May 13, 2014 On top of her decent laning phase, her late game damage, cc, and split push really make her a late game threat. Shyvana - Alright, so even though Riot has recently nerfed her, I still think that Shyvana is one of the strongest top laners when you are in need of a tank with good initiation.
Hey guys,
So I was just thinking about my top 5 top laners currently, and decided to include you guys into my thought process. So, let's get right into it.
5. Yasuo - I think that Yasuo, when played well, can be an extremely huge force to be reckoned with, but is definitely a risk. One of the problems with a Yasuo is his lack of sustain and tank-ability going into the late game. To successfully use a Yasuo top, you will prob. need a tanky jungler to combo with him or else your team will be way too squishy. Otherwise, Yasuo has a lot of damage early, and snowballs really hard with an early lead.
4. Lee Sin - Alright, so when you think about Lee Sin, you probably thing jungler, but he has been played top before in the LCS, and has been shown to be really effective when it comes to split pushing, and a high damage initiator in team fights. He also does extremely well in early trades, and can easily farm safely with his q if required to.
3. Irelia - So, Irelia is the champion in this list that I have the least experience with, but I still feel that I can adequately support my placing her in 3rd place out of 5. So, Irelia has a very good laning phase, being able to trade extremely well with a lot of champions, but one of her cons is definitely her early mana issues. When she use her combo to trade, she really cuts into her mana pool, which means she is vulnerable to some counter damage from the enemy champ. On top of her decent laning phase, her late game damage, cc, and split push really make her a late game threat.
2. Shyvana - Alright, so even though Riot has recently nerfed her, I still think that Shyvana is one of the strongest top laners when you are in need of a tank with good initiation. Now, one of her few issues is her lack of hard cc. She has some soft cc with her ult, but she has no stuns or slows. Despite this, she still can be extremely tanky late game, while still having good damage on squishys going into team fights. She definitely needs a stun on her team to have an effective team comp., but she allows for a more damage focused jungler to be chosen.
1. Jax - I am sure that this doesn't surprise many people because of Jax's recent resurgence into the top tier of top laners, but I am just going to explain some of the reasons that he is so strong. First, his early trading at lvl's 2-3 are extremely strong, despite some mana problems similar to Irelia. Also, his late game scaling is very high, and his hybrid AD/AP ratios really allow for a versatile champion going into later stages of the game. All of this on top of an attack speed steroid passive and an ultimate that grants tank stats, Jax is really the embodiment of a carry top laner.
Thanks for reading guys!! Please bear with me as this is my first guide like this one.
Thanks again!
~ Nathan || PoonFlakez
There are a variety of League of Legends top laners that counter each other. Some vary in strength based on metas, others vary depending on matchups.
For top laners, there are three archetypes of champions that fluctuate as the meta changes: hyper-carries, support-style champions, and split pushers.
Splitpushers have a weak laning presence and a weaker ability to trade damage until they get a few items. Once they get some items and can duel with their opponents, they just steamroll through the lane, taking turrets until the enemy team sends forces to stop them.
Support-style top laners are the beefiest tanks in the game, like Sion, Ornn, and Shen. They can trade damage with their lane opponent reasonably well, but their main strength comes from surviving in their lane until they can build up enough tanky items to join their team in all-out team fights.
Top lane hyper-carries put out insanely high damage in the blink of an eye and can usually hit multiple targets at once with high cleave and AoE damage.
This list of top-tier champions can be affected depending on a number of things. Sometimes the meta shifts for no apparent reason other than players’ tastes, but usually there’s some kind of balance change behind it. It can be difficult to keep up on the flavor-of-the-month champs, so let us do that for you.
Here are our top five top laners for League’s Patch 10.5.
Ornn
Pros
- Strong kit
- Free item upgrades
- Can burst down squishy champions
Cons
- High skill floor
- Mana issues early
Ornn is one of the best tank champions to play. His kit is good for a tank. He has mobility, slow, burst damage, damage based on maximum health point of enemies, and a lot of crowd control. While all of this sounds great, the best thing about Ornn is the free item upgrades, which are valued between 500 and 2,000 gold. While you need to reach a certain level to upgrade you and your allies’ items, it won’t be a big problem since Ornn can easily farm and scale into the mid to late game.
