Banana Scoop

It has been a while since I’ve posted anything League related, but in May of 2013, I posted my five favorite champions that I like to take on Summoners Rift.  Times change, you get better, and patches change EVERYTHING.  Which means new champs are fitting the bill in order to successfully getting to that enemy Nexus.  So I’m here to tell you the new favorites I like picking in champion select these days and as you’ll be able to tell, it’s become quite different from what it used to be.

If you’re curious of where I’m at the ladder these days, as of late, I’ve been dancing around Silver IV & Silver V.

Jungle: Maokai

I purchased Maokai around the same time as I did Elise, which was very early in my League career.  I was incredibly fascinated with Elise and kind of left Maokai in the dust as my first couple of games with him disappointed me.  I was unable to fully utilize him properly, using his traveling root in unfortunate situations and not fully understanding the zoning and ward capabilities of his sapling toss.  As I continue to play with him, I’m nailing his ult more and snowballing my teammates’ lanes.  The new jungle and items definitely help make jungling more fun.

Support: Nami

Nami went on sale and I never had a proper support a couple of months ago.  So I immediately jumped on her, not really knowing that she had a pretty bad release that was accompanied with a number of buffs.  Since then, I do well with her just as the ebb and flow [LOL] of water.  Somedays I can land just about every bubble, and others I miss every other one.  She has an incredibly fun kit with tons of utility that can swing the tide of any battle.

Support/Top Lane: Lulu

Lulu is absolutely one of my favorite champs.  After Nami was getting a little bit too stale for me, I wanted a second support that offered a fun kit and good utility.  I picked up Lulu, but found her a bit overwhelming, given her diverse and very situation kit that often required incredibly quick reflexes.  As I got better with the game mechanics, I returned to her and realized how amazing her kit was at saving and swinging the tides of the battle.

What’s even more fun is if you try to go with a build known as “Machine Gun Lulu”, where you build only attack speed and on hit attack effects.  Building Wit’s End, Guinsoo Blade, Nashor’s Tooth and the like.  Machine Gun Lulu can be taken in the top lane or in Twisted Tree Line where you can dominate the enemy.  Anyone who engages you can get shut down pretty hard with Lulu’s diverse kit.  She has a shield, can get massive health boosts, and turn opponents into squirrels or snowmen.

Mid Lane: Orianna

Orianna is simply majestic, she sounds like GLaDOS, and her ult is one of the most satisfying ults in the game.  I love playing a safe mid lane until six and signal my jungler to go deep when I’ve got my ball on them, waiting to pull the ulti when the gap closer occurs.  Enemies don’t survive long after that.  Her passive makes her laning phase incredibly strong early when combined with her shield.  She has a speed up/slow down ability that doubles as her primary damage dealer. Orianna’s kit is perfect and she’s definitely competing for the top spot with Lulu.

Top Lane/Jungle: Dr. Mundo

Probably the least explored champion on my list, I’ve been able to play Mundo a couple of times and have found him a blast to play.  Either playing him with a hybrid build that combines tankiness with magic penetration.  His kit is high risk, considering it takes health away from to use all of his skills, making it key to utilize his kit properly when you’re going deep.  I plan on trying to play him more to truly become a never dying terror.

I’m fairly certain that in five more months or so, this champ list will be incredibly different from what it is today.  Sound off on your favorite champs below!!