The best top lane champions in League of Legends

These are League's top-tier top laners for this season's solo queue.
Fiora's splash art in League of Legends
Photo via Riot Games

There are a variety of top laners that counter each other in League of Legends. Some vary in strength based on the current meta, while others vary depending on matchups.

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For top laners, there are three archetypes of champions that fluctuate as the meta changes: hypercarries, support-style champions, and split-pushers. We’ll break down each one of these archetypes, and then show you the six best top lane champions in League.

Best top lane champions

This list of top-tier champions can change depending on a number of things. Sometimes the meta shifts for no reason other than players’ tastes, but usually, there’s some kind of balance adjustment behind it. It can be difficult to keep up with the flavor-of-the-month champs, so let us do that for you.

Here are the best top laners for League Patch 14.5.

  • Gragas
  • Malphite
  • Fiora
  • Camille
  • Darius

Gragas

Space Groove Gragas sliding down the wave and holding his barrel on his right arm.
Space Groove Gragas. Image via Riot Games

Pros

  • Mobile
  • Amazing sustain
  • Burst potential
  • Easy to pick up

Cons

  • Mana issues early in the game
  • Weaker late game

Currently, Gragas is one of the best top laners in League. Not only can Gragas one-shot squishier champions (even if he leans into AP bruiser builds), but he can easily match the sustain of other top laners.

Another reason why Gragas is an amazing top lane pick right now is because you will fight on his terms. He has plenty of tools to disengage if he or his team find themselves in a pickle. On top of that, you can run Phase Rush on top Gragas, and that gives you additional movement speed to either catch up with opponents or run away.

Best Gragas build: Runes, spells, and strategy

Gragas runes in Lol
Optimal Gragas Runes. Screenshot by Dot Esports

During laning phase, you want to poke your opponent as much as you can using Barrel Roll. If you’re going for longer trades, make sure to use Drunken Rage as often as you can because that regenerates your health. If you miss Body Slam, there’s a high chance you’ll lose that trade and it’s better to back off in this case because you don’t want to be heavily punished for missing an ability.

Stay wary of your mana as Gragas before your first back because costs are a bit too much in the early game. Doran’s Ring helps, but you’ll only be safe when you get Catalyst of Aeons, one of two components that builds into Rod of Ages. Once you complete Rod of Ages, there’s no reason to worry.

You should then grab Cosmic Drive and Lich Bane. The rest of the build is completely situational. While some players choose Rabadon’s Deathcap and follow that up with Void Staff, others go Cryptbloom to give their team more sustain.

For runes, you should choose Grasp of the Undying from the Resolve tree, and get Demolish, Second Wind, and Overgrowth. You can choose a different secondary tree, but many players are going Sorcery with Manaflow Band for early game mana, and Scorch. Finally, choose Ability Haste, Flex, and more health from the tertiary tree. Remember, you can always choose different runes that fit your playstyle better, but keep in mind enemy teamcomp.

Ability priority

With Gragas, ability priority should always be R>Q>W>E. Even though you can split push with Gragas, you’re an amazing team fighter, and grouping up in the mid to late game should give you an edge over opponents. You can set up a strong team fight using your ultimate and quickly remove priority targets from the picture.

Game plan

Gragas is one of the best top laners right now because he can do anything he wants—team fight, split push, and nuke squishy targets. Ideally, you’ll poke down enemy laners early in the game and accumulate a lead this way, grabbing more CS and plates than them. You should look for skirmishes as early as you can (preferably when you hit level six) because you can easily lock down one target.

Later, group up with your team or look for flanks around objectives. If you can nuke one priority target with your flank, that should be a guaranteed objective and a won team fight. Remember to use your teleport as often as you can to split push and then join a team fight when the enemies least expect it. Gragas has an amazing setup but falls off later in the game and becomes team-dependent.

