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League of Legends: Best champions to play for every role in Patch 12.15

With the meta shifting, it's the reign of the Yordles and other less popular champions in 12.15. (Photo: Riot Games)
With the meta shifting, it's the reign of the Yordles and other less popular champions in 12.15. (Photo: Riot Games)

League of Legends (LoL) Patch 12.15 is now here, and with the meta shifting in the last few patches, we know you might be wondering how to adjust on the Summoner's Rift.

With developer Riot Games focusing on healing in the last few patches, fights and skirmishes have been longer, and tankier champions have now found ways for counterplay.

Certain champions thrive in this setup, while fleet-footed, burst champions have taken the back seat.

In this piece, we'll look at which champions would be best to help you climb ranks. But before diving into that, let's discuss the most significant changes in this patch.

What are the most significant changes in 12.15?

While almost everything seems to be settling in since all the changes after the durability update, devs have put their focus on something that may have fallen behind: energy champions.

LoL Balance Team and Preseason Lead Designer Matt "Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison mentioned in a preview tweet that they are giving adjustments to "champions whose energy costs haven't kept up with the game post durability (12.10)".

Those champions include Zed, Lee Sin, Akali, Kennen, and Shen. Most of them are changing how much energy they cost and how their abilities heal them.

But Riot has different plans for Kennen. Phroxzon mentioned in his tweet, saying, "We like where Kennen's energy costs are, so we're buffing something else instead."

Electrical Surge (W) from the Heart of the Tempest increases its cooldown time and damage. Meanwhile, his ultimate, Slicing Maelstrom's AP ratio is getting slightly boosted.

Another point that the devs focused on are champions that have been dominating the meta in the last couple of patches, like Sivir and Taliyah. You can read more about the details on LoL Patch 12.15 here.

So which champions are the winners of this patch? Here's a list of the best champions we think will be great to play in 12.15:

Top Lane

Honourable mentions: Shen, Fiora, Dr Mundo, Zac

Aatrox is the best top lane champion this patch, followed by Darius, who remains on our list. Jax will also be a great pick in the top lane. (Photo: Riot Games)
Aatrox is the best top lane champion this patch, followed by Darius, who remains on our list. Jax will also be a great pick in the top lane. (Photo: Riot Games)

Aatrox

Despite getting a nerf in the last patch, Aatrox is sitting on the number one spot in the top lane meta with a 51.24% win rate.

We think he will continue to enjoy the spotlight for a variety of reasons.

First, the new Eclipse build has been effective on him. The item gives Aatrox a lot of Omni-vamp and Armour Penetration from the mythic passive. This helps keep up with scaling champions in the top lane.

The Lethality also allows him to one-shot squishier top laners. And if you do well in the early game, by the time you get Serrated Dirk, landing a W on an enemy champion can give you a chance to execute a full combo against them.

The buff on Silvermere Dawn will also benefit Aatrox, with increased Magic Resist and HP and higher Tenacity/Slow Resist.

Darius

The Hand of Noxus will continue to dominate the top lane this patch.

He has escaped the nerf list again, despite being the second most popular pick in the Baron lane with a 51.76% win rate.

With extended fights becoming the norm, Darius is one of the biggest winners of the durability update.

Haemorrhage and Conqueror stacking can overwhelm the opponent, with Darius ultimately winning because he can punish even the smallest mistake.

Divine Sunderer's healing conversion nerf works in his favour too, because it will be easier to corner enemies with less healing.

Jax

Despite nerfs to one of his main items, Jax makes our list this patch.

The Grandmaster at Arms will have less sustain because of Divine Sunderer's reduced healing conversion, but its damage has not been removed, so he will still benefit from it in skirmishes and team fights.

His other tools also make him a terrifying mid to late game threat.

He can easily shred enemy champions or even one-shot squishier ones when his Empower (W) reaches max rank.

