In today’s analysis, we’re going to take a look at how Patch 14.8 has played out so far, covering which champions are the most overpowered and the impact of buffs, nerfs, and changes since the update. We’ll start with the top lane as usual. Not many changes were aimed at champions here; however, adjustments were made to Scarners, aiming to reduce his power in the top lane and enhance his jungle performance.

Unfortunately, these changes made Scarners overwhelmingly strong in both roles, taking the S tier in every rank. To stay updated with Scarners’ best builds and runes, check out his champion page on our website, where you can see all the optimal setups for top and jungle, ensuring you’re always playing the best version.

Top Lane Analysis

Mordekaiser also received changes, with a buff to his Q, a nerf to his E, and notably, his ultimate is no longer cleansable by QSS and abilities like Rengar’s empowered W or Gangplank’s oranges. Surprisingly, his win rate did not improve and even slightly decreased in the majority of ranks. He remains a frequent pick but not as game-breaking as many anticipated.

Let’s look at the top lane tier list then. In the S tier, we have Aatrox, Camille, Darius, Fiora, Gragas, Kayle, Olaf, Scarners, Urgot, and Vayne. There are quite a few familiar faces here, with some long-term threats in the top lane and new arrivals like Kayle and Vayne making the cut this week. Camille remains one of the strongest top lane picks, so consider giving her a try if you haven’t already.

Jungle Analysis

Moving into the jungle, we have more champions to consider. Last patch, we saw changes to Graves, Jarvan, Olaf, Sylas, Zac, and Braum. Graves’ buffs did not help him much, with adjustments to his passive and base attack speed growth. While Graves can still be a strong and intimidating choice in the right hands and games, he is currently not at his most consistent, landing him in the B tier at most ranks. Jarvan’s buffs to his passive increased his win rate by around 5%, and he’s now sitting at a very healthy 52% at Emerald rank and above.

He is getting picked more often, though not as dominant as last season. If you play Jarvan, he is on the rise, so keep calm and continue flagging and dragging your way through the ranks. Olaf and Sylas both received a second round of buffs in the jungle this patch, but they still aren’t quite up to the mark. Olaf is performing slightly better.

Jungle Champions Assessment

Than Silas but both of these picks in the jungle just aren’t anywhere near as good as they are in their other respective roles. Zac’s nerfs to his base health regeneration saw him drop in win rate by around 1% in the jungle and around 1.3% in the top lane, which has been enough to see him fall out of the S tier and into the A tier for both roles.

He’s still a solid pick, but just not quite at the same level as he was last patch. Briar has been terrorizing low ELO lobbies since her release, boasting a ridiculous win rate until reaching high ELO in Master and beyond. The nerfs last patch to her health growth and attack speed on her W have finally made a difference, bringing down her win rate by around 1.5 to 2% depending on the rank. She’s still performing really well from Silver through to Diamond, but just not quite enough to be in the S tier.

Top Jungle Champions

Speaking of the S tier, we have Bel’Veth, Ivern, Kindred, Master Yi, Rek’Sai, Scarners, Viego, and Xerath. Some very obvious choices that you would expect here, and then some not so obvious picks like Xerath who have shot up into that top tier this patch. Rek’Sai continues her domination with crazy stats across the board, and Scarners is loving his life after that big round of buffs. However, there are some nerfs coming his way next week, as you would expect.

Mid Lane Analysis

Let’s get into the mid lane next. Quite a few champions have been affected here, including Ahri, Galio, LeBlanc, Ryze, and Azir. Last patch, Ahri got some extra base health which has seen her win rate bump up marginally, but nothing too crazy. Galio’s passive bonus magic damage got increased, and again, this hasn’t made a significant difference, but he is still a really good pick in the right hands, just not quite as impressive at lower ranks.

Galio got yet another round of buffs last patch, which saw his win rate jump up by around 1% in Emerald plus. Now, he’s climbing towards that 53% win rate mark and on the verge of becoming a bit too strong, whether you build him full burst, tanky AP, or even utility. Ryze and LeBlanc also both got buffed last week, and their win rates have both gone up by over 1%, putting them in a much better spot than they were previously. These two champions are very difficult to balance, as in pro play they are much scarier than in your average game. We’ve kept them in the B tier for now this patch, but let’s see how broken the pros can make them look.

