A champion’s tier is the level they’re graded at based on their performance in relation to the performances of other champions in that same role. This is calculated based on a number of different determining factors, including pick/ban rate, win rate, KDA, gold earned, and more in Platinum-and-above games. Tier lists are far from static! The flavours of the month tend to quickly shift from patch to patch as champions with higher win rates are nerfed and champions with lower win rates are buffed (We’re looking at you, Soraka Top). For that reason, we’re going to look at some of the regular faces seen at the top of the tier lists and discuss how best to outclass them so you can beat them at their own game!

Top Lane - Darius

If you’ve been playing League of Legends for a while now, you’ll understand exactly how tough a good Darius is to beat. Darius poses a constant threat, thanks to a playstyle that involves staying in combat for a long enough time to stack his passive, Hemorrhage, and eventually proc Noxian Might, which works perfectly with the already-powerful Conqueror Rune that we see so often. Because of his ability to pump out greater amounts of damage the longer he’s in combat, a tankier build is often best for Darius players so that he can soak up some punishment while getting those stacks ticking, making him all the more difficult to kill.

Counterpicks

Darius is a melee champion with very little mobility or range in his kit, leaving him vulnerable to high amounts of poke and causing him to struggle against champions with greater mobility. For this reason, Cassiopeia is the perfect counter to Darius in almost every way - her Noxious Blast grants her movement speed and allows her to stack up Conqueror very efficiently with her Twin Fangs, Miasma is capable of preventing Darius’ Noxian Guillotine while he’s grounded, and her Ultimate can lock down a fully-stacked Darius and allow her to escape. In lane, however, you’re looking at champions such as Gangplank, Yorick, and Quinn, who can all keep Darius at range and slowly melt him down over time without committing to a close-quarters encounter with the Hand of Noxus.

Itemisation

Building against Darius is fairly straightforward - you need armor. Without this protection, you leave yourself exposed to the insane amount of physical damage he’s capable of dishing out, so items such as Gargoyle Stoneplate, Guardian Angel, and Zhonya’s Hourglass are great counters to Darius, as each give you a way to stay in the fight if he manages to get into his ideal range. Additionally, Darius can generate an insane amount of self-healing with his Q, so if you’re matched against a Darius with extra damage or a Spirit Visage, an early Executioner’s Calling (into a Mortal Reminder eventually) is a great way to prevent his insane sustain.

Strategy

Darius, as previously mentioned, is in his element when he’s face to face with his enemy. If you find Darius is popping off in your games, teamfighting is usually the last thing you’ll want to consider, as you’re just going to be running free kills right at him at that stage. Implementing a 1-3-1 split pushing strategy to divide the enemy’s attention around the map can be a highly effective way to minimise Darius’ impact on the game, so that you can mount a comeback after your team knocks down some more towers and secures more CS.

Jungle - Lee Sin

With some of the best clear in the Jungle and an ever-present potential to gank, Lee Sin has been a constant threat to players over the years. Boasting a kit full of immense mobility, utility, AOE, and single-target burst, Lee Sin has got a bit of everything that makes a Jungler so powerful. While he might be difficult for a newer player to effectively pilot, players that take time to learn his combos can ensure that even an underfed Lee Sin is a dangerous one.

Counterpicks

Part of the reason Lee Sin is so strong is because there aren’t any direct counters to his playstyle. It’s rare that anyone will be able to keep up with Lee Sin’s mobility, so the next best thing is to disable him from having as much of an impact while he’s dashing around your team through someone like Trundle and his Ultimate Ability, or Gragas and his ability to interrupt Lee’s Resonating Strike or Safeguard with Body Slam and Explosive Cask. Outside of direct Jungle counters, you can also pick champions with long-range lockdown such as Senna and Morgana so that your team can limit just how jumpy he can get and engage on him instead.

