his is MY opinion solely and does not reflect my team’s or any other high level player opinion on high level play. It’s for you to read and discuss for your enjoyment and nothing else.
This is my tier list according to Season 1 Draft Mode / Tournament Play (NOT blind pick MM) I’ve put all the champions I feel are viable on SR and will be picked in competitive play. List goes from left to right, best to worst in each tier.
* Tier 1: Ashe, Twisted Fate, Corki, Mal’zahar, Shen, Janna, Amumu, Soraka, Nunu, Sona, Swain, Alistar, Irelia
* Tier 2: Karthus, Anivia, Annie, Urgot, Jarvan IV, Nocturne, Caitlyn, Vayne, Cho’Gath, Taric, Nidalee, Warwick, Olaf, Renekton, Miss Fortune, Trundle, Zilean, Vladimir, Singed, Ryze
* Tier 3: Teemo, Sion, Leblanc, Lux, Blitzcrank, Maokai, Ezreal, Brand, Cassiopeia, Akali, Kassadin, Kennen, Tristana, Xin Zhao, Udyr, Rammus, Kog’Maw, Gragas, Morgana, Poppy, Jax
* Tier 4: Tryndamere, Malphite, Garen, Rumble, Mordekaiser, Nasus, Veigar, Sivir, Kayle, Eve, Pantheon, Heimerdinger, Yi
* Hard to place on a team: Twitch, Shaco, Mundo, Lee Sin, Karma, Gangplank, Galio, Katarina, Fiddlesticks,
Tier 1 – These champions have proved time and time again that they deserve to be here. These champions are game changing if you can get them most of the time. Player skill combined with knowing how to use these champions correctly will ultimately result in success.
Tier 2 – These champions are barely under tier 1. They all again do their roles incredibly well and are should be considered highly valuable picks. They all synergize very well into the vast majority of viable line ups. Players should be playing these champions if they are looking to improve their game and step into the competitive scene. Master all of the tier 1 and tier 2 champions and you will be a serious force to be reckoned with.
Tier 3 – These champions are still very viable on SR but are simply out done by tier 1 and tier 2 champions. They can still compete with all of them but as far as viable line ups go these won’t be the champions you’re going to ban or first pick in any draft mode. These are your 4th 5th picks in your line up to complement your line up or effectively counter the other teams picks. These champions are still very viable overall but just aren’t champions you will strive to pick or have in your line up all the time.
Tier 4 – These champions don’t fill the roles of the champions above them as good as they do. They really aren’t thought of other than your last pick to add a special extra something to your line up. Extra burst, extra utility, or that 1 more support champ you think you will make your line up that much better. Generally they really aren’t sought after picks in a competitive line up but they can still be played viably but are the bottom of the barrel in terms of competitive picks.
Hard to place on a team – These champions I find aren’t as good as others in terms of competitive picks. They don’t really help or add anything game changing to you line up or anything you would really want on a competitive team imo. They are all fine champions for solo queue for the most part but in terms of a 5v5 tournament draft mode I wouldn’t expect to see any of these champions there. They are simply out done by other champions who do their roles better than they do.
Feel free to ask questions about my list and I will do my best to reason why X champion is in X tier. I also encourage you to convince me I am wrong and move a champion up or down a tier accordingly. I will post the changes if or when I make them in edits in this post.
*—–* CHANGE LOG *—–*
Karthus moved down to tier 2 - My last update was just a bit off considering the patch changes to him. Due to my website being down etc.. The times when I wanted to put him to tier 1 didn't exactly line up. Since his nerfs though I feel he's a solid tier 2 champion.
Alistar moved to tier 1 - Very strong roamer, very strong solo laner, and very strong duo laner. Not to mention you can also jungle with him. He's very versatile and flexible in all of his roles from support, tank, to AP carry. Very strong champion overall.
Irelia moved up to tier 1 - Mostly because of her sustainability in team fights / laning phase, and the fact she's very hard to CC. Her laning control is great, not a lot of champions can really shut her down. She's also a pseudo tank because of her natural lifesteal and the core items you build on her make her kinda tanky too. She fits the tank/dps role quite well and is a great pick for almost any team comp.
