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SEASON 3 - THRESH PATCH SOLO QUEUE TIER LIST
Preface Chatter
Since some of you were starting to get restless I took the time to update the tier list for post balance changes and the evolving meta.
You might also be wondering why some of the heroes were moved around slightly, despite no long description as to why. The reason for this is that making this tier list is highly subjective, so I try and take in as many opinions as possible. I draw from statistical win rates, discussions with high Elo players, tournament statistics, community responses, and general comments that you guys make.
No movement of champions in the tier list is based off of random clicking alone, so rest assured, if a champion changed slightly, there is a logical reason behind it, although I may not mention it in the description. Feel free to ask in the comments section if you want clarification!
The Tier List
Tier 1: Amumu, Rumble, Miss Fortune, Twisted Fate, Shaco, Katarina, Shen, Fiddlesticks, Zyra, Nidalee, Jax, Darius, Malphite, Elise, Ezreal, Taric, Singed, Kha'Zix, Caitlyn, Lee Sin, Blitzcrank, Talon, Karthus, Sona, Cho'gath, Graves, Evelynn, Olaf, Nocturne
Tier 2: Lux, Lulu, Kassadin, Ashe, Master Yi, Maokai, Ryze, Xin Zhao, Corki, Teemo, Pantheon, Twitch, Kayle, Jarvan IV, Jayce, Renekton, Nunu, Ahri, Cassiopeia, Irelia, Riven, Orianna, Morgana, Akali, Skarner, Nautilus, Vladamir, Alistar, Zed, Thresh, Mordekaiser, Soraka, Leona, Janna, Dr. Mundo, Anivia
Tier 3: Annie, Galio, Kog'Maw, Kennen, Vi, Brand, Gragas, Vayne, Wukong, Sivir, Draven, Varus, Nami, Shyvana, Warwick, Yorick, Sion, Tristana, Fizz, Swain, Viktor, Zilean, Veigar, Diana, Malzahar, Garen, Xerath, Hecarim, Gangplank
Tier 4: Sejuani, Rengar, Syndra, Urgot, Rammus, Udyr, Heimerdinger, Ziggs, Trundle, Volibear, Tryndamere, Poppy, Leblanc, Nasus, Fiora, Karma
- Heroes in BOLD I will talk about shortly
- Heroes in Italics may be over/undervalued, but aren't/haven't played enough for me to make a better judgement.
- Within each tier the champions are strongest from left to right, but within a tier each champion's strength is relatively close. This is especially true for Tiers 2 and 3 where these heroes are ALL highly playable and player dependent on how strong they are in-game.
Hero Explanations
- Amumu - He's strong. He's easy. He's safe in the jungle now, even without blue buff despite what some older players think. There's very little downside to him, and he has both burst and sustained tank-killing damage, despite being a tank himself. Age-old favorite.
- Annie - Recent buffs have made her fairly strong in my opinion, expect to see more people playing her, especially with the new Panda Annie skin coming out.
- Fiddlesticks - Fiddlesticks is in a great place right now. His ability to 1v5 enemy champions is still unrivaled, and can gank from insane angles.
- Gangplank - He's not in a happy place right now. Sure, he still does well if he does well early, but his numbers and kit are no longer as strong in today's game. He's very straightforward to play, which is part of the reason why he's been made less rewarding.
- Kassadin - Kassadin's starting to do very well, especially with good players picking him back up after xPeke's insane Kassadin play. He's still the same champion, but with stronger AP assasins like Diana nerfed to the ground, he's starting to pick up again.
- Miss Fortune - Her ultimate is nonsense and her laning phase is faceroll.
- Olaf - After a strong tournament showing recently, I think he's definitely deserving to be in Tier 1, but I think he's much stronger in competitive play than in solo queue. Some tentative nerfs are also in line on the PBE air client.
- Rumble - Honestly, he's just ridiculously strong in solo queue. Nobody wants to actually select an unusual champion like Corki top, which can counter him hard if the Rumble plays normally. Instead they select a bunch of normal melee champions and assassins that Rumble just eats for lunch.
