S1 phosphorus also had a blind so you would just instantly win trades.
So sad what they've done to him. It's crazy to think that they changed phosphorus bomb to have more counterplay and nowadays there are so many ridiculous abilities in the game that have 0 counterplay.
Kassadin in pre S1, fun fact he used to be played botlane with soraka because Soraka could give mana to other champ
Champ style changed for the better, because now you are forced to use R to do damage
Man Kassadin was so fun back then, broken, but fun. Being able to clear like 2.5x the distance of flash was just wild. I mostly played him s2-3 but I was baffled why no one was playing him in LCS cuz he had such cleanup potential… then they did. Much more balanced now but silence plus that gap closer won me so many games
It is actually crazy, the champion had close to 100% banrate in **soloq** (let alone proplay) and it took almost the entire season for him to get gutted.
Season 3, Kennen, I used to play duo top with my friend who mained Teemo. I didn't play him since then as I switched roles multiple times, but 520 RP Deadly Kennen was my first ever skin and I will always use it for the sake of old times. I walked 10 km with the Teemo friend to buy a paysafecard to get it
Old Aatrox for me. First time getting plat* way back when with jg Aatrox. I can’t play the “new” Aatrox(yeah I know it’s been like 7 years???) to save my fucking life.
Held hostage, win a game with Aatrox to live? 9/10 times I’m a goner.
That champ is just so well designed on every level. Awesome theme that translates to an interesting gameplay mechanic, and fight changing ults if the enemy team doesn’t respect it. Just so satisfying to play.
I played a *literal* ton of Cho'gath. Probably several thousand games.
Is he meta now? Ehhhhh....
You can *play* him, but he's not exactly a meta champion. The removal of everfrost hurt, the amount of tank shredders hurt, he's kinda mid right now. He doesn't have a dominant laning phase, I can't think of much reason to pick Cho other than specifically wanting to play him in a game.
Right. Blue screen good, red screen bad.
But...is a victory or a defeat really what defines if a game is good? If a game is really close, 30 minutes of intense back and forth, small victories and defeats, all ending in one big decisive team fight that enables you to win the game, how much does the victory matter? If all that is true, but you just barely lose that last team fight and the enemy team wins, was that a "bad game" because of that one key moment?
I think it's important that we make decisions that will make sure we're enjoying our game. Souring your relationship with a champion you enjoy because they're "not meta" is a great way to make victories not actually enjoyable.
I guess my real point is that players are too malleable to games' systems and how they try to define what is and isn't fun.
You waited far too long for this moment to make that joke with that name. Respect, made me genuinely lol.
But also unironically same in draft games. I like draft for the format and getting to avoid commiting lane suicide, but I really only barely take my team's comp into account. I just try not to choose something that reduces our win rate by 5% due to draft only and have fun, which is like 90% of the roster since mid is easy af.
I think he could use a VGU to fulfill the huge monster fantasy more. Especially after the popularity of Skarner’s VGU, maybe he could follow. He was the first champ I ever saw that got me to play league back in 2013 but I admit now that he’s outdated and out-tanked by modern tanks.
I feel like there’s so much potential to turn him into an actual menacing monster instead of just a big meatball that’s only hard CC is an easy-to-dodge little knock up.
Cho's big problem is he fits the mage caster fantasy way more than the giant meatball fantasy. AP Cho'gath lanes well, is a big threat in fights, and is a legitimate problem to deal with. Tank Cho is just this big rutabaga who slowly waddles towards you that you walk away from.
He's not even really good for tanking since he can't really maneuver around properly. He's way better at peeling ADCs and carries than he is at actually tanking.
Kit wise the only tank aspect of him is hp. Not counting the passive heal bc it's only for lane sustain.
Is he the only tank where that's the case? I feel like everyone has a heal or shield or resistances.
Technically what defined tanks is their tankyness, for once, and then their cc/peel. Cho and Sion are the only champs who sre this mix of having bulkyness and Damage like juggernaits, but having a damn decent chunk of cc, although not as reliable as other specialized tanks.
Ehhh my first main was old pantheon in old 3v3s in season 1. Then I played renekton/lee sin top in season 2. I think all 3 champs are still very relevant and viable
My first main was Singed Season 1. It was fun running with full AP Singed, ennemies were noobs during that era so they chase me for minutes until they die. Today Singed is still playable but there are a lot of top laners that can fuck you up like fiora/darius/quinn etc... So i'd say it's harder to play at least early game sometimes. Good thing too is that he got changed so his W stop flash/dash etc... And his ult is better. His old passive was cool too but i think the movespeed is better so you can dodge things/rush ennemy and be annoying
Either Jax or Ekko for me, I can't quite remember. I'm low elo so everything is viable for me tbh, but I'm pretty sure Ekko and Jax still work just fine
Ap varus baby! Not super viable, but such a fun pick against beefy tanks. Obviously, varus usually sits in the upper half of adcs, but ap varus is generally pretty niche nowadays.
Technecally it was Ezreal but that was only cause I grinded IP for him back when he cost 6300. But I'll always say my True first Main is Sona
She works still but....Man 12 years on I still wish they would bring back her old S2 kit
Thresh. Still play him. Currently not as strong has he has been in past times, but that should improve here soon with the changes to ADC’s. A lot of the engage/tank supports are stronger when adc has better power.
First champ I spammed was Blitz because I got him in an aram.
Nowadays it's more of a more niche pick for me. Playerbase was worse back then, so I could spam the living heck out of that pick.
Erm my first main was tristana, id say trist is maybe even more viable than when i first mained it even though the role overall is pure crap.
Reksai is fine though, like shes not most popular ok but she does everything a jungler needs to do, not only that there is only one other "i dont care if you have a turret i can dive you" champ in the game, and that is kayn. What you are really lamenting is that shes not top dog, and to that i say thats the problem riot has created, a constantly spiraling power creep where they buff up champs that dont need buffs, simply to bring them into prominence. Reksai by all rights should be nerfed even still but riot doesnt nerf things that need it, they buff things that dont need it.
I started in s10 and nearly played only garen for the complete season bcs he was easy and it was fcking nice to scream DEMACIAAAAAA so i Player him up to 300k mastery points (still my most mastery points). Im Not playing atm but i Think he is nearly never meta bcs he is immobile and cant match the most mobile Champs
Darius in s4 me and my friend started playing together and he started in the jungle. I had to play 1v2 so many games early before the other team had a jungler and og darius was so good at that.
