League of Legends Solo Queue Tier lists for Patch 9.12:

League of Legends tier lists help you climb solo queue ranked ladders by picking the best champions to win more games. This LoL tier list organizes all the League of Legends champions in all their various roles. Other LoL tier lists only show champions that they think are viable.

This League of Legends tier list lets you pick your favorites and choose from among them the best LoL champions for climbing solo queue. Even if you love playing support Cho'Gath, you'll know where he places in comparison to the rest of the LoL champions.

SEASON 9 - PATCH 9.12
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS TIER LISTS
"Best Champions to Climb With"

Patch 9.12 Tier List Update Summary

The Mordekaiser rework is at the top of everyone's mind this patch, but it's really Karma that you should be watching out for this patch. The buffs graced from Riot this patch are significant and have catapulted her to the top of the tier list for both top lane and support. Luckily, she also synergizes perfectly with champions like Hecarim and Sivir too!

Check out what else has changed on the tier list below!

As always, don't forget to like the site on Facebook if you haven't already!

Contents and Related Links:

FOTM Tier List - Meta based tier list based on popularity and what high Elo players are using
Strongest Potential Champions - Champions with the highest potential in the game
Optimal Champion Bans by Division
God Tier Champions
Tier 1 Champions
Tier List Position Explanation
Champion Explanations

Patch 9.12 Summary

Buffs: Ashe, Caitlin, Karma, Lulu, Zac

Nerfs: Sylas, Aatrox, Irelia, Nautilus, Corrupting Potion

Tweaks: Mordekaiser, Ryze, Yuumi

Updates

Added Pyke mid/top

Toolkit and Options

Search for a Champion:

LoL Tier List

God Tier List

[Highest Influence | Good In Almost Every Situation | Easiest to Gain LP With]

Mid Lane	Ahri, Ekko, Pyke
Jungle	Sejuani, Hecarim, Rek'Sai
Top Lane	Mordekaiser, Tahm Kench, Karma
Bot Lane	Sivir, Jinx, Kai'Sa
Support	Lux, Karma, Thresh

God TierRising: Darius (Top), Hecarim (Jungle), Karma (Support/Top), Lux (Support), Mordekaiser (Top), Sivir (Marksman)
God TierFalling:

Tier 1

[Strong/Preferred Choices | Faster to Learn and Win | Works Well In Solo Queue]

Mid-Lane: Talon, Katarina, Fizz, Kassadin, Lux, Taliyah, Malzahar, Zed, Vladimir, Vel'Koz, Karthus, Nocturne, Annie, Anivia, Mordekaiser, Yasuo, Veigar, Ziggs, Twisted Fate, Zilean, Sylas, Aatrox, Leblanc

Jungle: Nunu, Elise, Xin Zhao, Vi, Karthus, Graves, Evelynn, Olaf, Kayn, Kha'Zix, Jax, Shaco, Kindred, Amumu, Ivern, Jarvan IV, Udyr, Warwick, Pantheon, Volibear, Nidalee, Shyvana, Master Yi, Rengar

Top: Pyke, Darius, Jax, Kled, Riven, Renekton, Aatrox, Vladimir, Urgot, Sion, Pantheon, Kayle, Malphite, Yasuo, Camille, Hecarim, Illaoi, Rumble, Olaf, Irelia, Quinn, Vayne, Lissandra, Wukong, Volibear, Poppy, Fiora

Bot Lane: Twitch, Draven, Ashe, Vayne, Lucian, Miss Fortune, Ezreal, Jhin, Varus, Tristana, Caitlyn

Support: Nautilus, Pyke, Rakan, Nami, Sona, Soraka, Morgana, Janna, Brand, Fiddlesticks, Leona, Alistar, Vel'Koz, Zyra, Braum, Blitzcrank, Bard, Taric

Tier 1 Rising: Kayn (Jungle), Mordekaiser (Mid), Pyke (Top), Xin Zhao (Jungle)
Tier 1 Falling: Jax (Top), Nunu (Jungle), Pyke (Support)

Tier 2

[Viable/Balanced Choices | Common In Solo Queue | Needs Practice To Get Good]

Mid-Lane: Morgana, Cassiopeia, Zoe, Xerath, Swain, Brand, Orianna, Neeko, Aurelion Sol, Jayce, Galio, Kayle, Lissandra, Wukong, Diana, Viktor, Karma, Corki, Kled, Ryze, Azir, Gangplank, Syndra, Kennen, Heimerdinger

Jungle: Rammus, Nocturne, Lee Sin, Wukong, Camille, Taliyah, Trundle, Maokai, Ekko, Dr. Mundo, Skarner, Nasus, Zac, Cho'Gath, Gragas, Quinn, Twitch,