Itemisation

To counter Lee Sin, the obvious answer is to build armor, but there are many other ways that you can negate his impact through your build. Rylai’s Crystal Scepter and Hextech GLP 800 are great items that can slow him down enough to turn the tide of the encounter and force out a sub-optimal play from him. Additionally, spell shielding items (Edge of Night and Banshee’s Veil) are fantastic for protecting your carries from a pinpoint Sonic Wave or lethal Dragon Rage, especially if the Lee Sin is opting for a higher damage build. Finally, balancing out the Trinkets on your team with at least one Farsight Alteration, to catch Lee Sin in his incredibly mobile jungle path, and an Oracle Lens to deny him dangerous ward hops are essential against an effective Lee player.

Strategy

The best strategy to employ against Lee Sin is to try and lock him down in the early game, preventing him from securing the win before you can get to the later stages of the match. Picking champions with an intentionally stronger early game and getting control of the map before Lee can spiral out of control through a champion like Olaf is pivotal when trying to keep him from popping off. When it comes to skirmishes and teamfights, it’s also best to save CC for Lee specifically to halt his combo and save your carries from being displaced.

Mid Lane - Fizz

Fizz has been at the top of the tier list for many seasons now, with one of the highest pick rates in Mid Lane which becomes clearly justified when you look at his playstyle. Fizz is one of the best roaming Mid Laners in the game, which has become necessary more now than ever thanks to the introduction of the Elemental Rifts and potential for the Rift Herald to respawn. He’s also capable of keeping up with long-ranged mages thanks to his Playful//Trickster being such an effective disengage tool and gap closer all in one, while also being a powerful opener for his high-burst combo.

Counterpicks

Fizz’s ideal matchups are against immobile, glass cannon Mid Laners that are more vulnerable to an all-in attack which Fizz can initiate with a long ranged Chum the Waters. With that in mind, the best Mid Laners to go toe-to-toe with Fizz are Champions such as Vladimir, who can sink into a Sanguine Pool to avoid the opener, and Malzahar who can simply soak up the Tidal Trickster’s initial burst with his Void Shift. Even Ekko lately has been capable of putting up a fair fight, thanks to his Chronobreak and Phase Dive providing equally competitive mobility and burst damage to create more even trades than Fizz might be used to.

Itemisation

As when many other Mages begin to grow in strength, Magic Resist is a must against a fed Fizz. So long as you can outlast his explosive combo, you stand a fair chance of turning the tides on an exhausted Fizz waiting on cooldowns. Following on from this logic and the essence of Malzahar’s strength against him, items that prevent or delay Fizz’s ability to melt your health bar are a fantastic way to reduce his impact on the game. Banshee’s Veil and Zhonya’s Hourglass are both recommended items when facing off against him, as you can potentially negate his combo from deleting you before you can find some help in your teammates.

Strategy

As previously mentioned, the best way to keep Fizz under control is to minimise the threat he can generate with a long range Chum the Waters. This can be achieved initially by purchasing the aforementioned items, but also by holding a strong front line between your squishy carries and the ever-dangerous enemy Fizz. Fizz’s damage output and relevance in teamfights are both significantly reduced after a well placed Ultimate cannot be found, so engaging on the enemy after he fails to do so is a great way to force him into an uncomfortable position.

Bot Lane - Miss Fortune

Miss Fortune is the undisputed Queen of the Carries as far as Bot Lane is concerned, with both the highest win rate and highest pick rate of all the conventional ADCs on Summoner’s Rift. Finding her feet as a force to be reckoned with in Season 10, she is capable of quickly spiraling out of control as a formidable lane bully and teamfighting superpower in equal measure. She is also a fantastic counterpart to the tankier picks that occupy the top spots of the Support tier list as well, taking cover behind the chunky champs of the League to dish out some serious punishment in safety.

Counterpicks

While an unhindered Miss Fortune is a pain to deal with, there are many ways that her presence in lane can be weakened when it comes to her lane opponents; outside of her Strut empowered movement speed, she is a very immobile champion in combat, leaving her susceptible to hard engages and all-ins. Blitzcrank, Leona, and even Draven are capable of exerting their dominance more freely against a Miss Fortune, each with their own ways to disrupt her while she channels Bullet Time and burst her away before her Double Up and Love Tap can whittle them down.

