2016 Champion Tier List - Ranked 3s Twisted Treeline - Patch 6.22 Update

Now that ranked flex queue for Twisted Treeline is out, interest is perking up on the map. If you are completely new to this mode, be sure to check out this article, which details the top 10 differences between this and Summoner's Rift.

Playing solo queue in 3s is a bit rough and you should probably know what you will be at the complete mercy of your team. However, jungle will have the highest impact if you think you can carry. The reason for this is that the jungler dictates when to invade and also has the highest control over the objectives.

SEASON 6 -  PATCH 6.22 RANKED 3'S TIER LIST

THE TWISTED TREELINE

This List has been updated, and new versions are available via this link

Introduction

Now that ranked flex queue for Twisted Treeline is out, interest is perking up on the map. If you are completely new to this mode, be sure to check out this article, which details the top 10 differences between Twisted Treeline and Summoner's Rift.

Playing solo queue in 3s is a bit rough and you should probably know what you will be at the complete mercy of your team. However, jungle will have the highest impact if you think you can carry. The reason for this is that the jungler dictates when to invade and also has the highest control over the objectives.

New In the Meta

Currently, besides the influx of new players into the queue, some of the higher level players are starting to put marksmen top lane alone as a result of their excellent dueling power and push potential.

Current Metagame

Right now there are THREE main methods of playing Twisted Treeline:

1. Duo top with a support like Braum and a marksman like Lucian
2. Two solo lanes with a jungler (Generally glass cannons stay bot)
3. Duo top with a melee bruiser w/Smite + Braum or Maokai and a standard AP or ranged AD bot

It seems for the most part higher tier teams prefer the support meta running exhaust + heal, whereas lower divisions seem to do better with the level advantage from having a jungler.

Most strong top lane solo champions will also do well with a support with strong CC for invasion potential.

Based off of this, I'm splitting this tier list into "roles" similar to the solo queue 5s list. However, as there are only 3 positions open, I won't be including every champion into this list. If you feel that I've missed out on a strong champion, please let me know and I'll include it in the next update.

Updates

• (Bot Lane Solo) - Moved Aurelion Sol, Azir, Gragas, Katarina to [Tier 4]
• (Jungle) - Aatrox, Kindred moved to [Tier 4]
• (Top Lane Solo) - Shen, Zed moved to [Tier 4]
• (Marksman) - Corki, Kalista, Miss Fortune, Sivir moved to [Tier 4]
• (Support) - Alistar, Thresh moved to [Tier 4]

Toolkit and Options

Click to toggle champion movement history 

Search for a champion:

The Tier List

God Tier List

[Highest Influence | Good In Almost Every Situation | Easiest to Gain LP With]

Bot Lane Solo	Brand, Syndra, Viktor, Anivia,
Jungle	Maokai, Poppy, Skarner, Zac
Top Lane	Jayce, Graves, Kayle, Darius, Illaoi
Marksman	Graves, Caitlyn, Lucian
Support	Taric, Braum, Nautilus

God Tier Rising: Jayce (Top), Maokai (Jungle), Poppy (Jungle), Skarner (Jungle), Taric (Support)
God Tier Falling: Viktor (Mid)

Tier 1

[Strong/Preferred Choices | Faster to Learn and Win]

Bot Lane Solo: Cassiopeia, Malzahar, Morgana, Vel'koz, Ahri, Karma, Orianna, Graves, Lulu, Jayce, Swain, Galio, Annie, Lissandra, Kayle, Lux, 

Jungle: Jarvan IV, Hecarim, Rek'Sai, Nunu, Olaf, Gragas, Graves, Elise, Trundle, Shaco, Xin Zhao, Kha'Zix, Amumu, Shyvana, Diana

Top Lane Solo: Irelia, Yasuo, Poppy, Jarvan IV, Fiora, Renekton, Trundle, Pantheon, Gangplank, Tahm Kench, Olaf, Maokai, Wukong

Marksman: Vayne, Jhin

Support: Tahm Kench, Trundle, Maokai, Leona, Poppy, Gragas

Tier 1 Rising: Cassiopeia (Bot), Fiora (Top), Jarvan IV (Top), Kha'Zix (Jungle), Lux (Bot), Malzahar (Bot), Morgana (Bot), Orianna (Bot), Pantheon (Top), Shaco (Jungle), Swain (Bot), Xin Zhao (Jungle)
Tier 1 Falling: Gragas (Jungle), Graves (Bot), Maokai (Support), Poppy (Support), Vayne (Marksman), Yasuo (Top)

Tier 2

[Viable/Balanced Choices | Common Picks]

Bot Lane Solo: Xerath, Zilean, Vladimir, Taliyah, Gnar, Yasuo, Ekko, Cho'Gath, Leblanc, Singed, Ryze, Kennen, Diana, Rumble

Jungle: Tahm Kench, Wukong, Cho'Gath, Lee Sin, Sejuani, Jax, Dr. Mundo, Pantheon, Mordekaiser, Sion, Vi, Volibear, Yorick, Rengar, Warwick

Top Lane Solo: Volibear, Riven, Garen, Cho'Gath, Nautilus, Ekko, Kennen, Hecarim, Singed, Sion, Yorick, Gnar, Teemo, Kled, Dr. Mundo, Xin Zhao, Riven, Jax, Lee Sin, Rengar, Talon, Aatrox, Shyvana, Kha'Zix

