LoL Patch 13.15 might have introduced a new OP pick in Arena mode

League of Legends Patch 13.15 just went live today and summoners are already feeling the wrath of a new champion that is quickly becoming one of the best new picks in Arena.

Since Arena was released on July 20, Bard had been one of the least-played champions in the game mode because he could not stand up to the other, stronger picks in his class. After recent buffs to his chimes and meep AP ratios, however, the Wandering Caretaker has swept up the competition as an early juggernaut pick that could join the meta.

Bard currently has the highest top-two rate of any champion in the game mode and the highest first-place rate through Patch 13.15 so far, according to League stats aggregate Blitz. He has also garnered a bit of attention from the player base on social media, with multiple players on the League subreddit saying that the recent buffs overshot the mark by quite a bit.

Related: All LoL Arena buffs, nerfs, and changes in Patch 13.15

He is usually paired up with other champions with hard crowd control, like Pantheon or Warwick, who can hold enemies in place while Bard layers on his own CC and dishes out a ton of bonus damage through his powerful enhanced auto attacks. He can also be paired with champions that trap enemies next to walls so that he can activate his Cosmic Binding stun easily, but simple hard CC is enough to enable him for the long haul.

The secret lies in his enhanced meep auto attacks, especially after Riot Games increased their ability power ratio from 30 to 60 percent. As a result, Bard simply has to run around, collect chimes, and blast away opponents with disgusting amounts of damage.

Arena players build Bard with a combination of heavy AP items like Luden’s Tempest, Void Staff, and Rabadon’s Deathcap to maximize his burst damage, while also buying a few attack speed items such as Rapid Firecannon and Nashor’s Tooth, so that he can take advantage of his buffed auto-attack damage. Lich Bane is also key for the build so that his meep-buffed auto attacks deal even more damage if and when he lands a successful stun with his Cosmic Binding.

There’s still plenty of time for the meta to balance itself around the newcomer, which means that in a few days, players could find counters to Bard that could drop his win rate to reasonable levels.