LoL 12.18 Meta: The Top Champions to Play

The LoL 12.18 patch arrived on the official servers earlier this morning. Players who just ran into a brand new patch naturally want to keep up with the new meta. But when they look into the new meta, they can't yet see anything fully clear-cut. So we've decided to list the champions with a high early pick rate and an equally high win rate for you. If you're ready, let's move on to our new article covering the 12.18 meta as well. Here are the LoL 12.18 meta champions!

Who Are the LoL 12.18 Meta Champions?

Top Lane

Shen

We hadn't seen Shen on any tier list for a long time. So we were surprised to find Shen in the S- tier after doing our research. Looking into why, we found that Shen got a small update. It looks like the update to his ultimate strengthened him a bit. Shen was already a perfect fit for someone who knows how to play him. But now he greets us noticeably stronger, even for someone playing him at a normal level. If you don't play too aggressively in lane and calmly get through your laning phase, you'll be able to either carry the game or, at worst, tank all the damage.

Jungle

Nidalee

Nidalee's human form W mana cost was reduced, her E's mana cost was reduced at later ranks and its cast range was increased. On top of that, Cougar form W's damage radius was increased. While this doesn't mean much to players who don't know how to use both of Nidalee's forms efficiently, Nidalee is an outstanding champion with insane mobility and healing on Summoner's Rift. In particular, the fact that her cougar form abilities cost nothing draws in a lot of players. Human-form Nidalee's Q ability, meanwhile, deals quite significant damage from long range. If you've got good aim, picking this champion will work in your favor.

Mid Lane

Pyke

Now let's get to the strongest mid lane champion in this patch. In patch 12.18, there's one champion that's dominating the mid lane especially hard. As you might guess, that champion is Pyke. If you haven't played Pyke in years, or if you're seeing him for the first time, we definitely recommend staying away from him. That's because Pyke is an assassin champion, so you need to put in practice with him. This champion, just like Fizz, needs to be played by people with good aim.

Now you might ask me why good aim is needed. Or you might say, dear FireGhost, why are you even talking about our aiming skill in a game that isn't an FPS? You're quite right, but abilities like Pyke's Q, much like Fizz's ultimate, need to be thrown at the opponent with a proper aiming method. If you miss these abilities, it's very likely you'll turn the game's fate completely the other way. So if your aim is already good, you shouldn't miss out on these champions in the mid lane in the LoL 12.18 patch.

ADC

Jhin

Jhin has become the pick of choice for a lot of people who want a fun and unique ADC to play. Even though he's quite different from other ADCs, his long-range shots deal tons of damage to enemy champions. For a support, Sona will generally be a great choice, since she can heal, poke and even stun with her ultimate. Anyone who loves playing Jhin will love this patch a lot. In this patch, Jhin stands out as the number one meta marksman. If you can properly manage his shots, victory at the end of the game will be inevitable for you.

Support

Blitzcrank

Blitzcrank is a champion that people who've honed their aim can play to great effect thanks to his outstanding abilities. I'm not joking at all about aim. His Q can only land with an incredible ability and an incredible target lock. Pulling the enemy toward your marksman may be a rough thing to do, but a well-landed Q can completely change the course of the game. So people who pick this champion would do well to keep situations like this in mind when locking in their choice.

That's it for today's meta article. If you'd like more LoL articles, you can visit the links below.

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• Click here for the Nautilus Runes & Build Guide.
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• Click here for our article on 3 Top Lane Players That Will Challenge You on the Way to Master.
• Click here for our article on Zeri Runes.
• Click here for our article on The 5 Strongest Counters to Zeri in League of Legends.
• Click here for our article on League of Legends Zeri Tactics.
• Click here for our article on The 3 Best Top Lane Champions for Newcomers to LoL!

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• Click here for our article on 3 Top Lane Players That Will Challenge You on the Way to Master.
• Click here for our article on The Best ADC Champions in Bronze League: The Champions with the Highest Win Rate.
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