League of Legends: Top 3 Top Lane champions on Patch 9.23

Top lane received plenty of buffs heading into preseason, so pick one of these three champions to climb the League of Legends solo queue ladder!

As top lane mains adjust to the experience, alcove, and Rift Herald changes that arrived with preseason, we take a look at the top three champions that are dictating the top side of the map on Patch 9.23. League of Legends has gone through drastic changes, but there are a few familiar faces residing in the top lane in the current meta.

Darius

At just 51.88%, Darius has the ninth highest win rate of all top laners on Patch 9.23. However, taking into account his massive 32.4% ban rate, it’s clear to see that he’s a feared solo laner in the current meta.

What Darius lacks in scaling and split-push, he makes up for in early game trading and skirmishing around key objectives in the mid-game. On top of that, his ability to snowball the game out of the opponent’s control after picking up one or two kills is unmatched, making him ideal for the current League of Legends meta.

In lane, a combination of Darius’ Passive – Haemorrhage, Q – Decimate, and W – Crippling Strike is enough to win any trade and even ranged opponents aren’t immune due to the long-range pull provided by E – Apprehend. Realistically, Darius should never have kill pressure in the early levels, but once he reaches 6 he will look to apply pressure constantly.

If you want to carry from the top lane with Darius, it is an absolute necessity that you pick up some early kills to begin a snowball, or you’ll simply be out-scaled and kited by the enemy team.

Garen

Gone are the days of the annoying, obnoxious, and frankly overpowered Garen-Yuumi combo, and justice has been restored to his rightful place – the top lane.

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Despite the influx of mechanically intensive and overloaded kits amongst the most recent additions to the list of champions in League of Legends, Garen somehow still remains at the top of the tier list when it comes to solo laners in the post-Season 9 meta.

Once again, this boils down to the champion’s ability during the laning phase to outduel opponents and force them to recall, creating a gold lead during the early stages of the game. Garen’s synergy with the current “overpowered” iteration of Conqueror makes him ideal for top lane mains who look to build a CS/kill lead in lane and then move it to other areas of the map.

While Garen may struggle against the other two champions on this list, he is adept at taking down a whole host of other top lane champs thanks to his early sustain from Perseverance and powerful Decisive Strike–Judgement combination, adding for a huge burst of damage. As a result, Garen currently sits at an impressive 52.95% win rate on Patch 9.23.

Mordekaiser

Unsurprisingly, Mordekaiser also makes this list. If you’ve played solo queue at all over the last month or so, you’ll know why.

Somehow, Morde’s insane 53.45% win rate in the top lane on Patch 9.23 understates how powerful and unplayable he’s become after his rework, one small buff, and a brand new Conqueror. In any melee vs. melee matchup, Mordekaiser wins. In most ranged vs. melee matchups, Mordekaiser still somehow wins.

While Conqueror definitely has a huge part to play in this, Morde’s kit also helps out. Obliterate is a huge damage tool in the 1v1, both in terms of dueling and wave clear. Death’s Grasp means he’s always in position to start a fight due to its long-range. And Morde’s Passive – Darkness Rise makes close quarters trading near impossible for an opponent.

We’ll undoubtedly see both Conqueror and Mordekaiser receive some nerfs on Patch 9.24, so make use of his strengths on the current patch as soon as possible! Head into solo queue and grab that free LP!

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Which top laners are you finding success with on Patch 9.23? Have you found an answer to Mordekaiser? Let us know in the comments!

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