2013 Champion Tier List - Solo Queue - Patch 3.9 Updated July

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SEASON 3 - PATCH 3.9  SOLO QUEUE TIER LIST

Preface Chatter
This tier list is coming up quite fast after the latest patch, earlier than usual. This means that I'll likely have to do another one in a week or two once the changes have set into place...anyway Patch 3.9's brought quite a few changes, including some much needed nerfs and buffs:

Nerfs: Hecarim, Kayle, Kennen, Nunu
Buffs: Corki, Malzahar, Shyvana, Ziggs
Tweaks: Brand, Draven, Jayce, Leblanc

Also in this list I'd like to note that all the AD carries seem pretty even at the moment.

The Tier List

God Tier: 
Mid-Lane Gods: Kassadin, Twisted Fate
Jungle Gods: Amumu, Fiddlesticks, Rammus, Sejuani
AD Gods: 
Top Lane Gods: Singed, Wukong
Support Gods:  Janna, Sona, Thresh

Tier 1:
Mid-Lane: Zyra, Kennen, Malzahar, Diana, Jayce
Jungle: Jarvan IV, Zac, Nasus, Hecarim, Nunu, Cho'Gath, Evelynn, Nautilus, Lee Sin, Volibear, Maokai, Elise
AD Carry: Varus, Caitlyn, Ezreal, Vayne, Draven, Graves, Twitch
Top Lane: Tryndamere, Kennen, Elise, Renekton, Yorick, Jayce, Nidalee, Irelia, Riven, Lee Sin, Udyr
Support: Nami, Taric, Blitzcrank, Leona

Tier 2:
Mid-Lane: Brand, Kayle, Ryze, Mordekaiser, Talon, Vladimir, Elise, Fizz, Ahri, Viktor, Lux, Anivia, Nidalee, Zed, Cho'Gath, Xerath, Swain, Karthus, Katarina, Evelynn, Orianna, Ziggs
Jungle: Udyr, Warwick, Shen, Kha'Zix, Nocturne, Malphite, Leona, Shaco, Vi, Trundle,Xin Zhao, Diana, Shyvana, Zed
AD Carry: Miss Fortune, Tristana, Kog'Maw, Corki, Ashe, Sivir
Top Lane: Jax, Kayle, Rumble, Ryze, Teemo, Aatrox, Kha'Zix, Vladimir, Nasus, Shen, Cho'gath, Zac, Darius, Volibear, Garen, Zed, Malphite
Support: Soraka, Lulu, Zyra, Alistar

Tier 3:
Mid-Lane: Morgana, Kha'Zix, Akali, Pantheon, Cassiopeia, Galio, Annie, Master Yi, Sion, Gragas, Lulu, Fiddlesticks
Jungle: Riven, Pantheon, Dr. Mundo,  Skarner, Jax, Kayle, Darius
AD Carry: Quinn
Top Lane:  Jarvan IV, Warwick, Fiora, Xin Zhao, Pantheon, Akali, Galio, Talon, Trundle, Dr. Mundo, Poppy
Support: Nunu, Nautilus, Shen, Morgana, Nidalee, Lux,

Tier 4:
Mid-Lane:  Lissandra, Syndra, Veigar, Kog'maw, Zilean, Leblanc, Tristana, Janna, Ezreal, Heimerdinger, Karma
Jungle: Rengar, Olaf, Master Yi (AD), Tryndamere, Gangplank, Fiora, Blitzcrank, Alistar
AD Carry: Urgot
Top Lane:  Rengar,Gangplank, Shyvana, Olaf
Support: Kayle, Elise, Maokai, Yorick, Lissandra, Karma, Ashe, Zilean, Leblanc, Fiddlesticks, Ryze, Caitlyn

• Heroes in BOLD I will talk about shortly
• Heroes in Italics may be over/undervalued, but aren't/haven't played enough for me to make a better judgement.
• Within each tier the champions are strongest from left to right, but within a tier each champion's strength is relatively close. This is especially true for Tiers 2 and 3 where these heroes are ALL highly playable and player dependent on how strong they are in-game.

