In League of Legends, oftentimes you have to pick the champion you are going to play while having no knowledge of what your opponent will play against you. When you are forced to blind pick like this you need to be sure you have certain picks that can be played into any matchup.
We will be focusing on the best blind picks for the Top lane in particular because it is quite easily the most volatile lane in the game. This is because due to the nature of top lane matchups, you can either win or lose them fairly quickly.
The art of finding the best champion to play in a blind pick situation is not that straightforward. There are a variety of things you need to look for in a champion when deciding if it is good enough to be blind-picked.
The champions mentioned below have been proven time and again to be the most consistent of top laners that can be picked with a level of safety into nearly every matchup. While most of them can grip the game if given a lead, you will have to play your part of the game as well.
Darius – The Lane Dominant Bruiser
It would not be wrong to consider Darius one of the cornerstones of Top lane. The champion has been a viable pick in almost all of the metas that have come in League of Legends. So, let’s get into why Darius has been so good over the years.
The biggest reason why Darius has been so consistent is that he has hardly any bad matchups. You can blind pick Darius into almost any champion. The preferred way of combat against Darius has been to pick champions that can stay out of his fighting range. However, the number of champions that can do that effectively is awfully low.
Darius offers more than just being good to other top lane picks. Darius has a lot more kill pressure than the average top lane champion. Moreover, with his ability to get a reset and dominate team fights Darius has been known to be a threat in any team setting.
Consequently, when you take into account the fact that Darius has good matchups over a majority of top lane champions as well as his ability to singlehandedly win fights for his team, it is easy to see why this is one of the best blind picks one could have for top lane.
Jayce – The Ranged Bully
If you are looking for a champion that can maintain distance and avoid getting into slugfests with the other bruisers, Jayce is the pick for you. Jayce has been known to have good matchups because of his ability to keep the enemy at arms-length and wear them down over time.
The range advantage that Jayce has over a majority of the top lane champions can be used to bully lane opponents and get meaningful leads in the laning phase. Like Darius has been the go-to pick over the years for bruiser-oriented playstyles, Jayce is the ranged counterpart that has been around Top lane since he was released.
Moreover, Jayce has really good scaling potential. If you let Jayce have a free laning phase he has the ability to become a huge problem after a couple of items. So, if you are leaving the Jayce to farm you need to be sure you will have more impact in the later stage of the game.
With that being said, it is easy to understand why and how Jayce can be used as a safe and effective blind pick.
Fiora – The Split Pusher
Fiora has the most different playstyle among the champions mentioned in this list. That is because Fiora generally likes to split push. The reason behind this is that Fiora can dominate the lane vs a single target much easier than the other champions in the Top lane.
The true damage Fiora can deal via taking vitals coupled with the in-built and item-bought healing that Fiora gets makes it so Fiora is insanely hard to deal with in a one-on-one situation. The longer the game goes the stronger she gets so out scaling her is not an option either.
Also, an important thing to note is that Fiora does not have any real hard matchups. A lot of the matchups depend upon how good the person playing Fiora is at the champ. The smallest difference in skill is often the difference between a lost and a won duel.
Fiora is one of the few champions of Top lane to be able to go toe to toe with Darius in duels. If you can manage to get really good at Fiora you will find that there are no real bad matchups for this champion, so you can blind pick it freely.
Wukong – The Team Fighter
Wukong is the most team-fight-focused bruiser champion on this list. Wukong has relatively more hard matchups as compared to Fiora and Darius, but he more than makes up for it with his insanely good team fight potential.
When playing Wukong you need to try to get to level 6 as safely as possible. Once you are level 6 your champion really comes alive. With his ultimate ability, Wukong has much more kill pressure not only in his own lane but he can roam to set up kills in other lanes as well. This roaming factor is something that no other champion in this list can do as well as Wukong.
As far as top lane matchups go, Wukong has a tough time with only those champions that can pressure him for advantages before he hits the level 6 mark. If you are unable to pressure him before he gets access to ‘’Cyclone’’, then more often than not you will not enjoy the laning period.
Where Darius excels at being dominant in laning and Fiora is a split pushing monster, Wukong wreaks havoc in the team fights.
Ornn – The Tank
When making any list of top lane champions, you can not ignore tanks. Tanks have been a part of Top lane ever since League of Legends came into existence. The tank that can perhaps be blind picked with the most amount of confidence is Ornn.
Ornn has a very solid laning phase and shines in the team fights. With his high CC and decent damage to boot, Ornn is a favorite for all top lane players. Whether it is pro play or in your ranked games, you are sure to see Ornn an appreciable number of times.
Ornn has the added bonus of being able to give item upgrades to his teammates. These upgrades give your teammates additional stats on their items which can oftentimes be the difference in close games.
These days, Ornn has become the go-to pick when looking for a tank to round off your team composition. This is also because of how flexible Ornn is as a champion. He can be used for both engage and disengage as well as for disruptions during a team fight or to peel for his carries.
Final Thoughts
Any league player knows that playing a losing matchup can be downright painful. It is important to know how to avoid getting yourself in that situation so you can enjoy the game. Finding champions that can be hard to counter is the easiest route.
Top lane is often termed as ‘’an island’’. This is because of the nature of the lane and how it is often dissociated from the rest of the game. In such a case of isolation having a losing lane is the worst possible scenario to find yourself in.
We have mentioned the best champions for blind picking in the top lane. Each of them covers a different playstyle and offers different strengths and weaknesses.
