League of Legends: The best champions to play for every role in patch 12.14
League of Legends (LoL) developer Riot Games recently released the game's patch 12.14, promising it has the last set of major balance changes throughout the season.
The recent patch targeted Summoner spells and nerfed healing overall, meaning gameplay can feel pretty different.
We know you might be wondering who the best champions are to play after this patch, so we’ve prepared a list of champions per role based on 12.14 patch changes and the game's current state.
Here’s who we think are the best champions are to play in League of Legends patch 12.14:
Top lane: Shen, Darius, Fiora
Honourable mentions: Mordekaiser, Wukong, Gnar, Aatrox
Shen
The Eye of the Twilight will be one of the priority picks in the top lane this patch. With the changes affecting top laners the most, Shen’s ultimate will allow him to aid his team in securing map objectives much easier.
Although Sunfire is getting nerfed this patch, Shen can also use Frostfire. With your W cooldown and Shen's Flash/Ignite setup, you'll easily take advantage of short exchanges.
Darius
Darius will continue to be on this list for a while, and he’s even listed as overpowered in op.gg’s tier list. With Sunfire nerfed, he will have the best time against tanks in the top lane.
Darius can easily corner and whittle down his enemy’s HP, and with solo lane becoming more isolated, we think he'll continue to harass top laners generally.
Fiora
The Grand Duelist has always been a stable top lane pick in this year’s meta, and for good reason. Fiora got a nerf, but she has other tools to keep her competitive in the game.
While Goredrinker won’t be as strong as before, Fiora mains can use Divine Sunderer to tear through squishier enemy champs.
Jungle: Fiddlesticks, Wukong Master Yi
Honourable mentions: Bel’Veth, Elise, Diana, Kayn, Zac
Fiddlesticks
The biggest menace of this season’s Star Guardians has flown under Riot’s radar in 12.14, and the buffs he received from 12.13 boosted his win rate to 52.45%.
If you recall, from 12.13, Fiddlesticks' Fear duration was increased, which meant more opportunities for him and his team to deal damage to their opponents. His ult’s increased damage can be absolutely terrifying in the late game, too, because of the increase in damage.
Without any hotfixes around the corner, the Ancient Fear will continue to terrorize the jungle in 12.14, and the worst part is that he barely has effective counter picks at the moment.
And if you don’t plan on playing him, better ban Fiddlesticks when you queue for your ranked games. If he made it through the draft, pick good ole’ Mordekaiser or reworked Olaf, who have better chances against him.
Wukong
It seems like Riot still wants to keep the Monkey God pretty relevant in the meta, as Wukong’s been a stable pick (even in pro play) for the past three months now. We’ve barely seen any nerfs against him in the last few patches, with only a slap on the wrist in 12.13 that didn’t make a difference too.
Wukong's getting an adjustment to his base HP regeneration, but his passive HP regeneration per stack decreased. We think these changes will continue to make Wukong a must-play/must-ban champion in this patch.
Master Yi
Master Yi may have gotten a hotfix the last time, but he will continue to annoy everyone else in the jungle.
The fact that you can now direct his Q has been very useful for the Wuju Bladesman. He also got extra attack range, so it’s easier to target vulnerable AD Carries in the enemy team. Higher ELO players may have an easier time countering this champion, but the recent changes to his kit will generally make him a huge headache this patch. Be sure to reserve some of your crowd control for Master Yi.
Mid lane: Qiyana, Viktor Sylas
Honorable mentions: Swain, Ahri, Vex, Taliyah, Gragas, Rumble
Qiyana
Qiyana could be a great counter for Bel’veth in the Jungle (who, by the way, is still pretty strong in the meta), but she’s rising to be a great pick in the mid lane too.
The changes in 12.14 will continue to reward champions with strong laning phases, and the Queen definitely fits the description. The Empress of the Elements will be huge in securing those Dragons and Rift Heralds with her early-game team fighting prowess.
Viktor
With all the reworks released for the mid lane, you’d think Viktor would fall off the priority list.
But all the game changes have been working in his favour, and he currently sits at the top spot in the mid lane this patch.
It’s pretty hard to counter a good Viktor in-game, so you can easily harass the opponent and farm comfortably in the laning phase.
Sylas
Another pick in the mid lane that we’re seeing more popularity these days is Sylas.
Like Viktor, he has a lot of escape options in his kit and can kite his way through the laning phase. Once he scales, he’s pretty broken.
He has low cooldowns, sustain, and mobility can rain hell on the opposite team.
Bottom Lane (ADC): Sivir, Twitch, Jhin
Honourable mentions: Draven, Ezreal, Seraphine
Sivir
The Battle Mistress may have gotten a hotfix and some nerfs for 12.14, but she will continue to be a strong pick in the bot lane.
Her rework made her feel like a new champion, pushing her to the top of the bot lane tier list, to the point where op.gg had to rank her as OP instead of a tier number, which is rarely used in their tier system.
Sivir's Q got a bugfix in 12.14, and the damage of her W to minions has decreased by 15%. The good news is that her W last hits minions with less than 15 HP, which helps her laning phase.
The damage in her kit will continue to be a problem for enemy champions, so Sivir will continue to be strong on the list.
Jhin
The Ionian Virtuoso will be strong this patch, especially since the summoner spell Exhaust is getting nerfed.
Currently, Jhin is second to Sivir in the bot lane tier list since the changes on the Summoner’s Rift have been favourable to him.
You can try using Ghost instead, which will be useful for getting his positioning right against enemy champions.
Twitch
Twitch is more like a surprise sleeper pick, since we don’t think he’s as consistent as Sivir. The lack of safety in the laning phase might be difficult for some to deal with, so he won't be for everyone.
12.14 will also be a bit hard for this Zaunite Rat because of the poke buffs, but t this champion has a lot of agency as an AD Carry.
People also tend to overlook this champion in the landing phase, which means he can, so good luck with your pest control efforts when he scales in the late game.
Support: Senna, Amumu, Blitzcrank
Honourable mentions: Renata Glasc, Taric, Pyke, Xerath
Senna
We love to hate this champion. She’s a great pick if she’s in your team, but she can prove to be an issue if she’s your opponent.
Senna’s poke is relentless, and with some system nerfs mostly targeted at healing, other supports won’t be able to protect their carries as much as they normally could against her.
Amumu
The Sad Mummy might be a sleeper pick, but remember that the buffs he previously got were rather significant.
Amumu will have tremendous early-game power and all-in potential since his Q charges provide superior lockdown.
Your level 6 2v2s will be unbeatable if you combine your Amumu with an ADC like Sivir or Miss Fortune.
Blitzcrank
The buffs on Blitzcrank can affect his gameplay for the better.
Buffs on his Q’s and ult’s damage will be big time because enemies on the receiving end will feel the pain.
He’s also one of the best counters for OP poke supports like Senna and Xerath.
Landing even just one hook can be deadly for the enemy champion, especially with the damage Blitzcrank now dishes out in the game.
For more details on League of Legends patch 12.14, check here.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
For more gaming news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooGamingSEA. Also follow us on Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube, and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page!
