2014 Champion Tier List - Solo Queue - Patch 4.4 Update

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SEASON 4 - PATCH 4.4 SOLO QUEUE TIER LIST
SEASON 4 UPDATE

Preface Chatter
Patch 4.4 introduced a slew of changes, hitting some popular champions with like Kassadin with massive nerfs and some unpopular ones like Heimerdinger with substantial buffs. There's been plenty of movement, but definitely more to come as the effects of the patch become more apparent. Check out the updated list below!

Patch 4.4 Summary

Buffs: Diana, Ezreal, Fizz, Heimerdinger, Kog'Maw, Nautilus, Skarner, Tristana, Twisted Fate
Nerfs: Elise, Kassadin, Sivir, Thresh, Vi
Tweaks: Annie

Updates: 

• 4/1: AP Trist Mid moved to Tier 3, Evelynn Mid removed, Jayce mid moved to Tier 2, 
• 3/27: Moved Kha back up to God Tier, Corki moved down to Tier 2, Ahri moved up a bit, Top Raka moved to Tier 1, Nasus moved down a bit,
• 3/23: Moved Kass back up to Tier 2. That was fast wasn't it? I think his new skillset is taking some getting used to, but he's still pretty strong and his old bot gank strategies still work really well.

Use CTRL + F to Search For Champions

The Tier List

God Tier [Very Strong]: 
Mid-Lane Gods: Lulu (AP), Ziggs, Kayle,
Jungle Gods: Wukong, Amumu, Kha'Zix, Vi
AD Gods: Jinx, Draven, Sivir, Lucian
Top Lane Gods: Wukong, Renekton, Nasus, Jax
Support Gods: Leona, Thresh, Morgana

Tier 1 [Really Strong]:
Mid-Lane: Katarina, Talon, Swain, Akali, Heimerdinger, Gragas, Kha'Zix, Orianna, Leblanc, Yasuo, Lux, Morgana, Galio, Malzahar, Ahri, Brand, Nidalee, Syndra, Pantheon, Diana, Fizz, Wukong
Jungle: Fiddlesticks, Pantheon, Volibear, Rammus, Elise,  Jarvan IV, Udyr, Lee Sin, Sejuani, Aatrox, Nocturne, Hecarim, Dr. Mundo,
AD Carry: Caitlyn, Varus, Tristana, Ezreal, Graves
Top Lane: Fiora, Kayle, Shyvana, Dr. Mundo, Singed, Tryndamere, Warwick, Soraka, Yasuo, Darius, Teemo, Olaf, Rengar, Aatrox, Yorick, Kennen, Jarvan IV, Elise, Malphite, Lee Sin, Udyr, Volibear, Karma, Nidalee
Support: Sona, Annie, Taric, Zyra, Lulu, Janna, Blitzcrank

Tier 2 [Balanced]:
Mid-Lane: Viktor, Cassiopeia, Annie, Anivia, Kassadin, Kennen, Mordekaiser, Zed, Vladimir, Vel'Koz, Xerath, Zyra, Teemo, Elise, Lissandra, Sion, Ryze, Jayce, Karma
Jungle: Evelynn, Shaco, Xin Zhao, Skarner, Nautilus, Olaf, Zac, Maokai, Nasus, Warwick, Shyvana, Rengar, Leona, Trundle, Malphite, Gragas, Diana, Zed
AD Carry: Ashe, Corki, Twitch, Kog'Maw, Vayne, Miss Fortune, Quinn
Top Lane: Rumble, Cho'gath, Zac, Riven, Pantheon, Ryze, Viktor, Shen, Poppy, Akali, Quinn, Vi, Swain, Kha'Zix, Vladimir, Trundle, Garen, Jayce, Lissandra, Zed
Support: Nami, Fiddlesticks, Karma, Alistar, Soraka

Tier 3 [Needs Higher Skill/Knowledge Than Usual]:
Mid-Lane: Karthus, Veigar, Riven, Twisted Fate,  Tristana, Cho'Gath, Fiddlesticks, Soraka
Jungle: Nunu, Jax, Cho'Gath, Shen, Malzahar, Yasuo, Fiora, Master Yi, Riven, Kayle, Poppy, Darius,
AD Carry: Twisted Fate, Kennen, Urgot
Top Lane: Irelia, Gangplank, Mordekaiser, Xin Zhao, Sion, Vayne, Master Yi, Talon, Nunu, Galio
Support: Teemo, Nunu, Volibear, Lux, Nautilus, Orianna, Nidalee, Zilean, Gangplank, Shen

Tier 4 [Difficult to Win]:
Mid-Lane: Kog'maw, Zilean, Janna, Ezreal (AP),
Jungle: Tryndamere, Gangplank, Blitzcrank, Alistar
AD Carry:
Top Lane: Urgot
Support: Kayle, Malphite, Poppy, Elise, Galio, Maokai, Yorick, Lissandra, Ashe, Leblanc, Caitlyn

• Champions in BOLD I will talk about shortly
• Champions UNDERLINED 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 champions are ALL highly playable and player dependent on how strong they are in-game.