Click Here for a description of the tiers

God Tier: These champions are almost impossible to keep down. If your team doesn't make it a priority to shut down these champions and shut them down hard, even if they lose their lane, lose in CS, and it's their first time playing the champion, they can be a massive nuisance for your team. On the other hand, if they're actually good at the champion...that's when it's time to throw in the towel.

Tier 1: These champions generally do very well regardless, and have some sort of advantage over most other champions. When they do well, their team does well. Even when they don't do well, their team still has a good chance of a comeback victory by utilizing one or more aspects of their late game utility.

Tier 2: This is the Tier of balanced champions where Riot shoots to place their designs. These champions generally do well in their own right, and are very strong picks with a good chance of winning. However, they're not overpowered by any means and do have their weaknesses.

Tier 3: These champions can still do very well, but tend to need a little more snowballing to get rolling. Even if they get an early lead, it's still very possible to turn the tides on them with just a mistake or two. They may also have some weaknesses that can be capitalized on.

Tier 4: These champions are either underpowered or offer less reward than other champions for the same amount of effort. These champions basically start winning from the get-go or get made fun of for the rest of the game. They need gold to do their job correctly, and if they don't get enough of it, they become sandbags for the enemy team to punch. Chances of a comeback with one of these champions feeding on your team is almost none.

Champion Explanations

• Brand - Brand's always been a powerhouse in terms of damage, and deals a decent amount. The main reason why his strength fell was a mixture of AD burst assassins coupled with people getting used to dodging his skillshots and damage. However, with the minor buffs, Brand's definitely been brought back into spotlight with heavy nerfs on a lot of other champions across the board. I think we'll definitely see a comeback. Luckily I have Zombie Brand waiting...
• Corki - Corki's buff was pretty decent, and I think he's very on par with other AD champions now. With his reduction in playability for the last few months, I think he's also got a decent surprise factor in place.
• Draven - Nerfs hurt. He's still viable.
• Ezreal - Although a fed Ezreal is strong, we can't really say he's any better than any other AD carry at the moment. This tier's all pretty even...
• Fiora - Fiora's numbers are actually a lot better than I initialy gave her credit for. With the continual nerfs on tank items across the board, her ability to win trades with pure damage has increased, and while she's not overpowered by any means, she's at least playable against some common top lane champions.
• Hecarim - Continual minor nerfs have brought him down from overpowered to viable. He's still good, just not an auto-ban.
• Kassadin - Kassadin is seriously overpowered right now. With Nunu nerfed, you'll be seeing more twisted fate and kassadin bans for sure. Even if you shut him down, he'll always come back with a vengeance. 
• Leblanc - She did get some changes, but she's still not popular, and her late game still isn't that good without some early snowballing. Plus her waveclear is still pretty bad, which doesn't work well in the current meta.
• Malphite - Malphite's been getting some very low playability lately...of course with AP mages all the rage lately it's no wonder, but I think his ultimate is still very good.
• Malzahar - I know I've owed you guys an explanation on Malzahar for a while now, and I've been putting it off since I knew he was insanely strong, but I couldn't really explain why. Here's what it is in a nutshell: His poke has always been good, and his voidlings are strong. But the reason why he's REALLY good is because he has the ability to kill almost any tank in 2~4 seconds seconds flat with his W + R combo, and his E can chunk half of a squishy's life by itself. With that amount of peel and continuous damage, he's pretty much a one-man army. After soloing a Nautilus, Leblanc, and Shen simultaneously, you'll understand what I mean when I say he's ridiculously strong. 
• Nautilus - After the initial wow factor when he came back into play, people are now back to being cautious of his ganks, and are willing to flash to prevent a hook. He's still a pretty slow jungler, and easily counterjungled. Although he's good, without some ganks he falls behind other junglers quickly...his ultimate is still insanely good though.
• Nunu - He was nerfed. Still playable, but no longer Nunu Norris.
• Rumble - I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so...Rumble simply isn't as good as he used to be, and the stats prove it as he stands at a 50.08% win rate - hence he'll stay in Tier 2, the balanced tier.
• Shyvana - Her buff was pretty decent, and I think she's viable now. Pretty simple character, so it's really a matter of numbers.
• Tryndamere - Top lane Tryndamere...I considered putting him in god tier, but after all the complaining I get about Wukong I'm a little hesitant (seriously, Wukong has the second highest win rate in the game and there are still people who don't believe me when I say he's op?) Anyway, Tryndamere's trading power is decent, his sustain is good, and his pushing power is insane. Even if you manage to beat him once or twice in trades early on, unless you can build enough health to sustain through his invulnerability and enough damage to kill him through his lifesteal, his late game is an unstoppable pushing force.
• Twisted Fate - He's still good, but I'm considering moving him down...a lot of champions that counter him are becoming FOTM, and with teleport becoming a popular summoner mid lane he's losing some effectiveness via getting counter-ganked. He's still real good though, just with his wave clear, sustain, and ability to stun from jumping outside of ward range.
• Vayne - Draven nerfed you say?
• Viktor - Okay, Viktor's pretty decent, I'll accept that he's playable since his CCs are good and he does have the ability to 100-0 an enemy champion even if he misses his laser. I still think he's unreliable, but his damage is definitely there and his AOE is hard to outdamage in tight quarters.
• Wukong - Out of all the flack I get on my tier list I'd say that Wukong by far gets me the most moans and groans. I'm not sure why I still have to explain why he's OP, his trades are good, his initiation is good (really, who's going to get an oracle for Wukong?) and his ultimate is insanity. He's had a top 5 win rate for 4 patches in a row, and currently holds the #2 spot in win rates. When he becomes the #1 ban in LCS and gets nerfed by Riot, I expect some humble e-mails admitting the monkey's power.
• Ziggs - Ziggs got so many buffs, I mean wow. I still don't think he's OP by any means, but anybody against a Ziggs with blue buff and some CDR certainly will, I may move him up in the future, but he's still pretty squishy and can be unreliable in a pinch.