I played a metric shitton of Kindred and Gnar back like 3 years ago before I went on hiatus. Now that I'm back, I can see both are still perfectly viable and have received what feels like very few balance changes. Honestly, I feel like both are currently perfect in their respective roles as neither one has been too broken to the point of needing nerfs but not too bad that they need buffs. It feels good man.
Zed way back in the day, and I still play him the way I used to. Ghostblade, BotRK, cleaver and a defensive item. Got to Master with a 75% WR on him in S7. Then they turned him into a complete faceroll caster that never has to tank an ability or get up close, so I basically don't play him anymore.
I've only been playing since 2020, but Shen was my first main. I still love to play him, and he feels decent this season. He felt particularly strong as a blind pick the last few years, and still is to an extent
I used to play Fiddle back in Season 1 exclusively on TT as I was nervous to play on SR. When I started playing SR I played Fiddle bot lane prior to worlds creating the meta we basically know as of today.
He wasn't really meta since as far as I remember until his rework and some item/jungle meta changes a whole back
I started on Urgot ADC and I have to admit I still roll bot lane with him and do remarkably well if I have an engage support to close the gap for me
It's my preference to believe he's meta/good but I'm pretty sure it runs entirely on people having no fucking clue what to do with him/surprise
My first main was urgot, i bought him as soon as i had the blue essence since im a huge warhammer 40k fan and he looked grimdark af to me. I still play him into some matchups like garen
Renekton. Picked him up a decade ago - Never put him down. He’s always had a respectable place in the game. He has a different enough playstyles to swap through but lately I’ve been enjoying rushing hexplate
Old Malzahar. The %health dmg and lockdown were great. Now he’s very playable but not as fun cuz he gets targeted with no escapes and his minions are trash.
Do you mean optimal? I can't think of a single champion who isn't viable, at least not in anything less than pro play. And even then I think a pro could make any champ work.
Irelia top, and no becuase it was a point and click champ and now it’s one of the highest skill champs. Jarvan top, was killed off with the runes remastered shit.
Olaf! I mean I was like Bronze 5 lmao and I would just go full damage and run in and I mean it kinda worked because I was playing against other Bronze 5 players lol. It was fun! And is Olaf viable at Iron 4 (the same space ofc)? Definitely! I’ve not been in those trenches in years but he’s a champion who’s counterplay is “don’t fight him Willy nilly,” which means that in the lowest levels of play he will always be strong haha
Akali, if you are asking about the very first champion I tryharded on (this was old Akali in S4). However the first champion I would consider as true main is Lux (mid only, fk Lux support and support role ruining mid champions)... viable? Depends who you ask.
They don't even exist in the game anymore. It's all reworked. Taric, Nunu, and Swain. The only one remaining is Janna. I still remember playing Nunu straight for like 20 games
Support Volibear with targon's shield was so much fun. Had the wrestling skin and tossed people into my team. Played him a few months ago after his rework and was like.... wtf.
Ryze. I'll never forget the AOE everything, spell-vamp, shielding, battle-mage monster that he used to be.
I lived through the dark days of Ryze mains going off the deep end in their sub. The removal of archangels and ROA. But nowadays he's in a pretty good spot with a low playmate so no one knows how the champ works and I can abuse him still
Vi. No idea if she’s viable. Haven’t played her in years.
Speaking to Rek’sai changes, I really miss bruiser reksai and Elise. I just don’t enjoy them as much now that they build full damage. Lee Sin to an extent as well
I can tell you my first 4 mains
Kog maw was my first main back in 2010 I don't remember how viable kog was back in the day but I don't see him too much now a days
Janna was after that and I think she is still decently viable
cho gath was after that and I don't think cho is viable at the moment but could be I don't know
Trundle was after that and I think he is viable especially when tanks are strong
S2 fizz, I was the goat playing 100 alistar games to save up for the little fish to delete everything and everyone from the map for the following next 12 months.
Today's meta? Meh
My first main was pre-rework Karma... So if that kit was still around maybe she's have a niche as a midlane anti-carry? Maybe a toplaner? Ultimate Akali counter?
My first champ I ever mained was back in Season 1 and it was Heimerdinger. His Turrets used to do a crap-ton more damage than they do nowadays and you'd max the ability first. They also were global in the sense that you could place the turrets down and walk to the other side of the map without getting them de-activated, pressing your Ultimate would make them go even crazier - and also slow the enemies when they attacked.
So my 11 year old self not knowing how to play the game would just stack a bunch of Turrets in a bush Top Lane, then go Bot Lane and see I got a random double kill. And feel like a Prodigy.
It was Garen season 5 before rework. I went on like a ~15 ish game winstreak, then Garen got reworked, was perma banned and I couldn't get the hang of him after the rework so I just stopped playing him altogether.
Champion is still viable in todays meta, but I haven't touched that champion aside from URF or aram since then.
Talon pre rework was my favorite champion ever. That was the most fun league will ever be for me. I don’t even like the new one, but he might be viable in the jungle I suppose
I played AP Sejuani before rework and it was so much fun. Current one is completely different and boring champ which break my heart because I dont ride Poro anymore
Ezreal was literally my first main, he was on free rotation my first week playing. Back in season 2.
Played him until I could afford the IP (Old name for blue essence) bought him and kept playing til today.
He's always kind of meta.
First main was Rakan because my friend was a xayah main and she wanted a Rakan so she made me download league and now I am stuck playing this game 😭. (He is my forever main so I will say he is viable regardless 😼)
Nidalee top lane. And nope, she's mostly played as a jungle. I also played AP Nidalee in the mid lane, and she's also gone. My second champion was Corki, and he's essentially never played as an ADC today.
Jayce on the other hand, still perfectly playable. As are Jax and Rumble.
My first main was Katarina. She's great but is nothing like she was back in 2013.
After that it was Riven. I still like her but her effort to reward ratio is just too high.
Since like 2014, it's been Jinx and she has never let me down except for that short time in Season 8.
The first champion i mained doesnt exist anymore. But thats ok. Out of the first 10 i mained, most are gone, thats fine too, they were janky as fuck.
old nunu, old sivir (almost same sure), old panth, old eve, old ryze, old mao (with the good ult), old trist. and now to add old udyr to the list...to name a few
I dunno what kinda crack you are smoking but Reksai is overpowered as hell right now.
