League of Legends: Top 5 ADCs to play on Patch 9.22
Patch 9.22 hit League of Legends live servers today with a bunch of champion buffs and nerfs, including four major marksman changes. Here’s a list of ADCs you should be playing on the current patch.
Kai’Sa, Xayah, Kai’Sa, Xayah, Kai’Sa, Xayah. I don’t know about you, but I’ve grown tired of the monotonous, stale rotation of bottom lane picks in solo queue and pro play during the majority of 2019. League of Legends has evolved over the last few seasons to include a whole host of viable champions for every role, but the ADC tier list has been topped by Kai’Sa and Xayah for far too long.
All of that is hopefully about to change with both carries receiving significant nerfs on Patch 9.22 that could see them fall out of the current crop of meta bot lane champions. By no means should we expect to see Kai’Sa and Xayah completely disappear from the ADC champion pool, but finally we have a chance to bring some variety to the bot side of the map.
Speaking of which, Kalista, a long-forgotten marksman champion, also received changes in Patch 9.22 that could see her rise in popularity over the course of the next few weeks. Spoiler alert, she makes this list, along with four other AD champions you should consider playing if you want to pick up some LP before the season ends on November 19th!
5 Kog’Maw
In a season filled with assassins and bruisers, Kog’Maw has struggled to find any sort of consistent play in the bottom lane due to his vulnerability and wasted tank-killing ability. That being said, he’s slowly started to edge his way back into the ADC conversation with a 51.44% win rate on Patch 9.21 as well as an appearance at the 2019 World Championship from Invictus Gaming’s JackeyLove.
With a strong two-item power spike and a number of alternative marksmen seeing nerfs, perhaps it’s time for Kog to make a stand and take over in his role. If you spot a low CC, high health pool enemy team composition, try bringing Kog’Maw out and focus on scaling rather than forcing early kills.
The key to Kog is to play an extremely safe early game, avoiding any potential engages in the 2v2, reaching your Blade of the Ruined King and Guinsoo’s Rageblade, and taking over team fights. Obviously, with zero escape tools, you’ll need a support who’s capable of peeling for a Kog’Maw, but if you reach the 20-minute mark with a positive KDA, the game is in your hands.
4 Twitch
Or you could pick the complete opposite of Kog’Maw by looking to end the game as early as possible by forcing level 6 engages and snowballing your lane. Twitch is the perfect carry for a player who wants to 1v9 and avoid having to play around his team.
Once again, farm up for the first few minutes, pick up a Vampiric Scepter, hit level 6, and wreak havoc. Create a strong bottom lane with a crowd control heavy support to lock down an enemy champion and burst them with Spray and Pray for an easy kill.
In the late game, look for opportunities to Ambush a squishy target and create a numbers advantage before a team fight. This is particularly effective in lower elos where ADCs and mages have no situational awareness and are liable to be caught out of position almost constantly.
3 Kalista
Of every champion that was played in the bot lane role on Patch 9.21, Kalista had the 75th lowest win rate with 46.46%, so why has she been included in this list?
Well, the buffs she received on Patch 9.22 aren’t enough to make her an S tier pick, but will certainly aid in her early game trades and engages, possibly bumping her up from straight garbage to actually playable. Now, if she and her support partner both attack the same champion and proc Kalista’s W – Sentinel, they’ll receive damage equal to 10% of their maximum health (previously 5%).
With a potentially game-changing ultimate ability and a much stronger early game, maybe Kalista is a champion to consider in the last two weeks of Season 9.
2 Lucian
Lucian is neither buffed nor broken on this patch, but with the introduction of his wife Senna to the League of Legends, it might be worth creating the second “lover’s duo” in your ranked matches when she is released on November 10th. While they don’t receive buffs to their abilities for being on the same team like Xayah and Rakan, Lucian-Senna is the new couple on the block and are worth trying out at some point in the next fortnight.
1 Jinx
Last but not least, the terrifying AD Carry that can take over and snowball games out of control if left unchecked. Jinx has been worryingly close to dominating solo queue bot lanes for almost six months now, and with similar marksmen all receiving nerfs, now might finally be her time.
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In the early game, she’s relatively weak, but you can still set up plays and pick up kills with a well-placed Flame Chompers combined with CC from your support. However, it’s important to farm and reach two items before you can really start to ramp up.
After purchasing Infinity Edge and Runaan’s Hurricane, Jinx has the ability to carry any team fight and turn the game in her team’s favor. Focus squishier targets from long range using Fishbones while kiting around assassins and bruisers attempting to close the gap. Pick up a single kill in a skirmish and it’s GG as Get Excited! will mean escape is no longer an option for low-health, fleeing enemies as you confirm multiple kills and snowball your lead.
If you’re an ADC main on Patch 9.22 hoping to reach your desired rank before the season ends, Jinx is the pick for you.
Do you agree with these five picks? Which ADC champions will you be playing on this patch? Let us know in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter!