Power picks and information about them

LilYonsan·Dec 10, 2013·1 votes·229 views

Hello there everybody, I just wanted to spend a little bit of time discussing the champions that are considered "power picks" and then ask a couple of questions.

First of all, for those of you that don't know, "power picks" are champions that have some sort of stat that makes them primarily dominant in their role and are considered easier, and more efficient to play than other champions that they would possibly be facing. You see many "power picks" selected in big tournaments. Power picks change every patch, and are very good to know about, that way you can either ban them, or learn how to play them so that you may have the upper hand. While they can be countered, power picks generally have some sort of trick up their sleeve that allows them to still be relevant in game later on, or still allows them to operate quasi-normally in the early game, laning phase. Generally speaking, power picks are champions that are going to be receiving a nerf soon, or have been nerfed, but still have a very good kit.

Alright, so now that that's out of the way, I feel that I understand what exactly power picks are, my problem is knowing which picks are best for which roles, and learning which champions are the new "power picks" with every iteration of a new patch.

In your opinion: Who do you think the current "power picks" are and why?

For me, I have to say that the current power picks are top: renekton

middle: Syndra, ziggs

adc: lucian, sivir, caitlyn, vayne (only if you know how to play her)

jungle: lee sin, Shyvanna (I have trouble with this one, I don't know how to figure out who the most powerful junglers are with this new pre-season)

support: thresh, leona, annie, taric.

Thoughts? Also, how do you personally figure out who the more powerful champions are? What processes do you go through to discover this?

9 Comments

LiarLyreDec 10, 20132 votes

I personally feel that with the jungle changes nocturne has become a stronger. The changes to wriggles lantern and smite have boosted his already impressive clear times to incredible rates early game. The healing passive of wriggles combined with his passive and some lifesteal quintessences give him similar sustain to the old wriggles build. so all he has really lost is some sustain during a gank, which i feel has been counteracted by the significant damage increase from attack speed.

The latest buff to kassadin has made him pretty ridiculous. when playing against him you almost had to depend on his many running out to be able to survive to a kassadin that did decent in laning phase. Now with the new buffed kassadin, he can become fed at any stage in the game. which anyone who has been playing this game for a week knows that a fed kassadin is a monster

Jayce Nidalee Elise These three champions are all strong champions across different elo's and for a good reason. They have seven skills as opposed to the four that every other champion has. That gives them a lot more things in their kit to work with and make them that much harder to do something about. Also by the nature of their kits, they have many different builds that have the potential to be effective.

Evelynn Again with the jungle changes for this pre-season another jungler has gotten a significant buff from an otherwise inconsequential item change. The changes to pink wards have made her nasty. You can only have five on the map at a time, and to be honest I personally have yet to play a game where I have seen five at once. They are also now extremely vulnerable. Which in turn has made her back into a terror. she pretty much has free reign to go where ever she pleases and there is not much that can be done to stop her from showing up at an inopportune moment.

LilYonsanDec 11, 20131 votes

I do have a slight problem with your selection of Nidalee. While I feel she is still viable in the current meta, I think that the nerf that was just introduced to her makes her a lot less so. Her old poke used to be her main attraction, and yet was lost with the fact that it no longer did as much bonus damage based on where she was the time the spear hit. In my opinion, she's much more balanced now since the nerf.

Also, I like how thorough you were with the discussion, You actually make me want to edit what I have posted to supply some more information! Bravo sir!

LiarLyreJan 17, 20141 votes

This could be true. I honestly have no experience playing nidalee. I have only played against her.

Thank you :3

ThatSignDec 10, 20131 votes

hmm well the top 5 would have to be
Caitlyn -insane early-late game-
Tryndamere -not even gona try to explain-
Shen -super tank and can be underestimated-
Amumu -the ult-
Blitzcrank Thresh Nautilus -hooks and aoe-

LilYonsanDec 11, 20131 votes

I actually have to disagree with you on your thoughts here (not saying you're wrong, any champ played well is a good champ.. even poppy). First of all, Caitlyn, in my opinion has been kind of lost as a powerpick to other, more powerful adcs. It used to be that her range made her the best bully in the lane, and it's true that it still arguably makes her the best bully, however, I feel that other champions with just as much mobility, such as lucian, or champions with a cc heavy kit and long aa range, such as jinx, are overshadowing her now as the best picks for the adc role.

I agree with Tryndamere he is very strong right now indeed, his ult gives him the sustain to do incredibly things both early and late game, such as diving a tower, or building no defensive items.

I'm unsure about Shen sure he's a good champion, and once again any champion played well is a good one, but at the same time, i think that his lack of energy if you miss a dash, or the lack of mobility that he has if he can't dash makes him much less powerful than he was at one point.

I completely agree with Amumu he's somewhat of a sleeper right now, as I've noticed that he his banned significantly less than he used to be. However, at the same time, he lacks-luster if his team does not synergize well with his ult, or if he is suppressed to the point where he can't get a good ult in.

While I agree with the Thresh , I have a slight issue with your choices of Blitzcrank and Nautilus , blitz is sort of in an interim right now. He's a god if you can land hooks, and give a really strong, and scary presence to the enemies in lane, but without the ability to land hooks (which is situational depending on the situation, and how good the enemy team is) he can either be useless or really a detriment to the team (i.e pulling the tank in).

Nautilus I disagree with thoroughly. I think that while he's a good jungler for ganks with his hooks, his kit is very unimpressive, and he practically does no damage throughout the game. Also the fact that he can't hook through walls is something that strikes me as outdated, as most champions now have that kind of mobility (such as riven, lee sin, amumu, nidalee etc.)

Thank you for the post though!

Aeolian MelodiesDec 12, 20131 votes

How do you label Jinx as CC heavy when she has the exact same CC abilities as Cait?

LilYonsanDec 12, 20131 votes

It was less cc, and more of a combination of range. Jinx and Caitlyn have very close ranges when jinx is using her rocket aa ability, however jinx still slightly has the upper hand when it comes to range, as she is able to trade with her more effectively that way. The post there was more or less about the fact that newer champions now have better kits and can trade with her more effectively than older champions.

Also, sivir is amazing against Caitlyn, as caitlyn does not have much of a response to her spellshied/tremendous poke. I'm not saying Cait is not a strong champion, just saying that she is no longer the force that she used to be. She is still a very SAFE pick however.

ThatSignJan 10, 20141 votes

funny thing is ive seen a Jinx 0-5, carry a team she is insane late game, but caits range makes her a counter to almost all adcs, some one needs to teach me how to play Lucian though, I might just be getting countered every match but i fail hard as him.

thanks for the long evaluating response

PS: yea idk why I put naut there, wish he was better though, his passive is rlly good against people who don't remember it