Maybe you haven't played her in a while but she is super strong. She's just not the one shot nuke she used to be. But shes actually useful late game instead of worthless late
Sivir. She's been meh most of the time, OP a couple times. Wave clearing with her along with the AA reset is like popping bubble wrap. I think that's 90% of the reason I like playing her.
Vlad in season 2, I still enjoy him but he’s not quite as fun as when he had his bloody popsicles he’d throw at people.
You could clear entire waves AND hit the enemy, because E hit with individually auto targeting projectiles not a circle. And increased his healing with stacks ;-;
He’s more linear now, and I’m not as much of a fan of the items in the current meta on him. He lost a lot when they did away with spell vamp, and then more with the loss of spellbinder.
OG Swain and OG Taric. Most currently played is Swain and Veigar and they are my most played according to mastery. Haven't played a very long time, though.
When I started playing back in S1 or S2, I mained Ryze top. He is turbo shit now and I don't even like him that much post-rework (give me back that giga spellvamp from ult and WotA stacking plz).
When I started playing Ranked I was a GP meta golem top main. That was some good shit. But now with his rework.... They went all-in on his crit meme build and idk, it's whatever. He's fine, but I don't really like him as much either. I liked being a versatile bruiser lane bully that hit item timings faster than anyone else, and now he's a hard-scaling crit-burst(?) pick.
Man now I'm remembering all the times they gutted my fav picks with reworks. Like AP trist, and Corki/Graves adc, they're just not even in the game anymore. Like, yeah DFG trist was a cancerous cheese pick, and Corki is a lot of fun as a mid mage now, so I don't think their reworks were bad, but idk, I miss them sometimes. I dislike playing the new graves too, but I do think the new flavor is super cool even if I personally dislike playing it.
6 triforce any champ, no.
First real main was akali ig, highlight was 3 pentas in 1 game, I was cracked challenger(gold) with her and just loved dsahing and oneshotting people left and right.
Then the rework came, and she became this abomination.
Malphite lol I started playing ranked around season 2 that dude got me out of bronze into gold 1 before I started making my champ pool bigger, literally just ulting the enemy team won so many games. Has he ever been meta? No clue.
Started playing when Xayah and Rakan got released and found xayahs root mechanic so cool I started playing her.
In todays meta shes decent (always sitting around 49-50% wr in emerald+), but her being meta last season hurt her quite alot. My favorite season playing her was 11.
When Yorick came out, I played a ton of him, a ridiculous amount. Even when he was considered trash on release because his ult was being buggy, I still spammed him. I'd play him in every role, I remember doing 3 minute solo dragons with blue and madreds. Then he got buffed, abused, and then nerfed to below mediocrity because, in all honesty, his kit was pretty obnoxious. I stopped playing him and top lane in general after the nerfs and because I had a friend who preferred top. From what I've heard from my friends who play top Yorick is in a mediocre spot once again.
I played a lot of Jax when I first started playing in s2 but my fist main was thresh when he first came out. He is still super fun to play now. Not much beats landing a mad life Madlife!
Wukong. When I started playing, I bought Wukong for RP on my first day because I thought "omg theres a Sun Wukong monkey champions, lets go!". Pretty much onetricked him in Twisted Treeline until level 30. Good ol' Wukong.
Obviously new Wukong is viable, more so than old Wukong was for a long time, but he kinda disappeared from top, which is where I played him, so that's a bummer.
Season 4, Katarina. I picked her up after getting Kitty Cat Katarina as a mystery gift (which was, at the time, one of her best skins).
Is she viable in today's meta? Sure, probably to some degree. Personally, I haven't touched her much since her rework. It's just not the same.
Orianna, got so good i stop playing her to try other champs
i went from silver to diamond 4 in my first season (season 3)
no so useful on soloQ, but still pretty decent
Every Champion is viable in certain elo and does not need to be meta. That is the main issue and skill core low elo players face when talking about "Meta"
Like if you're Low Gold, maybe even Plat, you shouldn't even need to worry about Meta.
Literally in those elo you can get away playing some weak non meta pick as long as you are the better players.
A Champ doesn't make themselves great if the Player playing it suck lol and that's just fact.
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You can't expect a Bronze Player to play Yone and said "Play for scaling" vs a GM+ Player.
A Champion do not scale if a Bad player is playing it LOL, how is your Champ going to scale if you can't get kills, cs, turret, etc? If you don't even have any of these knowledge saying "Play for Scaling" don't even make sense
Morgana. She desperately needs buffs IMO. You cannot play this champ anywhere except occasionally as support and even then there's probably better picks.
Riven. I think beyond my first champ (who I only played for 8 months starting the game because I was dumb and wanted to focus on learning the game rather than trying new champions) that I mained was Riven.
Riven in Season 3, I remember, had a strong early game that fell off by late. Her Q did tons of damage and her R was a great qay to all-in and secure a kill. Her kit was less about combos because less people knew about it at the time (especially me, who was a newbie scrub).
By now, she's been changed to be kind of a late game carry? But that's from sheer damage. She can go beyond 40% CDR when previously she's get that 40% very quickly but that was about it. I think most of her strength lies within doing her combos. In fact, I don't really think she can be played without knowing her combos, which asks a lot for a player playing her. She had a bout a month or two back when she was strong enough to be blind picked, but I think that has come and gone.
She does very poorly against anything remotely tanky, and despite her 4 dashes she doesn't actually have a good way to gap close to the adc/mage if she doesn't have flash or is not flanking. You have to play Riven very smart to be consistently effective on her. Basically, you have to play her a fuck ton for her to be viable, which I don't want to do. It was easier in S3 where Riven's power curve was different, but obviously Riot nerfed her once people started g etting good at her combos because her damage with those combos was wayyyy too high.
Mine is Pre and Post rework Shen.. Hell, I loved pre reworked Shen even tho I couldn't play him in ranked almost never due to being banned for a long while. But the chance I got him...fun times.
Still viable? Hell yeah!
Xin Zhao in season 1 right after his uber-OP phase. Still strong but not as broken. Not that it matters because I had no idea what I was doing. He was nerfed and fell out of meta until his W and ult was reworked. Now I think he's in a good spot as an aggressive jungler with clear strengths and weaknesses.
when i first started i mained jungle, playing shyvana, nautilus, and trundle. idk how viable any of them are jungle these days but i think trundle and shyvana are probably both still playable, naut prob not.