Disclaimer:

• The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for hero selection.

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

2013 Champion Tier List - Solo Queue - Patch 3.10 Updated August

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SEASON 3 - PATCH 3.10  SOLO QUEUE TIER LIST

Preface Chatter
I've got a little time on my hands so I'll pop up this tier list less than a week after the patch is released. Since it's still early, there will likely be a Patch 3.10 v2 Tier List released at a later date.

Nerfs: Elise, Fiddlesticks, Karthus, Twisted Fate, Vayne, Zac, Ryze
Buffs: Ashe, Malzahar
Tweaks: Ryze, Thresh
Reworks: Master Yi

The Tier List

God Tier: 
Mid-Lane Gods: Kassadin
Jungle Gods: Amumu,  Jarvan IV, Fiddlesticks, Rammus, Sejuani
AD Gods: 
Top Lane Gods: Singed, Wukong
Support Gods:  Janna, Sona

Tier 1:
Mid-Lane: Zyra, Kennen, Malzahar, Twisted Fate, Diana, Jayce
Jungle: Master Yi,  Zac, Nasus, Hecarim, Cho'Gath, Evelynn, Nautilus, Lee Sin, Volibear, Maokai, Shyvana
AD Carry: Caitlyn, Varus, Vayne, Graves, Tristana, Miss Fortune, Ezreal, Kog'Maw, Quinn, Corki, Draven, Twitch
Top Lane: Tryndamere, Master Yi, Kennen, Renekton, Yorick, Jayce, Jarvan IV, Nidalee, Jax, Elise, Irelia, Riven, Lee Sin, Udyr
Support: Thresh, Nami, Taric, Blitzcrank, Leona

Tier 2:
Mid-Lane: Lux, Brand, Kayle, Annie, Fizz, Mordekaiser, Talon, Vladimir, Ahri, Viktor, Elise, Anivia, Nidalee, Zed, Kha'Zix, Cho'Gath, Swain, Orianna, Xerath, Katarina, Evelynn, Karthus, Ziggs
Jungle: Nocturne, Elise, Udyr, Aatrox, Nunu, Shen, Kha'Zix, Warwick, Malphite, Leona, Shaco, Vi, Trundle, Xin Zhao, Rengar, Diana, Zed
AD Carry:  Ashe, Sivir
Top Lane: Kayle, Rumble, Swain, Teemo, Aatrox, Kha'Zix, Vladimir, Nasus, Shen, Cho'gath, Zac, Darius, Volibear, Garen, Zed, Malphite
Support: Soraka, Lulu, Zyra, Alistar