Malphite

Lunar Guardian Malphite skin in League of Legends.
Lunar Guardian Malphite. Image via Riot Games

Pros

  • Strong against AD-heavy teamcomps
  • Excellent teamfighter

Cons

  • Weak in early game
  • Lack of CC outside ultimate

Malphite has been and always will be one of the best top laners who can punish AD-heavy team comps. Passive from Thunderclap gives additional armor, and even if the enemy team builds armor penetration, it’s still hard to down him. He’s the definition of a tank, and that’s why he’s at his best in team fights.

Best Malphite build: Runes, spells, and strategy

Best Malphite Runes in LoL
Optimal Malphite Runes. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Given that Malphite is a tank (although he can be played as a burst mage with the right build in mid or bot lane as a support), you should go choose Grasp of the Undying from the Resolve tree as your main keystone. You should then follow that up with Shield Bash because of your passive, Conditioning, and Overgrowth. The secondary tree should serve you as an additional source of mana and Ability Haste, and that’s why you should choose Sorcery with Manaflow Band and Transcendence. Finally, choose attack speed, and health growth.

If we presume you picked Malphite in a heavy AD comp, your optimal build path should look like this: Sunfire Aegis, Plated Steelcaps, Thornmail, Frozen Heart, and then any other tank item you might need. You can opt for magic resistance items if you need them, or lean in the armor build with more similar items. I recommend you round up your build with Jak’Sho, The Protean for more teamfight power.

Ability priority

As Malphite, you should max out your abilities in this order: R>Q>E>W. You can use Seismic Shard to poke down your enemies and stack Grasp of the Undying, and when you finally unlock your ultimate, use it on a priority target.

Game plan

Malphite is quite weak early, and if you’re playing him into lane bullies like Darius or Renekton, you should keep to yourself. Simply spend the laning phase trying to stack Grasp of the Undying and farming. You don’t have the potential to duel enemies at the beginning of the game. Ideally, you are managing your wave properly and you’ll hit level six at the same time as your opponent. Since you can’t duel them, you should look for early team fights and skirmishes to turn the tides in your favor using Unstoppable Force.

Later in the game, stick to your team as much as you can and try to zone out enemies off objectives. Trust me, AD carries are scared of you, even if you build a full tank. Catch waves in side lanes, and then go back to your team when an objective is about to spawn. You are reliant on your team to deal damage, and all you can do is to ensure you have a clean engagement. If the enemy team is packed with assassins, don’t waste your ultimate by engaging, but save it to peel for your carries.

Fiora

Pulsefire Fiora splash art
Pulsefire Fiora. Image via Riot Games

Pros

  • Mobile
  • High damage
  • Powerful in every stage of a game if played well

Cons

  • Hard to learn but rewarding
  • Tough to play from behind, and easy to make mistakes

When it comes to playmaking top laners that can change the outcome of a game with their high carry potential, Fiora is one of the best champions. Her aggressive and rewarding kit requires a bit of time to master, especially in terms of positioning and mechanical plays, but it’s all worth it in the end. 

With Fiora in the hands of an experienced player, she can outplay her enemies in most solo skirmishes and provide valuable damage and impact in team fights. This is why her win rates skyrocket the higher you go on the ranked ladder.

Best Fiora build: Runes, spells, and strategy

Fiora rune setup for LoL
Optimal Runes for Fiora. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Fiora is an aggressive fighter who goes for short trades during the laning phase, so the best keystone rune is Conqueror from the Precision tree. With that under your belt, you will increase both your damage and sustain at all stages of the game.

Fiora is quite mana-hungry, especially in the first minutes of the game, so it’s smart to choose Presence of Mind to enhance your maximum mana. Legend: Alacrity and Last Stand give you a lot of dueling power and will help you once you start split-pushing.

The other runes from the secondary tree have the goal of increasing survivability and split push potential. Demolish works perfectly since it makes you charge powerful attacks against towers. With that, Fiora will always pose a significant threat in solo lanes, especially later in the game when she gains a heap of attack damage. In terms of survivability, you should pick Second Wind or Unflinching. The first restores more health during the laning phase, while Unflinching grants extra Tenacity to reduce enemies’ incoming crowd control. 

