Darius and Garen are the S3 Lee Sin of top lane.

So thanks to Darius and Garen, top lane is really screwed up right now. It's not actually because they're op, because they're not. They have clear weaknesses, even the mighty Darius, their win rate isn't even especially impressive.

The problem is the same thing that made Lee Sin such a problem in earlier seasons in the jungle. It's the same problem that made Irelia and Renekton problems in earlier seasons in top lane. They crowd out picks. There are a ton of champions that could go top lane - maybe not top tier picks but absolutely viable - that just get OBLITERATED by these two. Nasus immediately comes to mind; Teemo and Gnar were considered extremely bad matchups for him but he can outscale their damage with defensive stats and then catch up, Garen zones you out just as hard as those two do but then gains crazy kill pressure at 6. You outscale him for five minutes after that, then he gets a BC and you're back to square one. Don't even bring up Darius. Aatrox, Alistar, Hecarim, Jax, I could keep going down the list. Two personal favourites of mine, top lane Taric and Warwick, are completely unplayable if you happen to land up against a Garen or Darius. Anyone without a ranged farm fallback, or a hugely strong pre-6 1v1, is just screwed.

Guys, please, the balance team in conjunction with the playerbase spent YEARS trying to work out why Lee Sin was such a huge problem, only finally fully realizing in like Season 4 that it was because, despite not being op, he just nullified a big chunk of picks out of that position. But now you're making the exact same mistake with top lane. Juggernauts are a cool concept in skirmishes and team fights but in lane phase they're just way too oppressive. Darius needs an actual way to out duel him for more than just the duelists, something like the inability to get passive stacks if he hits a champ with the handle of his Q but none with the blade. Garen? That guy should never be close to a top tier pick, his play pattern is too simple and being manaless and his passive means he's never punished for his mistakes, he should've stayed a low-tier beginner pick.

I miss top lane having actual variety. Now I just look at my old common picks and count all the ones I'm not allowed to play.