Impact of Nerfs on Azir

Speaking of being broken in pro games, Azir’s nerfs have hit him pretty hard, as he’s dropped down to around a 46.12% win rate at Emerald plus. We’ve kept him in the B tier this week for the time being, but if this doesn’t improve, further adjustments might be necessary.

Mid Lane Tier Shifts

I am afraid to say he’s probably going to fall down back into the C tier again as it is insanely hard to balance Azir, especially in competitive 5v5s and pro games where he has such a high priority compared to the average solo queue player. For now, things just aren’t looking too great. In the mid lane’s S tier, we have Ahri, Anivia, Aurelian Sol, Diana, Kadin, and Twisted Fate. Nerfs are coming next week to Ahri, Aurelian Sol, and Kadin though, so we could see a big shift in the mid lane meta with patch 14.9.

Upcoming Adjustments

Let’s move on to the AD carries next. Here, we had changes to Draven, Jhin, Kai’Sa, and Zeri. Draven’s Q damage increase last week has made a significant difference, reminding players just how intimidating a well-played Draven can be, especially when handled by those who specialize in him. He’s easily among the top tiers, but for the general player base, we’ve placed him in the A tier.

AD Carry Performances

Jhin received substantial buffs to his Q’s damage and his passive movement speed when he crits. As expected, these changes have significantly improved his success rate. Jhin’s win rate jumped by around 1.5%, and in the majority of ranks, he is looking much more consistent again.

He does tend to fall off as you reach the higher ranks above Master, but in all ranks below that, he’s performing exceptionally well again. Don’t be put off by Kai’Sa’s relatively underwhelming win rates either, because she’s a lot better than you might think. We’ve placed her in the A tier for our tier list, but in high ELO, she’s in the S tier. She is a fantastic blind pick, works well with enchanters or engaging supports, and can always find a way to pop off and carry in any game.

Zeri’s Current Status

Zeri’s base health nerf was enough to bring her down a bit at most ranks, but she’s still extremely heavily contested in high ELO as she has the ability to carry games incredibly hard once she comes fully online with enough items. Zeri’s damage is a bit absurd in the late game, and with just her ultimate and an auto or two, she can obliterate carries and teams in a matter of seconds. If you are skilled enough to navigate through the early levels and maximize her effectiveness, she remains a formidable pick.

AD Carry Tier List Analysis

She’s still a fantastic pick, so let’s have a look at the AD carry tier list then. In the S tier, we have Ashe, Jhin, Jinx, Kog’Maw, Nilah, and Twitch. A tier picks like Lucian, Kai’Sa, Vayne, Draven, and Zeri are all amazing options in the right games, with the right supports, and the right matchups. With Nami making a bit of a comeback recently, Lucian is definitely one to keep an eye out for.

Support Champions Update

Finally, let’s look at the support role. The only champion that actually got changed in Patch 14.8 was Thresh, who received some buffs to his base armor and magic resist growth. Thresh was already a somewhat underrated pick, but now he has firmly cemented his place back in the S tier where he belongs. With a strong win rate and fantastic overall popularity, he’s always been one of the more creative supports you can pick. If you know how to utilize all of his kit really well, you can outplay enemies in all sorts of different ways, from consistent hooks, perfectly timed plays, and those clutch lanterns in key situations.

Support Tier Analysis

Sona didn’t get changed this patch, as her buffs were back in 14.7, but we wanted to quickly talk about how good and how strong she’s performing since then too, which is why she’s now up there in the S tier. Sona is really easy to play and is pickable into pretty much every single team comp.

She might be a little bit squishy and vulnerable early game, so you do need to be a little bit careful of aggressive bot lane matchups, but her scaling and utility is a fantastic addition to any draft. In the S tier for the support role, we’ve got Blitzcrank, Brand, Janna, Nami, Pyke, Rakan, Sona, and Thresh. S tier picks like Pyke and Blitzcrank continue to have amazing seasons along with new additions in Nami and Sona. Brand survives another patch without any nerfs, after still being an incredibly versatile pick across all sorts of ranks and boasting amazing win rates in several different roles.

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