The sixth patch of season 11 has hit the League of Legends live servers and some specific champions are dominating the solo queue ladder.
Since the new season began, the meta has already developed a lot. Several different champions have been at the top of the priority list but also fell out again because of Riot’s big changes in each patch. The same goes for the new item system, which keeps having an impact on which champions are viable. In the current state of the game, a few specific champions are wise to look at for climbing the solo queue ladder.
It’s time to take a look at some of the best picks for solo queue and maybe also some valuable bans in the draft phase to avoid facing these champions.
Seraphine is still a strong flex pick in LoL patch 11.6
Starting out with a strong pick in several lanes is Seraphine. After entering the League of Legends back in October 2020, Seraphine has been picked for several different roles. Riot originally designed her as a supportive mid laner, but the pop star has also taken over in the support and bot lane position. This has made Seraphine incredibly hard to deal with in the drafting phase, as it’s hard to predict where she will end up playing.
Despite several attempts of nerfing Seraphine and adjusting her to be a mid laner, Riot still has some way to go. On patch 11.6, Seraphine is picked the most as a support followed up by mid and bot lane. Her highest win rate is in the bot lane, which is at a whopping 53.96%. Her win rates in the other roles are slightly above 50%, which is more than enough to label her as overpowered.
Seraphine has also become a prioritized pick in professional play, where she is also commonly used as a flex pick. Her late-game utility is usually impossible to deal with on the professional stage, so it’s expected that Seraphine will receive further nerfs in the upcoming patches.
Tristana is back in the meta for season 11
It’s been a while since Tristana was prioritized for the bot lane, but the Yordle Gunner is finally back in full force. Tristana is starting to be heavily prioritized in both solo queue and competitive games all over the world. Her late-game damage and long-range are very strong in the current meta, making Tristana one of the biggest carries in patch 11.6.
In Platinum rank and higher, Tristana is sitting at a solid 50.96% win rate in the current patch. This is with over 120,000 games tracked, which makes the win rate even more impressive. Tristana is also picked for the mid lane in some cases, where she is currently rocking a 51.36% win rate. Tristana will mostly be suited for the bot lane but can work as a flex pick as well.
The reason why Tristana is so strong is largely due to her early-game power through the Hail of Blades keystone combined with her scaling. Tristana has always been a marksman for the late game, but with Hail of Blades, Tristana is able to dish out a lot of damage and be a threat during the laning phase as well. With just a few kills early on, Tristana will likely snowball the game and be very hard to deal with.
Hecarim can run over any jungler in LoL patch 11.6
For the jungle, there’s currently one logical choice when climbing the ranks and that’s Hecarim. The Shadow of War is currently the most-picked jungler in solo queue by far, also fielding the highest win rate. Within over 322,000 games on the current patch in Platinum rank and higher, Hecarim has won 53.46% of them.
Having such a popular champion rock a win rate like this is out of this world and leaves junglers in a spot where Hecarim should be part of the champion pool no matter what. Hecarim is currently banned in 18.2% of all games, so he still isn’t a champion that is exceptionally hard to get. The same goes for professional play where Hecarim is also picked up in most games where he is available.
The speed and damage of Hecarim are what currently make him strong. Paired up with solid engage and a strong clearing speed, there is no jungler that can currently stop Hecarim on Summoner’s Rift.
Swain is topping the win-rate chart in LoL patch 11.6
Another strong flex pick in solo queue is Swain. According to the solo queue statistics, Swain might even be considered stronger than Seraphine. Since the start of season 11, Swain has been a common pick in both the bot and mid lane as well as support.
Being viable in three roles is already enough of an indicator to consider learning Swain but it doesn’t end there. Swain is currently occupying the first and fourth spot on the win-rate chart in Platinum rank and up. His highest win rate is in the bot lane, with 55.30%. For the mid lane, Swain wins 53.61% of all games. These win rates are incredibly high and have been like this for over five patches now.
Swain is yet to be picked up in professional play, but for solo queue he is definitely a pick to climb with.
