The new ranked season of League of Legends has just started! And what better way to kick off the year than with a tier list. It’s time to show some love to ADC mains. If you’re having trouble climbing as an ADC, this list will help you choose which champions to pick up and win with. Here I showcase which champions are the strongest when used to their full potential.

League of Legends is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game. It offers over a hundred unique champions you can choose from, and there are five roles in the game which fulfill different purposes. It is currently the most popular competitive game in the world, and has the biggest E-Sports scene.

ADCS have historically been ranged marksmen, but not all of the ADC picks here are traditional marksmen. The current early game-focused meta makes a few other champions good picks for this role. We’ve seen everything from yasuo to heimerdinger replacing adcs. But hey, at least it’s not adc in 2018, right?

It’s also worth mentioning that this tier list is consistent with what’s strong on the North American server. Champion picks on the European and Eastern servers might have slight differences. However, this list should mostly be consistent across the West. If you’re playing the wrong champions at the moment, this list will steer you in the right direction for you to win more!

S Tier (Borderline overpowered)

• Lucian 95/100
• Draven 92/100
• Cassiopeia 90/100
• Jinx 85/100
• Vayne 82/100

A Tier (Quite strong and consistent)

• Heimerdinger 80/100
• Kai’sa 76/100
• Ezreal 75/100
• Yasuo 70/100
• Miss Fortune 70/100
• Sivir 65/100

B Tier (Decent, but not as strong)

• Ashe 64/100
• Twitch 60/100
• Tristana 55/100
• Jhin 55/100
• Caitlyn 50/100

C Tier (Probably not worth playing. Situational)

• Xayah 40/100
• Kog’Maw 35/100
• Kalista 30/100
• Varus 25/100

S Tier

Lucian (S Tier)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSYLNF56DlI

One of the most dominant champions in laning phase. His high damage combined with high mobility makes him a force to be reckoned with, so much that there are few champions who can match him in lane. And with how easy it is to get kills and snowball with him, his already powerful mid game can be ramped up. At the moment, he’s a force to be reckoned with.

Difficulty level: Medium. Need to learn to combo properly with his passive and using his ultimate.

Strengths: Laning phase and mid game.

Draven (S Tier)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Z_yJ4Irj8

Draven is THE snowball champion of the bot lane. He has the potential to deal more damage than any other champion with his axes and his whole kit rewards getting ahead. Catching all his axes consistently takes some time to get used to, but experienced draven players are very scary to deal with. 

Difficulty level: Medium. Catching axes must become second nature to the player.

Strengths: Laning phase, getting a lead and snowballing it out of control.

Cassiopeia (S Tier)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXirkgtD4Lc

Interestingly, Cassiopeia’s place in the bot lane was exchanged for her viability in the mid lane. She’s able to constantly pressure the enemy laners by perma-pushing the wave. She also has very high base damage. Even if she falls behind, Cassiopeia’s utility with her petrifying gaze and miasma makes her very reliable.

Difficulty level: Medium-high. Need to learn to land abilities and ultimate properly.

Strengths: Overall well-rounded.

Jinx (S Tier)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFm0ViSNPyc

After receiving some buffs, Jinx’s viability was pushed over the edge. She was already in a good place before that, and now she’s one of the strongest hyper carries in the game. If you ever faced a jinx who perma-pushes the wave all game and harrasses you under tower, you know how stifling she can be to play against.

Difficulty level: Easy. Basic positioning and kiting and you’re probably good to go.

Strengths: Laning phase depending on the matchup. Mid and late game is when she shines.

Vayne (S Tier)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0NKkuFAsS8

Vayne is the only champion on this list who has a weaker laning phase due to her short range. However, this is only before she hits level 6. After she gets her ultimate, she becomes one of the strongest duelists in the game. The recent lengthening of her ultimate time also makes her teamfighting much more powerful. Her only downside is that she’s very difficult to play, and many newbies make her look terrible.

Difficulty level: High. Need to master positioning, kiting, and proper use of her condemn.

Strengths: Post-level 6 laning phase and onwards.

A Tier

Heimerdinger (A Tier)

Heimerdinger is probably the most unusual pick on this list. If you know anything about him though, you’d know that his laning phase is extremely annoying to deal with. He can put loads of pressure on any laner with his turrets and high damage. However, his reliance on skillshots to do most of his damage makes him less consistent than champions above.

Difficulty level: Medium. Landing skillshots is needed.

Strengths: Laning phase and onwards.

Kai’sa (A Tier)

For a long time Kai’sa was one of the strongest ADCs in the game. Recent nerfs have put her back in place, and now she sits comfortably in the A tier. Her assassin-like playstyle makes it that she can either be very powerful or quite underwhelming.

Difficulty level: Medium. Learn to find openings to assassinate targets and some kiting.

Strengths: Overall well-rounded.

Ezreal (A Tier)

Similarly to Kai’sa, Ezreal has been one of the strongest ADCs for a long time, and nerfs to items such as Iceborn Gauntlet and others also put him in place. For experienced Ezreal players, he’s still a solid pick if you need a safe, long-ranged ADC.

Difficulty level: High. Landing his abilities consistently is a must.

Strengths: After certain item spikes (Muramana, Seraph’s Embrace, Gauntlet…) his abilities ramp up. Usually around the mid game.

