The 10 Greatest Champions of All Time

Electro522·Feb 9, 2015·3 votes·3,162 views

This was not made by me! This was made by a member of MOBAfire.com who goes by the name Mooninites.

Here is a link to the original post: http://www.mobafire.com/profile/mooninites-38547/blog/the-10-greatest-champions-of-all-time#comment-1009391

I've been wanting to do this for a long time, but I feel like I can accurately make a list of the top 10 champions of all time. This list is inherently biased by nature, but I am going to try to give as accurate assessment on the top 10 greatest champions ever. There is a number of criteria to consider to determine the best champions. The first is consistency in competitive play, there's no way around it, pretty much every champion has had it's time in the sun, but very few champions can endure over time. The second criteria is domination; how strong was a champion? Was it first pick/ban worthy? There is also a number of criteria that automatically disqualifies a champion. If the champion hasn't been out that long it's pretty difficult to examine. Spoiler alert, sorry to all you Yasuo and Gnar fans, but these champions haven't been out long enough for me to accurately assess. In particular with Yasuo and Gnarr, they were both way overtuned for when they first came out and since there history in competitive play is so short it's pretty much impossible to give a fair assessment. It would be like putting Rek'Sai on this list, even though she's been first pick/ban worthy she's only been out a couple of weeks and that would greatly skew the results. Also if a champion has never seen competitive play I can't put it on the list. Another spoiler, sorry all you Fiora mains, I can't justify putting her on this list. She's never been a competitive pick and really hasn't been a good champion ever. Without going further let's start the list.

#10

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/311/3/3/elise_the_spider_queen_by_yumedust-d6tdn7a.jpg I had a lot of problems putting Elise on this list and some of them are probably why she's so low on the list. There's no question Elise has been a strong pick throughout most of her history, but there have also been times when she's been incredibly weak. She seemingly always bounces back after nerfs, albeit sometimes in a new role. In competitive play she has been played as a Top Laner, Mid Laner, Support, and Jungler and few champions can boast that type of gameplay. There have been multiple times where Elise has been a first pick or even ban worthy as both a top laner and a jungler so it's hard to not include her on this list. If there's anything that really is a detriment to her status as one of the greatest champions ever it's that she has had periods where she's been underwhelming.

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Lulu_0.jpg

Lulu is another champion that's hard to include on this list. She's had periods when she's been absolutely fantastic, but she's also never been incredibly dominant. She's been a solid top laner, mid laner, and support. There have been very few times where Lulu is a bad champion, but she definitely has seen periods where her competitive play has dipped. I don't think that's enough to take away from her consistency and longevity in the competitive scene. If anything were to take away from her presence on this list it would be the fact that she has never really been that dominant. Even at the beginning of Season 4 when teams were first picking her, she didn't seem like a mandatory pick or ban. Despite this Lulu has to be mentioned on this list.

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Khazix_0.jpg

Kha'Zix is in the same boat as Elise he's had points of absolutely incredible dominance but recently has been underwhelming. Also like Elise he seemingly always bounces back from nerfs. He's been a Mid lane assassin, top lane assassin/bruiser, and jungler. He's definitely been first pick and ban worthy and has even had periods of the best jungler or best mid lane champion, and Elise can't boast that which is why Kha'Zix is higher than her on this list. Right now Kha'zix isn't that great, but where has been in the past secures his spot on the list. The important thing is that for most of his history, Kha'Zix has been a dominant champion, and perhaps one of the most dominant ever.

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Corki_0.jpg

Corki probably has to appear on this list because of his prominence on the Worlds stage. In season 1, 2, 3, and 4 Corki has been among the strongest ADC's if not the strongest. While he has definitely had periods in which he dipped and saw almost no competitive play at all, no other champion in the game can say they've been a staple of a role on the Worlds Stage since season 1. He has had periods of really high dominance, especially at the end of Season 3 and Season 4, even recently he has been good. If anything takes away from Corki on this list it has to be his consistency and it's a fairly strong argument against him because he has had those periods when he hasn't been played, but he also belongs on this list for his amazing track record.

