[Top 10] LOL Best Carry Champions That Wreck Hard

LOL Best Carry Champions
A Pentakill, the goal any true carry seeks to achieve


Not Every Champion Can 1v9 

While Riot is very diligent in balancing their game, every champion is not designed to carry a game on their own. This is intentional, and brings variety to the champions we get to play. However, if you are looking to pound out some wins, you don’t want to be playing Janna or Ivern. You just won’t have enough agency to win a game by yourself.

The end of the 2020 season approaches, and players are grinding the last few months to get the rank they deserve. Whether you play Top, Jungle, Mid, Bot, or Support, this list will provide you with champion picks that will let you demolish the competition. As it is in every role, some champions do better than others, so let's take a look at which spicy picks will put you in the driver’s seat.

10. Graves, the Outlaw

The Outlaw of Bilgewater is your best choice if you are looking to go toe to toe with your opponents at any stage in the game. Graves has a smooth power curve throughout the game, combined with damage, crowd control, and mobility in his toolkit. Using the tools in this guy’s belt, you will rarely pick a fight you can’t win.

Strengths

  • Early Game Bully
  • High Late Game Scaling
  • Powerfarmer

Strategy

  • Invade the enemy Jungler when your team has lane priority
  • Contest objectives at all stages of the game
  • Don’t overdo it! If you aren’t winning fights, farm up to consistently hit your late game items
  • If you build crit, do as much damage as possible while staying alive, and try to be within range of only one enemy at a time
  • If you build lethality, bide your time and look for an opportunity to one-shot an enemy carry, and safely escape

How To Play Graves Like A Pro:

9. Kai’Sa, Daughter of the Void

Kai’Sa is a bot lane carry that specializes in dealing a mix of magical and physical damage. Due to her abilities evolving from 3 stats (Ability Power, Attack Damage, and Attack Speed), players are encouraged to build items that you might not find on your standard bot lane marksman. This allows Kai’Sa to function as a marksman/assassin hybrid.

 

Strengths

  • Mixed Damage (Magic + Physical)
  • High Damage 
  • Mobility and Stealth 

Strategy

  • Play with high crowd-control teams/supports (Ex. Nautilus). This will stack your passive much more quickly, increasing your damage output
  • At level 2, you can out damage most marksmen in a short trade. Just be sure to back off after triggering your passive, if you can’t finish them for a kill
  • Items are very uniquely important to Kai’Sa because they change and upgrade her abilities. Try not to fall behind before getting at least one or two ability upgrades.
  • In small skirmishes, and during lane-phase, you can use your W for long range poke
  • In team fights, shred the enemy frontline with your %maxHP damage, while looking for an opportunity to W a priority backline target to ult and assassinate

How To Play Kai'Sa Like A Pro:

This four-legged champion will trample anything in its path. Hecarim plays around insanely high movement speed, charging at his opponents before tackling them, and mowing them down with his scythe. This playstyle creates ganks that put you in the lane before the enemy has a chance to react.

Strengths

  • High movement speed
  • Tank
  • Ultimate makes him Unstoppable, while crowd controlling an entire team
  • Flexibility allows him to build towards damage or tankiness as necessary

Strategy

  • During the lane phase, gank from behind the enemies. This will allow you to tackle your target into your teammates, so they can help you kill them
  • Don’t be afraid to contest neutral objectives, even if things go south, few champions can keep Hecarim locked down long enough to kill him, due to his speed
  • As a tank, you should play frontline for your team, but keep an eye out for an opportunity to charge through enemy lines with your ultimate or charge when an enemy carry oversteps
  • With a higher damage build, wait off to the side while a small skirmish or team fight begins. Then, come from behind your enemies to assassinate a carry
  • Always let your charge reach maximum speed before hitting an enemy, it deals damage based on movement speed

How To Play Hecarim Like A Pro:

Jax is a melee Top laner that scales incredibly well into the late game as a split pusher. Often considered one of the most OP champs in the game, Jax is nearly unstoppable when he gets a lead. If you are looking for a high mobility, tanky, lamp-swinging purple ball of whoop-ass, Jax is your guy.