Click Here for a description of the tiers

God Tier: These champions are almost impossible to keep down. If your team doesn't make it a priority to shut down these champions and shut them down hard, even if they lose their lane, lose in CS, and it's their first time playing the champion, they can be a massive nuisance for your team. On the other hand, if they're actually good at the champion...that's when it's time to throw in the towel.

Tier 1: These champions generally do very well regardless, and have some sort of advantage over most other champions. When they do well, their team does well. Even when they don't do well, their team still has a good chance of a comeback victory by utilizing one or more aspects of their late game utility.

Tier 2: This is the Tier of balanced champions where Riot shoots to place their designs. These champions generally do well in their own right, and are very strong picks with a good chance of winning. However, they're not overpowered by any means and do have their weaknesses.

Tier 3: These champions can still do very well, but tend to need a little more snowballing to get rolling. Even if they get an early lead, it's still very possible to turn the tides on them with just a mistake or two. They may also have some weaknesses that can be capitalized on.

Tier 4: These champions are either underpowered or offer less reward than other champions for the same amount of effort. These champions basically start winning from the get-go or get made fun of for the rest of the game. They need gold to do their job correctly, and if they don't get enough of it, they become sandbags for the enemy team to punch. Chances of a comeback with one of these champions feeding on your team is almost none.

Champion Explanations

• Elise [Tier 1 Jungle] - The nerfs on Elise hit her pretty hard, and although she's still decent, a lot of the things she used to be able to pull off are no longer possible. As such, we'll likely see a period where her win rate drops drastically as people get more accustomed to what she can and cannot do.
• Evelynn [Tier 2 Jungle] - Tanky Evelynn jungle is actually pretty decent, and still does a sizable amount of damage. Glass cannon Evelynn is still weaker.
• Fiora [Tier 1 Top] - With nerfs to a lot of popular top lane champions as well as an overall move away from ASPD reducing champions in the game, Fiora finds herself in a lot of favorable match-ups lately.
• Galio [Tier 1 Mid] - With Udyr dropped back down to one of the lowest jungling pick rates, and a lot of the popular AD mids nerfed out of the position, Galio's sneaking his way back up as a great counter and amazing AOE initiator. His speed boosts also synergize with a lot of team comps in the current meta.
• Heimerdinger [Tier 1 Mid] - I think his current win rates are a bit skewed at the moment, but he's definitely stronger. I don't think he's quite God Tier at the moment and he could also be a bit lower than what I've currently placed him at, but a 58% win rate certainly deserves a second look and his damage output is certainly much higher than expected if support Heimer is any indication.
• Kassadin [Tier 2 Mid Lane] - The changes to Kassadin were certainly a nerf, and he's definitely much weaker as a result dropping him to a paltry 43.8% win rate. I don't think he's ban-worthy anymore, but once champions get nerfed and the cycle turns around again I'm sure he'll come back some day.
• Lulu [God Tier Mid] - Absolutely broken still, but nerfs are already in progress.
• Morgana [God Tier Support] - Morgana support requires you to have an AD carry with stronger mechanics than usual, which means that in solo queue it tends to have less of an impact at lower ranks. However, I think that her black shield utility is certainly nothing to scoff at, and even if your AD carry isn't the star of the show, as long as one snowball type champion (think Katarina or Akali) is fed enough, a single black shield could be the difference between winning and losing.
• Nautilus [Tier 2 Jungle] - Nautilus doesn't benefit as much from the spirit stones in jungle as much as other carry type junglers at the moment. I might be a little biased since I'm a big fan of the CC in his kit, but I can admit a mistake and even though he received some buffs, I think he's only at the balanced level in the current meta.
• Pantheon [Tier 1 Jungle] - The spirit stone changes are definitely very strong on him, and give him a tremendous amount of damage and snowball potential. However, as a FOTM champion you'll always get a large influx of people who want to play him but don't really know how. His potential is definitely there though.
• Shaco [Tier 2 Jungle] - Shaco's slowly sneaking his way back up as other junglers get nerfed one by one and Doran shield nerfs make laners easier to gank and burst down early. 
• Twitch [Tier 2 AD Carry] - Twitch's lack of escape makes him slightly weak, and although his damage is high, with a 50% win rate and low utility I'd say he's more balanced in the current meta.
• Yasuo [Tier 1 Mid] - Yasuo's snowball potential is insanely high, and his late game comeback potential is insane as well. However, his recent nerfs in the last few patches have definitely put a damper on his strength. Although we'll always have those images of the last Yasuo 1v5 pentakill fresh in our minds, I think he's not terribly overwhelming anymore.
• Zac [Tier 2 Jungle] - Zac's been quite underplayed recently, and rightfully so. As a support type jungler I think he also suffers from the spirit stone changes, and falls more in the Tier 2 balanced category.

Disclaimer:

• The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for hero selection.

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!