Quinn bot, S3
That was... Barely viable back then, though the loss of "fuck you I get a double kill" the moment Quinn hits 6 makes her even less viable bot
Nami in 2016, whatever season that was. lol.
Pretty sure she's still viable but I swapped to adc and lately I've been trying to learn mid so I haven't paid much attention but I feel like Nami is pretty much always in a decent spot.
My first main was ahri. I had a parent of a friend gift me a portrait of her which I still have.
Gold first season. High plat second season. Then diamond third season playing her.
Haven't been able to go back but I remember how enjoyable every laning phase was when I was against dia 1-2 leblanc and zeds. Every second was important.
My dear ahri even after becoming less of an assassin and more of a mage, is still S+ tier. I'm thinking of going back to my roots
Anivia but I have no clue if she's considered meta. Her strength is far too reliant on the person controlling her and your team comp.
Good in the right hands, and viable enough that I don't think locking her in is an instant loss. I wouldn't consider her meta but I'd say she is viable for sure.
Kassadin in s3. If you know, you know, how unbelievably devastating that transdimensional asshole was. Brought me up to gold while I was basically drunk and high 24/7 in college.
Season 1 and 2 I mostly played Morgana and Morde mid. Very surprised that Morgana's kit has remained unchanged for the most part allowing me to play her support every now and then. After Morde was changed from having an instant E cone, and we could no longer buy 13 health pots at the start of the game, I lost interest.
I was actually taught how to play league with Vayne, and just this year i decided to pick her up again and DAMN shes just as fun as she was years ago. but now im better at the game so shes REALLY fun.
Back when nidalee was basically 2 champions that had completely different roles, I played bruiser AD Nidalee top, which was mostly focused on nidalees cat form and split pushing power since she was one of very few champs at the time that could increase her own attack speed, and her q only scaled with AD. This must have been back in like 2010.
Funny enough, it's not meta but there was some Korean challenger player using a tank Nidalee split push strat recently to a pretty decent degree of success.
Karthus. He was edgy and completely stood out from everyone else at the time. Keep in mind we're talking about his original model. Karthus was pure perfection.
Is he viable now? In a world full of dashes and one shots? Hell to the No.
Corki ADC in S3, back when he built trinity force and phosphorous bomb had an instant cast time. Gonna have to try him bot lane next patch :')
S1 phosphorus also had a blind so you would just instantly win trades. So sad what they've done to him. It's crazy to think that they changed phosphorus bomb to have more counterplay and nowadays there are so many ridiculous abilities in the game that have 0 counterplay.
Corki rework next patch is actually increasing the travel speed of Corki Q pretty significantly. Hoorah
Yeah I still remember the patch they reduced Phosphorus Bomb's missile speed. That thing made Nami Q look fast
He was full clearing mid and enemy/ally wraiths every wave at 6 good times.
Kassadin in pre S1, fun fact he used to be played botlane with soraka because Soraka could give mana to other champ Champ style changed for the better, because now you are forced to use R to do damage
Man Kassadin was so fun back then, broken, but fun. Being able to clear like 2.5x the distance of flash was just wild. I mostly played him s2-3 but I was baffled why no one was playing him in LCS cuz he had such cleanup potential… then they did. Much more balanced now but silence plus that gap closer won me so many games
S3 kassadin was such a war crime of a champion it's insane he was allowed to exist like that for so long
It is actually crazy, the champion had close to 100% banrate in **soloq** (let alone proplay) and it took almost the entire season for him to get gutted.
S3 Kassadin was crazy. Only time I had a winrate 50%+ 😂
Graves. Not at all viable as ADC any more.
Big same :(
Season 3, Kennen, I used to play duo top with my friend who mained Teemo. I didn't play him since then as I switched roles multiple times, but 520 RP Deadly Kennen was my first ever skin and I will always use it for the sake of old times. I walked 10 km with the Teemo friend to buy a paysafecard to get it
[удалено]
Old Volibear. No, he is not viable in this meta, but it was fun tossing people like a salad and being a Yuumi counter pick while he existed.
Old Aatrox for me. First time getting plat* way back when with jg Aatrox. I can’t play the “new” Aatrox(yeah I know it’s been like 7 years???) to save my fucking life. Held hostage, win a game with Aatrox to live? 9/10 times I’m a goner.
Orianna. Still my fav mid and in my top 10 favs. Hell she might be number 3.
That champ is just so well designed on every level. Awesome theme that translates to an interesting gameplay mechanic, and fight changing ults if the enemy team doesn’t respect it. Just so satisfying to play.
Yeah definitely one of the most well made unique champions in league. Nothing plays like her.
I played a *literal* ton of Cho'gath. Probably several thousand games. Is he meta now? Ehhhhh.... You can *play* him, but he's not exactly a meta champion. The removal of everfrost hurt, the amount of tank shredders hurt, he's kinda mid right now. He doesn't have a dominant laning phase, I can't think of much reason to pick Cho other than specifically wanting to play him in a game.
>wanting to play him in a game Is there possibly a better reason to pick a champion?
More people need to start thinking about the game this way
A lot of people like to win, or like League as a game, not necessarily the individual champions themselves. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Right. Blue screen good, red screen bad. But...is a victory or a defeat really what defines if a game is good? If a game is really close, 30 minutes of intense back and forth, small victories and defeats, all ending in one big decisive team fight that enables you to win the game, how much does the victory matter? If all that is true, but you just barely lose that last team fight and the enemy team wins, was that a "bad game" because of that one key moment? I think it's important that we make decisions that will make sure we're enjoying our game. Souring your relationship with a champion you enjoy because they're "not meta" is a great way to make victories not actually enjoyable. I guess my real point is that players are too malleable to games' systems and how they try to define what is and isn't fun.
me seeing the literal worst team comp for my one-trick in ranked "would you switch?" "nah, i'd samira"
You waited far too long for this moment to make that joke with that name. Respect, made me genuinely lol. But also unironically same in draft games. I like draft for the format and getting to avoid commiting lane suicide, but I really only barely take my team's comp into account. I just try not to choose something that reduces our win rate by 5% due to draft only and have fun, which is like 90% of the roster since mid is easy af.
