League of Legends Patch 8.11 brought massive changes to the bot lane, with several changes to pretty much every single ADC in the game, alongside new and reworked items as well as changed masteries. But once the patch was deployed, one thing became quickly clear: champions that didn’t depend on critical chance (and by default, on Infinite Edge), were considerably stronger, managing to easily dominate the lane and be relevant in all parts of the game.

As a result, a hotfix was deployed yesterday nerfing Kai’sa and Ezreal, the two initial benefactors from the patch. Despite losing some of their power, they are still very much relevant and you will find both of them on this list.

While the Support position was mainly left untouched – bar a couple of balance changes – the release of Pyke was obviously the main subject of community discussion, with most players extremely excited about his unique playstyle that would surely have a massive impact in the bottom side of the map.


New Champ?

But alas, a few days since the patch has come out, we can perhaps conclude one debate: he just looks underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, Pyke has a very the unique and extremely interesting kit – a dream for many supports who want to become the carry. Unfortunately, the numbers are simply not there, so expect some adjustments to the Bloodharbor Ripper before he can truly unleash doom upon his enemies.   

But as always, a small disclaimer: don’t take this list way too seriously. After all, these are just the words of “wisdom” of a Gold player - I actually used to be Diamond in a distant past, that must count towards something, right? -  Remember that for every match-up and situation there is a pick that will be more effective than others: it depends on what your team and the enemy picks, as well as what your win conditions actually are. So simply trust your guts, be smart, and go get that sweet, sweet LP!

With no further ado, here is my personal take on the 5 strongest Marksmen and Support Champions on LoL Patch 8.11:

ADC’s:

5. Ezreal

When unsure what to pick, or if you are one of the first picks (in situations where the enemy team didn’t reveal most of their composition yet), Ezreal is always a safe choice, mostly thanks to the self-peel his Arcane Shift provides, despite the relatively weak early game.

With many players – me included – going with Teleport, you can quickly farm up to acquire your core items. After stacking up Muramana and finishing Trinity Force, Ezreal starts to shine, and his poke damage can be truly annoying to handle.

Despite the nerf yesterday – less attack damage per level and less attack speed out of his passive – Ezreal remains a good pick, especially if you prefer stalling out early and show your strength during team fights.

4. Kai’sa

Kai’sa’s core build remained untouched on Patch 8.11, with Guinsoo’s Rageblade and Runaan’s Hurricane being her first two completed items (if you are going for a conventional build of course).

Quickly raising to pick/ban status since the patch went live on Thursday, Kai’sa overwhelming power was tuned down a bit following yesterday’s hotfix, with her Plasma losing a considerable amount of damage done.

Still, Kai’sa remains a strong pick on Patch 8.11. The possibility of going for an AP build (with Nashor’s Tooth instead of Hurricane followed by Rabadon’s Deathcap), opens another window to deal damage, especially if you see the enemy team stacking a bit too much armor than normal.


3. Twitch

Remember how annoying Twitch can be when he goes out from invisibility and starts spraying doom and despair upon your backline? Now imagine that with a much improved opening attack. Thanks to Stormrazor, the Plague Rat will be even harder to deal with, especially if he gets the perfect angle to hit his AoE damage on multiple targets.

However, he is more efficient with two attack speed items, therefore the cost increase (which for Twitch would mean an extra 600 gold), will hold back him longer before becoming a big menace. This means that it is imperative for opponents to quickly shutdown the rat or, if you are playing him yourself, farm up as best as you can and wait for the perfect opening to take out the entire enemy team on one swift strike - or spray, in this case.


2. Jhin

The Virtuoso is back baby, and that thanks to a single item. Similar to Twitch, Stormrazor has Jhin’s name written over it, with each of his bullets hitting like a truck. However, he truly shines when three items are complete: following Stormrazor, build Rapid Firecannon and the new Infinite Edge, and you will see your auto-attacks dealing a LOT of damage.

So if you ever wanted to deal over 600 true damage on your critical strikes with just 3 items, Jhin is definitely your champion right now. However, take into consideration that his lane phase still is a bit weak, and bullies can easily outperform him during the early stages of the game.

However, if you come out relatively unscathed and with decent farm, you definitely have the potential to take completely control of the game.


