Gaming
Are you hard-stuck on silver? No chance of ever getting that juicy platinum border? You’ve come to the right place: we’ve lined up 10 champions we think are great for gaining Elo with.
You manage to go 10-0-5 as Kalista, but you somehow still manage to lose the game? You feel like you can outplay your opponents mechanically, but somehow you can’t carry your team? Well, you‘ve come to the right place. A game of League starts in champion select: picking the right champion is crucial for your success in solo-queue. We’ve lined up the 10 best champions for you to climb the ladder with.
Before we delve into the champions list it’s important to note that you can’t just pick these champions and automatically win. You’ll need to play the champion at least a couple of times to understand its strengths and weaknesses.
Knowing how to build correctly with the right runes and masteries is also important – luckily there’s a lot of information about that out there on the web. Most of the champions we list here can have great impact on the game if played well. You’ll be able to carry games even if your team has zero kills, as long as you do your part.
There are champions from every role in this list, but some are more likely to carry than others. For example, support champions will always need damage from their team. Ready? Then let’s start.
10. Alistar
Playing support in solo queue is about providing vision for you team and denying it to the enemy. The rest is entirely up to the player; some people love roaming around the map and others prefer to stick with their ADC. Alistar can do both. If your ADC is doing well for himself, Alistar can roam to the midlane for a quick gank. He also has great engage potential and can headbutt enemy champions away if they get too close to his ADC. Mastering Alistar is about knowing when to engage, when to roam and where to ward.
9. Kha’zix
One of the most important things when jungling is clearing your camps as fast as possible. In the jungler match-up, the player that clears his camps first can gank more. Kha’zix isn’t just great at clearing camps, he’s also strong in early-game scrimmages and ganks. When playing him you should always try to track your enemy jungler. You can do this by putting wards in the enemy jungle and seeing which camps are cleared. Always try to get a gank at level three, since you have some CC in your W, a gap closer and a strong auto-attack reset in your Q.
8. Corki
The great thing about Corki is that you can play him both in the mid and bot lane. He scales well into the late game and his package can be used to set up picks. In low elo a lot of fighting happens around the mid lane. People like to just stand around there, so there are a lot of targets for your missiles. Corki is strong because he not only provides poke, but also burst damage. He’s able to kill enemy champions in an instant and his roams are strong as well. Once you get your first package, you should try to roam bot to set up a gank. With two Zeal items, he’s able to absolutely shred through squishy targets.
7. Zac
Zac is a power pick in the jungle right now. He not only provides a tanky front line but also brings tons of CC and hard engage. With a well placed slingshot on the enemy backline and his ultimate to follow up, he can decide a teamfight in an instant. He’s strong through every part of the game, too: once you have a few levels in your slingshot Zac is able to enter the battlefield from a screen away. It’s important that you try to prioritise the backline, as you don’t want to bring a fed tank to your backline. What a lot of people don’t know is that Zac can peel as well. If your backline is taking heavy damage you can use your ultimate to keep them out of harm's way by displacing the enemy champions to a more favourable position.
6. Talon
Talon can be played top, mid and jungle. His level-two spike might be the strongest and most unexpected in the game – especially in lower elo, it’s easy to kill someone if they don’t know about your burst. Once you get the snowball rolling you should extend your lead to the other lanes by freerunning through Summoner’s Rift. For example: if you managed to get a lead in the top lane you can try to gank the mid lane by jumping over the enemy raptor wall. This way you get a great position between the enemy mid laner and his turret. You don’t bring CC to a fight, but you bring a lot of damage instead. Pushing your opposing laner under the turret and roaming around the map is the best way to play Talon and will win you a lot of games.
5. Tryndamere
Tryndamere is a completely different beast to all the other champions listed here. While he’s sometimes played in the jungle, top lane fits him the best. Tryndamere’s goal is to split push the enemy’s nexus down. He’s strong in the early game if he can get his rage bar up, but he shines in the late game where he can knock down a tower in a couple of seconds and get out easily with his ult and E. Always try to push where the enemy isn't and you can be unstoppable when you build a lead. In most scenarios, the enemy team has to send at least two champions to stop you, which opens up the map for the rest of your team.
4. Aurelion Sol
Like Talon, Aurelion Sol doesn’t care much about walls. He can fly over any obstacle at tremendous speeds. It doesn’t matter where you deploy him, his play style stays the same: roam as much as you possibly can. Aurelion Sol can push out the lane in a matter of seconds if you position yourself next to the minion wave. You can start roaming at level two for a surprise gank in the bot or top lane if you push right. As soon as you spend all of your mana, simply go back to base and fly back to your lane. In the late game you should always try to land your stun and peel for your backline. No enemy laner wants to go through your balls of death.
3. Twisted Fate
Twisted Fate is a difficult champion to play – getting the correct card in the laning phase is pretty difficult, and during stressful situations it’s even harder – but he’s strong once you master him. His strength lies in his pushing power and his ultimate. After level six it becomes easy to push your lane out and roam to other lanes. It’s important that you survive up until that point. Assassins like Fizz counter Twisted Fate pretty hard in the beginning so you have to make sure that you know what trades you can and can’t take to avoid dying. Late game Twisted Fate should be played like an ADC. His auto attacks are great with a Lich Bane – make sure to lock your opponents down with a gold card if they dive you.
2. Varus
Right now, Varus is strong in low elo. His piercing arrows are relatively easy to hit and once he hits level six can CC the enemy bot lane. This makes ganks easy to set up and execute. There are plenty of good build paths for Varus, one for every situation. Varus falls off a little bit in the late game since he doesn’t bring the same sustained DPS as, say, a Caitlyn. The trick is to get your opponents low before a fight and to CC the right target. In solo queue, champions that create fights can swing a game’s momentum in your favour.
1. Quinn
Quinn is great both in the top lane and in the jungle. Her mobility is great and her duelling potential is second to none. She does face some difficult matchups against champions that can match her early game, but tanks that have no ranged poke will have a hard time against her in lane. Pushing them under tower and hunting for the enemy jungler or mid laner is the best way to play her. Once you get a few kills under your belt you can duel anyone anywhere. Quinn is still a ADC though, so watch out for other assassins that can one shot you. Always try to predict where the rest of the enemy team is and set up your ganks accordingly.
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