Itemisation

While flat Lethality Miss Fortune is not as popular as the standard Crit build at this stage in Season 10, armor is still a must against such an AD-heavy champion. There should be at least one Randuin’s Omen on your team so that her Love Taps aren’t more like love bites, and Supports should also be thinking of ways to sustain their team during and after a well-timed Bullet Rain. Items like Redemption and Locket of the Iron Solari are great choices to ensure your team hasn’t lost the fight before it’s begun after Miss Fortune’s lethal ultimate, thanks to their incredibly strong, team-oriented active abilities.

Strategy

To say that you should simply just kill Miss Fortune to reduce her threat is too easy, but it’s actually the best advice when it comes to dealing with her in teamfights. Regardless of the other 4 components of the enemy team, Miss Fortune will almost always pose the greatest threat in teamfights, so bringing along champions that can dive deep into the backline and disrupt the structure of the enemy team is essential. Saving long-ranged CC and crucial mobility for when she begins to flood your team with waves of damage is necessary for your own survival, and if you manage to find a pick on Miss Fortune early in the fight then you should capitalise on this advantage as hard and fast as possible.

Support - Leona

There are many Supports that could be discussed in this guide that have been at the top of the tier lists season after season, but we’re going to focus on how to deal with one of the most aggressive Supports in the game - Leona. In the right hands, Leona is capable of putting her team on her back and carrying them to a sunlit victory; her Q is a stun, her W empowers her resistances and spreads her passive, her E is a long-range root that catapults her into enemy lines (synergising fantastically with Aftershock) and her Ultimate is a long-range stun and slow… so how do you beat that?

Counterpicks

Poke. You beat her with poke. It’s not quite as simple as that, however, as you can’t expect to run Leona into just any Support Mage and come off on top, as you need to pair that poke with powerful CC for disengaging as well. Lulu, Morgana and Janna are top picks against Leona if played in the hands of a confident summoner, as they have the potential to whittle her down from outside of Leona’s ideal range and keep their ADC safe from a deadly Solar Flare with some fantastic utility. As those champions scale later into the game and their utility becomes more and more powerful, Leona’s influence will slowly dwindle unless she times her abilities perfectly against their cooldowns (in which case they just become free kills for the Radiant Dawn’s team).

Itemisation

Since Leona doesn’t pump out a whole lot of damage (typically), simply building up your resistances won’t cut it to minimise her threat to your team. Of course, items such as Zhonya’s Hourglass, Banshee’s Veil, and Edge of Night are great for preventing the initial and usually most harmful part of Leona’s combo, but this often isn’t enough to put her on the back foot in fights. This is where Quicksilver Sash comes in; a hyper-defensive item, QSS is meant to be built by an ADC who’s struggling to find a moment to breathe against an oppressive enemy team. QSS is perfect on your ADC and can even be taken on APCs in the middle stages of the game if they’re your main chance of overshadowing Leona’s radiance.

Strategy

It’s all about re-engaging when it comes to Leona; she’s going to jump on you regardless of how your team plays their cards, it’s all about making sure you still pay enough attention to the damage dealers standing behind her before they can blow your team away. For this reason, Cleanse becomes a useful tool on your own carries so that they can break free from the unrelenting waves of CC that Leona can pump out. Leona players can also often overextend if they believe they’ve found a sweet engage and dive deep for the kill, so if you have enough faith and coordination amongst your team then you can occasionally channel your focus on the solo Leona in your ranks before the enemy team can make any plays from her efforts.

Following this guide, you should have a much easier time on the Rift when you see one of these fearsome faces locked in during Champ Select. They’re at the top of the tier lists for a reason, so make sure you treat them with caution, but at the end of the day they’re just another rung on the ladder as you climb up the ranks, so keep a strong mental and focus on reducing their impact on your games. GLHF!