When playing League of Legends, players are always looking for the best ways to climb the ranked ladder. Some find that following the current meta is an easy way, while others try to climb with friends so that they can have fun during the process. However, every player has at some point played against a pick that at first seemed like nothing too big, but by the end of the game found themselves being stomped by this seemingly innocuous pick.

For those players who are looking for a great way to climb from a lower elo, sometimes choosing a pick that comes out of nowhere can catch the enemy team off guard and give you a big advantage. Now, there is a difference between choosing a random champion and a decent one. Picking something like Kalista mid-lane isn’t necessarily what I mean by this. I mean that by taking a champion that already has potential and abusing the fact that they are underplayed in certain ranks can assure that the enemy team doesn’t quite know how to play against them. In higher elos this is definitely harder to pull off, but for most players this is a solid way to pull out a win.

This article is all about finding underplayed and underrated champions that the enemy team won’t expect, allowing you to get the upper hand since the enemy either doesn’t quite know how to play against your champion, or because the champion is simply strong and is just under the radar for most players. Here, we will go over two champions for each role and cover what they are good at, what they are lacking in, why they are good, and why they are underplayed.

Top Lane

Darius: For the longest time, Darius has been a staple in the top lane. People realize he has potential, but because there are better picks he is sometimes ignored. He isn’t underrated, but he is certainly underplayed in some solo queue games. Darius is a good champion because of his bruiser nature. He is fairly tanky with the items he builds and his damage is obviously present.

Darius is also great at battling champions that have healing, like Tryndamere and Fiora. Because of his passive, Hemorrhage, he is able to negate the healing from these strong 1v1 champions and come out on top. Darius also has strong waveclear with his Q (Decimate) ability, allowing him to keep his lane pushed when he wants it if he needs to roam or teleport to help laners. Also, his E ability (Apprehend) allows him to grab any enemy that may dash to try and escape.

Dr. Mundo: Mundo is criminally underplayed in lower elo games. He has enough to offer his team that he can be an easy way to pull out a win. Admittedly, he doesn’t scale as well as other champions, which is a big reason he doesn’t see much play, however, there are ways to make him work. Mundo’s ultimate ability (Sadism) gives him extra movement speed and allows him to regenerate health at an alarming rate. What makes him worth playing is that he can build tanky items like Warmog’s Armor, Dead Man’s Plate, and Spirit Visage so that he can easily run into a fight with his team as a strong frontline.

Even if his health gets to a point where he may not make it out, by using his ultimate and backing off for a few seconds, it can bring him back to a healthy life total and allow him to fight again. Mundo isn’t a top tier champion, so he can be countered in lane if the enemy picks someone with crowd control, but if you can make it out of the laning phase with him in a good state then the game should be an easy win.

Jungle

Hecarim: Hecarim is a champion that can easily snowball his team if he gets out of control. His early game is very powerful and he is particularly good at making effective ganks. By constantly ganking early, he can get his carries ahead so that when he falls off the game is already won. With his passive, Warpath, he gets bonus damage from movement speed, so taking ghost and building item’s like Dead Man’s Plate, he can easily take down any champion that tries to stand in his way.

It is worth mentioning that, while he doesn’t scale as well as other champions, he still has a lot to offer in the later phases of the game. With his E (Devastating Charge) he can separate enemy carries from their team to easily pick them off. His ultimate also allows him to dive into the enemy backline to take out a squishy enemy or to use the fear to scatter the team, making it easier to pick off the weaker opponents.

Amumu: For players who main jungle and are looking for the easiest win, Amumu might just be the perfect pick. Amumu has a decent waveclear early on camps with multiple targets because of his W (Despair) and E (Tantrum). His waveclear on single target camps, however, is a bit weak, so overall his clear isn’t something too strong. However, Amumu is incredibly tanky when he builds items like Spirit Visage and Abyssal Mask. That, combined with his crowd control, allows him to easily throw his Q (Bandage Toss) onto a squishy carry and use his ultimate ability (Curse of the Sad Mummy) to lock them down for an easy kill.

