Since the start of the 2023 League of Legends season, the bot lane meta has been dominated by a restricted number of ADCs. While Riot pushed a few new champions into the spotlight with the recent ADC item changes, there are only eight marksmen with a pick rate higher than 10 percent at Masters Elo and above right now, according to U.GG.
Out of these eight champions, though, only three currently have a positive win rate, and only one has a win rate above 52 percent: Xayah. The Rebel has the third-highest win rate among bot laners in this patch, but she is topped by two unconventional champions that you might not expect to see in the bot lane.
Yasuo and Karthus are boasting the highest win rates out of the 25 champions played in the bot lane in this patch in Masters Elo and above. Karthus has a 53.71 percent win rate over 2,000 games, while the Blademaster has an over 55 percent win rate in a little more than 1,100, according to U.GG.
These two champs are known to be great niche picks that work in specific bot lane matchups. Karthus has the advantage of being a magic damage champion, potentially guaranteeing a more balanced damage output on a team comp. When he’s played as a bot laner, he also gets funneled most of the resources, making him a frightening carry to deal with.
What makes Karthus such a strong pick is his passive. Even if he’s killed, he can still ensure good damage output with Death Defied and cast various spells during teamfights, including a potential five-man Requiem (R). He can also use his ultimate to start fights or force enemies to give up objectives since the damage will likely half-health the squishy carries on the enemy team.
Yasuo, on the other hand, has great value against ranged enemies or team comps with multiple projectiles because his Wind Wall (W) can neutralize all of them.
He was also indirectly buffed by the ADC item changes, making him slightly stronger compared to the start of the season. In a meta where champions like Caitlyn, Ashe, Varus, and Ezreal are played at the highest Elo, he’s a great counter-pick.
While the amount of matches played for Yasuo and Karthus is not as high as other champions, their numbers are proving that they are strong niche picks to watch out for. Considering the bot lane meta might not receive further major shifts in the near future, we might see Yasuo and Karthus rising in popularity over the next few weeks.
