Reign of Gaming

AP Carries:

Tier 1: Karthus, Ahri, Ryze, Morgana, Kennen, Cassiopeia, Vladimir, Anivia, Swain,

Tier 2: Kog'Maw, Twisted Fate, Orianna, Kassadin, Galio, Zilean, Veigar, Gragas, Rumble, Annie, Mordekaiser,

Tier 3: Lux, LeBlanc, Xerath, Lulu, Fizz,  Viktor, Sion, Ziggs,

Tier 4: Brand, Malzahar, Katarina, Akali, Heimerdinger,

*Need a guide for a champion? Simply click on the name of a champion below for full length guide from www.lolpro.com*

Changes:

Cassiopeia moved down in tier 1 - I feel like some other AP champions are currently out classing her is all. I still think she's very viable as I am leaving her in Tier 1 but I feel that other's are currently better picks overall then she is.

Ahri moved up in tier 1 -Like Ahri. I think Ahri is a better pick then Cass is for the fact that she roams ever so well and I believe her overall kit to be superior in competitive play even after her slight nerfs she just received. Her high mobility combined with the sustain and ability to peel makes her so versatile. Once you pick up Rylais you can kite all day vs anyone. Foxfire her W procs a 30% slow from Rylais on every charge so you're able to slow for incredible amounts of time. Ahri overall is just a very strong AP carry and I feel she should be higher on the tier list.

Lulu moved down to tier 3 - The nerfs hurt. She's okay middle lane now but her role is going to be almost completely reserved for "Protect the AD carry!" comps with her great supportive utility.

Kennen moved up in tier 1 - I think the whole no mana thing really helps out champions become even stronger. They can just build whatever items they so choose without having to worry about mana what so ever! That is merely a side note though. Kennen's lane control as always been above par and he provides great burst, initiation, and control throughout the entire game.

Karthus moved up in tier 1 - I think we can all agree to Karthus being of the strongest if not the strongest AP carry right now in competitive play. His ability to farm is unmatched, his DPS in unmatched (expect for maybe Cass not sure on exact numbers) and his ultimate can burst every single champion on the map for large amounts of damage and most importantly pick up all those low HP champions after small skirmishes. I think that's one of this best qualities actually. Pro players often fight with them escaping or barely living through a team fight with little to no HP as they're great players and one side usually doesn't win a battle without taking some damage themselves. Karthus see's this and is just like "LOL R, DOUBLE KILL!" or even with Ganks he just presses R and picks up kills / assists from the safety of his lane while farming. Roam on Karthus? But why! Sit in lane press R and get to mid / late game where you're incredibly farmed.

His PvE DPS is also just.. Wow.. He murders Baron and Dragons with ease. I think that's a large factor in the game being able to take objectives quickly which also makes him great.

Then on top of that his W is one of the most underrated spells in the game I think. It literally COVERS THE ENTIRE LANE! Shreds large amounts of armor and MR while also slowing. Not only is this great for a disengage but it's great for catching people and bursting people down as well.

Finally we get to the passive. Oh I died? Lemme DPS you from the grave and pick up a few more kills. Dying and being able to continue doing what you do best aka doing TONNES OF DAMAGE is something of great value and Karthus possess it. He's just all around a great pick that fits into pretty much every team comp.

Kog'Maw moved up to tier 2 - I had him tier 3 before nerfs.. (Wow big nub right?) so I am moving him up to tier 2 when I would of moved him up to tier 1 if his ultimate wasn't just nerfed. Any who I think tier 2 fits him pretty good. Not the most desirable of picks when vs all the others but definitely incredibly viable still and a big threat.

Swain moved up to tier 1 - SWAIN TIER 1 IN ELEMENTZ AP TIER LIST? BUT HE WAS "TRASH TIER" A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. CLEARLY ELEMENTZ TIER LIST IS DUMB, HE'S DUMB, AND LIKE TIER LISTS ARE STOOPID FOR THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE I DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND THEM! Well now, Hold them horses! Swain wasn't placed correctly in the first list, then I moved him up to tier 3 where I felt was a good spot for him. I now believe that he's capable of being a tier 1 champion with his buffs. He got range buffs which were massive. That helps out his laning phase ever so much. The other big thing was the 2 seconds off of his ultimate. I find this to be a HUGE buff because it reduces the down time of Swain being able to be aggressive. That transitional period where you've gone in, harasses with your full combo, and are backing out, and you're weak and vulnerable to ganks etc.. You're now able to go back into Demon Bird form quicker and being able to tank/sustain much quicker then you used to be able too. Not to mention the mana cost has been reduced on it too which makes spamming this ability not such a hassle to manage for Swain players between using mana and saving his R for vital times. They basically gave Swain more Swainage and that's a good thing if you like Swain :p

Galio moved down to tier 2 - Too much nerfs to Q and some other things combined means I am dropping him down a tier. I still like him. I like what he does and all but his little nerfs added up and I am moving him down a bit.