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Nidalee_0.jpg

Nidalee is kind of difficult to place within this list. She's pretty much always been a good pick, but sometimes in different roles. She's been played in competitive play as a Mid Laner, Top Laner, and AD Carry (might come as a surprise, but she was played in the ADC role by Hosan of Dragonborns against EG, they also won that game). She was one of the strongest champions top lane if not the strongest in both Season 1 and Season 2. However, there is a pretty distinct difference, she's was played as a bruiser/split pusher in season 2 and an AP mage top lane in Season 1. Nidalee has to be included on this list simply for her flexibility within competitive play. To be played as a long range siege champion to a bruiser, seeing play as both across multiple season is incredible. She has definitely been noted more for her AP mage play than her bruiser play, especially as of recently, but there's a pretty strong chance she may even see competitive play as a jungler in the near future which would be even more of a testament to her presence on this list. There's really nothing that takes away from Nidalee being on this list other than dominance, but even then she's had periods of extreme dominance in multiple roles.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k4jpbUNJvto/VDg2iyVK1pI/AAAAAAAAa90/9Vv1YRMTczE/s1600/Rumble_Splash_0.jpg

Rumble is kind of similar to Corki that it is difficult to quantify where he should be placed on this list. Like Corki, Rumble has been seen at pretty much every competitive international event, from All-Stars, to IEM's, to Worlds. Rumble has also had periods where he has dipped. He's pretty much always been a strong pick, but he's never had points of real dominance. Perhaps that's because he's a difficult champion to play and not everyone takes the time to learn him, but it also seems like he's just been a solid pick perhaps nothing more. It's difficult to place him over other champions that have been more dominant, but the fact that he has been a huge pick in every single international tournament really bolsters Rumble on this list.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O9b7N-DXWIA/VAYVQr8StZI/AAAAAAAAEd4/TVJz96w8WKk/s1600/Orianna_Splash_0.jpg

Orianna is a pretty obvious choice her, she's been incredibly consistent and a staple in competitive play for pretty much the entirety of her career. She's the ultimate sandbox mage and she gives teams an incredible amount of flexibility. She's never a bad pick into a team comp nor has she been a bad pick in general. She's drawn bans simply for her power and ability to do so much within a team. She's pretty much never had a moment when she was bad, although she's also never had moments of pure dominance. She's always been a strong pick and so you can't leave her off this list, but the only thing really holding her back from being higher up on the list is that the 3 champions above her have been both dominant and consistent in competitive play.

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Zed_0.jpg

Zed is probably hands down, the single most dominant champion ever in League of Legends history. Season 3 Zed was so disgustingly overpowered, that if you didn't ban him or first pick, you pretty much lost the game before it even started. Zed has consistently been a good pick since he arrived in the League in season 3. He's been played in competitive play as a jungle, top lane, and mid lane assassin, but he's probably most noted for being a mid lane assassin. He definitely does not draw the mandatory pick/ban in season 4 or currently, that he did in season 3, but he's still a very strong pick and has never been a bad pick. If there's anything that takes away from his presence on this list it's probably the fact that he's only been around since early season 3, but his consistency and dominance in competitive play basically ensure that he's on this list.