- Shaco - He's pretty much back in his old form now. He doesn't have the old double buff trick anymore, but he's a massive game-changer. The new Warmog also allows him to be extremely tanky for extremely cheap, which gives him more utility than before and the possibility to build damage with no sacrifice of a bruiser on the team.
- Syndra - I know I'm going to get stuffed for this one, but I simply don't think she's good, nor have I seen anyone do well with her recently, and statistics and general consensus agrees.
- Tristana - She's just really weak right now in terms of early game pressure compared to other AD carries. Her late game is still beast, but the things you can do to her mid-jump...outrageous.
- Twisted Fate - Same old Twisted Fate, more people picking him up lately, and some new tricks surfaced with him. He's also breathing a sigh of relief with Diana off the scene.
- The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for hero selection.
sweet man thx
ReplyDeleteVayne in tier 3? You sure about that? I agree that's she's not the best ADC early game but she makes up for it late game. Putting Caitlyn in tier 1 like that and Vayne in tier 3 just seems wrong.
ReplyDeleteHi Newt! A fed Vayne is certainly very scary, but the problem is her early game is quite weak and she has to be very aggressive to land any poke on enemy champions, which leaves her susceptible to a variety of dangers.
ReplyDeleteHer low range also makes her very vulnerable to AOE, which is quite popular at the moment. Having your ADC dying to collateral damage is quite troublesome, and while good positioning will help avoid the problem, I feel the effort to reward ratio is higher for her than for other AD carries at the moment. She's also got quite a low win rate statistically as well.
thx for the list.
ReplyDeleteother than that why is ziggs on tier 4 I m sure he deserves to be at a higher tier since he can zone out any mid lane champ while farming, i know we haven't seen him in competitive play but i can still remember seeing him getting banned once XD.
PS: it's not your fault SSJ; "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.", Daniel Patrick Monynihan
btw nunu just got a nerf on pbe that i m sure is going to make it to live, just to clear things up ^^
ReplyDeleteInitial thoughts on Thresh? Or still too early to place?
ReplyDeleteAlso, thought on Shaco...did his clone ever keep the buffs he had to make it more 'deceitful'? It's too easy imo to see which is the clone and which isn't. Same with Le Blanc's passive. I think that would make things...well, just quality of life again really.. just my .02.
ReplyDeleteLooks good im happy to see shaco and kassadin getting more recognition. I think Elise deserves a higher place in tier 1 atm, her assassination ability is almost unrivaled.
ReplyDeleteHaha yes I know about that. That's the nice thing about Riot, they've always got balance changes coming up for broken strategies.
ReplyDeleteHi vrgewr, interesting quote you have there, thanks for sharing! The main reason Ziggs is Tier 4 is that he's very vulnerable to to getting attacked and killed from behind due to his lack of reliable escapes, which in today's world of assassins is dangerous indeed. Even though his skillset is super annoying with blue, he can't really trade with any champions unless he gets ahead without landing a lot of poke first.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, it's kind of the risk vs reward deal with Ziggs here, I feel that there are better choices. Then again, there are those players who play Ziggs like his spells are radar guided; these players make Ziggs look like a much higher tier.
Little early on Thresh, but I think he's definitely playable so far.
ReplyDeleteSome good movement on this list.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised Mudno isn't more of a popular pick right now, with the effectiveness of HP stacking and all.
I think Wukong should be higher. He has a top-5 win rate among top laners. Really strong in solo queue especially.
ReplyDeleteSyndra is a very underestimated champion, her recent buffs makes her so viable. The problem: It's so hard to handle, you must focus so much wich spell is the best each time..
ReplyDeleteDo you think kha will get nerfed? I wanna get him, but I dont want him to end up like Rengar...
ReplyDeleteHi Alex, Kha was already nerfed a little last patch. I doubt they'll take it any further in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThanks Hyfe! Mundo's definitely strong, I think the major problem is the popularity of Miss Fortune at the moment, who takes a dump on Mundo without really trying.