Also, Frozen Heart grants Jax some Ability, Haste, and Armour, making it difficult for others to counter him.

Jungle

Honourable mentions: Volibear, Jax, Fiddlesticks, Zac

Bel'veth will reclaim her jungle throne followed by Master Yi and Amumu, who will both be difficult to counter this patch. (Photo: Riot Games)
Bel'veth will reclaim her jungle throne followed by Master Yi and Amumu, who will both be difficult to counter this patch. (Photo: Riot Games)

Bel'Veth

The Void Empress may not have held the top spot in the previous patch, but she's back.

Her performance dropped after the 12.12 hotfix, but she still haunted everyone on solo queue (there were just other champions to worry about then, like Fiddlesticks).

Despite getting consecutive nerfs since her release, Bel'Veth will continue terrorising the Jungle mainly because her kit's damage reduction is still excessive.

She may be a slow-burn champion, but once she starts taking kills, she will be difficult to stop.

If you come across Bel'Veth on solo queue, here are a few tips to help you counter her.

Master Yi

This Wuju Bladesman probably has a love-hate relationship with most players.

If you're like me, you probably find it fun to play Master Yi but hate him when he's on the enemy team.

He got a significant buff in 12.13 (and he immediately got a hotfix right after), and while Phroxzon mentioned in the second preview tweet that they're "happy with where Yi has ended up across skill brackets", they think he's still "too strong across the board".

The nerf on his E's cooldown honestly feels a bit more of a slap on the wrist since the rest of his kit is still too OP, and he gets resets in fights.

Amumu

The Sad Mummy continues to go under the dev radar for must-nerf champions, so we think he'll be a strong pick in the Jungle.

In addition to his insane chain-cc (crowd control) combination, he does a surprising amount of damage for a tank.

You can even flex Amumu as a Support pick in the bot lane since he can engage and carry teamfights and skirmishes.

Mid Lane

Honourable mentions: Anivia, Viktor, Swain, Zed

Vex is the top pick in the mid lane, followed by Sylas, who's still on our list in 12.15. A surprise Carry in Kennen-mid is also worth trying. (Photo: Riot Games)
Vex is the top pick in the mid lane, followed by Sylas, who's still on our list in 12.15. A surprise Carry in Kennen-mid is also worth trying. (Photo: Riot Games)

Vex

Our little emo yordle friends appear to be dominating the Rift in 12.15, with the Gloomist Vex joining our list in the mid lane.

Vex has an impressive 52.28% win rate even before this patch. Buffs to her AP ratio have helped her deal with all of the changes that have occurred since the durability update.

Furthermore, item buffs from the previous patch are working in her favour, and she escaped the nerf list in 12.15.

Her Mistral Bolt (Q) cooldown is also only 4 seconds at level 9, making wave clearing a breeze.

This means dealing poke damage to enemies will be simple, but enemies executing a gank against her will have a hard time because she can one-shot enemies.

Kennen

Although The Heart of the Tempest's reign in the top lane ended last season, he's doing quite well in the mid lane lately.

We don't usually think of Kennen as a mid lane pick, but when he's locked in, he has the potential to carry the game pretty hard.

He can lane against ranged champions safely and bully melee champions. He can also hard carry team fights, finishing off enemies with his ultimate, Slicing Maelstrom, which has received an AP ratio buff this patch.

With his W's damage increased and cooldown reduced, he now even has more poke in his arsenal.

Sylas

Sylas makes it once more to our list for 12.15, and for a good reason.

He's currently the picked/banned champion in the mid lane, although his win rate is just a decent 50.64%.

All the previous buffs on the Unshackled make him such an OP pick, to the point where even if you win against him in the laning phase, it wouldn't matter because he can still outplay you.