Marksman: Draven

Support: Bard, Sion, Volibear, Annie, Lulu, Karma,

Tier 2 Rising: Sejuani (Jungle)
Tier 2 Falling: Bard (Support), Cho'Gath (Top), Draven (Marksman), Garen (Top), Hecarim (Top), Nautilus (Top), Kennen (Top), Riven (Top), Sivir (Marksman), Tahm Kench (Jungle), Volibear (Top), Xerath (Bot), Zilean (Bot)

Tier 3

[Needs Higher Skill or Knowledge Than Usual | Counterpicks]

Bot Lane Solo: Corki, Zyra, Fizz, Ziggs, Heimerdinger, Talon, Teemo, Kassadin

Jungle: Ekko, Udyr, Nocturne, Nidalee, Malphite, Fiddlesticks, Evelynn, Nautilus, Nasus

Top Lane Solo: Tryndamere, Diana, Rek'Sai, Udyr, Nasus, Malphite

Marksman: Jinx, Ezreal, Quinn, Mordekaiser

Support: Morgana, Soraka, Nunu, Malphite

Tier 3 Rising:
Tier 3 Falling: Ekko (Jungle), Fizz (Bot), Nidalee (Jungle), Talon (Bot), Udyr (Jungle)

Tier 4

[Not Played Often | One Trick Ponies]

Everybody else. Not to say that you can't win with other champions, but for the most part the ones above will give you plenty to work with. Feel free to try out other strategies and post your experiences in the comment section below!

AD/AP Positioning

Due to the way the map is arranged, bot lane is generally considered the "safer" lane, so the solo laner almost always goes here. However, as this game mode is somewhat uncommon, you may see teams send two champions to bot lane. As a result, it's generally best to send an AP bot with long range waveclear, as these champions can deal with both 1v1 and 1v2 lanes.

This means that for the most part, the AD based champion will go top. However, swapping these around isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's a good idea to make sure that you have a mix of damage types so that the enemy team can't easily itemize against you.

When you duo in one lane with a support, top is almost always better as it's easier to invade their jungle through the top lane, and it's much easier to bully the melee laner as well since they generally lack ranged waveclear.

Champion Explanations

• Anivia [God Tier Bot] - Anivia is one of those champions that does exceedingly well on this map. Her stun can reach from the center of the map into the bushes top lane for a sneaky gank, and her level two wall can easily cut off enemies on the narrow corridors of Twisted Treeline. Her burst damage is also extremely good, but she is susceptible to getting interrupted out of her ultimate. 
• Brand [God Tier Bot] - Brand is arguably one of the strongest AP mages on the map in his current form, and can easily carry you quite far on the ladder. Early on in your ranked grind, banning him out is best. However, later when you reach the higher tiers, players tend to pick champions like Elise, Braum, etc. which negates the effectiveness of his ultimate. Wooglets is also a standard purchase on the map, and quickly reduces his overall potential. However, that being said, the amount of AOE damage he puts out is absurd, and his stun is almost a guaranteed kill if someone facechecks a bush.
• Cassiopeia [Tier 1 Bot] - Cassiopeia is a big favorite of highly skill bot laners, and could easily be God Tier in the right hands. She's rarely banned, but is capable of solo carrying games via her extremely high sustained damage combined with her someone difficult to maneuver ultimate ability.
• Darius [God Tier Top] - Similar to Brand, banning out Darius early on in your career is an excellent move. He counters almost every melee top laner, and also snowballs extremely hard into the mid to late game as a result of the resets on his ultimate. Later on players learn to counterpick with ranged and rotate lanes to avoid getting dunked, but otherwise, Darius is always an obnoxious pick-up.
• Graves [God Tier Top] - The power of Graves lies in his flexibility. If the enemy team decides to do a 2v1 top lane, Graves can easily clear the waves off his turret and avoid falling behind in levels or experience. As a whole, he is extremely strong all over the map, and is especially strong because of the multitude of walls he can shoot his Q into.
• Jayce [God Tier Top] - Similar to Graves, Jayce is extremely good in terms of his flexibility laning. However, his main draw lies in his ability to 100 to 0 champions with ease. Any time an enemy champion dies in lane, the enemy team can quickly snowball and take over the game. A single early game death may decide the game if a team has good coordination, and Jayce is the harbringer of top lane death.
• Lucian [God Tier Top] - Despite his nerfs, Lucian remains a potent pick on Twisted Treeline for dealing with annoying melee champions like Darius. His escape allows him to dance around champions with single gap-closers, and the narrow lane leaves little room for enemies to escape the full brunt of his ultimate.
• Malzahar [Tier 1 Bot] - Malzahar can be extremely oppressive against certain match-ups, and his pick potential is incredibly good. However, his sustained burst damage is not quite as high as some of the other popular AP mages.
• Taric [God Tier Support] - Similar to how Kayle is really good on this map, Taric's ultimate allows for high damage champions to survive through bruiser CC and tear through their defenses. His naturally good early to mid-game also allows teams to sustain and snowball through the game with ease.
• Skarner [God Tier Jungle] - Skarner is seeing some love on Summoner's Rift, but Twisted Treeline saw him first. The small map and dense packing of his mini-objectives mean that he can make full use of them in a way he never could on Summoner's Rift. As a result, a champion balanced for Summoner's Rift is suddenly incredibly overpowered on Twisted Treeline. 

Disclaimer:

• The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for champion selection.
• While I'm by no means a guru on the Twisted Treeline I do enjoy playing the game mode quite a bit and look forward to climbing the new flex ladder.
• That being said, take this tier list with a grain of salt and feel free to engage in open debate in the comment section with your own thoughts and comments. As the game mode isn't all that popular right now, hopefully this list will help spur some of you to try it out!

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

Previous versions of this list available here