Item-wise, Fiora should pick Ravenous Hydra as her first item. Afterward, it’s pivotal to grab Trinity Force for higher damage. Complete the first trio of core items with a Death Dance if you need resistances. If you’re well ahead and you’re looking to split push, get Hullbreaker instead, as it will be a more cost-efficient item.

Round off the build with a Sterak’s Gauge and one item between Guardian Angel and Maw of Malmortius. In most scenarios, the former will be the go-to choice since you’ll get access to the revive effect. Chempunk Chainsword can also be a good situational item against champions with lots of sustain: Pick if necessary.

Ability priority

When playing Fiora, you should go for R>Q>E>W. The champion is fantastic in solo fights mostly due to her Q, Lunge, which deals quite a lot of damage and has a low cooldown at max rank. Afterward, you should put points in your E, Bladework, so that you can increase your damage during skirmishes and fights. 

Game plan

Fiora is a fantastic solo laner, but she struggles a lot with wave clearing since she has no tools to take care of minion waves as quickly as other top laners. Her Q and W make it easy to close the gap and dodge upcoming attacks, though, giving her a strong advantage in skirmishes. For these reasons, you should always try to bully out the enemy top laner by making short and fast trades, ideally hitting the vitals. Just make sure you’re not fighting in the middle of a minion wave, which will deal a lot of damage when stacked. 

Once you unlock your ultimate, you ideally want to cast it on a squishy target and delete them almost instantly by hitting all the vital points. This, however, is easier said than done. While Fiora is mobile thanks to her Q and passive, you won’t be as tanky as other top laners, so the enemy team compositions will often focus on deleting you first. As a result, it’s not always the best option to go for the back line. It can sometimes be better to use your ultimate on the enemy fighter in the front line so you can take the danger off your teammates’ shoulders. You will need to evaluate the situation in every game.

If you fall behind, you should try split-pushing. With Demolish and Fiora’s kit, you can take down turrets very quickly in the mid-game as her early struggles are alleviated and can open the way for your team to return to the game. 

Camille

IG Camille splash art from League of Legends
iG Camille. Image via Riot Games

Pros

  • Has one of the best dueling potential
  • Melts tanks with her Q
  • Scales well into the late game
  • Great for picks

Cons

  • Mechanically demanding
  • Struggles from behind
  • Weaker than other champions early on 

The top lane champion pool has been getting more and more diverse over the last patches, and Camille is making a return as a top-tier pick.

Even though she has some bad matchups against other meta champions, she’s one of the best counter-picks against tanks and some damage-oriented top laners like Jayce. Her dueling potential can only be beaten by champions like Fiora or Jax, and even then, it’s usually more of a skill matchup.

Best Camille build: Runes, spells, and strategy

Camille rune setup
Optimal Camille Runes. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Camille’s main rune setup hasn’t changed since when she first landed on Summoner’s Rift. The keystone rune is still Conqueror. Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, and Last Stand are the complementary runes from the Precision tree. This equips her to push her lead and duel any champion that stands in her way.

The secondary tree, instead, is the Inspiration tree with Biscuit Delivery and Magical Footwear. These are pretty common runes from this tree. If you don’t want the cookies for extra health and mana, swap them out for Cosmic Insight. 

The build for Camille is slightly different compared to the past. While her main item is still Trinity Force, her second core item is now Ravenous Hydra. After these two items, you want to grab Sundered Sky, Sterak’s Gauge, Death Dance and Maw of Malmortius for some armor and magic resistance.

Ability priority

Camille’s ability order is fairly straightforward: R>Q>E>W. Having said that, you usually want to start with Tactical Sweep, first since it guarantees a good level one short trade and gives immediate sustain. After that, max Precision Protocol, since it’s a spammable spell. Her Hookshot is the second ability to max because it’s her main mobility tool and gap closer. 

Game plan

The game plan on Camille is to make sure you can kill the strongest threat on the enemy team. She has great backline access and good enough damage to kill a carry single-handedly. That said, Camille needs a few items before she can start doing her own thing. Therefore, her main goal will be to focus on farming and waiting for those two core items. 