Top: Dr. Mundo, Singed, Yorick, Garen, Teemo, Tryndamere, Jayce, Kennen, Gangplank, Nasus, Neeko, Sylas, Cassiopeia, Swain, Jarvan IV, Maokai, Shen, Gnar, Ryze,Viktor, Heimerdinger, Cho'gath, Ornn, Akali, Malzahar, Talon, Trundle, Nautilus, Ekko

Bot Lane: Sona, Kog'Maw, Xayah, Neeko, Yasuo, Quinn, Kalista, Mordekaiser, Brand, Swain, Ziggs, Cassiopeia, Jayce, Heimerdinger, Vladimir, Veigar

Support: Lulu, Yuumi, Xerath, Shen, Jarvan IV, Sion, Zilean, Ornn, Tahm Kench, Zoe, Maokai

Tier 2 Rising:
Tier 2 Falling:

Tier 3

[Needs Higher Skill or Knowledge | Counterpicks]

Mid-Lane: Irelia, Akali, Kayle, Ezreal, Lucian, Zyra, Gragas, Kog'Maw (AP), Cho'Gath, Pantheon, Quinn, Nasus, Lulu, Sona, Varus, Urgot, Teemo, Sion, Fiddlesticks, Malphite

Jungle: Pyke, Sylas, Neeko, Poppy, Fizz, Galio, Kayle, Malphite, Sion, Nautilus, Diana, Rumble, Riven, Talon, Tryndamere, Kled, Mordekaiser, Irelia, Fiddlesticks, Tahm Kench, Kog'Maw

Top: Galio, Fizz, Kassadin, Diana, Rengar, Gragas, Graves, Rammus, Lulu, Xin Zhao, Shaco, Karthus, Lee Sin, Shyvana

Bot Lane:Kennen, Corki, Graves, Urgot

Support: Neeko, Poppy, Sylas, Teemo, Malzahar, Galio, Cho'Gath, Camille, Trundle, Annie, Volibear, Malphite, Shaco, Veigar, Gragas, Nunu, Kayle, Leblanc, Kennen

Tier 3 Rising:
Tier 3 Falling:

Tier 4

[Low Benefit Based On Effort Used]

Mid-Lane: Jarvan IV, Riven, Jhin, Master Yi, Janna, AP Kaisa

Jungle:Gangplank, Fiora, Shen, Darius, Zed, Aurelion Sol, Garen, Alistar, Yorick

Top:Blitzcrank, Taliyah, Alistar, Leblanc

Bot Lane:Twisted Fate

Support:Miss Fortune, Pantheon, Ashe, Anivia, Lee Sin, Gangplank, Orianna, Lissandra

Tier 4 Rising:
Tier 4 Falling:

Instructions and Caveats

Champions in BOLD I will talk about shortly
Champions UNDERLINEDmay be over/undervalued, but aren't/haven't played enough for me to make a better judgment.
Within each tier, the champions are strongest from left to right, but within a tier each champion's strength is relatively close. This is especially true for Tiers 2 and 3 where these champions are ALL highly playable and player dependent on how strong they are in-game.
Win Rates are important in analyzing each champion's strength but are not the end-all criteria for any champion's position.
Professional Picks may not necessarily translate into good picks for solo queue ladder, the two have slightly different meta-games and skill levels.
The creator of this list is diamond so there may be some personal bias towards higher tier play on certain champions.

League of Legends Tier List Descriptions

God Tier: These champions are almost impossible to keep down. If your team doesn't make it a priority to shut down these champions and shut them down hard, even if they lose their lane, lose in CS, and it's their first time playing the champion, they can be a massive nuisance for your team. On the other hand, if they're actually good at the champion...that's when it's time to throw in the towel.

Tier 1: These champions generally do very well regardless, and have some sort of advantage over most other champions. When they do well, their team does well. Even when they don't do well, their team still has a good chance of a comeback victory by utilizing one or more aspects of their late game utility.

Tier 2: This is the Tier of balanced champions where Riot shoots to place their designs. These champions generally do well in their own right, and are very strong picks with a good chance of winning. However, they're not overpowered by any means and do have their weaknesses.

Tier 3: These champions can still do very well, but tend to need a little more snowballing to get rolling. Even if they get an early lead, it's still very possible to turn the tides on them with just a mistake or two. They may also have some weaknesses that can be capitalized on.

Tier 4: These champions are either underpowered or offer less reward than other champions for the same amount of effort. These champions basically start winning from the get-go or get made fun of for the rest of the game. They need gold to do their job correctly, and if they don't get enough of it, they become sandbags for the enemy team to punch. Chances of a comeback with one of these champions feeding on your team is almost none.

Thoughts on Win Rates

With enough playtime, a high win rate on a champion indicates *something* generally goes right, and a low win rate indicates that whatever is happening in games with this champion isn't in their favor.

A low win rate may mean a champion is being played incorrectly and is stronger than his win rate indicates, but a top 25 win rate (with 120 champions) almost always indicates that a champion is at least a good candidate for Tier 1 or high Tier 2 if the sample size is large enough.

