Even though League of Legends is one of the most meta-adherent game titles out there, off-meta champions are important picks worth looking into. They are usually not banned and they gain incredible value in the right situations.
Now that Patch 13.14 has been out since July 19, both competitive and solo queue players have found the most optimal picks and strategies to get a consistent edge over their opponents.
At the same time, however, LoL players will also have found atypical and out-of-the-box ideas to win games. While it’s usually tougher to make them work, knowing they are a viable strategy can get you a great advantage in the draft.
These are the best off-meta champions you should learn and master in LoL Patch 13.14.
Rumble support
Rumble has been popping up more and more in recent patches, finding strong success in his main role, the top lane. His great poke and strong all-in make him an incredibly annoying champion to deal with, and those same qualities can be applied when Rumble is picked as a support as well.
As long as he’s played alongside a bully bot laner with high range, he can poke and harass enemies with his E during the laning phase and then go for all-ins whenever they drop below 40 percent health.
If that wasn’t enough, Rumble will always have the ultimate, Equalizer, to help him shut down escaping enemies. He can also use it to roam, and he’ll always be a relevant presence in any teamfight.
The build for Rumble support is similar to the top lane version, but you’re getting more utility items first and the damage after. Night Harvester is the Mythic item, followed by Zhonya’s Hourglass and Morellonomicon if you need the anti-heal effect. Otherwise, run Demonic Embrace. Round off the build with Void Staff and Shadowflame.
Sejuani top and support
Sejuani is usually seen as a strong jungle option, capable of bringing lots of crowd controls as well as good engage potential.
If the jungle matchup is tough, though, Sejuani can be easily flexed to either top lane or support. Among the two, top lane Sejuani is stronger: she scales relatively well thanks to Heartsteel while also retaining her main strengths as a great front liner.
Additionally, Sejuani doesn’t struggle against most top laners due to her ability to quickly shove waves with her W and her passive allows her to win most short trades.
Similarly, Sejuani also works as a support if your team needs some form of hard-engage and pick potential. Her laning phase is not that great, but Sejuani has great roams when she unlocks the ultimate.
The builds for the two positions are different: when played in the top lane, Sejuani goes for Heartsteel as her Mythic item, followed by Sunfire Cape, Abyssal Mask, Thornmail, and Force of Nature. For support Sejuani, swap out Heartsteel with Radiant Virtue to benefit from the AoE healing for your team.
Kog’Maw mid
Kog’Maw mid lane used to be a viable pick, especially when scaling control mages were considered meta. With these rising back up in popularity, Kog’Maw can be a great counter worth playing.
While he has a weak laning phase, Kog’Maw’s AP build allows him to get consistent poke and harass damage later in the game. As long as you have some champions that can disrupt enemies’ engage attempts, he can melt through their health bars with a few spells. Depending on which Mythic item you go for, Kog’Maw can switch between a tank shredder or a poking machine.
Speaking of items, Kog’Maw either goes for Liandry’s Anguish or Luden’s Echo, followed by Archangel Staff, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, and Rabadon’s Deathcap. With this full AP build, Kog’Maw can abuse his range and chunk down the enemy team, giving you an overwhelming advantage before the start of fights.
Rell jungle
Following her mid-scope update in Patch 13.11, Rell has become one of the strongest supports in the game. But that is not the only role she shines in.
Some solo queue and professional players have been playing Rell jungle as well, using her flexibility to gain major advantages in the draft. Her new kit allows her to get good ganks early on and be a utility jungler later in the game by offering crowd controls and engage tools. The jungle clear is not bad either, and it’s on par with other tank junglers.
Her build consists of Evenshroud, Knight’s Vow, and Zeke’s Herald. All these tools are aimed at empowering her allies whenever she performs ganks or plays with them. The remaining items, instead, should be focused on increasing her own resistances: choose two items between Abyssal Mask, Frozen Heart, Thornmail, and Force of Nature.
Even though Rell jungle is not exceptional for solo carry games, she is a great pick to enable her team’s victory.