Once she gets both, you should play on the side lane most of the time and look for potential teleport plays or flanks after pushing waves. If you have a good matchup or you’re getting ahead, you can also bully out the enemy top laner and look to split push rather than grouping up with your allies.

As long as you don’t fall behind too much early on, Camille will become a threatening menace later in the game, giving your enemies a really hard time.

Darius

God King Darius splash art
God King Darius. Image via Riot Games

Pros

  • Strong in lane
  • Powerful snowball potential
  • Tanky

Cons

  • Falls off a bit in the late game
  • No gap closers or escape tools
  • Incredibly hard to play from behind

Darius is one of the most banned champions in the top lane, and it’s for a good reason. The Hand of Noxus is one of the strongest laners in the game, and as long as you have a proper understanding of most matchups, you will be able to get out of the laning phase with a substantial lead and get closer to a victory.

Best Darius build: Runes, spells, and strategy

Darius rune setup
Darius rune setup. Screenshot by Dot Esports

As Darius, your main goal is shredding through the enemy team with your powerful abilities and basic attacks. When it comes to runes, you should aim to elevate your damage even more by picking Conqueror. With that rune, you will be gaining stacks of Conqueror that provide you with adaptive damage. Moreover, you will also heal a bit when fully stacked, allowing you to survive longer in fights.

Other runes you should pick are pretty standard for AD-based bruisers. Triumph will heal you with every takedown, elevating your fighting potential. Legend: Alacrity will increase your attack speed, while Last Stand will make you deal more damage while you’re low on health.

Resolve is the only sensible option for the second tree, with Second Wind and Unflinching standing out as the strongest runes. The former will heal you after taking damage from an enemy champion, while the latter will grant you a bit of much-needed tenacity.

Build-wise, Darius hasn’t received many changes to his itemization recently. You should always grab Stridebreaker as your first item for the additional AoE damage and slow. It’s perfect for chasing after enemies and improving the hit rate on your Q. Afterward, pick Dead Man’s Plate for the additional movement speed and tankiness and Sterak’s Gage for additional damage. Round off the build with a Force of Nature to increase your magic resistances and a Gargoyle Stoneplate so you can tank longer during the late-game fights. 

Ability priority

The case is simple when it comes to Darius’ ability priority. You should go for R>Q>E>W. Your Q, Decimate, is the main tool for wave clearing, trading, and skirmishes. Once you max it out, you should put points in E, Apprehend, to lower its cooldown and get the increased percentage of armor penetration. 

Game plan

As Darius, you should win against most champions in the top lane. There are some exceptions: ranged champs that can slow you down or immobilize you in one way or another, like Teemo. Still, Darius is a very dangerous champ to play against, and you should utilize your potential by trying to start the snowball as early as the laning phase.

If you manage to get off the top lane with a clear advantage over the enemy laner, you should continue to snowball. At that time of the game, hardly any enemies can match your strength unless they are fed. Still, your main goal is to be in front of your enemies all the time—not only squishy carries but bruisers, tanks, and supports alike. You shouldn’t have many issues getting through any of them.

It’s pivotal for you to try to end the game as fast as possible. Once the game reaches its later stages, where almost every champion has a full build, you won’t be as big of a threat as in the first 30 minutes since it’s easy to kite you out.

Types of top laners in League

Split-push top laners in League

Split-pushers have a weak laning presence and a weaker ability to trade damage until they get a few items. Once they get some items and can duel with their opponents, they just steamroll through the lane, taking turrets until the enemy team sends forces to stop them.

Support-style top laners in League

Support-style top laners are the beefiest tanks in the game. They can trade damage with their lane opponent reasonably well, but their main strength comes from surviving in their lane until they can build up enough tanky items to join their team in all-out team fights. There are, however, a few intriguing support-style top laners that are vastly different from others.

Top lane hypercarries in League

Finally, we have the top-lane hypercarries. These champions put out high damage in the blink of an eye and can usually hit multiple targets at once with high cleave and AoE damage. 


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Author
Mateusz Miter
Polish Staff Writer. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.
Author
Izabela Tomakic
Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.