Trending Builds 26.1
Trending Builds – 26.1
Hey Friends
I wanted to showcase and explain some interesting, trending builds that are starting to pop up in solo queue and pro play across the world. They’re all performing exceptionally well since the season 16 start. Toplane is currently split intothree distinct corners whereas in season 15 you would mostly “handshake” matchups and draft for the team composition as it was nearly impossible to generate big advantage vs good blind picks in the laning phase in the highest tiers of solo queue and pro play.
In one corner we have lane dominant champions, while in the other we still have champions that are hard to punish, who provide value regardless of the laning phase. In the last corner we have scaling champions that reach their “late game” powerspikes easier and faster than ever. You can quickly see the classic rock-paper-scissors scenario we have on our hands.
Lane “bullies” will struggle to snowball vs safe blind picks and fail to provide the baseline value later in the game due to suboptimal champion kits, while scalers will bypass the laning phase with ease vs the stable champions. Meanwhile, lane bullies can easily run away with the game if the scaling champions fail to survive the laning phase.
Now that we have the “big picture” covered in simple terms, we can move onto the specifics. “TLDR” is that item system changes are the biggest driver of the current meta game. Naturally, that is to be expected as the other, bigger changes might take a while for players to optimize and fully adjust to.
1) Gangplank. Crit is back on the menu and so is GP. Even through pre-emptive nerfs, GP emerged stronger compared to season 15. There are many reasons why. The biggest one, alongside the already mentioned crit changes, being the return of Essence Reaver. ER is the perfect item for GP. Strong build path and the ability to infinitely sustain poke in lane while also scaling him better into the 2-3 item core compared to the trinity setup. To offset durability losses from the lack of Trinity, Korea specifically, is opting into shieldbow as 2nd core item in the matchups that require it (mostly other bruisers). The generic build that will work almost every game though is going to be the core of ER–Collector / LDR (based on enemy comp/matchup) into the IE for the ultimate power spike. Other variable that helped GP a lot is the change of the game flow. The faster wave spawns benefit his Plunder mechanic combined with improved homeguards which stabilize rougher matchups before ER is completed.
2) Kennen. Kennen is another big winner of the early season 16. The return of the crowd favorite, Hextech Gunblade, means that Kennen once again has the ability to build sustain. Sustain has always been the champion’s ultimate weakness (together with not being able to deal with tanks very well outside of laning phase). Now, not only you can avoid the trap of going for suboptimal items (like Liandrys as a burst mage) but you also have sustain to navigate harder lane matchups. Sustain is optimal for Kennen due to aggressive / risk heavy playstyle. It allows aggressive HP trading to setup future plays and makes the mistakes a lot less punishing. Meanwhile, the build path is quite flexible (choice to build more damage or sustain if matchups demand it) and the great active provides extra utility. The main dilemma will be choosing between rocketbelt or gunblade each game. After that, you will naturally build into other burst and core mage items. Shadowflame / Stormsurge into utility like Zhonya or damage like Void / Rabadons.
3) Gwen. Another champion performing exceptionally well, not only in toplane, is Gwen. Gwen is trending for the similar reasons as GP. Game flow changes allow for stable scaling overall, but to a lesser degree as GP gets to “cheat” with Plunder bonus income. Another, much bigger reason is the introduction of new item Dusk and Dawn. This item is taking all the spotlight in the jungle department and rightfully so, with Diana, Gwen, Ekko and many more dominating the role currently in solo queue. Gwen finally has a strong 1st item power spike with a well rounded build path. Before you had to choose between riftmaker or nashors. Both items are great for Gwen but provided only one aspect of what Gwen needed to truly function. This is still the case, but the spike curve is much cleaner or less steep. The generic build will be rushing DnD followed by Riftmaker or/and Nashors. Finish off the build with generic powerhouses like Rabadons, Void, Shadowflame etc. Gwen also has a great synergy with the item, as each spellblade proc will grant an additional stack of Q!
Honorable Mentions: Akali, Ryze, Anivia. Honorable mentions mostly benefitted in the midlane, but if you are anything like me and enjoy flex picks, then you should try Akali, Ryze or Anivia. Gunblade is self explainatory for Akali, but the re-introduction of double tear builds and the new item Actualizer made Ryze and Anivia much more potent in the later stages of the game.
Vanilla, but doing amazing: Rumble, Zaahen, Riven, Malphite… Some things never change. Riven is still dominating solo queue with Axiom Arc, Rumble is unfazed by the changes as he still holds the crown for the best blind pick in the game. Zaahen is still a late game monster that got a soft boost with improved homeguards and other game flow changes to bypass his weak laning phase more easily. Malphite is just an amazing counterpick, “silver bullet” type champion in solo queue (and a jungle flex) that’s easy to play.
Niche, Good or bait? Vayne, Varus, Sejuani, Yax (Dusk and Dawn), Kayle. This section is a bit more interesting, especially for people who get bored easily and want to try “new” things. Vayne with the re-introduction of Stormrazor has a good build to deal with non-tank champions again.
Varus on the other is a bit of an enigma due to insane build flexibility. It is yet to be determined what build is optimal in toplane. (Currently it seems to be W max, hexplate rush into rageblade/zhonya, but DnD-ap focused builds also look solid statistically). He is also expected to receive significant buffs in the future which might make him extremely overpowered.
Sejuani is seeing some movement in the korean soloq. Korean Pros are experimenting with Rylai’s as the core item. It is still unclear in what kind of matchups she might show up though (Rumble perhaps) as her laning phase is quite weak- gated by long cooldowns and reliance on all-ins to play most matchups.
Bin showcased the Dusk and Dawn Jax in the LPL. It’s uncertain if the build is better than the traditional trinity-sundered-zhonya setup, but it’s an interesting avenue for people to explore and experiment with.
Kayle already got hotfix nerfed to similar levels of season 15, but I still wanted to mention her as one of the benefactors of the new itemization. Dusk and Dawn as the 2nd core item bridges nashors and rabadons exceptionally well. Though, she is still much better in the midlane department due to shorter lane and easier matchups in the early game.
There are many more champions and builds that are slowly creeping up, but I found the ones above the most important to cover today.
Take care and until next time o7.