Item build
The Resolve tree is core on Ornn since it grants him additional health, damage, and tower pressure. If the enemy backs without proper timing, you can get a fast lead by taking tower plates by using Demolish. The Inspiration secondary will grant you additional lane survivability via biscuits and the free Stopwatch can be used to save you from a sticky situation and later convert it into a Gargoyle Stoneplate.
Ability priority
Ornn’s skill priority is R>W>Q>E. You want to max W for the maximum amount of damage, wave clear and lane pressure. Afterward, you want to max Q to clear waves in the mid game and have terrain to collide with more often. While his E is his primary mobility spell, the scaling of Q and W is much more efficient and should be maxed first.
Game plan
Your goal as a tank in the top lane is to not lose the game, scale into the mid game, and purchase your core items. You can bully people in lane if they’re aggressive, but overall as Ornn, you should sit it out and farm to reach level 12 as soon as possible for the free item upgrade. Once you get your ultimate at level six, look for a teleport play around mid or bottom lane to secure objectives.
Remember to communicate with your team and insist they purchase upgradeable items so that you’ll get maximum efficiency from your passive.
Aatrox
Pros
- Strong sustain
- No resources required for abilities
- Exceptional teamfighter
Cons
- High cooldowns
- High skill-floor
Aatrox’s passive healing and high damage can be extremely painful to fight against. Additionally, Aatrox has strong wave clear and excellent engage potential. His healing and CC allow for outplays all around. He isn’t simple to play due to his dependency on skillshots, however, and he struggles against some of the strongest picks in the meta, like Pantheon or Darius. But if you put in an effort to learn how to play Aatrox, it’s likely going to pay off.
Item build
The Precision tree is essential on Aatrox. It grants you adaptive force via Conqueror stacks, which you can stack quite easily. The tree also grants additional healing via Triumph and Conqueror when fully stacked, Tenacity to reduce crowd control, and Last Stand to deal increased damage when low on health. The secondary Resolve tree will give you additional tankiness via Bone Plating against burst champions and prolonged sustain via Revitalize.
Ability priority
Aatrox’s skill priority is R>Q>E>W. Your Q is the bread and butter of your kit. It allows you to poke, clear waves, knock up opponents, and it’s the most flexible ability in your kit. You should invest time in learning the sweet spot of it for maximum efficiency. Max E second to gain additional mobility to either stick on your target or run away from a fight. W is maxed last since the ability has a delay before it’s activated and maxing Q and E is much more powerful overall.
Game plan
Try to poke your opponent with your passive and Q when it isn’t on cooldown. Learn to combo your dash with your Q for surprise attacks. Don’t be afraid to fight the enemy in a one-vs-two if the enemy jungler comes to gank. Aatrox is extremely beefy due to his self-healing capabilities and combined with the runes above is deceptively tanky. Once you get your core items, you should focus on splitpushing since you’re a great duelist. Look for teleport flanks on the enemy team and focus the backline.
Kalista
Pros
- Strong one-vs-one fighter
- Strong objective control via her E
Cons
- Slows cripple her
- Weak early
- Needs excellent orb walking mechanics
Kalista is emerging as a counter to meta top laners in this patch. With the latest buffs she received alongside the newest lethality item, Sanguine Blade, which gets enhanced in a one-vs-one matchup, she’s insanely strong. While her early game isn’t the best and can be countered by an early jungle camp, she’s still emerging as one of the best ranged top laners on this patch.
Item build
The Domination tree is important for Kalista. It allows you to do three swift attacks with Hail of Blades, which forces your opposing laners to play defensively unless they want to get chunked down heavily from early levels. Taste of Blood alongside Ravenous Hunter will grant you the sustain needed until you get your core lifesteal items and Eyeball Collection is the most reliable rune to get additional AD from the remaining options. The Precision secondary is great since it grants you Overheal to make you tankier and more lifesteal via Legend: Bloodline.
Ability priority
Kalista’s skill priority is the following: R>Q>E>W. Your Q is the main ability to help you out during the laning phase. While E does more damage in the long run, you won’t be able to stack it up too much early against good opponents. As a result, maxing Q will give you the raw damage needed for a fast trade on a low cooldown. W max is last since the additional damage from E is much more useful than the small vision granted by your W.
