The Worst League of Legends Champions
Sometimes, it can be hard giving up your favorite champion even though you’ve lost the past 10 games with them and have been demoted to Bronze V. It may be time to rethink your picking strategy and hopefully this list of the 10 worst solo queue champions will inspire you to move on and give other champions a try.
10. Zoe
Zoe’s nerfs popped her bubble
It was all sunshine and rainbows when Zoe was released as her kit gave her the ability to take enemies from 100% health to about 25-0% in the blink of an eye. Her Sleepy Bubble Trouble and Paddle Star! combo was terrifying as enemies could only watch and hope that the Aspect of Twilight missed her skill shot. Paddle Star! also gave her great wave clear so that she could quickly push lanes into the tower and then roam to either top or bottom.
But, her time one-shotting champions was brought to an end as Riot nerfed her in the 8.4 patch. Now her abilities do less damage, resulting Zoe becoming harder to carry with. So you might want to bench the Aspect of Twilight until Riot gives her another look to see if the nerfs were too harsh.
9. Rengar
Wait and see how Rengar’s buffs go
Although Rengar likes to be the hunter, he has found he is often becoming the prey of most summoner’s rift matches, especially with his lackluster kit. Rengar saw his time in the limelight before his gameplay update changed Savagery to try and keep the Pridestalker from just deleting carries in the blink of an eye. This update set him back pretty significantly as he lacked the damage to be viable in most matches.
Rengar did just get a bit of a buff in the last patch as they changed his Savagery back to what it was in Preseason 7, potentially giving him the skills to delete champions in the blink of an eye. Keep an eye out to see how he’s performing before you pick him up though.
8. Bard
Bard has very few strengths
The Wandering Caretaker needs some care right now as he finds himself in a touch position. He lacks the tankiness to be a frontline for his carries, while also not having enough damage in his poke to be a lane harasser. While Tempered Fate is a great ultimate for catching enemies, protecting teammates and objectives, or dividing up the enemy team, there’s not much Bard can do outside of that spell. Other poke supports like Zyra and Brand outperform him. At this point, it’s better to avoid him entirely and let him just go collect his magical chimes.
7. Nocturne
Nocturne can’t survive crowd control
The Eternal Nightmare was another champion who greatly benefited from the rise of Feral Flare, but also fell alongside it when it got nerfed. While Nocturne can do well in his jungle clear, his high-risk, high reward playstyle has a hard time against the tank jungler meta we are currently in.
Nocturne can have his benefits when he gets ahead as it becomes extremely hard to push him away from carries when he comes charging in with Paranoia, but once he’s there, he’s extremely easy to crowd control and destroy.
6. Quinn
Quinn needs a boost to get her to fly
Quinn was another victim of the nerfs that followed the marksmen update, but she always had a hard time trying to carry games. She has the play style of Vayne, but lacks the necessary damage and tools to succeed. While her ultimate, Behind Enemy Lines, is great for getting her to her team and ready to capture objectives or engage in team fights, her short range make her an easy target for crowd control to die quickly.
Plus Quinn doesn’t feel like she has a solidified place as she can’t do exceptionally well in either the bottom or top lane. She doesn’t have enough range for her to avoid poke from champions like Tristana, Ash, or Caitlyn, while being too squishy and not producing enough damage to send to the top lane or jungle. It’s probably a good time to give Demacia’s Wings a little bit of a gust so she can potentially rise to the top.
5. Graves
Give Graves a buff and a cigar
Poor Graves saw his massive strength that he had been given during the marksmen update dwindle until he dove out of the meta. While Graves does have a strong jungle clear, he lacks the tools that many junglers in this current meta have to stay impactful throughout the game such as crowd control and tank stats. Graves’ lack of crowd control and overall damage make him a hard champion to win games with so let him smoke the cigar out back while you give other champions a try.
4. Karthus
Karthus lacks the current meta essentials
The Deathsinger has been quiet on Summoner’s Rift for awhile now as he too has been struggling in the current meta. Karthus used to be a strong champion for farming with Lay Waste and catching out enemies with Wall of Pain. But, Karthus lost his groove as other champions like Syndra, Azir, and Aurelion Sol rose above Karthus due to their mobility, roaming potential, damage, and impact on team fights.
Try to avoid Karthus if you can and look for other champions like the ones listed on the top 10 carries such as Katarina or Fizz, who can lead your team to victory better than Karthus.
3. Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser lacks presence
Let’s keep the streak going of champions who had their moment in the sun before being cast down to the pits of Summoner’s Rift Hell. Mordekaiser saw the light of day back during the juggernaut update in 2015, when Fiora, Darius, Moakai, Skarner, Garen, and Mordekaiser all became tremendously powerful champions.
Mordekaiser’s greatest strength was his unsuspecting damage as he could farm and poke easily, while having a tremendous impact on games with the passive on his ultimate, Dragon Force. This was a great addition to the Iron Revenant’s Kit and even made him a viable “Marksman” for a bit as he could get a ghost dragon to push lanes and kill enemies.
2. Ivern
The Green Father struggles to carry
Much like Aatrox, Ivern had his moment in the spotlight around season six and seven when he was seeing some time in pro play. But now the Green Father has also found himself at the bottom of the champion pool. Especially now where tank jungles such as Sejuani, Skarner, Zac, or Warwick have much more impact on games, Ivern may take awhile before you should consider giving him a chance.
1. Aatrox
The Darkin Blade just can’t cut it
Poor Aatrox. Even when he was released, the Darkin Blade never really found a home to thrive in on Summoner’s Rift. There was a small period of time when he was a somewhat viable champion, heralding back to when Feral Flare junglers were as rampant in the jungle as Teemo mushrooms in URF. The reason why Aatrox isn’t viable is because he can’t do well in team fights and his abilities are very lackluster. His wave clear is atrocious and, compared to many other top laners, he lacks the crowd control, damage, and impact to be viable in most games.
Still, there may be some hope yet as Riot is hoping to give Aatrox a much needed rework later this year. We’ll then see if the Darkin Blade will be able to have any impact on League of Legends or if he’ll just stay in the rut he’s in. For now, make sure to stay away from this champion.
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