14.17 is one of the largest patches we have seen in quite some time. A huge wave of changes to Champions, Traits, Augments, Items, and bug fixes. There have been even some other unintended bugs that have surfaced which may get hotfixed. So that should shake things up from being a reroll meta right? not exactly
Tier lists are somewhat strange at the moment. There seems to be more S-tier comps than almost any other tier. How can that be? It's largely due to the nature of how conditional many comps have become. If you have the correct augment, item, or emblem start, your average placement will be in the 3s.
Let's walk through the S tier:
Elise (Hero Augment)
Wukong Jinx
Poppy (Hero Augment)
Warwick (Artifact)
Lillia (Hero Augment)
Portal (Emblem)
Nunu (Hero Augment)
Blitzcrank (Hero Augment)
Kalista (Immense resources)
Sugarcraft (Emblem)
Trying to play these comps without the necessary condition usually leads to a bad performance. Even the least condition one on this list, Wukong Jinx, requires near perfect items of Stoneplates on Wukong and multiple bows on Jinx. And of course if you hit the Wukong Hero Augment you are in a much better spot.
Going down A and B tier is quite similar which has a multitude of comps that also require a condition. This puts an immense burden on the player to understand not only what is viable, but when you can play them.
Our conclusion
The key to succeed in this meta to widen your range and study up on the conditions of each comp. As you rank up, it's important to not try to one-trick the best S tier comp, but instead look at your starting items + augments and pick the best option. It's likely you will often be playing even B tier comps on a regular basis.
If you place bot4 and feel like you hit absolutely nothing, chances are you missed an out based on a series of clues. If you have Bow + Rod + Belt, did you really have to slam Rageblade and force Ryze / Kalista? Or could you have instead played for another out like Morello + Bow and play for Karma? That likely depends on your opening shops, augments, portal and if anyone else is contesting you.
In this section we'll just write about some of our favorite units to play around this patch
Ziggs: The mana reduction to his ability is huge. He has become a more reliable early game holder but be advised he still sometimes bricks harder than Swaggy P. Equip him with Blue Buff, Morello, and rush for units like Karma and Gwen.
Seraphine: If you were paying attention last patch, you probably noticed many top players using Seraphine as the main bridge to get to Veigar and Mages. Seraphine's damage output is incredible and you get a free item with Faerie. She is versatile enough to build all kinds of frontline around and hold items very nicely. Seraphine 2 is just straight up better than Veigar 1 nearly always.
Jayce: This guy was already an early game demon, but he is now the best 1-cost melee item holder by far. His traits are amazing and he is never included in any final comps of either verticals he's played in (Portal / Shapeshifters). Equip him with Bloodthirster, Sterak's Gage, and even Rageblade for the Smolder/Kalista.
Shyvana: Great AP tank and bruiser holder of things like Spark, Morello (assuming you aren't playing Dragons), Crownguard, and other tank items. She does a good amount of damage and can sometimes even snipe backline.
Hecarim: Several buffs have made him quite a reliable mid-game melee carry if you can activate his traits. You would be surprised how much mileage you can get from an upgraded Hecarim holding items for Fiora or Briar.
Gwen: Some top players believe Gwen is actually just OP right now and should be played very often. We aren't 100% convinced yet but keep an eye on her. She is item versatile and her buffs are very real.
Briar: Possibly the most unnecessary change of the patch and now clearly the best 5-cost in the game. Her base damage is getting hotfixed, but we still anticipate Briar to be a strong capstone to many late game comps. She threatens backline with her ability to jump to enemy clumps, so make sure to de-clump if you're going up against Briars late.
Right now, we think Spatula into vertical compositions are some of the biggest edges to gain against the field. China loves playing around 6 Faerie and capping around Morgana and Camille. Witchcraft stays very underrated and flexible because you can carry multiple 4-costs such as Karma and Ryze. Sugarcraft is also much stronger thanks to bug fixes on Jinx and improving Gwen's scaling. Even 5/7 Honeymancy has its place in reroll comps, although we advise against taking this line without very strong augment direction. This is on top of the usual strong Spatula starts such as Frost and Portal.
The only Emblem we would recommend against ever playing around is Eldritch unless you get a free one from a Portal / Wandering Trainer and want to play around it.
If you're looking for an off-meta comp, give Hecarim carry a try with 7 Multistrikers. You'd go for Bloodthirster, Sterak's Gage, and Quicksilver and play the same units as the standard Multristriker board. Cap high with Camille, Kalista, and Arcana. Don't forget to always charm Hecarim unless you have immense amount of charms for True Damage scaling on Xerath.
There are more viable strong openers now this patch thanks to many 1-cost buffs. Stage 2 is more dynamic and you have several opportunities to streak based on your opening item slams. As usual, the strength of these openers largely depend on upgrades and items so don't only hold the best units if you are giving up pairs of other solid units.
S tier: Nomsy Shapeshifter Hunters, Jayce Portal Shapeshifter, Seraphine Faerie Bastion
A tier: Ashe Multis, Ziggs/Kogmaw Honeymancy, Tristana 4 Faeries
B tier: Eldritch (only with multiple upgrades), Mages (Vex/Veigar early drop), Sugarcraft, Warriors
Good 3-costs to keep from orb: Wukong, Swain, Neeko, Katarina, Mordekaiser
These are the standard openers you'll often see. The more effective boards you can build for cheap, the higher the tier. This is because you're more likely to 2* units and snowball momentum. If you need to 2* a unit to be effective (example: Nilah 2), then it makes it hard to justify holding for unlikeliness of upgrading + impact on your economy.
That's all for now. Thanks for being a loyal Patreon sub! If you have any further questions, feel free to drop them in our Discord server. See you on ladder!