Toplane LoL tierlist patch 26.16 – Guaranteed META fix or?
Hey Friends,
Toplane lol tierlist 26.16 patch update is already here. In this patch Riot is trying to combat the botlane mage meta! Let’s see how that might impact toplane and all the item changes.
Toplane lol tier lists have been updated according to the changes in the patch 26.16! We have a smaller patch, but with some impactful changes to spice up the meta!
Azir receives yet another solid buff to his Q base damage that will help out his early game quite a bit. Notably, he is still quite niche in the top lane but if you can find matchup where it’s easy to survive and scale up to nashors and level 10 then you’re golden (Gangplank, Jayce, Vayne, immobile bruisers…). Expected winrate increase is about 0.5%
Camille has been a menace in the support role for a while now, so Riot decided to rebalance her in favor of toplane! Shield halved in the early game until 7-13 (but stronger on levels 19-20) for 4 seconds less cooldown (first 7 levels and so on). Personally I’m a big fan of these changes as Camille just needs more “timers” where she can trade and that’s when the passive is up, regardless if its a weaker shield.
Other buffs also help with this – more mana to cast W, lower cooldown and more W damage on the sweetspot- these are all amazing buffs for the Camille in the laning phase (especially for those matchups where she is weaker in the early game and relies on landing W’s to trade or sustain the bad matchup). I’m fully expecting Camille to be an A+ or S tier toplane champion for solo queue after these changes. She already scales incredibly well, so these changes patch up her biggest weakness. Her optimal build remains unchanged (grasp + Trinity as core, Q>E>W skill order and start Dblade whenever the matchup allows it!)
Gwen received some bonus passive healing which will make her better into the champions she’s already good at (Tanks, Gangplank). Win % increase seems to be up to 0.5% if we’re generous, and it’s good to mention that Riftmaker is now a competitive 1st item buy with the Dusk n Dawn that you can choose between depending on the trading pattern where DnD will provide more value in short trades, but Riftmaker might outshine in all ins, though DnD still seems slightly better overall if you don’t want to think too much.
Kennen lost a bit of power with the recent nerfs to rocketbelt, so Riot decided to give some love to the most obnoxious toplane yordle. Bonus resistances and damage to the ultimate which scale better as the game progresses (most bonuses on rank 3 ultimate) which I think is a good choice for this champion as Kennen is quite oppressive early and somewhat bad in the late game especially if enemy is smart enough to run Exhaust or mark Kennen properly in fights. Win rate increased 0.5-1%.
If you’re a fan of playing Kennen i’d recommend running no teleport while trying to squeeze an early game advantage. Keep in mind that the first item choice will impact your gameplay experience a lot when playing Kennen- you have to consider many variables such as matchup, burst over cd/sustain needs or mobility needs, teamcomps and so on when choosing between Rocketbelt and Gunblade (being the more greedy, less consistent option). Kennen is not the biggest fan of the pro toplane meta game and I expect it to stay a solo queue champion for the time being.
Nasus is one of the only champions in the game that runs Fleet (that is buffed this patch) as well as now getting 4 stacks on regular minion for Q last hits instead of 3. This will obviously make Nasus a bit better as a champion. Nasus tends to do well into ranged/auto attack based champions (Vayne, Gnar and so on..) or other bruisers/tanks who are equally weak in the early game like Dr. Mundo. Win rate increased over 2-2.5%!!
Notably, Nasus is a very versatile champions when it comes to builds, but here are general guidelines – Flash is better than ghost, but if you can afford not running TP, run both ghost and flash (though you will run ghost over flash in the ranged matchups where you need it to run down your target). Trinity will be the optimal first item choice in most matchups followed by defensive items afterwards (also boots rush is very strong!).
Q max is standard with W/E interchangeable afterwards, though you can, and should put up to 3 points into E early game depending on the matchup. All starting items are very good and will heavily depend on the matchup needs. Fleet + resolve is the best rune page.
Poppy got an interest kit power shift this patch where her base damage and early game power got absolutely gutted, but in return she is more durable throughout the game and has less mana issues! Stats are showing that these changes absolutely killed Poppy jungle, nerfed support and buffed toplane Poppy! Though, you will have shift your mindset from a champion that needs to roll the laning phase (she will also feel much less oppressive to play against) into the mindset of a champion that is played more of a peeling tank with lots of great utility.
You should look to ditch buying Sundered sky in favor of sunfire items, still buy winter’s approach/tear as your core item followed by spirit visage and healing reduction (if needed). Big nerfs to laning phase will mean that we probably won’t see Poppy in the pro play any time soon, but she will do just fine in solo queue where scaling is more important!
Berserker’s Greaves – small attack speed buff that will benefit Yasuo, Yone, Tryndamere, Vayne and Garen.
Black Cleaver – 5 ad and -10 MS for ranged characters – notably Gnar and Urgot do buy this item and this change will therefore be power neutral for them. Illaoi, Renekton and other bruisers will be quite happy about it though!
Eclipse in similar fashion gets a 2% max hp damage boost and loses a bit of flat shield in return. I think champions like Ambessa, Renekton, Pantheon, Riven, Aatrox and even Jayce will be quite happy with this change.
Sterak’s Gage – +5% of base AD – champions with high base ad will enjoy the small boost. Never buy it as your first item though, only as 2nd or 3rd. Urgot is the biggest user of this item followed by Illaoi and Gnar, though any bruiser looking for durability should look no further than Sterak’s.
Sundered Sky received quite a beating this patch, while mostly aimed at the jungle bruisers, the nerf will definitely affect champions such as Jax, Aatrox, Zaahen, Pantheon, Riven and so on slightly. Notably, the build path is a straight up nerf and you receive flat 50 hp buff for a much weaker heal. This will make the item a no-go as your first item, while still being a solid option as your 2nd or 3rd item if you don’t have anything better to buy!
Sunfire Cape was apparently quite solid already according to Riot. Changes will benefit the PVP a bit more as long as you can stick to your target! This item is especially good on Zac and Poppy who benefit from the wave clear- though that is a tad bit weaker this patch!
Tiamat is now worth completing as a component without losing value.
Fleet Footwork was pretty much unused on most champions for the longest time bar Nasus and Mundo in toplane. Seems like a buff mostly intended for botlane, though you still might consider it if you’re playing a matchup that you need the mobility for. The healing buff itself is not that great.
Hail of Blades gets a nerf basically due to support Camille sins. It will affect Cho’Gath and Tryndamere in the toplane as a mini nerf, but mostly Tryndamere as the best user.
Support Role Quest nerfs for roaming are not enough and will not change the playstyle that much whatsoever.
Toplane lol tierlist 26.16 competitive overview
A few changes in the High-Low priority list.
Olaf continues to be the flavor of the month. The tier list reflects the introduction of Kled and Camille due to that. Camille with recent buffs could also be one of the champions to answer Olaf alongside Jax or Kled.
Tristana showing up as a niche counter pick to Gnar.
Poppy and Cho’Gath removed.
Overall readjusted positions to better reflect the meta game from left to right.
Toplane lol tierlist 26.16 solo queue overview
No major updates since the previous patch – do try Camille though, she’s doing really well at the moment!
Cho’Gath re-added to the tier as he somehow managed to escape?
Let me know if any other champions are missing from the tier list or that you would like to see placed in the tier list.
You can compare with the previous tier list here.
Until next time o7.