Orianna moved up to tier 2 - I think Link from CLG B has been an Orianna main for a while now dominated not only Curse.NA with it but a lot of other teams as well. We also have Salce from Evo using Orianna from time to time dominating pretty much everyone and everything with her. I believe she's still really viable you just need to make it into mid game with her and farming on her isn't the hardest of things to do. I think she's coming back and I think she's got a right too because she's a completely viable AP mid for competitive play!

Sion moved down to tier 3 - He's kinda meh now.. He's not awful but he's just okay.. Tier 3 it is!

Kassadin moved up to tier 2 - I think tier 2 doesn't give him justice in competitive play. I think he's still very good and his role as an assassin is still a good one. Whenever I've seen a Kass in competitive play they've always been hard to kill, while picking up a fair amount of kills proving that he can played in competitive play still and still give a team a lot of issues. He's incredibly mobile and his spam of E in team fights can total up to A LOT of damage. I think tier 3 was too low for him so I am moving him up to tier 2.

Viktor moved down to tier 3 - I know a lot of people say "Man his DPS is CRAZY!" Yes and I agree it is and "He's so underrated new OP!" and I think he may be a bit underrated but I don't think he's as good as people say he is. He has a lot of bugs and issues with his mechanics of his spells currently and his laning phase is decent. Not bad but not great. I think if Riot cleaned up his animations and made him a bit more functional in that sense he could climb up to tier 2 or so but I don't think competitive players are going to take the risk in playing him just yet. Just how I see it.

Lux moved up in tier 3 - I like Lux. I like Lux a lot. I think Lux could actually be higher but no one plays her enough for me to judge accurately. I think tier 3 is a safe spot for her but she should be at the front of it, not at the back, so I am moving her on up!

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The definition of an AP carry:

- These champions are focused around dealing magic damage which is based on "Ability Power" for how much extra damage they'll deal. They focus on casting spells for their damage output versus auto attacking.

- These champions predominantly play middle lane as it's the safest lane to play in game as it's the hardest lane to gank. Often these champions need a lot of farm so they can carry hence them soloing middle lane to get as much farm as possible.

- Some of these champions can also be played top lane but for the most part they will be middle lane.

Don't see a champion listed in the tier list who you consider a good competitive AP carry? It's probably because I don't and other competitive teams don't value them as competitive picks. Want to raise an argument for why a certain champion should be considered for the competitive list just post below and let me know why in a constructive way!

"No one, not even pros, can presume to know everything. Whether they promote or discourage a character is subject to debate at all times. These debates are encouraged in a respectful manner as we're trying to create the best tier lists possible for your enjoyment." Stonewall - Elementz

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So what I've done here is put them back into a traditional tier list with 4 tiers. You can reference the other tier list for placement moves as you'll be able to compare champion placements and below I'll explain why I moved them.

Bolded and Italic champions in the tier lists are the ones that have been moved

AP Carries:

Tier 1: Cassiopeia, Ryze, Morgana, Ahri, Lulu, Vladimir, Anivia, Kennen, Karthus, Galio,

Tier 2: Twisted Fate, Zilean, Veigar, Gragas, Rumble, Annie, Viktor, Sion, Mordekaiser,

Tier 3: Swain, LeBlanc, Xerath, Fizz, Orianna, Kog'Maw, Kassadin, Lux, Ziggs,

Tier 4: Brand, Malzahar, Katarina, Akali, Heimerdinger,

Changes:

Lulu moved up in tier 1: Now I know you guys don't agree with this but even with the changes to Lulu I still feel she's incredibly powerful as a top lane solo, a mid lane, a support, and can even be played viably in the jungle. The champion is so incredibly versatile that she can literally play every role in the game successfully. Her CC is high, her damage is high, her ability to support is amazing, her ability to survive is incredibly. She excels at everything and despite the little nerfs I feel she's still a powerhouse that's being underestimated by a lot of people. This is my personal opinion of course but it's just how I feel about Lulu.

Ahri moved up in tier 1: Ahri is definitely a powerhouse that I had sitting a little bit too low. She doesn't have a low point during the game. Her strength continues through-out the game and she even scales quite well into late game.

Anivia moved up in tier 1: I moved our ice chicken up a little bit as I believe I was underestimating her power before. After watching some EU teams use her in streams and such it's apparent that she's a very powerful AP carry and I had her sitting a bit too low is all.

Rumble moved down to tier 2: I still think Rumble is a very strong champion but when comparing him to the others in tier 1 I just don't see him competing with them. You guys were right and I had him too high. Moved him down to tier 2 where he's a little bit more comfortable.

Galio moved down in tier 1: Still think he's great. Still think he's tier 1 worthy. Just felt that others can come before him in a competitive AP tier list.

