What champions are dominating the new Rift?
Riot·12/23/2014, 12:51:38 AM·0 votes·48,083 views
It isn’t only the teams that are changing this off-season -- the game is, too. With a brand spankin’ new look to the map to go along with radical changes to the jungle, items, and objectives, the way players go at the game has changed in this post-Patch 4.20 world. Let's take a look at which champions will most certainly be coming to an LCS near you.
No champion has been more contested on the new Rift than the half utterly-adorable talking animal, half crowd-control monster, Gnar. He is the current king of the top lane, having been contested in 99% of the competitive games during the past month. With his proficient poke and kiting in Adorable Animal form and his unstoppable crowd control in Big Scary Monster form, the only downside to this fluffy animal is that you can’t always control what mode you want to be in.
With Gnar being near perma-banned, the top lane has become dominated by Lissandra, Rumble and Maokai. Each of them give their team strong crowd control during team fights and the ability to initiate a team fight. Trailing behind them, we still have the European favorite Irelia, as well as Jarvan IV, who is picked primarily as a counter to the Ice Queen, and everyone's old friend Renekton, whose resurgence can be credited to the Koreans.
With talking animals, magical trees, and a queen with ice powers being at the center of the new top lane meta, it might as well be a Disney movie.
It doesn’t matter what you do, Lee Sin apparently will always control the jungle. The Blind Monk is still one of the most contested champions in the game, picked frequently in all regions since the pre-season changes. His mobility and engage capabilities are needed more than ever with the amount of 5v5 team fights the new Rift has brought us.
Warwick, who looked to be the new King of the Jungle during the early days of the 4.20 patch, has lost a bit of his flavor recently with the 4.21 patch. He is still picked for his sustain in the new jungle and his ultimate that can lock up an AD carry in their tracks if done right, but nerfs have put him into non insta-contest status.
Best friends Kha’zix and Rengar are doing just fine, finding success on players who can master their in-and-out style of engagement. Jarvan IV, who has returned to the scene in the top and jungle positions, is currently right behind Lee Sin as the most picked jungler, due to his strong presence in all stages of the game.
Out of all the positions, the mid lane has become the most varied in the pre-season. Jayce, who came back into prominence during Worlds, has continued into the new season. With his long range poke and strong close-up skirmishing, he is a flex pick that teams are using in the top lane or mid depending on how the opposing draft works out.
The assassins Zed, Ahri, LeBlanc, Fizz, and Kassadin are also finding success in the new patch, a lot of times paired with Janna to get in and then heal up off her ultimate. In terms of control-based mid laners, Orianna and Xerath are still strong picks. Xerath needs the right protection and composition to work in the new set-up, but Orianna is a champion -- like Lee Sin -- that seems timeless in pro play. She can fit into almost any team composition easily and if used correctly can be a strong utility or carry champion.
Looking towards the future, Azir is primed to make an impact on competitive play. Finally enabled after a long time on the shelf, he is already seeing play in Korea and during the most recent IEM San Jose. When pros get a hang of him, watch out for his insane zone control and utility.
Corki, the champion that always comes into favor during Worlds, doesn’t feel like taking a year-long vacation this time. With Triforce-based marksmen coming back into power, Corki and Ezreal are seeing a lot of love from the pro players. Corki, who is the top pick for almost every single region, gives the long-ranged poke and escape ability that teams are prioritizing in their team compositions. Ezreal is the same with his slippery ways, but is seen more as a Korean favorite with players in Champions using him in the bottom and mid lanes.
Rounding out the trio of mobility, we have Lucian who continues to see play even after frequent nerfs to his kit. Behind those three, Graves is getting chosen by a lot more pros, with his heavy burst and a small dash of his own.
When Kang "GorillA" Beom-hyeon started picking Janna during the 2014 Worlds Korean Regionals, many thought it was simply a pocket pick when his signature Thresh was taken. GorillA’s play left other teams noticing the power that Janna brings to different team compositions. Since she blew up at Worlds as one of the most contested champions, Janna has become the Queen of the Bottom Lane, being banned or picked in 83% of competitive games in the last month alone.
Nami, Braum, and Leona are still seeing time on the Rift as supports, but the top two in the position are firmly Janna and Thresh. Janna gives her team a strong disengage + healing with her ultimate, and a tornado that can start fights with good coordination or simply disengage. Thresh is still all about going in with nicely placed hooks and following it up with a flay. His box is good for disengage in tough spots, but Thresh is still picked as the support you want if you’re looking to make a big play in a team fight.
As the pre-season turns into the 2015 season, things will change even more as we enter the official season. Throw in the fact Kalista and Rek’sai will also be available when LCS and the other leagues across the world open up, and you can expect even more variety when the new seasons begin in January.
Top Lane: The Banned Beast
No champion has been more contested on the new Rift than the half utterly-adorable talking animal, half crowd-control monster, Gnar. He is the current king of the top lane, having been contested in 99% of the competitive games during the past month. With his proficient poke and kiting in Adorable Animal form and his unstoppable crowd control in Big Scary Monster form, the only downside to this fluffy animal is that you can’t always control what mode you want to be in.
