This piece is going to be a painful one. For myself, since I’m about to bad-mouth some of my favorite Champions in League of Legends, but also because I’m likely to draw the ire and rage comments from players saying, “I’ve got ___ winrate on ___! They’re not bad, you just need to know how to play them!”.. Which is fair in some regards.

But when we’re measuring who can step up to the plate and carry a game of Solo Queue when push comes to shove, we don’t need certain conditions to be met for our Champions to be viable. We need straightforward and easy to replicate results, and as of patch 11.9, the Champions listed here aren’t bringing home the gold.

Qiyana and Zed - Jungle

I’m starting off the list with two Champions that have received recent adjustments to make their Jungle viability a bit better. And as spicy as a return to Zed and Qiqi Jungle could be, both of these Champions weren’t great at this role when they could do it closer towards their respective releases, and I think the World’s meta isn’t going to be kind to them if they’re selected in this role… And when I say World’s meta, I include our focused realm of Solo Queue as well. We’re going to be playing, largely, on the same patch as we lead into League’s biggest tournament.

Zed and Qiqi, in the vacuum of Solo-Queue, just don’t bring enough to the table to really bring them into a discussion of viability. While both Champions possess deep carry potential, there’s so many things that a player has to do right, and so many things the opposing Jungler has to do wrong, just for these picks to come out decently. Especially so in the way of Zed who, unlike Qiyana, doesn’t pack any form of CC to support a Jungler playstyle. At least Qiyana can recover from rough starts with solid ultimate combos with her team.

So, what exactly are you aiming for when you take these Champions? Maybe you’re wanting an Assassin to come from the Jungle for that burst damage aspect. Well, Kha’zix and Rengar are there to facilitate that, and each has an easier time with their first clear and can be a bit more unique in their gank approach. Maybe you want something with high mobility? Well, the previously mentioned Assassins work too, but also there’s Lillia who just received a significant buff on 11.8. There’s just too much that Qiyana and Zed don’t do as well as everyone else for them to be viable Jungle options. The adjustments they received to aid their camp clears should be viewed more as buffs towards Mid Lane Qiqi and Zed’s potential to clear Wraiths away from the enemy Jungler… Or worse, their own Jungle.

Jayce - Top

Jayce is amongst those Champions that didn’t transition into Season 11 well due to the fact that he just didn’t have a Mythic item to work with. Most Champions could find a choice of the Mythics that not only gave them the stats they cared about, but also had an active or effect that really synergized with their kit. Meanwhile, Jayce was left with stat-stick items that didn’t really provide crazy amounts of coverage in the stats he cared about.

Eventually, Jayce players centered on Eclipse as the foundation for most of their builds, but when you couple this generally weak Mythic alongside Jayce’s near-absolute necessity for Manamune, then you’re not really seeing a Jayce impact the game until well beyond 20 minutes.. Which is a bit off of Jayce’s Champion design.

As a hybrid melee/range Top Laner, Jayce is supposed to be the perfect bully. Abusing melee matchups with his cannon form, while all-inning and destroying them with his hammer form. Eclipse not providing a ton of the stats that Jayce finds super valuable often leads him to waiting on a completed Manamune before he can really become a Champion. And this item takes time to stack. While Jayce can make effective use of the enhanced-autos that Manamune provides after quest completion, is it really worth it to wait around for it to come online when you could be playing the like of Quinn or Kennen, who also abuse melee matchups but still have a ton of utility or map presence?.. I think not. Best to dodge if you see a Jayce locked in on your team.

Renekton - Top

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Renekton, while still a solid lane bully, has suffered in the Solo Queue realm thanks to his presence in Pro Play. Back-to-back nerfs put our favorite Croc on lock and have really stunted his potential. (We can blame FakeGod for this, right?)

Renekton’s aggressive lane bully nature has just been thoroughly surpassed by the likes of Kled, Urgot, and Wukong. This trio of Champions facilitates the same playstyle of Renekton while still providing meaningful effects for their own team as well. Kled with his speed boost on his R, Urgot provides that single target lockdown and burst damage, and Wukong provides the CC and slipperiness that one looks for in a dive candidate. There are just Champions that can do all the things that Renekton wants to do, but better.

Best to hang up those gator-skinned boots, at least for a little while.

Lucian - Mid

This one is a feels-bad all around. Lucian blasting his way into Solo Lane viability is no strange occurrence. But with a, in the eyes of Riot, weak standing in Bot Lane, adjustments were made to pull Lucian away from his cullings in Top and Mid and down towards Bottom Lane.

And the small rework that his passive has received has benefited the direction. Bot Lucian’s winrate spiked up from 46% to 48% from 11.17 to 11.18. Unfortunately, Mid Lucian has the opposite where it plummeted down from a 46% to a 44%. Reason being, this new passive promotes Lucian interacting with a lane partner, especially one like an Enchanter, who can buff his autos since his reworked passive directly benefits from being buffed.