Tier 3:
Mid-Lane: Morgana, Lissandra, Ryze, Akali, Pantheon, Cassiopeia, Galio, Sion, Gragas, Lulu, Fiddlesticks
Jungle: Fiora, Riven, Pantheon, Dr. Mundo,  Skarner, Jax, Kayle, Darius
AD Carry:
Top Lane: Rengar, Fiora, Shyvana, Warwick, Xin Zhao, Ryze, Nunu, Pantheon, Akali, Galio, Talon, Trundle, Dr. Mundo, Poppy
Support: Nunu, Nautilus, Shen, Morgana, Lux, Fiddlesticks, Nidalee

Tier 4:
Mid-Lane:  Syndra, Veigar, Karma, Kog'maw, Zilean, Leblanc, Soraka, Tristana, Janna, Ezreal, Heimerdinger
Jungle: Tryndamere, Olaf, Gangplank, Blitzcrank, Alistar
AD Carry: Urgot
Top Lane: Gangplank, Urgot, Olaf
Support: Kayle, Malphite, Gangplank, Elise, Maokai, Yorick, Lissandra, Karma, Ashe, Zilean, Leblanc, Caitlyn

• Heroes in BOLD I will talk about shortly
• Heroes in Italics may be over/undervalued, but aren't/haven't played enough for me to make a better judgement.
• Within each tier the champions are strongest from left to right, but within a tier each champion's strength is relatively close. This is especially true for Tiers 2 and 3 where these heroes are ALL highly playable and player dependent on how strong they are in-game.

Click Here for a description of the tiers

God Tier: These champions are almost impossible to keep down. If your team doesn't make it a priority to shut down these champions and shut them down hard, even if they lose their lane, lose in CS, and it's their first time playing the champion, they can be a massive nuisance for your team. On the other hand, if they're actually good at the champion...that's when it's time to throw in the towel.

Tier 1: These champions generally do very well regardless, and have some sort of advantage over most other champions. When they do well, their team does well. Even when they don't do well, their team still has a good chance of a comeback victory by utilizing one or more aspects of their late game utility.

Tier 2: This is the Tier of balanced champions where Riot shoots to place their designs. These champions generally do well in their own right, and are very strong picks with a good chance of winning. However, they're not overpowered by any means and do have their weaknesses.

Tier 3: These champions can still do very well, but tend to need a little more snowballing to get rolling. Even if they get an early lead, it's still very possible to turn the tides on them with just a mistake or two. They may also have some weaknesses that can be capitalized on.

Tier 4: These champions are either underpowered or offer less reward than other champions for the same amount of effort. These champions basically start winning from the get-go or get made fun of for the rest of the game. They need gold to do their job correctly, and if they don't get enough of it, they become sandbags for the enemy team to punch. Chances of a comeback with one of these champions feeding on your team is almost none.