Mid

Diana: Diana is a great pick for players who love to take enemies from full health to zero as fast as possible. Diana’s kit has so much to offer that there is hardly anything she can’t do. Her Q (Crescent Strike) is good for waveclear and poke, her E (Lunar Rush) is a superb gap closer, and her ultimate (Moonfall) is a huge source of damage and crowd control. While Diana still sees a decent amount of play, she could absolutely be seeing more. She easily scales into the late game and can get her team a huge advantage.

She herself is an amazing win condition, so funneling kills into her is a great feeling for whoever is playing her. For this champion, there isn’t much of a weakness in her, she is simply underplayed in certain elos. Because of this, Diana is a champion you should definitely pick up before she gets nerfed.

Galio: Galio is a good champion to play, but is nothing like Diana. Galio doesn’t want to make a 1000 damage AP one shot, he wants to play for his team and to help get them ahead. With his W passive (Shield of Durand), he is great at going up against AP champions in lane. The goal for a Galio is to make it out of laning phase healthy and to use him ultimate (Hero’s Entrance) and his W active to help protect his team from threats and the crowd control the enemy backline so that they are easy to take out.

Galio’s biggest weakness is that once he uses his combo in a fight, he suddenly doesn’t offer his team too much. He also doesn’t scale too well, so it is important to make the most of his laning phase and early roams while he has the chance.

Bot

Lucian: For ADC mains looking for an easy and quick game, Lucian is a must-add to your roster. While he may not scale as well as other ADC champions, he is a monster in the early game. Once he has a point in his Q (Piercing Light) and E (Relentless Pursuit), he can easily get onto a squishy carry like Caitlyn and, with the help of his passive, burst them down with ease. It is important to get an early lead on Lucian, otherwise he won’t be able to do anything when the time comes to leave lane. He doesn’t scale very well into the mid or late game, but if he does his job and gets kills early he will be able to hold his own against most champions.

Jinx: Like Diana, Jinx scales like crazy into the late game, making her a big asset to her team in longer games. However, her early game is a bit weak, so having a good support is key. If she has that protection and is able to farm up, she can easily outscale most other champions. By building items like Infinity Edge and Rapid Firecannon, she can deal tons of damage and even outrange enemy champions. Combined with her passive, she will be great in teamfights and will be incredibly hard to stop once the ball is rolling. But because she is so squishy and immobile, she is easy to get on top of, so it is important to remember this and play for the late game, not so much early trades.

Support

Karma: For most players, support is not the role they want to be stuck with. However, for players that need a good support in a pinch, Karma is a great choice. What makes Karma ideal is the fact that she has everything a support needs. She can provide a shield and movement speed to an immobile or squishy ally, can provide crowd control to lock down pesky enemies, and she can even help carry a game on her own with a healthy amount of damage. Another plus is that, with the right items, Karma scales very well, meaning that there is never a point in the game where she will feel underwhelming. The reason she is underplayed is because players autofilled to this role prefer champions like Brand or Pyke, but if you give Karma a try you may find that she has a lot to offer.

Braum: If champions like Karma aren’t really your thing, Braum may be more your style. Braum’s goal in lane is to stand in front of his ADC so that he can use his E (Unbreakable) to block enemy attacks so that his ally can farm safely. He also has a massive amount of crowd control with his passive (Concussive Blows), Q (Winter’s Bite) and ultimate (Glacial Fissure). Once Braum has a point in all of his abilities, it is very easy for him to go in for a kill, meaning that he pairs well with aggressive champions like Draven or Lucian. Braum scales fairly well, but the reason he is underplayed is because, like with Karma, players like to play a carry champion, but if your team is in need of a tank, Braum is the perfect fit.

There are many other champions that are flying under the radar that can be good in certain circumstances, the champions in this article were chosen because they stood out the most and seemed to have some of the most potential to win games. So, if you are looking to climb the ranked ladder this season, trying out one of these champions in your main or autofilled role is a great way to test out some spicy new builds to try and reach the top.