Patch 14.20 has been here for a while now and it brought lots of changes to the League of Legends meta. They're manifesting through item and champion buffs and nerfs. In this article, we will take a look at the best top lane champ picks for Ranked so you can climb up the Ranked ladder in LoL.
We will give several examples of champions per tier, so you can decide for yourself which pick fits your play style and which toplaner will give you the best chances of carrying the top lane.
Given how much the meta can shake things up, you should pay attention to each patch as your favorite champion might be hit with the nerf hammer, as Riot unleashes a new broken champion on the mid-lane.
Table of Contents
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Tier List Explanation
This tier list will examine some of the most-played League of Legends champions in the top lane. Keep in mind that this is for Emerald+ divisions.
- B-Tier: Viable and reliable in most situations, you can manage rather decently.
- A-Tier: Great options but lacking just slightly either in terms of damage or utility.
- S-Tier: The best champions you can use to ensure you are always victorious.
NOTE: Although this tier list strives to be as objective as possible in terms of viability, you should not limit yourself to strictly adhere to this list, but rather experiment and see which champion feels fun to play with.
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B-Tier Top Lane Champions
The nerfs Udyr received to his Q, E, and R definitely don't feel great on him and he has seen some better days. Still, an okay champion pick.
Garen has seen better days in League of Legends. However, he's still a very easy and beginner-friendly champion, especially in low elo.
Olaf is a great champion pick against CC-heavy comps so you can run down the enemy carries.
Vayne has great mobility and damage but it seems like this isn't enough in the current LoL meta.
Similar to Ezreal, Varus doesn't shine in the current meta. He's simply 'okay' in the Summoner's Rift, relying heavily on the team.
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A-Tier Top Lane Champions
Mordekaiser got hit by a nerf in patch 14.20 but he's doing pretty well despite that. He's still a lane bully and the star of a lot of team fights.
With buffed W damage, Pantheon is moving to the A-Tier. He's definitely not OP but he's doing pretty well in the current top-lane meta.
Mundo is another LoL champ receiving a nerf in patch 14.20. He's still good though, especially when it comes to objectives.
Poppy received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the recent League of Legends update. She's a decent champion, although for some players she might feel like a B-tier pick.
Singed is the opposite case of Poppy - he got nerfed and we're placing him in A-tier but some LoL players might argue that he's deserving of S-tier.
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Sett can offer you an easy landing phase. He also brings a combination of high damage and tankiness to the Summoner's Rift.
Olaf is a great champion pick against CC-heavy comps so you can run down the enemy carries.
Illaoi might lack mobility but she makes up for it with damage. She shines bright in team fights.
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia might have a high win rate but that's due to her low pick rate. She's a good choice for the top lane but not an OP one.
Sylas
Sylas has some good sustain and huge shields, which makes him a very decent toplaner.
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S-Tier Top Lane Champions
A buff to her Q lands Riven in the S-tier. She brings some serious damage to the Summoner's Rift but she's not as easy to play as she looks like.
This small girl offers some amazing outplay potential. Don't let her looks fool you, as Gwen is a tank shredder.
Yone and his brother received a huge buff in patch 14.20. He's a hyper-carry who's doing amazing in the top lane but beware of his high ban rate.
Nasus can offer you reliable damage and a very oppressive slow, aside from being a classic tank.
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Camille is a top-laner who's an oppressive split-pusher with great engage capabilities and amazing damage.
Darius' strong side is the damage output, which allows him to consistently apply pressure and win trades. With him, you can snowball games easily.
Shen brings great taunt and split pushing to every Ranked game. Even if you're losing the match, he might turn everything around thanks to how good he is with objectives.
With great sustain, damage, mobility, and CC, Aatrox is one of the best top lane picks in patch 14.20.
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Best Top Lane Champions Tier List
All in all, this League of Legends tier list is surely to change based on balance changes the devs implement but it should give you a general idea of which champions are strong and which might need some additional tuning to become more viable.
S-Tier Champions
- Riven
- Gwen
- Nasus
- Shen
- Aatrox
- Darius
- Camille
- Yone
- Jax
- Volibear
- Ornn
A-Tier Champions
- Mordekaiser
- Pantheon
- Dr. Mundo
- Poppy
- Singed
- Sett
- Olaf
- Illaoi
- Cassiopeia
- Sylas
- Ryze
- Quinn
- K'Sante
- Urgot
- Aurora
- Trundle
- Yorick
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B-Tier Champions
- Udyr
- Garen
- Olaf
- Vayne
- Fiora
- Warwick
- Gangplank
- Kled
- Irelia
- Wukong
- Jayce
- Kayle
C-Tier Champions
- Sion
- Rumble
- Heimerdinger
- Teemo
- Yasuo
D-Tier Champions
- Smolder
- Maokai
- Vladimir
- Renekton
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