This means that champions with high win rates doesn't mean that they're necessarily GOOD right now, especially if they have a low playrate or tend to get into favorable match-ups. If we feel this is the case, these champions will place differently on this tier list than you'd think.

Similarly, champions with low win rates that are still within the acceptable deviations may end up slightly higher than you'd expect from a champion with mediocre win rates.

If there are champions on this tier list with low overall play rates but good win rates after relatively few games of practice, it may mean that players that pick those champions up just to try them are bringing down the average. If this is the case, we will place them higher on the list.

More thoughts on win rates here.

Counter Picking Champions

In Tier 3 of this tier list, we've placed certain champions that are good as a second pick, but can get spanked hard if they end up first picking by a variety of meta champions. If you're good at a large variety of champions, picking a champion that counters your laner is a good place to start. If you can get a slight advantage and don't have a clear experience advantage, picking a champion that both places high on this tier list and also counters your enemy laner may give you enough to win a game.

Check out a few of our more popular champion counter guides:

LoL Tier List Champion Explanations

Elise [Tier 1 Jungle]

Elise is in an interesting spot right now. She's got a high win rate and is picked quite often, but the reason that I'm not putting her God Tier just yet is largely because she's largely a component of the current meta and simply synergizes well with all the long range and duration CC champions that crowd the rift right now. She certainly very strong in her own right and may move up to God Tier next patch, but in her current state she's still not quite as reliably impactful on her own as the God Tier junglers.

Hecarim [God Tier Jungle]

This patch we're moving Hecarim back up to God Tier. After the initial nerfs worked their way through the system from a few patches ago, players are quickly growing accustomed to his new damage output and he remains one of the strongest gankers in the game.

Karma [God Tier Support/Top]

This newest buff to Karma is absolutely bonkers. It makes her nearly impossible to escape, and as a natural top lane bully Karma is granted the ability to truly run down her opponents at whim. Meanwhile, catching her is next to impossible with the increased movement speed duration of her E, resulting in an insanely slippery champion.

Lux [God Tier Support]

The nerfs to Nautilus this patch gave Lux the one final push she needed to get to God Tier. Aftershock allows her to effectively trade with all-in supports, and her damage output is high enough to burst straight through sustain. When you couple this with her absurd catching power, Lux has finally become the support champion that Lux mains hoped she'd be.

Mordekaiser [God Tier Top]

In his current state, Mordekaiser is very very good top-lane. This is somewhat surprising considering how early on in the patch cycle it is, and players likely haven't found the optimal combination of runes and items on this guy yet. He's already been hotfix nerfed once already, but we'll see if he needs another good bop before he's under control.

Mordekaiser [Tier 3 Jungle]

As a jungle champion Mordekaiser isn't quite as good. He's still powerful and can dominate through late game, but other jungle champions simply have better waveclear and map mobility at this point in time. His ganks aren't bad, but his inability to quickly traverse the map for positioning really hurts him as a jungler.

Pyke [Tier 1 Top]

We're ramping Pyke up even higher this patch to Tier 1, and in some hands he's certainly capable of being God Tier material. In lane he pretty much just needs to stay even. Mid to late game, it only takes a few kill resets to allow him to completely change the course of the game. His sustain and gap closers allow him to freely stay alive despite the best efforts of any jungler, and post-6 ganking Pyke's lane always opens up the risk of a double kill.

Riven [Tier 1 Top]

Riven's dropping down to Tier 1 this patch. She's still very good and honestly is probably somewhere between Tier 1 and God Tier, but with Mordekaiser and Tahm Kench up there it's tough to put her in the same league. That's not to say she can't completely annihilate both of them, but it's definitely not easy.

Sivir [God Tier Marksman]

Sivir's continuously gets more and more lucky with each meta nerf every patch. This time around they've buffed Caitlin, granting Sivir a lane with infinite free mana. Meanwhile, she synergizes incredibly well with Lux, Yuumi, and Karma, champions that are seen almost 100% of the time on the rift. When you couple this with her ultra-safe laning and survivability, it's no wonder she's taken over the top of the marksmen tier list.

Yuumi [Tier 2 Support]

Many people keep asking why Yuumi isn't Tier 3 or even Tier 4. The reason is really that she's honestly not that bad. Her sustain is incredibly good, and with good auto-attack management she pretty much never runs low on mana. The main issue is of course when you're up against a kill-lane and your marksman has poor positioning, but if that's the case you're probably going to lose the game anyway. If she snowballs she can still take over the game by herself....a willing host.

Disclaimer:

The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for champion selection.

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

If you're looking for a more meta based tier list based on popularity, be sure to check out the FOTM list as well!

For a list of champions with the highest *potential* in the game without regard to difficulty or team synergies, jump to the strongest potential champions in each position!

Be sure to visit Optimal Champion Bans by Division too!