Preseason Power Picks

Now that the Preseason changes have had time to settle, let's take a look at some of the strongest champions on the Rift.

Udyr

The clear winner of Preseason has been Udyr, who is taking full advantage of the reworked jungle and new tank items. Between his kit, Conqueror, and items like Demonic Embrace and Jak'Sho, Udyr ramps over the course of a fight to become an unkillable monster. He outputs absurd amounts of damage but can sustain through any damage he takes.

Udyr should be perma picked or banned until he receives another round of nerfs. His kit is very easy to pick up and play, making him a great pick for all ranks.

Sylas

Another preseason winner has been Sylas, who has re-emerged as a fantastic pick in the jungle. Mosstomper provides him with another layer of durability alongside the incredible healing from his W, making him very tanky without sacrificing his damage.

Sylas is a strong pick throughout the game, with solid ganks in the early game and the ability to steal multiple ults in the same fight during the late game. He's still a great pick in the mid lane so can be flexed during the draft, giving your team a huge advantage in the pick/ban phase.

Soraka

With so many tanks running around the Rift, enchanters can cycle through their abilities multiple times in fights and optimise the value of their kits. Soraka was already a sleeper pick during last season but has become even better with nerfs to Yuumi and Janna.

During the laning phase, she can chip away at enemies and sustain through damage with her Q. She also scales incredibly well as she gets more heal/shield power, incresing the heals from Moonstone Renewer, her W, ultimate, and the HoT from her Q. Her E and passive can also let her escape from any incoming threats.

Zeri

After yet another update, Zeri is back to being a completely busted champion. Her winrate increased from less than 42% to over 50% in just one patch and she's once again an unkillable hyper carry. Her ult is now even stronger and her W now scales with AD instead of AP, meaning you don't have to choose which build to go for.

It's starting to feel like Zeri will never be able to be a truly balanced champion and she's forever doomed to either be OP or completely useless. Just like Yuumi, perhaps it's time for Riot to consider a rework for Zeri in the near future.

Lux

Finally, Lux received some solid buffs to her E and ult damage. She's still a solid pick in the mid lane, but is shining as a support thanks to her synergy with picks like Caitlyn and her efficiency on such low gold.

If you get ahead early, you can rush a Dark Seal and opt for an aggressive AP build with Luden's Tempest. If not, Imperial Mandate is a very cheap item that works wonderfully with Lux's multiple CC options. Both builds are very strong and make Lux a real damage threat in the support role.