Soraka moved up to tier 1 - Her ability to sustain a champion in bottom lane and sustain a team while poking or mid team fight is awesome. Her heals are unrivaled and she's an asset to any push/poke comp or if you really just need to keep someone alive she's your girl.
Sona moved up to tier 1 - I feel Sona is much like Soraka in terms of supporting her team in that she does it well, but Sona is more on the offensive side of things with her skill kit and Soraka is more the defensive version of her. Her DPS is higher and her ultimate can be combo'ed with other champions CC's to have a devastating effect.
Taric moved down to tier 2 - That's right nothing changed on Taric and he's no longer tier 1.. WTF ELEMENTZ U DUMB!? WAH!? Well Meta's change, I learn things about the game, and different strategies and ways of playing this game come into effect everyday. With all the recent tournaments I've noticed no that Taric isn't bad in any way, shape, or form, but simply what he does for a team is a little less desired vs what Soraka and Sona do for a team is all. So by tier list rules, you move down when someone does it better then you do.
Rumble moved up to tier 4 - I feel he does have a couple uses but not a lot. He's pretty much used to shut down X champion in lane. He's VERY strong vs some champions in lane and that's where I feel his usefulness comes into play. If you dominate your lane, you'll be farmed, they won't so Rumble is free to deal some mad DPS because he's farmed up the ying yang.
Singed moved up to tier 2 - I feel he's a strong pick vs a lot of team comps and a strong overall champion in lane. He can beat a lot of champions in solo lanes and he does quite well in a duo lane as well. I feel tier 2 fits him better is all.
Jax moved up to tier 3 - I didn't even know Jax could be good and I am glad I got shown otherwise. Just like Rumble he's strong vs a lot of champions in the lane and if you match up correctly he can be used effectively and get very farmed. I feel he bring a lot more utility and is just overall way better then Rumble though hence him being higher.
Mordekaiser moved up to tier 4 - I pretty much want to copy and past what I wrote for Rumble here because that's the reason I moved him up too lol.
Ashe moved to top spot over TF - I feel Ashe is a stronger pick then TF. That is all.
Gragas moved up to tier 3 - Gragas being played as a AP champion has earned him a spot in tier 3. His large AoE bursts with well timed team coordination can work out to be something amazing. Gragas as your only AP carry is kind of weak because his CD's limit him, but when used to poke, or burst targets of interest he can be very strong! His laning power is also pretty good.
Shaco moved down to hard to place - I feel he really offers nothing to a competitive team. Just like Eve great in Solo Queue but beyond that I feel organized teams shut him down completely and he just becomes a burden to the team.
Gangplank moved down to hard to place - At first I thought the GP changes weren't so bad for him. Now that he's been out for a while it's clear they Riot pretty much ruined him. He doesn't farm as hard, Parrrley doesn't hit as hard, and his ultimate while hitting more often, still doesn't feel that great. GP was viable because of the ability to deny, and get incredibly farmed. Now he gets denied because of his poor skill-set and lacking DPS. On a side note his passive can actually a lot of damage if you manage to auto attack people though!
Tryndamere moved up to tier 4 - He's a very fast jungler, pretty strong ganker, and can fill the role of DPS jungler on a team. I feel he can be viable in competitive play as a DPS jungler.
Annie moved down to tier 2 - Similar to what I said about Taric. Not that anything changed with her, just other casters are out classing her a bit now.
Jarvan IV moved up in tier 2 - I felt our good friend Jarvman was a little bit low. So I bumped him up a bit :p
NEW CHAMPION TIME!
Vayne Placed in tier 2 - I feel Vayne is a good champion but I am not sure if she's OP or not haha. I feel she just snowballs really hard. If you keep up with her in farm she doesn't feel OP, but when she advances ahead of you and gets that snowbally effect I feel she feels VERY strong to play vs. Her laning power is good, her duo lane + support bot lane is strong, and Stonewall has informed me she can actually Jungle pretty well on her own!