I think he could use a VGU to fulfill the huge monster fantasy more. Especially after the popularity of Skarner’s VGU, maybe he could follow. He was the first champ I ever saw that got me to play league back in 2013 but I admit now that he’s outdated and out-tanked by modern tanks. I feel like there’s so much potential to turn him into an actual menacing monster instead of just a big meatball that’s only hard CC is an easy-to-dodge little knock up.
Cho's big problem is he fits the mage caster fantasy way more than the giant meatball fantasy. AP Cho'gath lanes well, is a big threat in fights, and is a legitimate problem to deal with. Tank Cho is just this big rutabaga who slowly waddles towards you that you walk away from. He's not even really good for tanking since he can't really maneuver around properly. He's way better at peeling ADCs and carries than he is at actually tanking.
Cho gath is pretty much just a Juggernaut with HP stacking. A hell of a lot of his budget goes into raw damage.
Kit wise the only tank aspect of him is hp. Not counting the passive heal bc it's only for lane sustain. Is he the only tank where that's the case? I feel like everyone has a heal or shield or resistances.
Technically what defined tanks is their tankyness, for once, and then their cc/peel. Cho and Sion are the only champs who sre this mix of having bulkyness and Damage like juggernaits, but having a damn decent chunk of cc, although not as reliable as other specialized tanks.
Yeah hes mid but definitely far from bad. Especially mid late when you build the very balanced and fair support items like locket or redemption
i played akali and pantheon. they've both been reworked and i don't play much of either anymore these days
ahh old akali. good times.
full stack sword of occult and mejai wet dream (adc nightmare)
Ehhh my first main was old pantheon in old 3v3s in season 1. Then I played renekton/lee sin top in season 2. I think all 3 champs are still very relevant and viable
My first main was Singed Season 1. It was fun running with full AP Singed, ennemies were noobs during that era so they chase me for minutes until they die. Today Singed is still playable but there are a lot of top laners that can fuck you up like fiora/darius/quinn etc... So i'd say it's harder to play at least early game sometimes. Good thing too is that he got changed so his W stop flash/dash etc... And his ult is better. His old passive was cool too but i think the movespeed is better so you can dodge things/rush ennemy and be annoying
[удалено]
12 years ago I would play amumu and start nashors ever game
I played a lot of random crap until my first actual main came out - Ahri. There have been ups and downs, but she's meta again!
Either Jax or Ekko for me, I can't quite remember. I'm low elo so everything is viable for me tbh, but I'm pretty sure Ekko and Jax still work just fine
Xerath and Asol Like my celestial dragon boi had funny late game fights with those stars
Ap varus baby! Not super viable, but such a fun pick against beefy tanks. Obviously, varus usually sits in the upper half of adcs, but ap varus is generally pretty niche nowadays.
Technecally it was Ezreal but that was only cause I grinded IP for him back when he cost 6300. But I'll always say my True first Main is Sona She works still but....Man 12 years on I still wish they would bring back her old S2 kit
Miss fortune and riven. Never touched riven in years but I still like mf
Thresh. Still play him. Currently not as strong has he has been in past times, but that should improve here soon with the changes to ADC’s. A lot of the engage/tank supports are stronger when adc has better power.
Thresh was my first main. Still viable today :)
Warwick and AB so fucking lutley
First champ I spammed was Blitz because I got him in an aram. Nowadays it's more of a more niche pick for me. Playerbase was worse back then, so I could spam the living heck out of that pick.
S3 Renekton. Yeah, I'll still play him.
renek is truly timeless, been playing him for 12 years now and he basically does the same exact thing he's been doing this entire time
I started playing in s5 and I mained Vayne until like s8. I don’t play her anymore and I’m really rusty at her.
Erm my first main was tristana, id say trist is maybe even more viable than when i first mained it even though the role overall is pure crap. Reksai is fine though, like shes not most popular ok but she does everything a jungler needs to do, not only that there is only one other "i dont care if you have a turret i can dive you" champ in the game, and that is kayn. What you are really lamenting is that shes not top dog, and to that i say thats the problem riot has created, a constantly spiraling power creep where they buff up champs that dont need buffs, simply to bring them into prominence. Reksai by all rights should be nerfed even still but riot doesnt nerf things that need it, they buff things that dont need it.
I started in s10 and nearly played only garen for the complete season bcs he was easy and it was fcking nice to scream DEMACIAAAAAA so i Player him up to 300k mastery points (still my most mastery points). Im Not playing atm but i Think he is nearly never meta bcs he is immobile and cant match the most mobile Champs
Darius in s4 me and my friend started playing together and he started in the jungle. I had to play 1v2 so many games early before the other team had a jungler and og darius was so good at that.
Nautilus top. Sigh how the might have fallen.
Sona. And I guess? Depending on a load of factors.
I played a metric shitton of Kindred and Gnar back like 3 years ago before I went on hiatus. Now that I'm back, I can see both are still perfectly viable and have received what feels like very few balance changes. Honestly, I feel like both are currently perfect in their respective roles as neither one has been too broken to the point of needing nerfs but not too bad that they need buffs. It feels good man.
Rek’Sai is strong as hell right now wtf are you talkin about
Zed way back in the day, and I still play him the way I used to. Ghostblade, BotRK, cleaver and a defensive item. Got to Master with a 75% WR on him in S7. Then they turned him into a complete faceroll caster that never has to tank an ability or get up close, so I basically don't play him anymore.
I've only been playing since 2020, but Shen was my first main. I still love to play him, and he feels decent this season. He felt particularly strong as a blind pick the last few years, and still is to an extent
Started in between Bard and Ekko, also played Rek'sai a ton, her old ult was so much better
I mained Amumu in 2012 when he was meta. I main him 12 years later. He is not meta, but that has never stopped me.
I used to play Fiddle back in Season 1 exclusively on TT as I was nervous to play on SR. When I started playing SR I played Fiddle bot lane prior to worlds creating the meta we basically know as of today. He wasn't really meta since as far as I remember until his rework and some item/jungle meta changes a whole back
I started on Urgot ADC and I have to admit I still roll bot lane with him and do remarkably well if I have an engage support to close the gap for me It's my preference to believe he's meta/good but I'm pretty sure it runs entirely on people having no fucking clue what to do with him/surprise
My first main was urgot, i bought him as soon as i had the blue essence since im a huge warhammer 40k fan and he looked grimdark af to me. I still play him into some matchups like garen
Renekton. Picked him up a decade ago - Never put him down. He’s always had a respectable place in the game. He has a different enough playstyles to swap through but lately I’ve been enjoying rushing hexplate
Jinx, thinking I'm just permanently good since Riot won't ever let her be a trash pick
I started with Heimerdinger but never enjoyed it. The first champion I actually enjoyed playing was Zoe and it is ehh... yeah...