ReplyDeleteHi Chase! I think champions like Shaco and Kassadin are cyclical, regardless of nerfs. When people start forgetting what it's like to play against them they suddenly become very strong. Nerfs to other FOTM champions also gradually move them up in relative strength.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nerfplz.com/2012/09/first-impressions-of-syndra.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nerfplz.com/2013/01/syndra-buffs-next-patch.html
GET SMASHED
I'm glad Singed made it to the top, things like Warmog's+Reworked Tear/Arc Staff make him very strong.
ReplyDeleteAshe hasn't shifted much lately. I know she's generally a late game carry,but what do you think of her in current meta?
I think her numbers are good, but Ashe will always be...Ashe. Clutch Ashe is clutch, and her ultimate is a game-changer. I think that how good she is extremely dependent on the player, and what kind of items and champions most people are playing in the current meta.
ReplyDeleteIf boots of swiftness catches on, she loses a LOT of her effectiveness. Meanwhile, I think she does well against a variety of ADs, but has trouble depending on who the enemy jungler is.
"but the things you can do to her mid-jump...outrageous."
ReplyDeleteI'm a relatively new player and I was just wondering what you meant by this because on paper- tristana was looking very appealing...
Hi Ryan, what I mean by this is that Tristana's jump moves her around 2-dimensionally, and not 3 dimensionally despite how the animation looks. This means that anything and EVERYTHING will hit her during her jump including but not limited to Caitlyn Traps, Rammus powerballs, Singed flings, and all sorts of nefarious skills.
ReplyDeletewow that is absurd, and definitely sounds like something that I would have been very disappointed to learn on my own. Does Riot have any plans to fix this in the future that you are aware of?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so, she might be too strong if they do! They're just tweaking numbers on her other moves.
ReplyDeleteYou have Cho in the first tier which I definitely agree with, but I was hoping you would clarify as to which role you had in mind for solo queue dominance.
ReplyDeleteHi Newt, that's all very true. In terms of utility, MF as versatile as other AD carries. However, her her passive W make it nearly impossible to trade against her in lane, and her passive makes it so that she can always get in range to try and trade.
ReplyDeleteHer ultimate is also very good for counter-engaging, and the range on it lets her stay safe until it's time to come in to clean up. Think of her as a two trick pony, but with two very good tricks.
First of all, thanks for the reply! You do a great job on this tier list and this site in general, I also rlly love that you respond to most reader comments! Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletenow, my question: Do you think kha is a top tier champ if he is played in the jungle? His clearing is supposed to be good, but he isnt really cc heavy and esp pre 6 ganks might be meh... what do you think?
i think that heimer is something more than tier 4, but its my opinion... i found him more playable those days... like more able to take kills fast, his W... well.. who play him well may know what i mean.. xD
ReplyDeleteUrgot is not tier 4 at all - recent pro play can show you that.
ReplyDeleteHecarim is really underrated.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Responding to visitors is really what I love most about blogging.Jungle kha is okay but I think he's much stronger in lane.
ReplyDeleteHi phil! Urgot is okay in arranged team play, but i feel that he is very dependent on the right team comps to be effective.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, from what I've seen she's just very difficult to play. It's not that she can't dish it out, it's that she's challenging for a player to control. Saw her get beaten by Sona mid today. Badly.
ReplyDeleteI think Ahri's indisputably stronger than Syndra...nobody really plays her anymore though, she's boring now :P
ReplyDeleteI'm a nerd
ReplyDeleteUrgot also really needs a lot of coordination with his ult, keep in mind that this is his solo/duo tier list. Coordination is the reason Urgot is very good in teams, but not as much in solo/duo.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way @SSJSuntastic:disqus writes his responses to peoples' questions and comments. He will write his opinion on the topic, then give a completely opposite opinion to show he's not saying he is set in stone right and that other opinions may also very well be right. Like one of my AP World essays haha
ReplyDeleteThanks Kyle, I try to be open-minded! I remember taking AP World back in the day, guess it carried over =]
ReplyDeleteOf course, his versatility is part of the appeal. You can first pick and switch your lane to avoid being countered.