Game plan
Use Hail of Blades on cooldown. When it’s up, go for a trade with the enemy, hit a Q and stack up some spears, then pop E for a big burst of damage in a small window. Your opponent most likely won’t have enough time to respond and will either try to run away or engage on you. If they try to engage, just run back and wait for Hail of Blades to come off cooldown. You’re quite weak early and vulnerable to jungle ganks, so try to farm up for your core items and you’ll be unstoppable.
Darius
Pros
- Strong one-vs-one duelist
- Exceptional sustain
- Good at punishing immobile champions
Cons
All League Of Legends Top Laners
- No dash
- Falls off in later stages of the game
The Duke of Dunk is a strong pick in the meta simply because of how much raw damage he deals—if you’re a melee champion. If you’re ranged, or a Pantheon, he’s going to have a tough time getting close enough to deal damage. But there aren’t many melee champions that can match his power early in the game. He has one of the best level one damage outputs in the game and he’s excellent at getting an early snowball rolling to run away with the match.
Item build
The Precision tree is one of the core rune choices on Darius. While there are some players who prefer to go for a Sorcery main for Phase Rush, most go for Conqueror since it grants you a lot of damage and healing when stacked up. The Precision tree is good since it gives you additional sustain via Triumph in teamfights and Legend: Alacrity will make your attacks more fluid and frequent. Additionally, Last Stand deals increased damage when low on health. The secondary Sorcery tree will make you stick easier onto the enemy champions since mobility is Darius’ biggest problem.
Ability priority
Darius’s skill priority is R>Q>E>W. You want to max your Q since it’s your primary wave clear ability, alongside heal and poke. Max E second over W since you need the lower cooldown on the drag. It’s better to have a gap closer more often than the additional damage from W.
Game plan
Best Top Laners Lol
Darius is one of the strongest early-game fighters. His passive alongside Conqueror allows for easy outplays on both the enemy top laner and jungler. Engage on your opponent with E when he tries to go for last hits, stack your passive, and let them bleed. If they try to engage on you, your passive and Conqueror will overpower most top laners and give you a chance to pick up easy kills.
In teamfights, look for the immobile carries and charge toward them with ghost or flash. They’re the easiest targets to pick off and allow you to get your passive stacked to be stronger for the remainder of the teamfight.
Vladimir
Pros
- Strong sustain
- Amazing teamfighter
- Ranged
Cons
- Executioner/Morello denies your sustain
- Needs time to be useful
Vladimir is a strong pick in the current meta, where the top lane is infested with melee champions. His sustain allows him to survive the laning phase quite easily unless the enemy invests into an early Executioner. With a couple of thousand gold, he becomes a big threat for enemies to address, be it with a Spellbinder rush or a Protobelt to have an easier time clearing waves.
Item build
The Sorcery tree is essential on Vladimir. It has Phase Rush as the keystone rune, which allows you to survive early ganks or run the enemy team down in teamfights. Nimbus Cloak enhances your ability to either survive ganks or go deeper into the enemy team. Transcendence alongside Gathering Storm are mid to late game runes to improve your stats and make you much stronger if the games get to that point. The Inspiration secondary allows you to access extra cooldown reduction via Cosmic Insight and free boots of speed with increased movement speed from Magical Footwear.
Ability priority
Vladimir’s skill priority is the following: R>Q>E>W. You want to max your Q since you’ll use it to heal up, poke opponents, and farm minions. Maxing E second allows you to have better wave clear. W is maxed last since the lower cooldown isn’t as high of a priority as the additional damage on E.
Game plan
Vladimir is one of the strongest scaling mages. He’s either played mid or top, but the current meta suits him the best in the top lane. He’s a good counter pick against most melee meta champions, such as Ornn, Aatrox, Sett, and Darius, who thrive at getting on their target and punishing them. Vladimir can deny this by activating Phase Rush and kiting them or by investing in a Protobelt and running away from them.
Your general game plan is to reach level nine as soon as possible and then farm for Spellbinder. Once you have it, look for teamfights and plays around objectives. Focus the enemy carries down with your ultimate and finish the tanky champions with Q and E.