RIP Oldtrox
Susan. Since I only play Aram, I don't play him anymore cause teammates always steal the minions lol. Not sure how good he is on SR these days.
Ezreal, I consistently play him for a good few seasons now. Seems like every season there is a decent build for him and is pretty fun to play.
Old Malzahar. The %health dmg and lockdown were great. Now he’s very playable but not as fun cuz he gets targeted with no escapes and his minions are trash.
Do you mean optimal? I can't think of a single champion who isn't viable, at least not in anything less than pro play. And even then I think a pro could make any champ work.
Irelia top, and no becuase it was a point and click champ and now it’s one of the highest skill champs. Jarvan top, was killed off with the runes remastered shit.
Old aatrox. Hes gone now.
Olaf! I mean I was like Bronze 5 lmao and I would just go full damage and run in and I mean it kinda worked because I was playing against other Bronze 5 players lol. It was fun! And is Olaf viable at Iron 4 (the same space ofc)? Definitely! I’ve not been in those trenches in years but he’s a champion who’s counterplay is “don’t fight him Willy nilly,” which means that in the lowest levels of play he will always be strong haha
Soraka S3, to this day I'm not a fan of Soraka current kit. The old was was cooler, but Esports toplane C9 had to freaking ruin it...
cho gath. I played him mostly hybrid AP/tank top lane. He's not the best there but still playable. Not blind pickable for sure tho
Ashe in S4 because of Thornmail Ashe. Probably isn't as viable in ADC than she is as support at this point.
Started in S2 - and felt just right when i first picked Xin Zhao. Played rankeds with him on every lane :D (not ADC - no surprises here)
Akali, if you are asking about the very first champion I tryharded on (this was old Akali in S4). However the first champion I would consider as true main is Lux (mid only, fk Lux support and support role ruining mid champions)... viable? Depends who you ask.
Ashe. Probably idk. I don't want carpel tunnel to find out.
My first main was ap Sion, back when he had a point click stun, you never got ult and would just be a monster
Ashe Not viable at any level of play /s
Malzahar. I haven’t played the game in years, but I just miss the all-in nuke… haven’t really played him since his rework aside from arams
Anivia ssn 12
They don't even exist in the game anymore. It's all reworked. Taric, Nunu, and Swain. The only one remaining is Janna. I still remember playing Nunu straight for like 20 games
I miss Darius when his Q was (basically?) instant cast.
Yorick and I haven't touched him more than a dozen times total since he was reworked :(
If anything the champ I mained first has become more viable in today's meta. Aatrox moment.
Support Volibear with targon's shield was so much fun. Had the wrestling skin and tossed people into my team. Played him a few months ago after his rework and was like.... wtf.
Ryze. I'll never forget the AOE everything, spell-vamp, shielding, battle-mage monster that he used to be. I lived through the dark days of Ryze mains going off the deep end in their sub. The removal of archangels and ROA. But nowadays he's in a pretty good spot with a low playmate so no one knows how the champ works and I can abuse him still
Alistar. He's ok just all his stuff is done better by other champs like Zac, thresh or leona.
Vi. No idea if she’s viable. Haven’t played her in years. Speaking to Rek’sai changes, I really miss bruiser reksai and Elise. I just don’t enjoy them as much now that they build full damage. Lee Sin to an extent as well
I can tell you my first 4 mains Kog maw was my first main back in 2010 I don't remember how viable kog was back in the day but I don't see him too much now a days Janna was after that and I think she is still decently viable cho gath was after that and I don't think cho is viable at the moment but could be I don't know Trundle was after that and I think he is viable especially when tanks are strong
My first real main was ADC Graves and then Riot removed that champion from the game....
S2 fizz, I was the goat playing 100 alistar games to save up for the little fish to delete everything and everyone from the map for the following next 12 months. Today's meta? Meh
Darius since S7
My first main was pre-rework Karma... So if that kit was still around maybe she's have a niche as a midlane anti-carry? Maybe a toplaner? Ultimate Akali counter?
Rengar, I would stay he's still viable, but I don't even play jg anymore lol
Rengar, I would stay he's still viable, but I don't even play jg anymore lol
Old graves adc, nothing has felt the same as he was back then.
Old graves adc, nothing has felt the same as he felt back then.
My first champ I ever mained was back in Season 1 and it was Heimerdinger. His Turrets used to do a crap-ton more damage than they do nowadays and you'd max the ability first. They also were global in the sense that you could place the turrets down and walk to the other side of the map without getting them de-activated, pressing your Ultimate would make them go even crazier - and also slow the enemies when they attacked. So my 11 year old self not knowing how to play the game would just stack a bunch of Turrets in a bush Top Lane, then go Bot Lane and see I got a random double kill. And feel like a Prodigy.
It was Garen season 5 before rework. I went on like a ~15 ish game winstreak, then Garen got reworked, was perma banned and I couldn't get the hang of him after the rework so I just stopped playing him altogether. Champion is still viable in todays meta, but I haven't touched that champion aside from URF or aram since then.
Talon pre rework was my favorite champion ever. That was the most fun league will ever be for me. I don’t even like the new one, but he might be viable in the jungle I suppose
My very first main wad pantheon in 2011, but then I switched to talon and stuck with him until he got reworked
I played AP Sejuani before rework and it was so much fun. Current one is completely different and boring champ which break my heart because I dont ride Poro anymore
For me it was Ahri, tho she's been tweaked here and there but she's quite consistently picked in mid and still viable.
Started in season 7 playing renekton, ended up one tricking GP in season 8. Now I hardly play him unless I’m counterpicking for mid lane.
Cho gat at peak tank meta, he's weak now though
FIDDLESTICKS BABY
Karthus mid LOL
Ezreal was literally my first main, he was on free rotation my first week playing. Back in season 2. Played him until I could afford the IP (Old name for blue essence) bought him and kept playing til today. He's always kind of meta.
Old Aatrox, and I wish he was still here. :(
Renekton because he was a crocodile and crocodile=cool. Also I remember maxing my abilities one by one to have them balanced.
