Well I get Gnar, because he's a new champ. But what about Irelia and Liss. I know they were always strong top laners, but they definitely weren't in the discussion of top tier in Season 4.
Ryze fell with the recent nerfs, but Maokai and Rumble are still just as strong as worlds 2014 iirc. So why/how did Irelia and Liss take their place?
Lissandra has a horrible range, but enough CC for 2 champions. Picking Lissandra means you're free to pick a CCless midlaner who focusses solely on damage, which is am perfect in the current assassin meta (Zed).
Irelia, well she always was strong. I continiously told people she was, I got flamed for saying so. LCS just proved me right. She gets so incredible bulk with just a few items, she can burst 100-0 mages with RoA & Rylais durign a single stun AND she offers true damage against tanks. There is nothing bad about her. Once she hits level 4 and gets Phage she becomes a beast.
Nerfs to the last top tier champs that rendered them unplayable.
Irelia has always been strong.
Ryze was nerfed, Maokai/rumble are still top tier picks.
Lissandra top could be described as a hidden OP (formerly).
Gnar after his bug fixes was super powerful, no idea after the last set of nerfs he received though.
That's the meta for you, it constantly shifts with buffs, nerfs, and counterpicks.
Gnar's just super good. His kit gives him everything a top wants. He has an escape, he has ranged harass and poke, he has a lot of cc, and he can also act as a team tank.
Lissandra was actually always good at top, it's just that everyone was fixed on Ryze and now that he's gotten nerfed people are looking for a new AP top and realized that Lissandra's good.
Irelia was treated favorably by changes in the meta. All the ranged tops we have these days have made it harder to play champs like Renekton, Garen, Darius, and other melee bruisers, which were champs that dumped on her. With them out of the picture Irelia's got more elbow room up top, and it's even better for her because she's perfectly able to fight and kill ranged tops despite being melee herself.
