Darius
After a period where top lane marksmen like Kalista were continuously nerfed, this class of champions is gradually returning to their rightful place, and melee fighters are making a comeback. To counter and dominate champions of this kind, choosing Darius is undoubtedly one of the most effective and powerful options, as his champion’s nature already suppresses and zones opponents away from minions.
Furthermore, Darius’s skill set counters melee champions and tanks very well with his E – Apprehend, which provides armor penetration. This aspect also makes Darius one of the few champions who can trade evenly or even come out on top against the currently OP champion in the top lane, Wukong.
Fiora
While not necessarily having an overwhelming laning phase, Fiora is a champion that can snowball incredibly hard, especially showcasing the player’s skill very distinctly. Using Fiora requires the utmost precision and calmness from the player because just one misstep with Q – Lunge can lead to getting caught by the opponent, resulting in death and losing all the advantage built up beforehand.
Fiora also has enormous potential in countering the tanks that have been rising in popularity recently with her true damage from her passive and her W – Riposte, which can outplay the opponent’s crowd control abilities. In summary, Fiora is a champion that is very selective of players, and using her is not particularly easy, but once mastered, she can go toe-to-toe with any champion.
Wukong
Since his rework, the only words that can describe Wukong are “overpowered”. This champion may no longer have insane damage or the ability to “oneshot” an enemy champion, but his durability and mobility in combat are undeniable. The fact that his ultimate, Cyclone, can knock up twice in a short period is enough to say that this is an incredibly broken skill.
With his skill set reworked towards a pure fighter, the currently hot item combo of Blade of the Ruined King + Black Cleaver is the most optimal for this champion. After that, you can choose a blend of offensive and defensive items to further increase the annoyance of this monkey. Perhaps with the new champion design relying heavily on player cunning and adaptability, it is truly difficult for Riot to completely nerf this champion.
Maokai
Maokai is a type of champion that is extremely easy to hold the lane in League of Legends. You can effectively stall opponents in the top lane and hinder the power of damage dealers like those mentioned above. Therefore, with the characteristics of solo queue players who always want to “dominate” opponents, they will somewhat experience psychological pressure and make mistakes when they cannot take down this tree.
In the team fight phase, the key to solo queue, Maokai completely outshines those damage-dealing champions thanks to his ability to root enemies directly and his ultimate’s wide-area crowd control. Another reason why Maokai is so formidable at this time is the previously buffed Liandry’s Anguish, which synergizes perfectly with his guaranteed crowd control abilities.