With Gnar being near perma-banned, the top lane has become dominated by Lissandra, Rumble and Maokai. Each of them give their team strong crowd control during team fights and the ability to initiate a team fight. Trailing behind them, we still have the European favorite Irelia, as well as Jarvan IV, who is picked primarily as a counter to the Ice Queen, and everyone's old friend Renekton, whose resurgence can be credited to the Koreans.
With talking animals, magical trees, and a queen with ice powers being at the center of the new top lane meta, it might as well be a Disney movie.
Jungle: The King of the Jungle
It doesn’t matter what you do, Lee Sin apparently will always control the jungle. The Blind Monk is still one of the most contested champions in the game, picked frequently in all regions since the pre-season changes. His mobility and engage capabilities are needed more than ever with the amount of 5v5 team fights the new Rift has brought us.
Warwick, who looked to be the new King of the Jungle during the early days of the 4.20 patch, has lost a bit of his flavor recently with the 4.21 patch. He is still picked for his sustain in the new jungle and his ultimate that can lock up an AD carry in their tracks if done right, but nerfs have put him into non insta-contest status.
Best friends Kha’zix and Rengar are doing just fine, finding success on players who can master their in-and-out style of engagement. Jarvan IV, who has returned to the scene in the top and jungle positions, is currently right behind Lee Sin as the most picked jungler, due to his strong presence in all stages of the game.
Mid Lane: The Wild West
Out of all the positions, the mid lane has become the most varied in the pre-season. Jayce, who came back into prominence during Worlds, has continued into the new season. With his long range poke and strong close-up skirmishing, he is a flex pick that teams are using in the top lane or mid depending on how the opposing draft works out.
The assassins Zed, Ahri, LeBlanc, Fizz, and Kassadin are also finding success in the new patch, a lot of times paired with Janna to get in and then heal up off her ultimate. In terms of control-based mid laners, Orianna and Xerath are still strong picks. Xerath needs the right protection and composition to work in the new set-up, but Orianna is a champion -- like Lee Sin -- that seems timeless in pro play. She can fit into almost any team composition easily and if used correctly can be a strong utility or carry champion.
Looking towards the future, Azir is primed to make an impact on competitive play. Finally enabled after a long time on the shelf, he is already seeing play in Korea and during the most recent IEM San Jose. When pros get a hang of him, watch out for his insane zone control and utility.
AD Carry: Corki Thinks It’s Worlds
Corki, the champion that always comes into favor during Worlds, doesn’t feel like taking a year-long vacation this time. With Triforce-based marksmen coming back into power, Corki and Ezreal are seeing a lot of love from the pro players. Corki, who is the top pick for almost every single region, gives the long-ranged poke and escape ability that teams are prioritizing in their team compositions. Ezreal is the same with his slippery ways, but is seen more as a Korean favorite with players in Champions using him in the bottom and mid lanes.
Rounding out the trio of mobility, we have Lucian who continues to see play even after frequent nerfs to his kit. Behind those three, Graves is getting chosen by a lot more pros, with his heavy burst and a small dash of his own.
Support: Queen of the Bottom Lane
When Kang "GorillA" Beom-hyeon started picking Janna during the 2014 Worlds Korean Regionals, many thought it was simply a pocket pick when his signature Thresh was taken. GorillA’s play left other teams noticing the power that Janna brings to different team compositions. Since she blew up at Worlds as one of the most contested champions, Janna has become the Queen of the Bottom Lane, being banned or picked in 83% of competitive games in the last month alone.
Nami, Braum, and Leona are still seeing time on the Rift as supports, but the top two in the position are firmly Janna and Thresh. Janna gives her team a strong disengage + healing with her ultimate, and a tornado that can start fights with good coordination or simply disengage. Thresh is still all about going in with nicely placed hooks and following it up with a flay. His box is good for disengage in tough spots, but Thresh is still picked as the support you want if you’re looking to make a big play in a team fight.
As the pre-season turns into the 2015 season, things will change even more as we enter the official season. Throw in the fact Kalista and Rek’sai will also be available when LCS and the other leagues across the world open up, and you can expect even more variety when the new seasons begin in January.
is jungle champ
is unbelievably op in top, if not counter picked he will be an issue the entire game as his cc and mobility make his laning opponent a tasty target for the jungle to gank. Moving on to the jungle I will say 
is not that good unless your team understands how to utilise his kit, otherwise he will be destroyed, however for a 5 man team comp he can have complete control of the game start to finish. 
can poke and close in to destroy you, and if the jungle can feed him gg, there is literally nothing he cant do but hard cc, give him a team that can support him and his damage will scale out of control. 
takes a lot of getting used to but with great damage and escape mechanics the only adc to hold a flame to him is 
and with a supp to back him properly his late game will be a nuisance. With a supp like
you think the tornado is the power your wrong its the shield mixed with her ult. If your in a team fight that goes south she can just end it and your team can disengage(because again we are talking 5 man pro play where they will call it and all disengage not "why didn't you leave we were disengaging" 
Jungle 
ADC 
Support 
Mid 
Sivir. Sivir have good, quickly damage to take down turrets really fast Shes ultimate give huge boost to the team, and with the low CD on his Abilities and the AOE make her very viable in teamcomp on the rift
Kazkaip px
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