Patch 12.10 and 12.11 gave additional tank stats to all League of Legend champions, something that has completed changed the meta.
All champions were given an additional 70 base health, 14 health per level, 1.2 armor per level and 0.8 magic resist per level. Riot Games implemented the changes to “see longer fights throughout the game, more effort required to burst down your foes, and bigger windows of opportunity for skill expression.”
The dust is still settling on those changes, but it’s becoming easier to see who the best champions are at this point.
Singed, Viktor, Darius, and Senna all rank among the best champions to play during patch 12.11.
While subsequent hotfixes as well as the newest patch 12.11 did tweak some champions’ strength, a few have continued to dominate solo queue over recent weeks since the durability changes came into effect.
When it comes to laners, the increased durability has led to increased difficulty in actually killing lane opponents. As a result, champions with kits that promote consistent, sustained damage rather than burst have been strengthened. This is especially the case if they have some form of self-heal to increase sustain.
While it’s not reflected in his pick rate, Singed has become almost the perfect lane champion in this regard and boasts an impressive 52.97% win rate in the top lane and an astonishing 55.76% win rate mid on the latest patch.
Looking at more established mid laners, Viktor, Ahri, Veigar, Anivia, and Kassadin are also potent. Kassadin in particular stands out due to his late-game prowess which has also had an effect on some champions’ prominence.
In the top lane, the likes of Darius, Fiora, Olaf, and Wukong are rising to power and stand as the most most picked or banned champions in the game. Wukong also features heavily in the jungle, where sustain, clear speed, and team fighting are key with many games now decided by late-game clashes. Other junglers that fit this mold include Diana, Zac, Volibear, and Rek’Sai.
Heading down to the bottom lane and enchanter supports are all the rage. With sustain being a key factor in lane matchups, it’s unsurprising that those who are able to keep their carries alive for longer are thriving. Bottom laners that take advantage of this by pumping out sustained damage are the strongest, including Lucian, Zeri, Twitch, and Jhin amongst others.
One champion that does both is Senna, whose fasting build has made her a popular pick in support. She is often paired up with a non-traditional bottom lane duo, with Tahm Kench the overwhelming favorite along with Seraphine, Swain, and Veigar.
While many of the strong solo queue champions find their way into the competitive meta, there are often some outliers that perform better in one or the other. When it comes to competitive play, teams are going to be more comfortable playing it safe and opting for late game. Early aggression just isn’t as in-demand at high levels.
This is due to a number of factors. Alongside the actual durability changes is the fact that this came right before a new split.
Teams will still be building up synergies and getting into their groove. This will make them more likely to find comfort in easily executed strategies, with team fighting-centric champions the best for this.
As a result, champions such as Renata Glasc, Lillia, Viego, and Gangplank all fit this framework. Gwen and Taliyahare find themselves with a much higher pick or ban rate among competitive matches, with the latter two behind only, Wukong who boasts a ludicrous 97% presence worldwide so far in summer.
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