One scorpion to rule them all
Some regions have resumed competition on 14.10 (rarely on 14.9), but here we will focus on 14.11 which will still concern a few leagues for the days to come.
The toplane meta is probably the least interesting of all the positions present in League of Legends. Indeed, there is a champion on this lane who is omnipresent following his rework. Skarner has 96% professional presence (picks + bans). This shows the omnipotence of the pick which is rarely left aside in competition. The kit is overloaded, it tanks a lot and does enormous damage, it has everything going for it.
He even manages to eclipsing another champion who previously held this position, K’santé. With 47% presence, it is still there, but has suffered greatly from the arrival of the scorpion. On this patch, Rumble and its 79% attendance is nothing to complain about, overpowered on this patch, it even benefits from its flexibility at the support/jungle position. Twisted Fate and Renekton complete the Top 5 picks from the toplane. The crocodile, the real Swiss army knife of the top lane, is making a comeback.
With the very large presence of Tristana mid, the jungle meta is experiencing a resurgence of AP champions in the jungle. Taliyah is the best representative, she also has this flexibility with the midlane, which gives it a significant tactical advantage. Rumble is in the same situation, but is less present in the jungle (too strong at the top). Sejuani/Maokai/Nidalee/Ivern are also very present. AD picks are not left out with the unbeatable Vi, closely followed by Viego and Xin Zhao.
On 14.11, Tristana dominates the debates. With 85% presence (mostly in the mid), Bundle’s gunboat is rarely absent from pro drafts. Corki is not far either with 73% (again especially at midday). Both champions are very solid in the lane phase, offer great damage with good or even very good scaling and they offer an alternative to midlane ap picks. Taliyah/Hwei/LeBlanc are the most present among the magic champions. The Azir/Orianna du Spring/MSI have largely fallen back in priority.
Slight presence of Tristana and Corki, but we mainly talk of Ashe and Varus in terms of presence (63% and 62%). The two champions provide lane domination necessary for a lot of proactivity in the early game and their utility aspect is not negligible at all. Kalista is further behind (47%), but her ultimate and her early allow her to still be present in the meta (she has very strong combos). A little further, we find more scaling champions such as Jinx, Senna or Zeri. Jhin is at their level, but he remains situational.
On this patch we have a very pleasant meta support with champions who bring aggression into professional matches. If Nautilus dominates the debates with 77% presence, the other champions to engage as Rell (59%), Leona (46%), Alistar (24%) are also widely present. There are also some picks like Rumble, Camille to surprise opponents.
Does the fearless draft really bring diversity?
For several years, the presence of the fearless draft continues to increase. Riot Games is increasing the number of test leagues for this new type of draft (you can consult our article on this subject). One of its main objectives is to bring diversity. Objective accomplished? Yes and no.
If we talk about classic fearless draft (only the champions played by the winning team are no longer available for subsequent matches), the increase in the number of picks is not obvious. If Skarner is played game 1, he is often played in game 2 or 3. However, the fearless draft facilitates pocket picks for certain players confident enough to do so. Recently, we saw a Malzahar to counter a LeBlanc. Would the champion have been released in a classic draft mode? Not sure.
There where a real diversity within the same BO3 appears, it is in LCK CL which plays with the fearless hardcore draft. The champions played by BOTH teams are unavailable for the remainder of the match. This allows you to really dig into champion pools of all players. It’s not about more than just a swap of powerful champions (I play Skarner, you play K’santé and we reverse the next match), but we can clearly observe the very occasional appearance of new champions in the fault. Thus, we saw a Sett, a Viktor, a Vex or even a Pantheon being summoned into the rift.
If the classic fearless draft doesn’t seem to work that well, hardcore mode is much more effective in this area.
Is 14.12 a herald of changes in the meta?
The new patch is coming very soon to the rift, most major regions will switch to it (the LCS has resumed on this patch and the LCK will evolve on it this week). Will it shake up the competitive meta? It’s unlikely.
Good news for the balance of the toplane, Skarner suffers a small nerf, he will be a little less resistant early (but more late) and he will do less damage. Is this enough to take it out of the meta? No, but the announcement of a new nerf at 14.13 should reduce the importance given to the scorpion (even if his kit remains terrifying).
Also on the toplane, Twisted Fate gets a little nerf (on mana management and a little less damage ad en late), the champion will be probably a little less present. Aatrox undergoes some modifications which will lead him to build bruiser rather than lethality, not sure that this will allow him to come back to face the monsters that are Skarner, K’santé and Rumble.
Corki also undergoes some modifications (nerf in early, stronger in late), but this should not change the power of the pick which is well above average.
Another interesting point, Ezreal’s Up. The Explorer already showing the tip of its nose at 14.11 (masterclass by Peyz above), he should be more present during 14.12, because it will benefit from more damage in the late game. On the botlane, Early nerfs to Ashe and Blitzcrank could lead to some priority changes on certain botlane picks.
There are also other nerfs and upgrades, but these should not impact the competitive meta.
While patch 14.12 probably won’t bring big changes, the current meta still remains very interesting. Apart from the toplane which is very polarized around Skarner, Rumble and K’santé, the rest of the map offers a very pleasant diversity. All other positions are very open and it’s up to the teams not to lock themselves into the same picks. The possibilities are numerous and for the moment we feel that many champions are playable, which is pleasant as a spectator (not all as strong as each other that being said).
