Patch 10.24 brought some balance changes to the new items given to us in this incredibly fun pre-season. With those changes came champions who either got direct buffs or indirect buffs through the item balancing. So if you're stumped on who to try out or just looking to expand your champion pool, consider picking up one of these champions!
Patch 10.24 brought some balance changes to the new items given to us in this incredibly fun pre-season of League of Legends. With those changes came champions who either got direct buffs or indirect buffs through the item balancing. So if you're stumped on who to try out or just looking to expand your champion pool, consider picking up one of these champions!
That’s right, the tree who used to terrorize top laners is back with a vengeance. It’s no secret that tanks are thriving in the pre-season, even post item nerfs, so it’s less of a surprise that the Twisted Treant is seeing some play. In lane Maokai is able to take favorable trades pretty handily due to the nature of his kit and due to how you’ll typically be itemizing.
Maokai’s kit is completely designed to catch enemy carries or disrupt enemy engages. His ‘Q’ can be used to slow and displace enemies, which can cancel dashes or jumps. Since Maokai should always be in the front of fights, he should be in a prime position to prevent the enemy frontline from engaging. His ‘W’ is a targeted dashed that will make Maokai invincible until he reaches the selected target. Once there he roots them in place, a great lockdown and catch tool. His ultimate is a wave of roots that will root the enemy, great for engaging or disrupting fights. His ‘E’ is a bit different as it throws a sapling which can give vision, so using these to cover bushes and/or flanks is the best option.
Maokai should almost always be looking to build full tank. With his passive HP return and plethora of CC/engage tools, the only place he really wants to be is the front line. Maokai, like many tanks, makes great use of Sunfire Aegis because you can bet he’ll be in the fight for a long time racking up that passive burn damage. Aside from that, Maokai can effectively utilize either side of resistance items. When he’s able to build magic resistance, Spirit Visage greatly synergizes with his kit as it increases HP regeneration and healing received. On the flip side, an armor item that goes incredibly well with Maokai is Dead Man’s Plate, as the extra movement speed helps him reach targets and the empowered auto slows the enemy once there.
I’ve talked about Poppy jungle before, and to no surprise she’s still a really strong pick in the pre-season. Similar to how she was being played before 10.24, she takes offensive runes and builds full tank to deal surprising damage and take none in return. Poppy jungle is a great ganker and teamfighter, along with a few other tricks to give you the advantage over the enemy.
Poppy’s kit makes her an ideal candidate for an aggressive and gank-heavy play style. Her ‘Q’ is a small AoE hit that damages any enemies in the area and slows them, then after a short delay the area “erupts” and applies the damage again. Her ‘W’ passively grants her increased resistances and actively increases her movement speed. Not only allowing her to quickly get into fights, but it also creates an aura that prevents enemies from using dashes. A great lockdown or engagement prevention tool. Her ‘E’ is a short, targeted, dash that will push the enemy in the direction Poppy is traveling. Should they make contact with terrain, the enemy is stunned; a great follow up tool or engagement tool when combined with her ‘W’. Finally Poppy’s ult is a charged knock up that will launch the enemy toward their base with distance based on charge time. Poppy can use this as a short charge knock up or a long charge fight disruption (to knock away tanks or whole teams).
Poppy benefits greatly from building tank items, but she’s definitely more of a bruiser than full tank. She’ll utilize Sunfire Aegis to great effect as she’ll want to be in the middle of fights beating on squishy targets. Outside of that, because Poppy lacks a long range engage tool, her ‘E’ still requires her to be fairly close, she’ll greatly appreciate having some movement speed boost - most commonly in the form of Dead Man’s Plate’s passive. From there, stacking resistances and HP will go a long way - as her ‘W’ passively giving her greater magic resistance and armor and her passive buckler shield scales off her maximum HP.
Annie is a super straightforward champion that offers fantastic AoE damage, stuns, and recently some shielding. She may not be the flashiest or most hard carry champion out there, but she’ll turn the fight in an instance if left unchecked. She’s been flying under the radar and with her recent ‘E’ changes, she’s in a good enough spot to be considered an underrated power pick.
Using any of Annie’s abilities grants her a stack of Pyromania, which stacks up to four times. Her next damaging ability will then stun the target(s) hit. Annie’s ‘Q’ is a single target fireball with a short range. This is her main CS tool as it deals more damage than an auto attack and refunds its mana cost and half its cooldown upon killing its target, not to mention it’ll also pack quite the punch against her lane opponent. Her ‘W’ is a short range AoE cone of fire, no gimmicks just damage with this ability. However, when combined with her passive, Annie can use it to stun multiple targets rather than a single target with her ‘Q’. Annie’s ‘E’ is now a shield that she can place on herself or an ally (Tibbers will also be shielded) that scales off Annie’s AP. The shield will also damage any enemies that attack it, similar to Thornmail’s passive. Finally her ultimate ability summons Tibber’s in an AoE burst of magic damage, that will stun if she has max Pyromania stacks. Tibbers will stay on the field for up to 45 seconds and auto attack enemies/burn them down with Annie’s shield effects.
