Ever since the Karthus nerfs and Zed buffs of Patch 9.4, we're seeing a strong shift in mid-lane dominance. Coupled with nerfs on Yasuo, Zed's main mid-lane "counter", he's running amok on the Rift. Ban him out if you don't want to deal with it. Meanwhile, as the premiere 1v2 marksman, banning Draven's an excellent idea that everyone's caught on to.
SEASON 9 PATCH 9.4 BAN TIER LIST
Prioritize Zed Over Karthus
Ever since the Karthus nerfs and Zed buffs of Patch 9.4, we're seeing a strong shift in mid-lane dominance. Coupled with nerfs on Yasuo, Zed's main mid-lane "counter", he's running amok on the Rift. Ban him out if you don't want to deal with it. Meanwhile, as the premiere 1v2 marksman, banning Draven's an excellent idea that everyone's caught on to.
The purpose of this list is to discover optimal bans, with the knowledge that enemy teams will likely ban the ones at the top of the list.
Banning Thought Process
Which champions could the enemy team pick that would really screw my team over?
Which champions could the enemy team pick that would really screw ME over?
Which of the champions above is the enemy team likely going to pick if it's not banned?
Which of the champions above is the enemy team probably going to ban?
After considering these items, it's time to hit the ban phase.
Optimal Bans
Diamond+
God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Zed, Draven, Sylas, Vladimir, Jax, Thresh, Lucian Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Nami, Kha'Zix
Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Yasuo, Karthus,\
Platinum
God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Zed, Draven, Jax, Darius, Vayne Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Thresh, Nami, Riven
Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Yasuo, Sylas, Karthus
Gold
God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Zed, Darius, Draven, Jax, Vayne, Yorick Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Jinx, Nami
Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Yasuo, Sylas, Karthus
Silver
God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Zed, Jax, Draven, Vayne, Darius Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Jinx, Lux, Nami
Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Yasuo, Sylas
Bronze/Iron
God Tier [Likely/Should Bans]: Yasuo, Zed, Jax, Master Yi, Draven, Nasus Good Bans [Popular Strong Champions]: Lux, Jinx
Meh Bans [Probable But Unnecessary Bans]: Darius, Sylas
Method
To do this list, I first start with whichever statistical compilation site I have available (my personal preference is leagueofgraphs.com). Afterwards, I check the most banned champions and separate them into either "God Tier" or "Meh Bans" based on win rate and popularity, sometimes subjective reasoning (in which case I'd do a write-up).
Last I do an analysis of both the win rate and the popularity by division and add in good bans for that division based on such.
Some people may note that most sites don't distinguish between "Platinum Only" and "Platinum and Higher". However, this generally doesn't make much of a difference as a result of the way the overall player distribution is between the ranks. Bronze and Silver make up the highest percentage of error, but generally run similar to each other.
Explanations
Taking out explanations to make this list faster to put together, feel free to ask questions in the comments section below!
Platinum
Gold
Silver
Bronze/Iron