Bottom Lane

Honourable Mentions: Nilah, Seraphine, Jhin, Veigar

Sivir will continue to dominate despite getting more nerfs. Also, early-game champions like Draven and Samira are thriving, putting fleet-footed burst picks like Jinx, Aphelios, Zeri, Vayne and Kai'sa in the background. (Photo: Riot Games)
Sivir will continue to dominate despite getting more nerfs. Also, early-game champions like Draven and Samira are thriving, putting fleet-footed burst picks like Jinx, Aphelios, Zeri, Vayne and Kai'sa in the background. (Photo: Riot Games)

Draven

With the meta shifting to AD Carries who can punish early laning phase mistakes, champions like Draven are thriving.

All the other popular ADC picks before the durability patch have been punished, like Jinx, Aphelios, Vayne, Zeri, and Kaisa, so the spotlight has now moved to the Glorious Executioner.

His kit has been mostly untouched all season, so all the buffs he received back make him even stronger.

As long as you win the early laning phase, Draven can carry the game.

The only other champion that should be at par with him at this point would be Samira (and perhaps, Sivir — depending on how much the nerfs will affect her).

Samira

Speaking of Samira, this snowbally champ hasn't been nerfed much since the season began, so the buffs she received back then are showing up nicely in the bot lane.

Currently, she's ranked second in the bot lane with a 51.12% win rate and the second highest ban rate at 25.72%.

The previous buffs on her AD per level and her Q work well with the durability update with items like the Immortal Shieldbow, Collector, Infinity Edge, and others, giving her more healing because of her scaling damage per level.

Sivir

We loved what Riot did with Sivir's rework, but she's been too powerful ever since. Her rework made her feel like a new champion, pushing her to the top of the bot lane tier list, where op.gg had to rank her as OP instead of a tier number, which is rarely used in their tier system.

The Battle Mistress has been nerfed several times, but her OP status hasn't changed in 12.14. For this patch, she's getting more nerfs to her AD Growth and her E'scooldown.

While the nerfs on her AD growth are much needed, we think these nerfs will still keep her to at least S+ rank, and she still has the potential to overpower other champions in the bot lane.

Support

Honourable Mentions: Pyke, Xerath, Zyra, Blitzcrank, Ashe

Amumu can also be flexed to Support this patch (in fact, he takes the number one spot), and Taric and Heimerdinger will curveballs to the opponent. (Photo: Riot Games)
Amumu can also be flexed to Support this patch (in fact, he takes the number one spot), and Taric and Heimerdinger will curveballs to the opponent. (Photo: Riot Games)

Amumu

Yes, we're mentioning Amumu a second time, but as a Support. He's currently the number one Support champion according to op.gg, with a 52.58% win rate and a relatively low pick/ban rate.

We've already talked about how problematic his crowd control can be for the enemy team.

He can tank damage to protect his ADC and the team's back line and deal significant damage in return.

With no nerfs coming his way, we think this Sad Mummy will continue to have tantrums in the bot lane too.

Taric

Since the durability patch, Taric has been slowly climbing the Support tier list. His pick/ban rate is pretty low too, but his win rate is even higher than Amumu's at 53.45%.

The longer team fights and skirmishes go, the better for this champion with lots of utility in his kit.

Because of the 12.10 changes, Taric can cycle his spells easily, as long as he keeps hitting opponents, so his spell cooldowns will go down as an effect Bravado, his passive skill.

A notorious counter pick for Taric, however, would be Janna.

Heimerdinger

It seems like this meta's most powerful Yordles have escaped Riot's nerf list, and the Revered Inventor is one of them.

Heimer hasn't been in the meta all season, but his buffs from 12.12 have kept him in the top 10 support champions for a couple of patches. His win rate is 53.62%, even if his pick/ban rate is relatively low.

Heimer's ability to box out the opponent with his Q and his E will ultimately protect and help his AD carry in the bot lane or even allow his team to secure map objectives.

Since Heimer hasn't appeared in the meta for quite a while now, not many people know how to counter him, so picking the Revered Inventor can be quite the curveball to your enemies.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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