Annie’s goal on the Rift is to ideally burst down squishy/important targets in one shot. So she’ll be building as much ability power as she can. Her secondary goal, in the event that she cannot fully burst a target or the team simply needs peel/engage is to stun as many people as possible. An easy goal when combining her passive and longest ranged AoE ability in “Tibbers”. Luden’s Tempest is an obvious choice for Annie as it increases her damage and provides movement speed, however Hextech Rocketbelt is also a considerable option. Horizon Focus is also an item made for Annie as it will reveal and increase damage dealt to that champion(s) by 10% for 6 seconds. Other than that, Annie should continue to stack ability power and consider a Zhonya’s hourglass to offset her complete glass cannon-ness.
Bot Lane: Swain
Swain has been a strong champion for some time, but with the new item system he has really become a monster. His strong lane pressure and teamfight domination has only been bolstered by the new power and build paths brought on by the preseason. Along with the current lack of power behind crit items, traditional bot lane AD carries are being phased out for the moment.
Swain’s ‘Q’ is an AoE cone that can hit multiple targets or the same enemy multiple times dealing more damage. This ability is great for poke and wave clearing, allowing Swain to control the positioning and pacing of the lane. His ‘W’ creates an “eye” at the target area that grants sight for 2 seconds and explodes dealing damage and slowing enemies hit. This ability has insane range (5500 - 7500) making it a great scouting or pseudo ganking tool (you can also use it to try and be a nuisance to the enemy jungler when you think they’re on that side of the map). His ‘E’ is a wave that travels in a target direction, passing through and dealing damage to enemies it passes through. When it reaches its max distance, it will return to Swain and root the first enemy (and any others in a small area) passed through. With this ability’s range, it’s a useful engagement tool in lane, but especially in teamfights when multiple targets have the chance to group up for the root. Finally his ultimate transforms him into a demon, granting bonus HP and movement speed, while in this demon form Swain drains nearby enemies dealing damage to them and healing himself. Swain’s ultimate allows him to completely take over fights, making him the priority target. However, with enough ability power and healing he becomes extremely hard to kill and will either carry the fight or distract the enemy team long enough for your carries to clean up.
Swain benefits immensely from the new Liandry’s Anguish and Demonic Embrace burn passives combo, as he can apply the burns to multiple targets with all his abilities (especially true of his ultimate in teamfights). Outside of those core items, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter gives his abilities a slow that will keep enemies in his ultimate’s damage aura longer. Zhonya’s Hourglass is a great purchase because his ultimate will still do damage while in stasis, giving you a “panic button” during fights that will allow you to deal a bit more damage or outlast your opponent.
Alistar is similar to Annie in terms of simplicity but packed with power. He’s the original super tank support and an amazing lane bully or roaming threat to boot. Alistar’s presence is enough to make any bot lane champion feel safe in their lane and make enemies think twice about walking up to CS or poke.
Alistar’s ‘Q’ is a small AoE knockup and his ‘W’ is a dash to a target’s location that will knock them back. These two abilities are almost always used in tandem in the bread and butter Alistar combo. When using his ‘W’ you can buffer his ‘Q’ to immediately knock up the enemy rather than knock them away. This combo is a great engage tool and can be done from a moderate distance away. Alternatively, if Alistar can manage to get behind the enemy and do the combo in reverse, that’s a great way to punt an enemy to your team. His ‘E’ is a low damage AoE effect that gives Alistar the “ghosted” status and a trample stack (up to 5), at five stacks his next auto attack will stun. Popping this ability before going in will extend your CC chain and allow your carry more time to follow up. Finally, his ultimate cleanses Alistar of CC and reduces incoming damage by 55 - 75% based on level. Engaging a fight and then cleansing himself is one thing, but becoming nearly unkillable for 7 seconds means Alistar is able to cause all kinds of havoc. Assuming you used your ‘Q’ - ‘W’ combo to engage, you’ll still be able to stun someone with your ‘E’ and then should be able to get another rotation of abilities off before your ultimate runs out.
Being a support Alistar benefits from tank stats and utility for his team. Building items like Locket of the Iron Solari for resistances and shielding is a great start. Zeke’s Convergence is a great buy as you can increase a tethered teammates' damage to champions that you immobilize, which is what every ability Alistar has does. Outside of that, general tank stats or situational support items are your go to. Your boots however are interesting. If you can manage to pick up an early pair of mobility boots and roam to help your mid laner out, you’ll be sure to net some summoner spells or even a kill.