Sivir (A Tier)

Sivir has always been a safe pick. She’s probably the easiest ADC to get massive amounts of farm with, which always helps with winning She can also provide much utility for her team. Her biggest issue is that managing her mana can be difficult, and most of her kit is reliant on mana. She’s not a terrible pick, but there are several champions who do her job better.

Difficulty level: Easy. Learn to conserve mana.

Strengths: Overall well-rounded.

Yasuo (A Tier)

Yasuo was one of the first champions which replaced marksmen when they started falling out of grace. His high damage made most marksmen unable to compete with him as they needed more time and items to scale. This is still the case to an extent. If you have an engage support with a knock-up such as Alistar or Braum, you can set up some great combos to dominate your lane. Nevertheless, there are better champions to play in most cases.

Difficulty level: High. Highly mechanical champion with his dashes and abilities.

Strengths: Mid and late game.

Miss Fortune (A Tier)

Miss Fortune is the go-to champion for people who want an easy ADC to play. Although she’s not very strong currently, properly using her ultimate can turn a fight around very fast. MF is a good champion to practice harassing in lane with, but it’s not recommended to play her in competitive.

Difficulty level: Easy. Pretty simple champion.

Strengths: Laning phase and mid game.

B Tier

Ashe (B Tier)

Ashe has always been a situational pick for certain team compositions and maybe some Ashe mains. Her ultimate arrow can set up game-changing picks if they hit the right target, and her slows can be painful to her opponents. She’s very immobile and has lackluster damage unless a fight is prolonged. She might be worth playing in the future if the meta shifts.

Difficulty level: Medium. Kiting and learning to land your arrow are essential.

Strengths: Overall well-rounded.

Twitch (B Tier)

Our rat friend would be higher on the list if his laning phase wasn’t so exploitable. Twitch is a hyper carry monster if he manages to reach the mid and late game stage. Unfortunately, that rarely happens in the current fast-paced meta, so he will stay in the low tiers for now.

Difficulty level: Medium. Short window to dish as much damage as possible when you use your ultimate (ideally coming out of invisibility).

Strengths: Mid and late game.

Tristana (B Tier)

It is quite hard to put Tristana this low on the list as I’ve been a Tristana main for years. Her kit has all the classic marksmen elements you would want (attack speed steroid, damage ability, a jump, and her ultimate) She doesn’t excel at anything at the moment, and can only be a threat if she manages to snowball in lane and start taking towers across the map. Unless you have a kill lane duo, it’s not recommended to pick her at the moment.

Difficulty level: Easy. Not a lot of mechanics needed, just use your jump intelligently.

Strengths: Laning phase and late game.

Jhin (B Tier)

Long range ADCS have suffered as the patches roll on. They are outmatched by high-damage carries such as Lucian and Jinx. Although there’s always the potential to get kills in lane, Jhin’s lack of mobility and dueling potential leaves him very vulnerable.

Difficulty level: Medium. Has two skillshots you should learn to land.

Strengths: Overall well-rounded.

Caitlyn (B Tier)

When you think of a lane bully Caitlyn might be the first champion which comes to mind. Her laning power has not been reduced significantly, but her scaling is too weak to compete with other powerhouses at the moment. She’s the hardest on this tier to make work.

Difficulty level: Medium. Harassing in lane is essential.

Strengths: Laning phase and late game.

C Tier

Xayah (C Tier)

It’s quite difficult to pinpoint why Xayah is so bad at the moment. It’s probably a combination of mobile champions and champions with longer range abilities being able to completely avoid her feathers, which are her main source of damage. Whatever the reason is, Xayah players experience some of the lowest success at the moment, and there’s no real reason to pick her.

Difficulty level: Medium. Need to learn how to maximize damage output with feathers.

Strengths: Overall well-rounded.

Kog’Maw (C Tier)

Kog’Maw suffers from some of the worst weaknesses on this current meta. He needs time and items to scale into the game, has a weak laning phase, and is extremely immobile. The only chance he has to be useful is with a support that can buff him and protect him, like a Lulu or a Janna.

Difficulty level: High. Need to excel at kiting and positioning.

Strengths: Late game.

Kalista (C Tier)

Many people expected Kalista to make a comeback after she got buffed, but not much changed. She can’t compete with lane dominant ADCs and her range is very low. Although she can hop around, that’s not very useful for her at the moment.

Difficulty level: High. Kiting is essential and on top of that it takes time to get used to her hopping passive.

Strengths: Laning phase and mid game.

Varus (C Tier)

Varus has been one of the least popular ADCs for a long time now. His full lethality build provides some damage, but nearly every other champion in the game can outmatch him. There’s not much else to be said about him as nobody plays him, but he’s arguably the worst ADC in the game at this point.

Difficulty level: Medium. Landing your long-ranged arrows is the only difficult mechanic.

Strengths: Overall well-rounded.

Overall, Season 9 isn’t looking as bad for ADC mains as many were worried about. We’ll have to wait and see what changes come in the future. For the time being, take advantage of the busted champions while you can!

Also be sure to check out:

• The 10 Best LoL Top Laners (2019 Edition)
• The 10 Best LOL Champions for Kills
• The 10 Best LOL Hard Carry Champions (2019)
• 15 Best LOL Skins That Look Freakin Awesome!
• Top 10 Most Overpowered LOL Champions for Solo Ranked