With the wealth of community driven information available, it’s generally pretty easy to know which champions are “over-powered” on any given patch in League of Legends. For example, right now, if you let Dr. Mundo through bans and don’t pick him up, you probably made a mistake in champion select. However, it’s often much more difficult to determine the “hidden OP” champs; the ones who are actually quite strong, but largely ignored by the community.
It’s with this in mind that I present the most underrated champion in each role for patch 5.24. The requirements for each champion: A win rate of at least 52%, with a pick/ban rate under 4%. This list is, by its nature, somewhat subjective, though is backed up by raw stats. Here are the champions you might want to consider playing once the “OP’s” are banned:
(All stats from champion.gg, and reflect Platinum+ solo queue. Win rates are only for the designated role.)
Top Lane
Kayle (Win rate: 54.67%, Pick/ban rate: 1.47%)
With all of the hype surrounding the new and improved Guinsoo’s Rageblade, it’s actually quite surprising that more people didn’t pick up on how it would affect Kayle. Perhaps it’s because people were upset that she couldn’t jungle as effectively after the Devourer nerfs, but whatever the cause, the Judicator is actually in a very strong spot right now. The combination of Nashor’s Tooth and Rageblade make her a one-woman wrecking crew, and the range advantage in the top lane helps her get through laning phase, and obtain her items, a piece of cake. Throw in an ultimate that can prevent death for either Kayle or a teammate, and you’ll begin to remember the times when she was feared.
Jungle
Aatrox (Win rate: 53.01%, Pick/ban rate: 0.98%)
There are champions we know the combination of Devourer + Guinsoo’s Rageblade to be good on; Xin Zhao, for example. However, it’s also extremely strong on Aatrox, and that fact has seemed to fly under the radar. With only those two items, Aatrox has enough damage that he can build tanky afterwards, and still be able to cut down his foes. Factor in a 60% AP scaling on his E, and 100% AP scaling (!) on his ultimate, and you’ll see he doesn’t waste a single stat from the Rageblade. Aatrox has been bad for quite some time, and players have just gotten used to that fact. It turns out, he’s actually not too shabby right now with the right items.
Mid Lane
Zyra (Win rate: 54.27%, Pick/ban rate: 0.65%)
If you’re looking for hidden OP, you’ve come to the right place here. Zyra has the “best” ratio of win % to pick/ban % on this list, and no one seems to realize she’s been tearing things up in the mid lane. Even when completely out of the meta, Zyra has always had absurd damage; it’s not uncommon to see a Zyra “support” have the highest damage dealt to champions at the end of a game. The addition of Thunderlord’s Decree has turned her damage up to 11, and there’s the fact that the mid lane is less punishing to immobile mages than it used to be. Combine that with Frost Queen’s Claim being a strong item for mid laners, and together this all puts the Rise of the Thorns in a great spot.
AD Carry
Twitch (Win rate: 52.01%, Pick/ban rate: 3.85%)
Admittedly, this was the position that was most difficult to select a champion for. Just about all ADC’s get a fair bit of play time except for Twitch and Urgot, and their win rate is abysmal. With that said, while Twitch isn’t a complete unknown, he’s still mostly flying under the radar. The Plague Rat got several buffs back in patch 5.22, not the least of which was resetting the cooldown of Ambush (his stealth) whenever an enemy champion affected by Deadly Venom died. He also got higher base AD, as well as a lower cooldown and mana cost on his ultimate. He benefits greatly from the new Youmuu’s Ghostblade, and can take down the entire enemy team if protected, as well as assassinate a single target. It’s a good time to be a smelly rat.
Support
Taric (Win rate: 52.44%, Pick/ban rate: 2.07%)
In a time where teams seem more focused around AD-based threats than ever before, Taric has found the right time for his gems to shine. He’s always been plagued by high cooldowns and mana costs, but also has consistently been able to take charge against AD-centric enemies. A point-and-click stun is a valuable commodity, as is a heal and armor shred. Due to his very linear playstyle, he’s the next champion on the block for a full-blown rework, and understandably so. In the meantime, if the enemy team is full of AD threats, let the Gem Knight show them how outrageous a support champion can truly be.
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