Leblanc moved down to tier 3: Tier 2 was a bit too high for this girl. When I actually broke the tier list back into real tiers and I was a bit shocked that she was the top of tier 2. Her burst is great and her survivability is one of the highest in the game but tier 2 isn't where she belongs imo. She's more of a counter pick for AP middles rather then a first pick where as a lot of tier 1 and tier 2 champions you can pick as your first or second picks and be fine. LeBlanc I feel isn't as valued and can't provide as much as one of those champions so I've moved her down.

Kog'Maw moved down to tier 3: Now I am a big fan of AP Kog middle but alas he is countered by a lot of stuff and is more specific to a team comp then just generally running him all the time. So because of that I've moved him down because of his viability not being as good as others.

Fizz moved down to tier 3: Kinda the same feeling I had for Kog'Maw on this one. He's good but I think there's a time and a place for picking him. So because of that I've moved him down.

Mordekaiser moved up to tier 2: HEUHEUHUE MORDE ES #2, yeah yeah yeah. I moved him up from my initial placement. A farmed Mordekaiser is a scary, scary thing to deal with and it just so happens that when pro players play him they almost always get farmed. I was having a little too much solo queue bias going on I think when placing this Brazilian legend and when treating him more like a competitive pick he seems a lot more viable. So because of that I've moved him up.

Zilean moved up to tier 2: People underestimate the power of Zilean a lot. People forget about him all the time. Then out of the blue you'll see a Zil back in action and dominating everything. I did kinda the same thing in my first tier list. I forgot about the power of him in lane, and the power of his utility in a team fight. So because of that I've moved him up where he belongs.

Akali moved down in tier 4: Despite getting some love I just don't feel she's that great in competitive play other then a few niche counter roles on a team.

Swain moved up to tier 3: OH MY GOD, SWAIN TIER 3, ELEMENTZ WHY YOU SO CRAZY, I GO 11-0 WITH SWAIN EVVVVERYDAY! Well that's nice but again it was the first tier list out in a very long time and I overlooked some stuff. Swain can be played viably top lane by a lot of people and can even do well mid vs a lot of champions too. I do feel he's more of a counter pick to a lot of champions rather then a first pick or second pick when deciding who you want to pick. However I feel that he is a counter to a lot of competitive champions so because of that I am placing him at the top of tier 3. (:3)

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The definition of an AP carry:

- These champions are focused around dealing magic damage which is based on "Ability Power" for how much extra damage they'll deal. They focus on casting spells for their damage output versus auto attacking.

- These champions predominantly play middle lane as it's the safest lane to play in game as it's the hardest lane to gank. Often these champions need a lot of farm so they can carry hence them soloing middle lane to get as much farm as possible.

- Some of these champions can also be played top lane but for the most part they will be middle lane.

Don't see a champion listed in the tier list who you consider a good competitive AP carry? It's probably because I don't and other competitive teams don't value them as competitive picks. Want to raise an argument for why a certain champion should be considered for the competitive list just post below and let me know why in a constructive way!

"No one, not even pros, can presume to know everything. Whether they promote or discourage a character is subject to debate at all times. These debates are encouraged in a respectful manner as we're trying to create the best tier lists possible for your enjoyment." Stonewall - Elementz

AP Carries: 1) Cassiopeia, 2) Ryze, 3) Morgana, 4) Galio, 5) Ahri, 6) Vladimir, 7) Kennen, 8) Karthus, 9) Rumble, 10) Anivia, 11) Lulu, 12) Twisted Fate, 13) Veigar, 14) LeBlanc, 15) Gragas, 16) Kog'Maw, 17) Fizz, 18) Annie, 19) Viktor, 20) Sion, 21) Xerath, 22) Mordekaiser, 23) Zilean, 24) Orianna, 25) Kassadin, 26) Lux, 27) Ziggs, 28) Akali, 29) Brand, 30) Malzahar, 31) Katarina, 32) Heimerdinger, 33) Swain

The definition of an AP carry:

- These champions are focused around dealing magic damage which is based on "Ability Power" for how much extra damage they'll deal. They focus on casting spells for their damage output versus auto attacking.

- These champions predominantly play middle lane as it's the safest lane to play in game as it's the hardest lane to gank. Often these champions need a lot of farm so they can carry hence them soloing middle lane to get as much farm as possible.

- Some of these champions can also be played top lane but for the most part they will be middle lane.

Don't see a champion listed in the tier list who you consider a good competitive AP carry? It's probably because I don't and other competitive teams don't value them as competitive picks. Want to raise an argument for why a certain champion should be considered for the competitive list just post below and let me know why in a constructive way!

"No one, not even pros, can presume to know everything. Whether they promote or discourage a character is subject to debate at all times. These debates are encouraged in a respectful manner as we're trying to create the best tier lists possible for your enjoyment." Stonewall - Elementz