decisive Strike” ability, he gains bonus movement speed, and his W “Courage” gives him extra damage reduction.

What Makes Garen A Strong Top Laner:

The W “Courage” gives him extra armor and magic resistance while also giving him flat-out damage reduction.
Doesn’t have a mana bar which is a great thing for this kind of champion and makes it much easier for you to play him.
His passive regenerates HP if he’s not being hit or targeted by anyone.
The ultimate ability aka R “Demacian Justice” is an execute and deals true damage.

See Garen In Action (Video by Lol Korean Pro Replays):

7. Nasus

“Who let the dogs out?”

Yes. Nasus is another old champion who was introduced in the early stages of League of Legends, and to be honest, he was always strong and never really fell off much. It's just that his kit is so basic that people became bored with him. Everything revolves around stacking Nasus' Q “Siphoning Strike” ability so that you can one-shot objectives and turrets later in the game. To stack with the Q “Siphoning Strike” ability, simply last-hit minions or champions with the ability.

The ability deals more damage the more stacks you have. Nasus is easily ganked in the laning phase because he lacks mobile spells. To avoid this, learn wave management and keep the wave under your turret at all times without the turret attacking the wave. It's the lynchpin of wave management. However, if you want to catch up to your prey, you can always break their ankles and slow them down with W “Wither”, as this ability greatly reduces their movement and attack speed.

The E “Spirit Fire” is a great early-game poke tool if you're playing against someone you can't fight, but only if you're going AP. You do not need to go full AP for this ability to work; simply purchasing "Doran's Ring" will be enough to tilt the enemy laner. His ultimate ability R “Fury Of The Sands” transforms him from a puppy to a big scary dog. It increases his size, armor, and magic resistance while also allowing him to regenerate HP faster.

What Makes Nasus A Great Top Laner:

Can be an unstoppable force if left unattended in the later stages of a match since he’s a scaling champion and the longer the match goes on the stronger Nasus gets.
During the late game if you have enough stacks you can one-shot squishy champions with the Q “Siphoning Strike”.
The ultimate ability R “Fury Of The Sands” gives him extra armor and magic resistance.
His passive “Soul Eater” gives him life steal on every auto-attack. Great for sustaining if you’re playing against an aggressive opponent.

See Nasus In Action (Video by domisumReplay: Nasus):

6. Olaf

“I want to die in battle!”

Olaf is primarily a jungler, but he can also be played top lane. I put him here because he's spent more time in the top lane than in his primary role in the jungle. Olaf is all about fighting and regaining HP when he hits people. You can see that his kit gives him true damage from the E “Reckless Swing” ability and gains more attack speed and life steal as his HP drops. So as his HP decreases, he becomes stronger, but as he becomes stronger, he also becomes weaker.

As your HP increases, you gradually lose your life steal and attack speed. However, you can negate this by activating his W “Tough It Out”, which increases his attack speed and decreases the amount of incoming damage he takes. If you're playing against a melee champion, take as many fights as possible, but if you're playing against a ranged champion, just throw your Q “Undertow” at them until you get your ultimate ability R “Ragnarok”. You see Olaf's ultimate ability increases his movement speed and prevents him from being stunned while it is active.

He ignores all CC-type abilities, regardless of their nature. Also, when you throw Olaf's Q “Undertow”, the axe is left on the ground, and if you pick it up, the cooldown is automatically reset, and you can throw it again. Each time you hit someone with the axe, their movement speed is reduced. If you successfully chain this ability, you can Perma slow your opponent until you kill them.

What Makes Olaf A Strong Top Laner:

Olaf gets stronger the lower his HP is. The lower the HP the more life steal and attack speed he gets and that’s from his passive ability.
His Q’s “Undertow” cooldown gets reset if the axe is picked up after it’s thrown.
The W “Tough It Out” reduces the amount of damage taken while increasing his attack speed.
The ultimate ability R “Ragnarok” ignores all CC-type abilities.

See Olaf In Action (Video by Challenger Replays):

5. Mordekaiser

“No one can stand against me.”