And with this change having been dished out before Worlds, and with the intention on trimming Lucian Mid before the big stage, there’s no reason for you to deal with it in Solo-Queue. Top Lucian is still a thing simply due to his ability to abuse matchups thanks to his range, but Mid Lucian has all but been sent to the Shadow Isles.

Twitch, Miss Fortune, and Ashe - Support

It is with great sadness that I write my previously hyped Support Witch Fortune build… Isn’t very good. And that’s sad. Support Twitch, MF, and Ashe poked their heads up at various points throughout Season 11. Their shakeups from the main role of AD to Support provided some much needed diversity to what has felt like a stagnant and tank support dominated meta.

But, as we’ve reached the end of the season, we can look back and see that these picks were never really meant to stick, and that beyond a few cheese matchups here and there, they do little to really fill the role of a Support on any team. These takes are meant for fun and within the context of Normals or 5-stack games. They’re nothing that anyone who cares about climbing should look to main at any point.

Sett - Support

Another rough Support option finds its way to the list. And this time it’s League’s favorite cat-boi, Sett. Sett’s viability at Support has been a fun one to experience. Like the above Marksmen, he’s helped shake up a tank dominated meta by being one of the best Tank busters on the market.

But, as time has gone by, folks have learned to play around his shenanigans. Especially due to the fact that Enchanters have become more prominent as we’ve gotten closer towards the end of the Season. Sett doesn’t really have what it takes to stand in the ring with the elites of the Support world.

He’s an option for Sett Mains that get off-roled, sure.. But definitely not something I’d consider having in the wheelhouse for regular Support play.

Rumble - Jungle

The Rumble in the Jungle has been bumbling for multiple patches now. Since his nerfs towards the beginning of the Season, Rumble really hasn’t been able to stick a solid patch showing consistently hovering around 45-46%. Just as surprising, is that his ‘worst’ role of Jungle has remained his most popular while his Top and Mid presence has consistently been behind nearly 5000 games.

When you compare him to other level 6 focused Junglers, especially those like the recently buffed Lillia, there are questions as to why one would want to opt for Rumble in the Jungle over Rumble in Top or Mid. In fact, with such a vulnerable and finicky starting clear, things get even muddier. Regardless, despite his respectable presence, the results just aren’t backing up the dedication to Rumble in the Jungle. (I really like typing that and saying it in my head, can’t you tell?)

You’re better off going Top or Mid with this gearhead of a Yordle until more adjustments come his way in the Jungling world.

Ryze - Mid

Looking like it’s time for another rework.. Especially with nerfs on the horizon in 11.19 to address his presence in Pro Play. Ryze, despite his popularity and simplistic approach, is just one of those Champions that is going to be cursed to remain in the gutters of Solo Queue due to how Pros take advantage of him in coordinated play. Which is part of the reason why so many are drawn to him, of course.

Unfortunately, Ryze is amongst those hyper-scaling monsters that just ascend at a certain item and level threshold, and with the way the Solo-Queue is far more volatile in nature in comparison to Pro-Play where Ryze can lean on this aspect of his design, he can’t really take advantage of his potential in the hands of the average joe. With damage nerfs down the pipeline in 11.19, his godhood is only going to get delayed further in the game, preventing this unfortunate magister from ever really holding Solo-Queue viability.

Gwen - Top

Oh how the mighty have fallen. This is a sad state for what I feel was one of Riot’s best Champion designs this year from both an art and gameplay direction.

Gwen was an absolute menace in both Solo Queue and Pro Play up until patch 11.15. She was rocking a rather impressive win-rate for a newly released Champion at around a 48% average, which is pretty high considering she’s a more skill expressive Champion. Ultimately though, it was that oppressive Pro-Play presence that brought Riot to nerf the bonus attack speed she received from her E from 40% to 20% starting out.

This nerf was enough to knock Gwen out of meta and make even her favorable matchups far worse for the seamstress. Hopefully she’ll find a way to stitch her way back in post worlds, because for now, it seems Riot is done with her designs. She’s best to be dodged unless she’s in one of her perfect situations.

Closing Out

So, there you have it folks. These are some of the worst of the worst that you could land yourself with in Solo Queue. I’m sure some of you were expecting the Silver Yasuo with a 1.9 KDA and 48% win-rate to creep it’s way on the list… And well it did right here! But truthfully, some of those immediate dodge picks aren’t actually as bad as they seem. The selections here all rock winrates that are dangling below 48% in most cases and their play-rates are typically low beyond cases like Ryze. Low play-rates, low win-rates, and overall no interest typically means there’s something to be avoided in playing or playing with these Champions.