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Thresh_0.jpg

Any list of the greatest champions ever without Thresh would just be idiotic. He very well could have claimed the #1 spot on this list, but I felt there was one champion that was more deserving of that #1 spot, but hopefully that doesn't take away anything from him. Like Zed, Thresh is a relatively recent champion, only coming into the league in early season 3, but also like Zed, Thresh has been one of the most consistent and easily the most dominant support ever in the game. Thresh brings an absurd amount of utility and is pretty much never a bad pick. He's single-handidly revived careers or made support players gods; think of players like MadLife or Edward from Gambit Gaming, these guys had much of their support career defined by this champion. It's impossible to not include Thresh on this list, and I think there is a very just argument that he could be the greatest champion ever in competitive play, he's been both dominant and consistent, which no other support in the game has claimed.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tT59WdP2kEQ/VCsD3q9z1RI/AAAAAAAAaGc/Up9bnK4kj1Q/s1600/LeeSin_Splash_0.jpg

Lee Sin is the greatest champion in competitive play in League of Legends history. In competitive play he has been played as a top laner, jungler, and mid laner. He has been the most consistent and most consistently dominant champion ever in the game. He has literally never had a moment where he has been a bad champion. He has always been first pick or ban worthy. The champion offers so much utility, mobility, power, early game pressure, play making ability, the list goes on. This champions fulfills pretty much everything you want and is good against any team, good in any team, and easily the best champion ever created. There are a lot of champions that can rival either his dominance or consistency, but no champion can rival both his dominance, consistency, and flexibility which is why I put him ahead of Thresh. Thresh has arguably been as dominant and consistent, but he has not been a champion since Season 1 and he's not as flexible as Lee Sin. No other champion has withstood the test of time and the trials that Lee Sin has. Even when he's received consistent nerfs, Lee Sin has always been a strong champion, he has seemingly never dipped beyond that first pick/ban status. It is impossible for me to accurately call this a list of the greatest champions ever, without putting Lee Sin at the top of this list for all these reasons.

That's my list for the 10 greatest champions ever created, I hope you enjoy it. If you agree or disagree let me know why in the comments. If there's anything you want to add, feel free to add it. I will create a list of honorable mentions below with brief explanations of why they didn't make the list.

Honorable Mentions

Irelia - simply put she's been dominant but not consistent. After her nerfs into oblivion post-Season 2 she hasn't been consistent enough

Gragas - Really strong across multiple season for multiple periods, but again not consistently. Dominance is definitely there for some periods, such as Season 3 worlds, but it takes more than that to be on a list of 10 greatest champions ever.

Morgana - Consistency again, she's been really strong at times, such as a mid lane mage in season 2 and a support in season 4 and currently, but beyond that Morgana has really lacked competitive play.

Rengar - consistently dominant, but just too many bugs that have kept him out of competitive play for various reasons. Season 2 Rengar could probably push Season 3 Zed as arguably the most disgustingly overpowered champion ever, no question he was flat out broken, but the rest of Rengars career has been hit or disabled.

Ryze - Decently consistent, decently dominant, but not enough of either to crack the top 10 list. He's also had moments when he's seemingly been underwhelming or not a competitive pick which hurts his status among the list of greatest champions ever.

Syndra - Dominant and somewhat consistent, just not enough history and longevity to let her crack the top 10

Ahri - definitely dominant and definitely consistent, should could pretty easily find a place on this list if it was slightly longer, a top 15 list she'd probably find her way in.

Fizz - he was terrible prior to season 3, he wasn't even played competitively I don't think. Not enough consistency and no one really played him in season 2 really hurt him.

Anivia - She's one of the most dominent mid lane mages ever, especially in the scope of season 1 and 2, and maybe even into season 3, but since season 2 worlds she really hasn't ever seen enough consistent and dominant competitive play. She would probably take the #1 spot on a list regarding champions only in season 1 and 2.

Karthus - similar to Anivia, just hasn't been consistent or dominant enough since season 2 worlds.

Janna - had moments when she has been really bad and underwhelming. Never really been dominant and terrible consistency

Sona - dominant in season 1 and much of season 2, not dominant or consistent since then

Zyra - not consistent enough to make the list. In terms of dominance she probably would crack the top 10 for her crushing season 3 support play, but beyond that she doesn't.

Jax - He's had periods when he's been really dominant but he has never been consistent. He seemingly always appears at worlds and sometimes outside of it, but really the only thing holding him off this list is consistnecy.