Solo Queue Tier List Archive: Patch 9.7 (April 7, 2019)

League of Legends Solo Queue Tier lists for Patch 9.7:

League of Legends tier lists help you climb solo queue ranked ladders by picking the best champions to win more games. This LoL tier list organizes all the League of Legends champions in all their various roles. Other LoL tier lists only show champions that they think are viable.

This League of Legends tier list lets you pick your favorites and choose from among them the best LoL champions for climbing solo queue. Even if you love playing support Cho'Gath, you'll know where he places in comparison to the rest of the LoL champions.

SEASON 9 - PATCH 9.7

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS TIER LISTS

"Best Champions to Climb With"

Patch 9.7 Tier List Update Summary

This patch features continued domination from Kayle despite some "tweaks" to her kit coupled with the odd addition of Sona marksman, who's generally paired with Taric lane. Meanwhile, Miss Fortune is making splashes this patch via her Press the Attack build, which is absolutely monstrous when coupled with an enchanter like Morgana.

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Contents and Related Links:

FOTM Tier List - Meta based tier list based on popularity and what high Elo players are using
Strongest Potential Champions - Champions with the highest potential in the game
Optimal Champion Bans by Division
God Tier Champions
Tier 1 Champions
Tier List Position Explanation
Champion Explanations

Patch 9.7 Summary

Buffs: Azir, Cho'Gath, Dr. Mundo, Garen, Leona, Pyke, Rumble
Nerfs: Kayle, Urgot, Lissandra, Morgana, Sylas

Updates

Added Sona marksman
Added Kled mid
Added Miss Fortune article
4/8: Akali, Ornn, Ryze top moved up

Fizz, Galio, Kassadin, and Tahm Kench top, moved down

4/12: Added counter-picks to Yasuo for top lane

Toolkit and Options

Search for a Champion:

LoL Tier List

God Tier List

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

Mid Lane	Ahri, Talon, Zed
Jungle	Rek'Sai, Jarvan IV, Hecarim
Top Lane	Kayle, Hecarim, Jax
Bot Lane	Vayne, Miss Fortune, Jinx
Support	Thresh, Soraka, Morgana

God Tier Rising: Hecarim (Jungle), Miss Fortune (Marksman), Rek'Sai (Jungle), Zed (Mid)
God Tier Falling:

Tier 1

[Strong/Preferred Choices | Faster to Learn and Win | Works Well In Solo Queue]

Mid-Lane: Lux, Katarina, Kassadin, Malzahar, Fizz, Morgana, Vel'Koz, Karthus, Nocturne, Annie, Ekko, Anivia, Yasuo, Veigar, Ziggs, Twisted Fate, Taliyah, Leblanc, Zilean, Vladimir, Jayce, Xerath, Cassiopeia

Jungle: Vi, Graves, Evelynn, Kha'Zix, Kayn, Nunu, Jax, Xin Zhao, Elise, Karthus, Rammus, Shaco, Ivern, Udyr, Warwick, Pantheon, Volibear, Nidalee, Shyvana, Master Yi, Kindred, Rengar, Lee Sin

Top: Kled, Riven, Jayce, Vladimir, Urgot, Pantheon, Sion, Malphite, Yasuo, Camille, Darius, Illaoi, Karma, Renekton, Rumble, Olaf, Irelia, Quinn, Vayne, Wukong, Singed, Volibear, Poppy, Fiora, Cassiopeia, Viktor, Lissandra

Bot Lane: Sona, Twitch, Draven, Ashe, Sivir, Lucian, Ezreal, Kai'Sa, Caitlyn, Jhin, Varus

Support: Nami, Blitzcrank, Sona, Nautilus, Brand, Fiddlesticks, Janna, Leona, Alistar, Lux, Pyke, Vel'Koz, Zyra, Braum, Bard, Taric

Tier 1 Rising: Ashe (Marksman), Camille (Top), Fiddlesticks (Support), Pyke (Support), Rumble (Top), Vayne (Top)
Tier 1 Falling: Kled (Top), Nunu (Top), Sivir (Marksman), Urgot (Top)

Tier 2

[Viable/Balanced Choices | Common In Solo Queue | Needs Practice To Get Good]

Mid-Lane: Zoe, Swain, Sylas, Brand, Orianna, Neeko, Aurelion Sol, Galio, Kayle, Lissandra, Aatrox, Wukong, Diana, Viktor, Karma, Corki, Kled, Azir, Gangplank, Syndra, Kennen, Heimerdinger

Jungle: Nocturne, Wukong, Camille, Taliyah, Trundle, Maokai, Ekko, Aatrox, Dr. Mundo, Skarner, Zac, Sejuani, Nasus, Olaf, Cho'Gath, Gragas, Quinn, Amumu, Twitch,

Top: Yorick, Garen, Teemo, Tryndamere, Kennen, Gangplank, Nasus, Sylas, Mordekaiser, Swain, Jarvan IV, Maokai, Shen, Gnar, Heimerdinger, Cho'gath, Ornn, Akali, Dr. Mundo, Malzahar, Talon, Trundle, Nautilus, Ekko

Bot Lane: Tristana, Kog'Maw, Xayah, Neeko, Yasuo, Quinn, Kalista, Mordekaiser, Brand, Swain, Ziggs, Cassiopeia, Jayce, Heimerdinger, Vladimir, Veigar

Support: Lulu, Xerath, Shen, Jarvan IV, Sion, Karma, Zilean, Ornn, Rakan, Tahm Kench, Zoe, Maokai