Champion Explanations

• Aatrox - (Jungle) Aatrox Jungle is fairly strong, with a decent early game and good gap closer. He does seem to be a bit lacking in the meat shield department, but his passive makes up for it somewhat and he still works well if you have a tanky top and support.
• AD Carries - I feel like all the AD carries are very even now in terms of sheer numbers. The only difference is in their range and kits, and that of course depends on the match-ups and player mentality. After the Draven and golem nerfs, the only imbalanced picks bot lane are the supports.
• Ashe - Minor buff, was nice, but nothing to write home about.
• Elise - Major nerfs to her ganking and chasing potential, and her poke/harass potential was diminished greatly as well. She's still really strong, but definitely has a steeper learning curve in terms of when to trade and use her skills now. Her jungling strength was also slapped down by the rappel nerf.
• Fizz - Fizz gets a lot of notice, since when he snowballs, he snowballs HARD. However, he still suffers from the same things that other melee glass cannons suffer - if he fails gimping the ad carry in the initial burst, he's a sitting duck with no CDs or health to survive, although building RoA can help.
• Jarvan IV - After the repeated nerfs to other junglers, Jarvan's rising back up into powerhouse status.
• Karthus - Karthus nerfs hurt him a decent amount, and was aimed mostly at his late game face-roll suicidal dominance. He'll come back eventually when we least expect it, but he's subpar at the moment in terms of sheer numbers.
• Lissandra - Lissandra is...okay, she's got a safe laning phase and a decent ultimate, but because she places herself directly in harm's way to deal her damage, if the team can't follow up on it then she dies very quickly. Her laning phase is good and her potential is high, but you need to also need good follow-up.
• Lux - She'll always fluctuate between Tiers 1 and 2 just like AP Nidalee. Her potential level is very high, but so is her failure level. She needs to be placed on a team that's willing to wait for the perfect time to strike, and not initiate directly after she misses both her CCs...which teams tend to do for some strange reason...
• Master Yi - Master Yi is OP right now. AP Yi is dead, but his AD counterpart has been buffed to a whole new level. He's definitely not god-tier since he's counterable with the right team (think Malphite/Jarvan/Rammus), but his damage, clear speed, and ganking strength is pretty slick. His rework has also brought back the most hated strategy since Season 1...backdoor splitpush Yi.
• Nunu - Nunu's a little meh right now. It's not as fun to invade when the success rate is diminished by the nerfs.
• Rengar - I'll give credit when credit is due. His early game is very strong, and his mid-game is also very strong. However, if you can wait him out until late game, his build options limit him to either a glass melee fighter or a tanky fighter with tiny burst output. He's alright, but I think he won't be amazing until the rework.
• Ryze - His tweak was indeed a nerf. His ability to trade is very limited now compared to before.
• Shyvana - Her buffs have made her very strong...for those of you who doubt the strength of junglers without CC, just think back to the month after M5 made Shyvana a top pick last season.
• Thresh - Thresh is still a play-maker, but his tweaks have made him more fragile during his jump-into-the-fray mode. Janna and Sona are really much more consistent picks in terms of safety and utility.
• Twisted Fate - His nerfs definitely hurt his overall win rate by quite a bit, and the nerf on his pick-a-card has diminished his ability to mind-game. However, in terms of sheer damage he was untouched, so his mid-game ganking burst and late game utility are still good.

Disclaimer:

• The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for hero selection.

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

July: Chatting About the Solo Queue Tier List

type='html'>There's been a lot of back and forth on the solo queue tier list lately, which I love! I'm not saying I'm always correct, which is why hearing feedback from you guys is definitely a strong component that moves the tier list day by day.

The tier list is evolving...

So this post is made to address some of the current "scandalous" champions that you guys think are *outrageously* high or pitifully low on the tier list and some Work In Progress (WIP) thoughts on movements.

Post in the comment section if I've missed anything~

Your Demands (Will update to keep in mind)
Move Up: Kha'Zix, Lissandra, Syndra, Ryze, Quinn, Swain, Karma, Rengar, Support Fiddlesticks, Fizz, Shen
Move Down: Wukong, Malzahar, Warwick
Add: Jungle Aatrox, Mid Soraka, Top Nunu, Gangplank Support, Swain Top

Thoughts
Building a tier list takes time. There are over 100 champions to order, and at the rate that champions and meta changes, it'll likely never be 100% accurate. Plus, arguing for your favorite champion is half the fun of tier lists!

I could always make a list purely based off of popularity, but then readers would always be behind the curve on the hidden secret OP champions.

Possible Ordering Methods
The way I see it, building a Tier List can be done through 4 ways:

• Win Rates
• Pick/Ban Rates
• Theorycrafting
• Observational Bias

Since any one of them alone is boring, my list is comprised of all 4 combined, with a heavy weighting towards solo queue win rates. Some of you have brought up that win rates are highly subjective, which I'm not sure what that means -  

Surely observational bias is more subjective than quantifying win rates over thousands of games no? For those of you wondering, yes, I do use LolKing's database whenever I refer to winrates and pick/ban rates. (They're awesome).