Strengths

  • High Mobility
  • Tank
  • High Champion and Objective Damage
  • Mixed Magic and Physical Damage
  • Unable to be auto-attacked during your E, Counterstrike

Strategy

  • In the early game, playing around your long E cooldown is key. Don’t fight without this ability up
  • Once you have built some cooldown reduction, you can take frequent trades to whittle your opponent down, and denying their ability to trade back with your E
  • Since you scale well into the late game, it will often be better to farm minions versus roaming from your lane too early on. Weigh your options carefully
  • In the mid to late game, create pressure in side lanes by pushing towers, and be prepared to fight more than one enemy as they collapse on you
  • Utilize your E to prevent damage and stun squishy targets you leap onto. In 1v2 or 1v3 situations, Jax can come out on top by taking little damage while eliminating one after another enemy

How To Play Jax Like A Pro:

6. Jhin, the Virtuoso

Jhin is a marksman that plays around the 4 shots in his gun, the 4th being a guaranteed crit with bonus damage based on the target’s missing health. Though Jhin does not attack as frequently as a traditional marksman, every attack can be a devastating one. Combine that with his abilities that lock down entire areas of the map, and Jhin becomes one fearsome foe to find yourself against.

Strengths

  • High Damage
  • Extremely High Utility (as a marksman)
  • High Movement Speed

Strategy

  • Jhin’s damage dances around 3 powerful shots, and then his 4th devastating shot, before having to reload and repeat. 
  • Your 4th shot deals execute damage, meaning it will deal the most damage to enemies who have lost the largest portion of their health bar. 
  • Use your high movement speed from crits to get in range off your 3rd shot before firing your 4th
  • Use traps (your E) and roots (your W) to create opportunities for you and your teammates to pick off unsuspecting targets, or to defend yourself.
  • Use your ultimate to zone off huge portions of the map, pick off low HP targets, or even steal neutral objectives. Remember, your 4th ultimate shot works just like your 4th auto attack shot.

How To Play Jhin Like A Pro:

5. Pyke, the Bloodharbor Ripper

Pyke is a unique choice to make my Top 10, as he is the only support champion listed here. While most supports are designed to enable their carry to get gold, Pyke is designed to pick off and assassinate enemies, claiming the gold for himself, but doubling it for his ally. Pyke has tools that are deadly to opponents caught out of position on their own, but also pose extremely high threats in teamfights with the reset-on-kill mechanic on his Ultimate ability.

Strengths

  • Gold Generation
  • Crowd Control
  • Mobility
  • Stealth
  • True Damage

Strategy

  • Pyke is a hook champion, which means in most fights, you should always look for a champion who doesn’t want to be in the center of the action, and make their nightmares come true
  • When going all in, be certain that you have an ability to escape with if you can’t get the kill. Pyke is very squishy, so if you don’t get out fast, there is a chance the enemy catches you.
  • When you can’t find a clean hook on an enemy carry, use your Stealth or Dash to get into a better position that allows you to quickly toss the carry into your team. Then, use whichever ability you didn’t use to get in, to get out.
  • If you have a very fed carry on your team, it can be beneficial to use your abilities to peel enemies off of them, instead of looking for an enemy carry to kill
  • Try to use your ultimate when the enemy is crowd controlled so you can’t miss it. Track heals on the enemy team, as they can put your target above the execute threshold

How To Play Pyke Like A Pro:

4. Samira, the Desert Rose

From her backstory to her gameplay, Samira decimates her enemies with style. Some may not expect to see a marksman rated so highly on this list, but Riot’s newest champion Samira is not to be underestimated. Playing like a Qiyana-Katarina-Ezreal Hybrid, Samira makes quick work of enemies that don’t respect her.

Strengths

  • Mobility
  • Kill Resets
  • Sustained Area of Effect Damage
  • Healing
  • Projectile Protection

Strategy

  • Samira is extremely strong in the early game, try to pair with an engage support so that you can force the enemy to fight you when you are much stronger than they are
  • Remember that you need to alternate Attacks and Abilities to stack up to your ultimate. At 6 stacks, you will be able to cast it and demolish anyone nearby
  • Your ultimate fires auto-attacks that apply lifesteal, so be sure to get some lifesteal through your items or runes so that all that damage you do converts into healing as well
  • Use frontline targets that are of low threat to you to stack up to your ultimate
  • Identify hard cc and other threatening abilities that enemy has. Once they use them, feel free to dive in and delete the enemy team with your ultimate

How To Play Samira Like A Pro:

3. Zed, the Master of Shadows

Zed is a specialist in single-target damage. Though he has to get in the thick of things to do damage, his shadows make him elusive as hell. If you want to  remove the biggest threat on the enemy team, the Master of Shadows is for you.