Tier 2 Rising: Akali (Top), Ornn (Top)
Tier 2 Falling: Lissandra (Mid), Nasus (Top), Sylas (Top/Mid), Yorick (Top)

Tier 3

[Needs Higher Skill or Knowledge | Counterpicks]

Mid-Lane: Irelia, Akali, Kayle, Ezreal, Lucian, Zyra, Gragas, Kog'Maw (AP), Cho'Gath, Pantheon, Quinn, Nasus, Lulu, Mordekaiser, Sona, Varus, Urgot, Teemo, Sion, Fiddlesticks, Malphite, Ryze

Jungle: Pyke, Sylas, Neeko, Poppy, Fizz, Galio, Kayle, Malphite, Sion, Nautilus, Diana, Rumble, Riven, Talon, Tryndamere, Kled, Mordekaiser, Irelia, Fiddlesticks, Tahm Kench, Kog'Maw

Top: Aatrox, Ryze, Tahm Kench, Galio, Fizz, Kassadin, Diana, Rengar, Gragas, Graves, Rammus, Lulu, Xin Zhao, Shaco, Karthus, Lee Sin, Shyvana

Bot Lane: Kennen, Corki, Graves, Urgot

Support: Neeko, Poppy, Sylas, Teemo, Malzahar, Galio, Cho'Gath, Camille, Trundle, Annie, Volibear, Malphite, Shaco, Veigar, Gragas, Nunu, Kayle, Leblanc, Kennen

Tier 3 Rising:
Tier 3 Falling: Fizz (Top), Galio (Top), Kassadin (Top), Tahm Kench (Top)

Tier 4

[Low Benefit Based On Effort Used]

Mid-Lane: Jarvan IV, Riven, Jhin, Master Yi, Janna, AP Kaisa

Jungle: Gangplank, Fiora, Shen, Darius, Zed, Aurelion Sol, Garen, Alistar, Yorick

Top: Blitzcrank, Taliyah, Alistar, Leblanc

Bot Lane: Twisted Fate

Support: Miss Fortune, Pantheon, Ashe, Anivia, Lee Sin, Gangplank, Orianna, Lissandra

Tier 4 Rising:
Tier 4 Falling:

Instructions and Caveats

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 judgment.
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.
Win Rates are important in analyzing each champion's strength but are not the end-all criteria for any champion's position.
Professional Picks may not necessarily translate into good picks for solo queue ladder, the two have slightly different meta-games and skill levels.
The creator of this list is diamond so there may be some personal bias towards higher tier play on certain champions.

League of Legends Tier List Descriptions

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.

LoL Tier List Champion Explanations

Kayle [God Tier Top]

As far as top lanes go, Kayle continues to perform exceptionally well. If she manages to get a skill point from Kleptomancy, her power spikes become that much faster and end up giving her the ability to steamroll. Even if she doesn't, it's still just delaying the inevitable. After buffing her early game and nerfing her late game, she's now able to survive the early game and easily get to that late game point.

Kled [Tier 2 Mid]

Kled's mid lane power lies mostly in his ability to deal a surprisingly high amount of burst damage, perform unexpectedly good dives, and execute powerfuly effective roams using his ultimate. Most melee mid laners will struggle against him, and he works well as a counter to any melee assassins.

Lissandra [Tier 2 Mid]

After nerfs to Lissandra's main damage ability [Q], she deals considerably lower sustained damage than before. She's still great for CC'ing and initiating, but otherwise she is no longer the abusive laner she used to be.

Miss Fortune [God Tier Marksman]

Press the attack Miss Fortune is incredibly good right now. Her ability to out-trade any champions early to mid-game no longer relies on landing a few lucky double-ups, and is now far more consistent as a result. The attack speed from BoTRK also prevents her from becoming an ult bot and allows her to hammer in her passive Love Taps on turrets faster.

Morgana [God Tier Support]

Despite a slight nerf to Morgana as a mid laner, she's still incredibly good as a support in the hypercarry meta. With champions like Jinx and Vayne running down teams, Morgana's black shield basically gives them to freedom to do exactly that.

Rek'Sai [God Tier Jungle]

Rek'Sai seems to be getting the Graves treatment in the jungle, and Riot's letting her run amok for a while longer. Ever since the buff to her ultimate range, she's incredibly consistent. Despite the nerfs to Conqueror, players continue to find great success with her in the jungle.

Riven [Tier 1 Top]

Riven in her current form is a champion that could potentially be God Tier if you master her, which many players are beginning to do after many years of practice. With a few items, Riven deals far too much damage and is far too tanky for a champion that kills faster than an assassin and has lower cooldowns than a poke mage. The main thing that's keeping her out of God Tier for now is the fact that she does take a decent amount of practice, and picking her up now may not be the best use of your time if you haven't already sunk some practice time in.

Sona [Tier 1 Marksman]

You'll definitely want to check out this article for more detail, but the latest Sona + Taric bot lane is incredibly good in the current meta. In pro play, they've decided that Taric is the annoying one of the duo, but in solo queue players have also found success swapping Taric out for Leona. As a marksman, Sona is incredibly good once she gets her first two core items and definitely catches the majority of players off guard. I wouldn't say blind picking her without your support on board is a good idea, but with a good relic shield support she's incredibly oppressive.

Disclaimer:

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

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

If you're looking for a more meta based tier list based on popularity, be sure to check out the FOTM list as well!

For a list of champions with the highest *potential* in the game without regard to difficulty or team synergies, jump to the strongest potential champions in each position!

Be sure to visit Optimal Champion Bans by Division too!