ReplyDeleteit has been since muramana has been released that I'm wondering if syndra's ult stacks with it.
ReplyDeleteanyone knows if that would work?
if it would she would just destroy anyone with ult ^^ ( i don t own syndra and my internet sucks too hard for me to download the pbe update and test it myself )
Her ult does indeed work with muramane, and yeah it's very strong when she uses it. Being in Tier 4 doesn't mean unplayable, and each of them still has the ability to be strong.
ReplyDeleteVayne is a good champion but she gets countered very easily and is very bad early game unless if she gets lots of support from her team and gets fed. But unless if she gets the support she needs early game she can be shut down very easily and not carry in the game like good ADC should.
ReplyDeleteNidalee in which position?
ReplyDeleteap mid? ad top? support? ad carry? ^^
I think Trundle deserves a higher spot then 4th tier. I even think he is maybe one of the most underrated champs in Solo queue. Especially, since he can counter champs like Lee, Darius, Xin and Jax, which are seen regularly in solo queue. Why did you rate him this low? Because of his ganking capacities? I would place him next to Shyvanna or warwick. Most certainly, he deserves a spot above Sejuani, which is less-viable in my experience.
ReplyDeletediana is nearly in her old form now with the latest "re-nerf"
ReplyDeleteher w is now in range with autoattacks and the range of her ult is higher than before the nerf
i would say she's in tear 2 or higher because u can't rlly counter her and she can counter a lot of popular midchmaps such as katarina, zyra and lux
in addition she's not only good in mid she's also a good performing jungler
Why is Shyvana tier 3 ? I thought that she's very strong if played rightly. She's especially good in counter jungling and teamfights.
ReplyDeletei was wondering what you think of Pantheon hes one of my best champs but i cant seem to get anywhere with him in team fights. If i play more tier 1 champs is my team synergy going to improve?
ReplyDeleteNidalee's strong in a lot of positions, but personally I think she's strongest top as a tanky pusher. Not so sure about her as an AD carry, I'd probably call that a Tier 4 :P
ReplyDeleteI saw doublelift's post on Trundle as well, it's true that he does very well against tanky champions. I'll have to pick him up for a bit to see how he is, haven't seen him at all in the past month or two.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Diana's doing much better now! She'll be getting a move up next tier list. I'm not quite sold on her jungling power though.
ReplyDeleteHi Magico, Shyvana does do well if played correctly, and she does a good amount of damage. The only problem is her ganks aren't very good except as a counter-ganker, and if she falls behind, she's very one-dimensional.
ReplyDeletePantheon's definitely good, but I think late game he still starts falling behind if he's only doing average, even with black cleaver. Tier 1 champions aren't necessarily all team fighting champions, but they will be able to carry under-performing teams using their talents.
ReplyDeleteOh,allright. I got it. Thanks for your reply. ^^ But I still don't get why Vi moved from Tier 1 to Tier 3. She's one of my favorite jungler now. Well...I understand that many people counter her top but nearly no one can counter her in the jungle. Additionally, her ganks are great if you hit your Q properly. And when your ultimate is ready ,you'll get a kill in most cases.
ReplyDeleteElise seems so strong when she is top, even her 'bad' match ups really just seem to be more even than negative from what i have seen and read. Do you think she will be nerfed soon?
ReplyDeletethx for the reply, and btw this is vrgewr
ReplyDeleteI didn't post my summoner name the first time because I didn't feel like creating an account so i posted random letters as a name XD
its funny how he gets countered by another underplayed hero "Syndra"
ReplyDeleteDraven in tier 3? I feel like you're wholly underrating him. He has one of the best DPS's of any ADC in the game.
ReplyDeleteHi Zach, that's probably true, a lot of people are starting to utilize his skill set better. He'll probably get moved up a little bit in the next update.
ReplyDeleteHi Marcus, looks like she was nerfed slightly!
ReplyDeleteI once saw trist jump be interrupted by cho spikes when she was high up :P
ReplyDeleteTrist went into orbit.