The best champions to climb with before ranked season 10 ends

William Davis Published 01/11/2020

The ranked season is coming to an end, so it’s time to put in the last effort in solo queue to hopefully climb a few last ranks before the preseason kicks in. But what are the best champions to climb with in this final sprint?

The current state of solo queue is pretty diverse and there are a lot of viable options for every role. The season 10 meta seems to be at one of its most stable points in a while after Riot has tried to better tune many different champions over the last few patches.

Even though there are many champions to choose from, there are some that are clearly better than others. Let’s take a look at a few that are performing very well in solo queue currently. All stats used in the article are measured from Platinum rank and up.

Samira

Why not start with one of the newest champions in Samira.

Samira is the newest bot laner to enter Summoner’s Rift and has thus far proven very difficult for Riot to balance. This highly mobile bot laner is explosive and has a kit that is deadly in the right hands. She is so deadly that her ban rate in solo queue has been above 75% for weeks now, making her very hard to pick in champion select.

The ban rate is high for a reason, but make sure to pick her if she is open. Looking at her solo queue win rate, Samira actually seems pretty balanced. She is currently sitting at a 49.79% win rate in patch 10.22, while her ban rate is just below 75%. Her seemingly balanced win rate is likely because players are still figuring out how to play her. For trained Samira players though, she is the perfect carry champion to climb with.

Samira can be punished in the early laning phase because of her short range, so try to play a bit safe in the first levels. Whenever Samira gets her first item and a few levels under her belt, she can be very hard to stop in fights. Samira doesn’t need more than a few kills to snowball the game out of control, which is perfect for bloody solo queue games.

Zed

Zed is an all-time classic in solo queue and always a champion that can carry if played correctly. Recently, Zed has been wielding a good win rate for the mid lane at 51.32%. When a complex champion like Zed has such a high win rate, it’s usually because the champion is great in the meta.

With several AP junglers in the meta, Zed is great to pick up for the mid lane to keep the team’s AD damage intact. The shadow assassin builds a lot of lethality and will be able to blow up most squishy carries on the enemy team.

Riot chose to nerf Zed in the most recent patch 10.22, but it doesn’t seem like the nerf has had any effect at all. Zed is still high on the win-rate charts, even though his Shadow Slash (E) damage was reduced by a bit. Even with less damage on his E, Zed has plenty of other damage sources and his usual mobility that makes him very difficult to deal with.

Darius

Darius is currently one of the safest picks for the top lane. He is a rock-solid bruiser that has a bit of everything. He isn’t the usual tank or split pusher, but can carry if given the right lead and tank the enemy when he gets a few items.

Darius isn’t necessarily a champion that is often seen in professional play, but for solo queue he is perfect. This is reflected in his win rate that is at 51.48% and among one of the most picked champions for the top lane throughout most patches in season 10.

Darius is a fairly simple champion that most players will be able to pick up. This means that he can also be used by players who are not maining top lane, without the biggest risk of losing hard to the opponent. Get a Trinity Force on Darius and he is ready to duel most champions in the game. If the opposing team has a lot of tanks, then opt into a Black Cleaver instead. After this core item is assembled, Darius can either continue to build damage or go the tanky route.

Pantheon

Pantheon has been topping the charts in both solo queue and professional play recently. Most old players would know him as a solo lane bruiser, but in season 10 he has been succeeding in the support position. He is currently sitting at a 50.37% win rate in solo queue, and was also a contested pick at the 2020 World Championship.

Playing Pantheon as a support provides something very special to a team that no other champion can really provide. His base damage on his abilities is great, which means that he doesn’t need a lot of items to deal damage. Combined with an Ignite, Pantheon can solo kill an enemy carry if he gets the right engage.

Riot has already addressed that they are looking to change Pantheon in ways where he will become less prioritized in the support position. According to lead gameplay designer Mark “Scuffy” Yetter, Pantheon will shift from support to solo lanes in the near future. Riot still thinks Pantheon should be an interesting pick for the support position, but wants him to be for solo lanes primarily.

We have some work coming to shift Pantheon from support to solo lanes. (it’s a few patches out) It’s fine if he can be an interesting support pick but we want solo lanes to be primary.

We’re slower than we should have been on this follow up, I take responsibility for that.
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) October 31, 2020

Fiddlesticks

Fiddlesticks is currently a terror in the jungle and it’s not just because it’s Halloween season. The newly reworked champion has been performing well since Riot changed him and is now one of the highest win rate junglers in the game sitting at 52.23%.

Fiddlesticks can still be countered by champions with hard crowd control, but those are not the strongest in the current meta. This gives Fiddlesticks free time to roam around in the jungle and scare his opponents with his surprising attacks.

Most junglers in the game are attack-damage dealers, so the fact that Fiddlesticks can build ability power is a strong advantage. Picking him means that solo laners can pick AD champions, without being worried that the enemy team will stack armor. When playing against Fiddlesticks, magic resist is a must. Otherwise, he will run over squishy champions with his Crowstorm (R).