Comments on Unusual Champion Choices

Personally, whenever I read a tier list, it's never the FOTM champions that I find interesting, it's always the non-FOTM ones that strike me as "new-and exiciting" and encourage me to try something unique out. Of course I'm always hoping that my little secret that will someday snowball into an upset victory at a major tournament so I could say "you heard it here first!"

Examples:

Rammus - Homeguard boots + Mobility + Powerball + Teleport = Massive ganking speed unrivaled by any other champion.

Jungle Malzahar - Insane ganking power and ranged red buff compensated by a vulnerable early jungle.

Top Lane Kayle - Before Rincent posted his build, who knew that Kayle beat EVERYONE? 

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Champions

You'll sometimes see formerly popular champions drop into Tier 2 or Tier 3...everyone knows that they're strong, nobody wants to go toe-to-toe with them, and nothing they do catches people off guard. The element of surprise is definitely a strong factor in winning, especially in solo queue where players get cocky against non-FOTM champions.

They're viable, but nothing special anymore. *balanced* does not mean weak.

Balance.

FOTM Champions

Meanwhile, I know that I've dropped some popular champions like Lissandra, Syndra, Rengar, and Alistar into Tier 4. I've seen people say:

"You want a tier list? just look at the FOTM champions, those are Tier 1" 

I'm not that lazy.

Even though everyone thinks they're strong and they look strong on paper, considering how much they're played, they should really win over 50% of the time if they're actually strong champions...and they're not even *close* to that, and are instead competing with Olaf to see who can lose more.

Closing

I never shy away from a good argument, and in fact I enjoy it. I might be a little too busy to respond sometimes due to the sheer volume, but I try to do as much as I can and let you guys chat among yourselves on the rest. Just remember, keep it classy and have fun!

- SSJSuntastic, platinum scrub

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

2013 Champion Tier List - Solo Queue - Patch 3.9 Updated July

type='html'>

SEASON 3 - PATCH 3.9  SOLO QUEUE TIER LIST

Preface Chatter
This tier list is coming up quite fast after the latest patch, earlier than usual. This means that I'll likely have to do another one in a week or two once the changes have set into place...anyway Patch 3.9's brought quite a few changes, including some much needed nerfs and buffs:

Nerfs: Hecarim, Kayle, Kennen, Nunu
Buffs: Corki, Malzahar, Shyvana, Ziggs
Tweaks: Brand, Draven, Jayce, Leblanc

Also in this list I'd like to note that all the AD carries seem pretty even at the moment.

The Tier List

God Tier: 
Mid-Lane Gods: Kassadin, Twisted Fate
Jungle Gods: Amumu, Fiddlesticks, Rammus, Sejuani
AD Gods: 
Top Lane Gods: Singed, Wukong
Support Gods:  Janna, Sona, Thresh

Tier 1:
Mid-Lane: Zyra, Kennen, Malzahar, Diana, Jayce
Jungle: Jarvan IV, Zac, Nasus, Hecarim, Nunu, Cho'Gath, Evelynn, Nautilus, Lee Sin, Volibear, Maokai, Elise
AD Carry: Varus, Caitlyn, Ezreal, Vayne, Draven, Graves, Twitch
Top Lane: Tryndamere, Kennen, Elise, Renekton, Yorick, Jayce, Nidalee, Irelia, Riven, Lee Sin, Udyr
Support: Nami, Taric, Blitzcrank, Leona