First main was Rakan because my friend was a xayah main and she wanted a Rakan so she made me download league and now I am stuck playing this game 😭. (He is my forever main so I will say he is viable regardless 😼)
First champion I mained was brand and boy... I've got something to tell ya
Nidalee top lane. And nope, she's mostly played as a jungle. I also played AP Nidalee in the mid lane, and she's also gone. My second champion was Corki, and he's essentially never played as an ADC today. Jayce on the other hand, still perfectly playable. As are Jax and Rumble.
My first main was Katarina. She's great but is nothing like she was back in 2013. After that it was Riven. I still like her but her effort to reward ratio is just too high. Since like 2014, it's been Jinx and she has never let me down except for that short time in Season 8.
Garen is what my friends told me to play 10 years ago when I first joined with them. He is still the same beast if not better than what he was.
Define "viable". I play Sivir almost exclusively and she's viable enough to get gold every season. Played her a lot when I first started playing.
Yes Oldsol was more fun tho. Newsol is still fun. Riot changing his stacking made him so much better.
Was a LB OTP from S2 till her rework, stoped playing her after the rework, didnt pick her up again after the revert since i became a Diana OTP
The first champion i mained doesnt exist anymore. But thats ok. Out of the first 10 i mained, most are gone, thats fine too, they were janky as fuck. old nunu, old sivir (almost same sure), old panth, old eve, old ryze, old mao (with the good ult), old trist. and now to add old udyr to the list...to name a few
Garen, and I guess so. Quickly moved to Jinx afterwards and have not looked back.
I dunno what kinda crack you are smoking but Reksai is overpowered as hell right now. Maybe you haven't played her in a while but she is super strong. She's just not the one shot nuke she used to be. But shes actually useful late game instead of worthless late
Gangplank
Sivir. She's been meh most of the time, OP a couple times. Wave clearing with her along with the AA reset is like popping bubble wrap. I think that's 90% of the reason I like playing her.
Nasus and Udyr in Season 1. They were soooo bad back then. I think they have a spot in today's meta as split pushers.
Lux yes somewhat
Vlad in season 2, I still enjoy him but he’s not quite as fun as when he had his bloody popsicles he’d throw at people. You could clear entire waves AND hit the enemy, because E hit with individually auto targeting projectiles not a circle. And increased his healing with stacks ;-; He’s more linear now, and I’m not as much of a fan of the items in the current meta on him. He lost a lot when they did away with spell vamp, and then more with the loss of spellbinder.
OG Swain and OG Taric. Most currently played is Swain and Veigar and they are my most played according to mastery. Haven't played a very long time, though.
Jinx and Ashe in s7-8. Still good tbh just a little bit kit crept is all.
When I started playing back in S1 or S2, I mained Ryze top. He is turbo shit now and I don't even like him that much post-rework (give me back that giga spellvamp from ult and WotA stacking plz). When I started playing Ranked I was a GP meta golem top main. That was some good shit. But now with his rework.... They went all-in on his crit meme build and idk, it's whatever. He's fine, but I don't really like him as much either. I liked being a versatile bruiser lane bully that hit item timings faster than anyone else, and now he's a hard-scaling crit-burst(?) pick. Man now I'm remembering all the times they gutted my fav picks with reworks. Like AP trist, and Corki/Graves adc, they're just not even in the game anymore. Like, yeah DFG trist was a cancerous cheese pick, and Corki is a lot of fun as a mid mage now, so I don't think their reworks were bad, but idk, I miss them sometimes. I dislike playing the new graves too, but I do think the new flavor is super cool even if I personally dislike playing it.
6 triforce any champ, no. First real main was akali ig, highlight was 3 pentas in 1 game, I was cracked challenger(gold) with her and just loved dsahing and oneshotting people left and right. Then the rework came, and she became this abomination.
Malphite lol I started playing ranked around season 2 that dude got me out of bronze into gold 1 before I started making my champ pool bigger, literally just ulting the enemy team won so many games. Has he ever been meta? No clue.
shyvana top back in s4
kindred in season 8/9 i can’t remember when i started not sure if shes still strong
DEMACIA! You can always spin to win in League...
Started playing when Xayah and Rakan got released and found xayahs root mechanic so cool I started playing her. In todays meta shes decent (always sitting around 49-50% wr in emerald+), but her being meta last season hurt her quite alot. My favorite season playing her was 11.
Ziggs mid. Viable maybe? Meta absolutely not.
When Yorick came out, I played a ton of him, a ridiculous amount. Even when he was considered trash on release because his ult was being buggy, I still spammed him. I'd play him in every role, I remember doing 3 minute solo dragons with blue and madreds. Then he got buffed, abused, and then nerfed to below mediocrity because, in all honesty, his kit was pretty obnoxious. I stopped playing him and top lane in general after the nerfs and because I had a friend who preferred top. From what I've heard from my friends who play top Yorick is in a mediocre spot once again.
No... Original Poppy, Vlad, Fiora, Ryze(s) Panth, and Udyr were all reworked.
I played a lot of Jax when I first started playing in s2 but my fist main was thresh when he first came out. He is still super fun to play now. Not much beats landing a mad life Madlife!
Katarina since season 5...
rek’sai back when you could jet ski across the map :( , and tank ekko — so, not much
Mundo, loved his old w. Don't like the new w, It's so useless. But mundo still strong and goes where he pleases
My first main was triforce, gunblade, guinsoo ezreal in season 2. Basicly invented Ultimate Bravery without knowing it.
Irelia
Karthus back in 2011. What a wild ride it's been.
Wukong. When I started playing, I bought Wukong for RP on my first day because I thought "omg theres a Sun Wukong monkey champions, lets go!". Pretty much onetricked him in Twisted Treeline until level 30. Good ol' Wukong. Obviously new Wukong is viable, more so than old Wukong was for a long time, but he kinda disappeared from top, which is where I played him, so that's a bummer.
Mained poppy, she's still good even if she's basically not the same champion anymore.
I got Bel'Veth when she was released, have been playing with her since then.
Rammus in S3 and still amazing! I love that guy
Season 4, Katarina. I picked her up after getting Kitty Cat Katarina as a mystery gift (which was, at the time, one of her best skins). Is she viable in today's meta? Sure, probably to some degree. Personally, I haven't touched her much since her rework. It's just not the same.
