Top Lane LOL Tier List 26.9 – BIG Changes
Hey Friends,
Toplane tier lists have been updated according to the changes in the patch 26.9! <- Check out my thoughts on the balance changes. We are finally going to see changes in the Pro tier list and a lot of impact on the solo queue tier list. Keep in mind that we still don’t have enough stats to back up every claim, but I’m confident we are looking in the right direction-analysis wise. You can check out the official patch notes here.
Tier List Overview
Poke playstyle is back on the menu with the addition of Deathfire Touch. Ambessa is heavily nerfed and will take a while for players to get used to the new R cast time- players will look for the next best alternative in the diver playstyle until buffs or until players adapt to the new R cast time.
New boots (Gluttonous Greaves) are also going to leave a mark on toplane. Combined with Doran’s blade, they grant a significant sustain boost which makes them a premier snowballing choice for champions likeZaahen, Aatrox, Fiora, Olaf, Riven and many more. Likewise, Mages have access to sustain for the first time in years. Hail of blades are now open to a wider pool of champions, so we might see them in the new, exciting situations- surprise factor is a real thing.
We have to keep an eye out on the role quest changes and how they might impact themacro side of the game in pro play. K’Sante is stronger due to the new starting item Doran’s Helm. Most AP bruisers seem to be enjoying the healing on Dusk and Dawn (AP Jax, Mordekaiser, AP Xin, Gwen…)
Corrected Kennen (removed entirely until the meta changes) and Gwen position by replacing them with Vayne and Varus. Ambessa demoted due to the nature of R nerf- it will take a while for players to adapt. Rek’Sai (removed) is waving goodbyes as she was only seeing play as a counter to Ambessa. Teams are actively seeking to fill a void in the diver playstyle. – Naafiri, AP Xin Zhao. If Ambessa can’t be replaced, teams will choose ranged vs ranged matchups more often.
K’Sante is looking a bit better this patch into melee champions with the addition of Doran’s Helm (Ornn as well to some extent). In the last tier list post I mentioned how Gnar became the premier blind pick choice. This was confirmed recently with teams looking deep into niche champions with hopes of generating leads vs Gnar in the laning phase- Twisted Fate, Annie. Gangplank might show up as a counter as well if the DFT poke is good enough early!
AP Xin Zhao is something I will be paying close attention to. AP build got heavy buffs this patch and I wouldn’t be surprised if some pros feel confident enough to pull it out as a counter to champions such as Jayce or Vayne. Jungle popularity also allows him to be flexed around for the draft advantage- though it would serve a different playstyle entirely in that case.
Gangplank is doing extremely well with Deathfire Touch (though he is doing well with Grasp and Fleet respectively). I wonder if it is finally time to see him again in the pro play. There are many other champions, especially mages, doing well with DFT. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them (eg. Viktor, Azir, Swain, Cassiopeia, Vladimir) “randomly” show up in toplane once 26.9 hits the pro play. Though, Anivia still holds the crown when it comes to mages in the top lane.
Rumble and Jayce promoted to S tier even though they are not much different from the previous patch. It’s just that Ambessa and Kennen are worse (Kennen indirectly with mage buffs and Ambessa directly). A lot of mages, Singed and Gangplank are stronger on 26.9 due to Deathfire Touch keystone. K’Sante, Ornn, Tryndamere, Yasuo and Garen have new starting item options!
Gragas and Ryze were hurt the most with the removal of Phase Rush. Renekton and Fiora suffered a bit this patch as well due to indirect buffs to ranged champions.
Stay tuned for the trending builds post to see what’s doing extremely well on 26.9!
Until next time o7.