Tier 2:
Mid-Lane: Brand, Kayle, Ryze, Mordekaiser, Talon, Vladimir, Elise, Fizz, Ahri, Viktor, Lux, Anivia, Nidalee, Zed, Cho'Gath, Xerath, Swain, Karthus, Katarina, Evelynn, Orianna, Ziggs
Jungle: Udyr, Warwick, Shen, Kha'Zix, Nocturne, Malphite, Leona, Shaco, Vi, Trundle,Xin Zhao, Diana, Shyvana, Zed
AD Carry: Miss Fortune, Tristana, Kog'Maw, Corki, Ashe, Sivir
Top Lane: Jax, Kayle, Rumble, Ryze, Teemo, Aatrox, Kha'Zix, Vladimir, Nasus, Shen, Cho'gath, Zac, Darius, Volibear, Garen, Zed, Malphite
Support: Soraka, Lulu, Zyra, Alistar

Tier 3:
Mid-Lane: Morgana, Kha'Zix, Akali, Pantheon, Cassiopeia, Galio, Annie, Master Yi, Sion, Gragas, Lulu, Fiddlesticks
Jungle: Riven, Pantheon, Dr. Mundo,  Skarner, Jax, Kayle, Darius
AD Carry: Quinn
Top Lane:  Jarvan IV, Warwick, Fiora, Xin Zhao, Pantheon, Akali, Galio, Talon, Trundle, Dr. Mundo, Poppy
Support: Nunu, Nautilus, Shen, Morgana, Nidalee, Lux,

Tier 4:
Mid-Lane:  Lissandra, Syndra, Veigar, Kog'maw, Zilean, Leblanc, Tristana, Janna, Ezreal, Heimerdinger, Karma
Jungle: Rengar, Olaf, Master Yi (AD), Tryndamere, Gangplank, Fiora, Blitzcrank, Alistar
AD Carry: Urgot
Top Lane:  Rengar,Gangplank, Shyvana, Olaf
Support: Kayle, Elise, Maokai, Yorick, Lissandra, Karma, Ashe, Zilean, Leblanc, Fiddlesticks, Ryze, Caitlyn

• Heroes in BOLD I will talk about shortly
• Heroes in Italics may be over/undervalued, but aren't/haven't played enough for me to make a better judgement.
• Within each tier the champions are strongest from left to right, but within a tier each champion's strength is relatively close. This is especially true for Tiers 2 and 3 where these heroes are ALL highly playable and player dependent on how strong they are in-game.

Click Here for a description of the tiers

God Tier: These champions are almost impossible to keep down. If your team doesn't make it a priority to shut down these champions and shut them down hard, even if they lose their lane, lose in CS, and it's their first time playing the champion, they can be a massive nuisance for your team. On the other hand, if they're actually good at the champion...that's when it's time to throw in the towel.

Tier 1: These champions generally do very well regardless, and have some sort of advantage over most other champions. When they do well, their team does well. Even when they don't do well, their team still has a good chance of a comeback victory by utilizing one or more aspects of their late game utility.

Tier 2: This is the Tier of balanced champions where Riot shoots to place their designs. These champions generally do well in their own right, and are very strong picks with a good chance of winning. However, they're not overpowered by any means and do have their weaknesses.

Tier 3: These champions can still do very well, but tend to need a little more snowballing to get rolling. Even if they get an early lead, it's still very possible to turn the tides on them with just a mistake or two. They may also have some weaknesses that can be capitalized on.

Tier 4: These champions are either underpowered or offer less reward than other champions for the same amount of effort. These champions basically start winning from the get-go or get made fun of for the rest of the game. They need gold to do their job correctly, and if they don't get enough of it, they become sandbags for the enemy team to punch. Chances of a comeback with one of these champions feeding on your team is almost none.