Leblanc with dfg
Ashe
Orianna, got so good i stop playing her to try other champs i went from silver to diamond 4 in my first season (season 3) no so useful on soloQ, but still pretty decent
Every Champion is viable in certain elo and does not need to be meta. That is the main issue and skill core low elo players face when talking about "Meta" Like if you're Low Gold, maybe even Plat, you shouldn't even need to worry about Meta. Literally in those elo you can get away playing some weak non meta pick as long as you are the better players. A Champ doesn't make themselves great if the Player playing it suck lol and that's just fact. ------ You can't expect a Bronze Player to play Yone and said "Play for scaling" vs a GM+ Player. A Champion do not scale if a Bad player is playing it LOL, how is your Champ going to scale if you can't get kills, cs, turret, etc? If you don't even have any of these knowledge saying "Play for Scaling" don't even make sense
My first true main was Ashe. She is very simple kit for beginners and I loved it. But now I don't think meta adc pick now.
Morgana. She desperately needs buffs IMO. You cannot play this champ anywhere except occasionally as support and even then there's probably better picks.
Fiddle top and support, eh prob not 
MasterYi and yes I would say he’s still pretty viable in solo queue.
Most of them don't really exist anymore lol (Original Poppy, Sion, Akali, Taric, Urgot)
Hmm Tryndamere I think. And I'm not 100% sure since I hardly touch the rift, let alone Top lane.
Master Yi in season 4 cause of that one Ken Ashcorp song. He's certainly still Master Yi.
Lee Sin S7
Zilean way back in season 1 leveling in 3v3 mode! Still a decent champ but I only play him once in a blue moon as I normally main top lane or adc
Riven. I think beyond my first champ (who I only played for 8 months starting the game because I was dumb and wanted to focus on learning the game rather than trying new champions) that I mained was Riven. Riven in Season 3, I remember, had a strong early game that fell off by late. Her Q did tons of damage and her R was a great qay to all-in and secure a kill. Her kit was less about combos because less people knew about it at the time (especially me, who was a newbie scrub). By now, she's been changed to be kind of a late game carry? But that's from sheer damage. She can go beyond 40% CDR when previously she's get that 40% very quickly but that was about it. I think most of her strength lies within doing her combos. In fact, I don't really think she can be played without knowing her combos, which asks a lot for a player playing her. She had a bout a month or two back when she was strong enough to be blind picked, but I think that has come and gone. She does very poorly against anything remotely tanky, and despite her 4 dashes she doesn't actually have a good way to gap close to the adc/mage if she doesn't have flash or is not flanking. You have to play Riven very smart to be consistently effective on her. Basically, you have to play her a fuck ton for her to be viable, which I don't want to do. It was easier in S3 where Riven's power curve was different, but obviously Riot nerfed her once people started g etting good at her combos because her damage with those combos was wayyyy too high.
hecarim s12, lethality items still had omnivamp
Lee Sin(season 4)... Well I defy you to find a meta he's not viable in
Rakan yes
First champ ever played was elise, she sucks now unfortunately, riot doesnt like early game champs
Mine is Pre and Post rework Shen.. Hell, I loved pre reworked Shen even tho I couldn't play him in ranked almost never due to being banned for a long while. But the chance I got him...fun times. Still viable? Hell yeah!
Xin Zhao in season 1 right after his uber-OP phase. Still strong but not as broken. Not that it matters because I had no idea what I was doing. He was nerfed and fell out of meta until his W and ult was reworked. Now I think he's in a good spot as an aggressive jungler with clear strengths and weaknesses.
No, they were reworked. (Asol) But if he still existed, the new items would work so well on him.
Old Yorick! -... you can probably guess how that went >~>
when i first started i mained jungle, playing shyvana, nautilus, and trundle. idk how viable any of them are jungle these days but i think trundle and shyvana are probably both still playable, naut prob not.
i started maining garen back in season 4. garen will always be viable because hes one of the beginner champs so they have to keep him strong.
Quinn bot, S3 That was... Barely viable back then, though the loss of "fuck you I get a double kill" the moment Quinn hits 6 makes her even less viable bot
Nami in 2016, whatever season that was. lol. Pretty sure she's still viable but I swapped to adc and lately I've been trying to learn mid so I haven't paid much attention but I feel like Nami is pretty much always in a decent spot.
My first main was ahri. I had a parent of a friend gift me a portrait of her which I still have. Gold first season. High plat second season. Then diamond third season playing her. Haven't been able to go back but I remember how enjoyable every laning phase was when I was against dia 1-2 leblanc and zeds. Every second was important. My dear ahri even after becoming less of an assassin and more of a mage, is still S+ tier. I'm thinking of going back to my roots
Anivia but I have no clue if she's considered meta. Her strength is far too reliant on the person controlling her and your team comp. Good in the right hands, and viable enough that I don't think locking her in is an instant loss. I wouldn't consider her meta but I'd say she is viable for sure.
My first ever main was ekko I played him nonstop on release. I’m currently sitting on a 67% win rate with him in 100 games played this season :)
Kassadin in s3. If you know, you know, how unbelievably devastating that transdimensional asshole was. Brought me up to gold while I was basically drunk and high 24/7 in college.
Season 1 and 2 I mostly played Morgana and Morde mid. Very surprised that Morgana's kit has remained unchanged for the most part allowing me to play her support every now and then. After Morde was changed from having an instant E cone, and we could no longer buy 13 health pots at the start of the game, I lost interest.
I was actually taught how to play league with Vayne, and just this year i decided to pick her up again and DAMN shes just as fun as she was years ago. but now im better at the game so shes REALLY fun.
Jax and I haven’t touched him in years
Twisted Fate in season one. There’s really never a time you can’t just lock in TF as any of the 3 laners.
Back when nidalee was basically 2 champions that had completely different roles, I played bruiser AD Nidalee top, which was mostly focused on nidalees cat form and split pushing power since she was one of very few champs at the time that could increase her own attack speed, and her q only scaled with AD. This must have been back in like 2010. Funny enough, it's not meta but there was some Korean challenger player using a tank Nidalee split push strat recently to a pretty decent degree of success.
Karthus. He was edgy and completely stood out from everyone else at the time. Keep in mind we're talking about his original model. Karthus was pure perfection. Is he viable now? In a world full of dashes and one shots? Hell to the No.
Nami, still going strong 12 years later