Mordekaiser, the first-ever ruler of Noxus, or the one who created Noxus, is our first AP champion on this list. Mordekaiser realized there was nothing after death, so he created his death realm, which he controls. Mordekaiser intends to rise from the ashes once more and take control of what is rightfully his. Mordekaiser is a bruiser who deals AP damage, but he's also very tanky and can be very difficult to kill once he gets ahead and gets a few kills.

When playing this champion, my advice is to play it safe in the early stages, but once you reach level 6, send them to Brazil with the R “Realm Of Death”. That is, you transport them to the realm of death, where you are built differently. If you kill someone in his realm, you will gain strength and more HP, allowing you to continue your beating spree outside of Brazil.

Mordekaiser also has the W “Indestructible”, which grants him a shield based on how much HP he has lost. You can also use that shield to replenish your HP. The E “Death’s Grasp” is a pull ability that draws people closer to Mordekaiser, while the Q “Obliterate” is a simple bonk that deals additional damage to single units. If you know what you're doing, playing Mordekaiser can be a lot of fun.

What Makes Mordekaiser A Strong Top Laner:

Mordekaiser gains a huge shield from his W “Indestructible” after losing his HP. He can consume the shield for some HP if you need it to survive.
The Q “Obliterate” deals more damage to single-unit targets while the damage is spread out evenly if you hit multiple targets.
In the death realm, Mordekaiser is stronger and only a 1v1 battle is led no one else can intervene and that’s during his ultimate ability as it allows him to have some alone time with the opponent.

See Mordekaiser In Action (Video by domisumReplay: Mordekaiser):

4. Camille

“I am the law.”

If you can't play the latest Spiderman game right now, this champion might just do the trick for you, as it does for me. You see, E “Hookshot” Camille can jump onto any wall and then choose to either jump onto the enemy or jump over a wall to escape a very unfortunate situation. Her Q “Precision Protocol” can kill a squishy champion on its own, making her the queen of true damage. Camille is a bruiser character who will need some bruiser items to buff her HP more during the laning phase.

You don't have to be concerned about damage in the early game because her Q “Precision Protocol” deals true damage. Another useful feature of the Q “Precision Protocol” ability is the ability to cancel your auto-attack. You can auto-attack the same person twice in a short amount of time by doing so. Her W “Tactical Sweep” is excellent for sustaining during the laning phase, and it can also restore a small portion of her lost HP.

Camille's passive ability grants her either an AD or an AP shield depending on the first champion she attacks. When it comes to the ultimate ability R “The Hextech Ultimatum”, Camille becomes untargetable for a few seconds before landing on the opponent and locking them into a box, pushing everyone who is an enemy outside.

What Makes Camille A Great Top Laner:

Deals true damage with the Q “Precision Protocol” ability on the second cast.
The Q “Precision Protocol” can be used to cancel your auto-attacks and the damage still goes through.
W “Tactical Sweep” recovers a small portion of HP which can be great for sustain during the laning phase or if you need to recover some HP during a team fight.
E “Hookshot” is a great engagement tool or can be used as an escape tool if needed; it has a long cast range.

See Camille In Action (Video by domisumReplay: Camille):

3. Aatrox

“I am the God killer.”

Regardless of how many nerfs this champion receives, he will always reign supreme over any aspect or God. Aatrox was once a normal superhuman being who fought against the void, but after the battle was won, humanity saw no further use for the superhumans they had created and attempted to kill them. They were able to kill the majority of them, but only a few survived, including Aatrox. He escaped alive and slaughtered an entire army.

All Aatrox wants now is someone powerful enough to end his suffering and finally, put him to rest. Aatrox is a bruiser who builds lethality. Of course, only one item will be focused on lethality, while the others will be heavily focused on bruiser types. What's the reason for this? That's due to the champion's massive AD and damage scaling. Aatrox was not nerfed despite being heavily abused in Worlds 2022 and the team that picked him won the match.

Riot Games attempted to nerf him but ultimately failed. Aatrox can dash with his E “Umbral Dash” ability, and his Q “The Darkin Blade” is similar to Riven's in that it has three casts, but he cannot dash with them. The W “Infernal Chains” is a chain that draws people to the center of the ability, and the ultimate R “World Ender” grants Aatrox extra life steal and the ability to fly, significantly increasing his movement speed.