Strengths

  • Mobility
  • Single Target Burst Damage
  • Untargetable during Ultimate cast time

Strategy

  • Prior to level 6 when you get your ultimate, try to take chunks of your opponents HP by hitting your shuriken, or comboing them with both your shuriken and shadows who mimic your abilities
  • Hitting your first item spikes is very important, because this is when you are the strongest. Be sure you are maximizing your gold income through farming or roaming in the early game to consistently buy them early
  • Deny enemy vision. As an assassin, if the enemy has knowledge of your position, your job becomes exponentially more difficult. You want to kill your target within seconds of them knowing your presence
  • Use your ultimate on a priority target, and hit as many shuriken as possible before escaping back to one of your shadows. Your ultimate will reflect a portion of the damage dealt seconds later
  • For a moment during your ultimate’s cast time you are untargetable. Use this to your advantage by using it to dodge key abilities from the enemy. Mastering this skill makes a good Zed into a great Zed

How To Play Zed Like A Pro:

2. Katarina, the Sinister Blade

Katarina is an AoE damage assassin that is in the running for most mobile champion in the game. These two traits alone make her a huge threat in small skirmishes. But if that’s not scary enough, Katarina’s abilities also reset on-kill. This makes her a deadly team fight threat that can capitalize on your entire team if even one is out of position.

Strengths

  • Mobility
  • AoE Damage
  • Healing Reduction
  • Kill Resets

Strategy

  • Katarina is known to have one of the strongest level 3 all-ins in the game. E in to drop your W under a target. Once they run, throw your Q and blink behind them to finish them off
  • Be sure to rush your first item as quickly as possible. Due to Katarina’s mobility, any lead she gets can be game-defining and difficult to shut down
  • Sometimes going forward is the only way. If you find yourself in a 1v2 or 1v3 situation, it’s often better to go for a kill than to run. Kill resets could very well lane you a double or triple kill.
  • In team fights, look to either flank for easy backline access, or throw your Q at frontliners so that your daggers land in the backline. When a carry is near a dagger, you can blink in, eliminate them, and go for your next kill or blink out
  • Track enemy crowd control abilities. If they use them on anything but you, get your full channel of Death Lotus in to melt the entire enemy team

How To Play Katarina Like A Pro:

1. Akali, the Rogue Assassin

Akali is a jack of all trades assassin. She has mobility, she has damage, she has stealth, she has empowered auto attacks, she has increased movement speed, She. Has. Everything. Likely the most difficult, but also most rewarding champion to play on this list, Akali is an extremely complex champion that has the tools to handle any threat, in any game.

Strengths

  • Mobility
  • Stealth
  • Movement Speed
  • Empowered Auto Attacks
  • Ability to follow opponent’s who teleport long distances

Strategy

  • Akali plays similarly to a duelist against anyone that she can’t one shot, which basically means tanks and anyone she faces before level 6. Dance around your opponent while hidden in your shroud to whittle them down with no chance for them to counter attack
  • If you land your E on somebody, reactivate it to dash to them, no matter where they are. That’s right. Even if it’s a Shen or Twisted Fate ultimate, or a Teleport, Akali will not stop until she reaches her target
  • Move around the map creating pressure in each lane. When enemies are rotating, that is your chance to pick them off
  • In teamfights, use your mobility to dodge abilities that will lock you down while making your way into the backline. Often, the only way out with Akali is through the enemy team. Good thing you can delete them all along your way
  • Practice and get comfortable chaining your abilities together. Akali is very rewarding once mastered

How To Play Akali Like A Pro:

You may be interested in:

More on this topic:


I enjoy long walks on Summoner's Rift, and swiping right on Riot putting the S in Riot Games. On an average day, you can find me running it down mid to bring the latest game news to those who seek it.
Gamer Since: 2000
Favorite Genre: PVP
Currently Playing: League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, Valorant, World of Warcraft, Among Us, SpellBreak
Top 3 Favorite Games:League of Legends, World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor,


More Top Stories