Top Lane – Sylas
Since the changes to his skill set, Sylas has become a champion that is extremely difficult to master and use effectively. Sylas requires items to be strong, so in early game skirmishes, it’s tough for this unarmored chain wielder to compete against the Fighters in the top lane.
Furthermore, as a Fighter, his ultimate does not deal direct damage; if it does, it interacts with other stats instead of Ability Power, which Sylas has. In summary, playing Sylas in the top lane nullifies this champion’s advantages and makes you an easy target for opponents. It’s better to take him to the mid lane instead.
Jungle – Qiyana
Once a notorious Assassin in the jungle, Qiyana has now fallen to a terrible position in the jungle after several heavy nerfs. According to LoLalystics, the Elemental Queen only has a 41.23% win rate, lower than bizarre jungle champions like Nasus, Quinn, or Malphite.
Since the 2019 World Championship, Qiyana has been continuously nerfed due to her impressive performance in the top League of Legends tournament. However, the most critical nerf came in patch 10.2 when the bonus attack speed from her W – Terrain Borrowing was significantly reduced, making it extremely difficult for her to jungle. Since then, Qiyana’s win rate in solo queue has been consistently declining, and she has completely disappeared from tournaments.
Mid Lane – Irelia
“Irelia appearing on this list seems unreasonable; how can a champion fully supported by the meta with a powerful item like the Void Blade be so weak?” Many may say this, but theory and practice differ significantly. Indeed, Irelia is very strong, but effectively using her and mastering this champion is a big challenge.
Since her rework, Irelia has always been an extremely challenging champion to play. Additionally, she has numerous hidden interactions or complex combos. Average players find it hard to use her perfectly and carry games, which is why Irelia’s win rate is currently very low due to many players “testing champions” and using her incorrectly. Perhaps players looking to climb ranks should choose champions that are easier to play and yield better results rather than diving into Irelia.
ADC – Aphelios
Aphelios’ issues are quite similar to Irelia’s; this champion isn’t necessarily difficult to use, but understanding all the functions and combos of his different weapons is a perplexing challenge. Moreover, finding a Support who understands and comfortably plays alongside Aphelios is incredibly difficult. With his low mobility, it’s hard for him to shine like he does in tournaments.
Another reason Aphelios is plummeting in the ADC rankings is due to the excessive nerfs he has received. Since his introduction in patch 9.24 to now, Aphelios has been nerfed a total of 7 times, all heavily impacting the damage output of his weapon forms and his attack capabilities. It’s completely understandable that a champion nerfed this much would become weaker.
Support – Tahm Kench
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Tahm Kench’s current plight is due to professional players. Since his release, this champion has always been among the weakest Supports in the game, with a win rate hovering around 45%. Yet, professional teams have found ways to utilize Tahm Kench’s skills and create bizarre metas that led to him being nerfed by Riot.
A few months ago, we saw Sona – Tahm Kench dominating tournaments, and recently pairs like Varus – Tahm Kench or Aphelios – Tahm Kench have frequently appeared. The peak was the Senna no-farm playstyle, where Tahm Kench would farm minions, leading regular players to test this strategy and suffer devastating losses.