What Makes Aatrox A Great Top Laner:

The Q “The Darkin Blade” can be cast three times and each time it deals more damage.
The W “Infernal Chains” is a chain that pulls people toward the middle of the ability.
Aatrox ultimate R “World Ender” gives him wings that improve his movement speed and life steal making him stronger in every way.
Has an insane built-in life steal in his kit.

See Aatrox In Action (Video by Daveyx3 Gameplay):

2. Darius

“I am the right hand of Noxus!”

This guy is pretty much the opposite of Garen. Darius works similarly to Garen except for the fact that Darius can make people bleed and deal a ton of true damage with his ultimate ability. If Camille is the queen of true damage then Darius is the king. The more stacks of his passive ability “Hemorrhage” on a target the more true damage he will deal on a target.

If for some reason Darius was found to be going against two people at once that’s not a problem. The Q “Decimate” deals AoE damage and it also heals Darius. The W “Crippling Strike” is an empowered auto-attack and with the E “Apprehend” he just pulls people closer toward him. My advice when playing this champion is to get yourself in the middle of a team fight and just start spamming your abilities so you get as many stacks on the opponents as you can.

The more stacks the better. After you have your blood stacks on them you’ll press your R “Noxian Guillotine” and start dunking on people executing them left right and center. Nobody will be able to stop you if you play this champion correctly. When Darius was released you didn’t even have to play him correctly to do good in the game. He was that broken but thankfully he was somewhat balanced.

What Makes Darius A Strong Top Laner:

Deals AoE damage with his Q “Decimate”.
The more people he hits with the Q “Decimate” the more HP he recovers.
The W “Crippling Strike” is an empowered auto-attack that deals extra damage to targets.
The more blood stacks on a target the more true damage the ultimate ability “Noxian Guillotine” will deal.
The ultimate ability “Noxian Guillotine” is an execute which deals more damage to low HP targets.

See Darius In Action (Video by ChallengerLeague):

1. Fiora

“Try to hit me.”

Fiora is the best top laner in the game right now. Nobody can compete with this girl's pre-season power. What are you waiting for and why aren’t you playing Fiora to boost your LP before the next season starts, and why aren't you playing the champion? Fiora, you see, is a duelist who can beat anyone in a 1v1 battle. Only your skill can save you in a 1v2 situation, but only if you are level 6 or ahead of everyone else in the game. During the laning phase, Fiora can use the W “Riposte” to block any ability or auto-attack thrown at her.

That ability is extremely annoying to deal with if you’re against her, but it is extremely useful when playing as the champion. You can parry anything with it, and if it's a CC ability and you time it right, hitting your opponent with the W “Riposte” will stun them instead. The E “Bladework” is a powerful auto-attack with two casting options. The first cast causes people to slow down, while the second deals more damage.

The Q “Lunge” is a simple poke, but it comes in handy when using the ultimate ability R “Grand Challenge” or hitting a vital point from her passive “Duelist’s Dance”. Once you've mastered the champion, it's quite simple to hit. Furthermore, if you hit all four vital points with the ultimate ability “Grand Challenge”, it will summon an AoE healing ability on the ground. If you're losing the team fight, this is a great way to heal your entire team.

What Makes Fiore A Strong Top Laner:

You can parry any ability or auto-attack with the W “Riposte”.
The Q “Lunge” is a great poking tool to proc the passive ability of Fiora.
The E “Bladework” is an empowered auto-attack that you can cast two times. The first cast is slow while the second deals more damage.
She’s one of the best duelists in the game currently and she excels at 1v1 fights.

See Fiora In Action (Video by Challenger Replays):

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Mumin T.

As one of many people who sold his soul to Riot Games and spent many sleepless nights playing their game, Mumin has managed to keep his sanity and has learned to control his anger and rise above.

Gamer Since:

2008

Favorite Genre:

MOBA

Currently Playing:

League of Legends

Top 3 Favorite Games:

League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Fallout 4

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