1. Draven

The changes oriented to reduce ADC’s defenses in the early game were a big indirect buff to none other than Draven, easily the strongest champion if you want to quickly open up a lead and carry your team to the win.

Moreover, Bloodthirster, one of Draven’s core items, had it cost reduced, and Stormrazor synergizes very well to his burst and all-in style. Finally, the Conqueror rule remained untouched, and the addition of Hail of Blades offers another opportunity to destroy enemies, making the Glorious Executioner almost unstoppable on Patch 8.11.

Supports:

5. Soraka

With the rise in prominence of ranged supports, this patch’s power list is dominated by champions who offer a lot of sustain and extra defensive capabilities to the rest of the team – especially the ADC. Therefore, there is no best way to start this than putting Soraka at fifth place.

Soraka is the perfect example for sustain, with her healing considered obnoxious by some, adding a lot of sustain to make sure your ADC happily farms up during the early phase. Her own damage shouldn’t be so underestimated either, as she can offer some interesting (and surprising) pokes in lane.


4. Rakan

Unlike the other four supports on this list, aggression is the way the go while playing as Rakan. A champion who is definitely not easy to master, a good play with Rakan can make the most of his extremely annoying kit while also being a pain to the opposition: especially those without much mobility. This makes him the ideal pick if at least one of the enemy’s carries has no escape or self-peel skills.

Besides, a lot of items are perfect for his kit, including Shurelya's Reverie. This opens the window for supersonic engages to catch and CC the opposition, resulting in a fast and clean teamfight win.

And finally, the synergy with Xayah is another factor to be taken into consideration: even if she is perhaps not the strongest ADC right now, when coupled with her lover, she becomes a menace – and by default, Rakan as well. Therefore, always be careful when encountering Rakan + Xayah bot lane duos in solo queue.

3. Janna

Well, there is not much to talk about Janna, besides saying that she is still the best companion for a rather passive ADC who wants to farm up in order to becoming a destruction machine in the later parts of the game. Yes, I am looking at you Kai’sa or Jhin.

With a really straightforward and simple kit, she is an ideal champion for players just starting playing support, as she is able to provide pretty much whatever you need from a support, including much needed shielding, healing and other defensive capabilities to the marksmen and the rest of her team.

Besides, items such as Ardent Censor just work so well to further enhance her defensive capabilities. 


2. Morgana

Morgana is always a champion that deserves respect. She has a long duration root that can be a game changing factor, a CC denying shield that is extremely useful against aggressive supports (like Thresh or Alistar early on) and incredible ultimate that can destroy enemies: Her kit gives us a nearly complete support. Played correctly, she can grow beyond her originally assigned role to smash and annoy the opposition beyond limits.

Her only two “small” downsides are that she is fairly useless when no abilities are off cooldown and that she required Zhonya’s Hourglass (or at least a Stopwatch) to successfully pull off her ultimate, Soul Shackles. This means she requires considerably more gold to become a deciding factor in the game. But that shouldn’t be a problem if you “steal” away some kills in the laning phase, am I right?


1. Nami

Finally, heading up the list, we have the menace from the depths. Pyke? Oh wow, he is trash right now. I am of course talking about the Tidecaller, the champ who provides valuable control to the lane phase. This makes her a very desirable champion if you want to put your opposition into a desperate and unrecoverable position.

With over 53% according to Champion.gg, Nami has the highest win ratio when compared to all 10 champions on this list, and it is quite easy to understand why: she simply offers every tool needed to end the game right in the lane phase, enabling her and her ADC to literally 2v8 towards the enemy Nexus. Annoying multi-target root/cc? Check. AoE point and click harass that deals a considerable amount of damage early on? Check. A damage steroid for your ADC? Check. A healing ability? Check!

Draven and Nami form one of the most overwhelming bot lane duos on Patch 8.11. Good luck getting away from a Draven with Blood Rush and Nami’s Tidecaller's Blessing. Hint: you can’t. Well, technically you can, but that will also put you in the opposition where you are 40cs behind after 10 minutes, rendering you virtually usually for good part of the game.

Draven has perhaps found his ideal companion coming from the sea – but maybe it is just not the one he expected.

Photos courtesy of Riot Games