League of Legends Viability Rankings

By Nova. Art by f(x)
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Hi! I'm Nova, and I'm presenting my Viability Rankings for League of Legends Patch 5.6! The ranks work the same way as any Viability Rankings on the forums:

S Rank

Reserved for champions that are the pinnacle of the LoL metagame. These champions are able to perform a variety of roles very effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted. Champions in this rank have very few flaws that are patched up by numerous positive traits. These Champions define the metagame.

A Rank

nova plays leag lol

Reserved for Champions that are fantastic in the LoL metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall significant portions of the metagame. These Champions require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be compensated for when compared to their positive traits. These Champions exert a strong presence in the metagame.

A+
A A-

B Rank

Reserved for Champions that are great in the LoL metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier. Their positive traits still outshine their negatives, but they require a bit more team support to bring out their full potential. These Champions exert an above average presence in the metagame.

B+
B B-

C Rank

Reserved for Champions that are mediocre in the LoL metagame, but have just as many notable flaws that prevent them from being effective. Champions in the C tier often require significant support to be effective. Pokemon from this rank tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon. These Pokemon exert a below average presence in the metagame.

C+
C C-

D Rank

Reserved for Champions that are highly mediocre in the LoL metagame, but are viable enough to justify their use on select teams. These Champions are only capable of doing their specific task and fail at doing anything more than that. Champions from this rank have multiple crippling flaws that prevent them from being successful a majority of the time, and are often severely outclassed because of it. These Champions exert a poor presence in the metagame.

D

In order to create this list, I took an in-depth look at the professional scene in the LCS, LCK, and LPL in the most recent patches to see what might translate well into this patch. I also watched some streams of high elo NA players such as Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani and Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana, studied their gameplay and commentary carefully, and factored their beliefs into the rankings. I also based it on my personal opinions on several champions such as my waifu LeBlanc which heavily influenced the rankings. If you have any suggestions on rankings proposals such as “Move Azir from D to C-”, please feel free add me on skype: chrisdvt, and message me with your proposal. Understand that these rankings are dear to me and I spent a lot of effort on them so please do not overly belittle me.

A lot of chaos has happened in this patch. Urgod has taken over the midlane. This hidden op has finally shaken off the haters and is now dominating Summoner's Rift with its lock-on, shield, and position reversal. In terms of team support, it doesn't really need any. It serves as both an offensive threat with its ultimate initiation and the massive damage it outputs with a Muramana and base 125 Attack as well as a defensive tank with it's King's Shield and Frozen Heart.

Nails' little pony, Hecarim, has Rampaged up the charts and is galloping freely in the Toplane. It's similar to Urgot in that it is also an offensive presence while still having mixed defensive capabilities. It's like Mienfoo in LC, no skill, offense, defense, and a free win if you pick it on your team. All you do is wait in your base as the rest of your team fights, teleport in, and clean. Giddy up!

LeBlanc got a nerf on her ultimate. However, it was only a minor one and a 5% weaker Ultimate is not going to stop the waifu from being the mid king. With base 200 Special Attack and Life Orb, her full combo will still OHKO anything in the tier while forcing your entire team to blow their Flash in order to catch her. This nerf was all smoke and mirrors.

With recent nerfs to the likes of Rek'Sai and Jarvan IV, as well as the introduction of Cinderhulk, Sejuani the Freelo Pig has taken over the Jungler. After level 6, her ganks are stronger than those of GBM's mom. Late game, she provides utility for the team by slowing or even stunning the opponent and then taking no damage from their attacks. Her dominance in the painted area allows her to be picked up by both offensive and defensive teams alike to great effect.

Azir is still terrible and Shurima is dead. No surprise Riot is even worse than Gamefreak at balancing.

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