Champion Explanations

• Brand - Brand's always been a powerhouse in terms of damage, and deals a decent amount. The main reason why his strength fell was a mixture of AD burst assassins coupled with people getting used to dodging his skillshots and damage. However, with the minor buffs, Brand's definitely been brought back into spotlight with heavy nerfs on a lot of other champions across the board. I think we'll definitely see a comeback. Luckily I have Zombie Brand waiting...
• Corki - Corki's buff was pretty decent, and I think he's very on par with other AD champions now. With his reduction in playability for the last few months, I think he's also got a decent surprise factor in place.
• Draven - Nerfs hurt. He's still viable.
• Ezreal - Although a fed Ezreal is strong, we can't really say he's any better than any other AD carry at the moment. This tier's all pretty even...
• Fiora - Fiora's numbers are actually a lot better than I initialy gave her credit for. With the continual nerfs on tank items across the board, her ability to win trades with pure damage has increased, and while she's not overpowered by any means, she's at least playable against some common top lane champions.
• Hecarim - Continual minor nerfs have brought him down from overpowered to viable. He's still good, just not an auto-ban.
• Kassadin - Kassadin is seriously overpowered right now. With Nunu nerfed, you'll be seeing more twisted fate and kassadin bans for sure. Even if you shut him down, he'll always come back with a vengeance. 
• Leblanc - She did get some changes, but she's still not popular, and her late game still isn't that good without some early snowballing. Plus her waveclear is still pretty bad, which doesn't work well in the current meta.
• Malphite - Malphite's been getting some very low playability lately...of course with AP mages all the rage lately it's no wonder, but I think his ultimate is still very good.
• Malzahar - I know I've owed you guys an explanation on Malzahar for a while now, and I've been putting it off since I knew he was insanely strong, but I couldn't really explain why. Here's what it is in a nutshell: His poke has always been good, and his voidlings are strong. But the reason why he's REALLY good is because he has the ability to kill almost any tank in 2~4 seconds seconds flat with his W + R combo, and his E can chunk half of a squishy's life by itself. With that amount of peel and continuous damage, he's pretty much a one-man army. After soloing a Nautilus, Leblanc, and Shen simultaneously, you'll understand what I mean when I say he's ridiculously strong. 
• Nautilus - After the initial wow factor when he came back into play, people are now back to being cautious of his ganks, and are willing to flash to prevent a hook. He's still a pretty slow jungler, and easily counterjungled. Although he's good, without some ganks he falls behind other junglers quickly...his ultimate is still insanely good though.
• Nunu - He was nerfed. Still playable, but no longer Nunu Norris.
• Rumble - I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so...Rumble simply isn't as good as he used to be, and the stats prove it as he stands at a 50.08% win rate - hence he'll stay in Tier 2, the balanced tier.
• Shyvana - Her buff was pretty decent, and I think she's viable now. Pretty simple character, so it's really a matter of numbers.
• Tryndamere - Top lane Tryndamere...I considered putting him in god tier, but after all the complaining I get about Wukong I'm a little hesitant (seriously, Wukong has the second highest win rate in the game and there are still people who don't believe me when I say he's op?) Anyway, Tryndamere's trading power is decent, his sustain is good, and his pushing power is insane. Even if you manage to beat him once or twice in trades early on, unless you can build enough health to sustain through his invulnerability and enough damage to kill him through his lifesteal, his late game is an unstoppable pushing force.
• Twisted Fate - He's still good, but I'm considering moving him down...a lot of champions that counter him are becoming FOTM, and with teleport becoming a popular summoner mid lane he's losing some effectiveness via getting counter-ganked. He's still real good though, just with his wave clear, sustain, and ability to stun from jumping outside of ward range.
• Vayne - Draven nerfed you say?
• Viktor - Okay, Viktor's pretty decent, I'll accept that he's playable since his CCs are good and he does have the ability to 100-0 an enemy champion even if he misses his laser. I still think he's unreliable, but his damage is definitely there and his AOE is hard to outdamage in tight quarters.
• Wukong - Out of all the flack I get on my tier list I'd say that Wukong by far gets me the most moans and groans. I'm not sure why I still have to explain why he's OP, his trades are good, his initiation is good (really, who's going to get an oracle for Wukong?) and his ultimate is insanity. He's had a top 5 win rate for 4 patches in a row, and currently holds the #2 spot in win rates. When he becomes the #1 ban in LCS and gets nerfed by Riot, I expect some humble e-mails admitting the monkey's power.
• Ziggs - Ziggs got so many buffs, I mean wow. I still don't think he's OP by any means, but anybody against a Ziggs with blue buff and some CDR certainly will, I may move him up in the future, but he's still pretty squishy and can be unreliable in a pinch.

Disclaimer:

• The purpose of this list is for discussion and to provide a starting point for hero selection.

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!