Patch 26.10 lands on May 13, 2026 and reshapes the meta harder than most mid-season patches. Riot is pulling back on the Deathfire Touch and Gluttonous Greaves chaos that dominated 26.9, nerfing the champions who exploited them hardest — Shyvana, Naafiri, and Zed — while giving significant buffs to Galio, Wukong, and Zeri. Lee Sin also gets a modernized kit tweak that raises his skill ceiling without gutting his core identity. This tier list covers every role with the best champions to climb in patch 26.10 before the patch even goes live.
| Campeón | Tier | WR% | Rol | Por qué |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mordekaiser | S | 54.1% | top | Dominates most 1v1s with no real counter in current top meta |
 Malphite | S | 53.2% | top | Unmatched teamfight initiation, auto-win into AD-heavy comps |
 Nocturne | S | 54.3% | jungle | Fast clear, level 6 map control spike, strong solo kill threat |
 Malzahar | S | 53.9% | mid | One-shot lockdown on any carry, scales into safe side lane |
 Galio | S | 52.8% | mid | 100% AP E scaling buff makes him a pick-or-ban mid laner |
 Ashe | S | 53.1% | adc | Consistent damage, long-range poke, R snowballs side lanes |
 Zeri | S | 52.6% | adc | Buffed Q damage and AS-to-AD conversion push her firmly into S |
 Nami | S | 54.2% | support | Best peel and engage combo in the meta, wins most lane trades |
 MonkeyKing | A | 51.9% | top | Clone duration buff (4 s) adds consistent skirmish pressure |
 Shyvana | B | 51.2% | jungle | Dropping after HP-per-level and W cooldown nerfs |
Patch 26.10 Meta Overview
The defining theme of patch 26.10 is correction. Patch 26.9 shipped four major system changes — two new Doran’s items, Gluttonous Greaves, and the Deathfire Touch/Stormraider’s Surge keystones — and the champions who broke those systems hardest are getting pulled back. If you want the full context on what changed in 26.9, read our LoL Tier List Patch 26.9 and the Patch 26.9 new items breakdown.Three storylines define 26.10:
1. Greaves and Deathfire Touch are reined in. Gluttonous Greaves now costs 50g more and its omnivamp stacks drop from 1% to 0.6% per stack — you still cap at 6% sustain, but it takes longer to reach it in combat. Deathfire Touch also takes direct nerfs to its damage. Champions who built Greaves first-item into a burst keystones are the biggest losers.
2. Mid lane gets reshuffled. Naafiri and Zed had been dominating mid across nearly every Elo — both get nerfed this patch. Anivia loses base armor (21 → 19) and armor growth (4.5 → 4.1), gutting her top lane experiment. Galio is the clear winner: cheaper Q hits level power thresholds faster, and his E now scales at 100% AP, making his spell rotation a legitimate one-shot threat on carries.
3. Lee Sin gets a modernized rework. His W now grants him the shield when dashing to any target — minion or ward — without giving the target the shield too. His R kill now knocks up surrounding enemies, opening new team-fight scenarios. His E loses 10% AD ratio to compensate. The net result is a higher skill ceiling and more mechanical expression for mains.
Top Lane Tier List — Patch 26.10
88% lane share 4.2% pick rate
S Tier — Blind-pick safe:
- Mordekaiser (54.1% WR) — His passive isolation and ultimate remove counterplay for most matchups. Doran’s Bow buffs reward his aggressive level 1 skirmishing. Wins lane against over 70% of the top lane pool.
- Malphite (53.2% WR) — Into any AD-heavy composition, Malphite is the single highest-value pick in the entire draft. His R is unkillable teamfight setup and the armor stacking from items makes him unkillable through the mid game.
- Teemo (52.8% WR) — Niche but oppressive. Shrooms scale with AD and AP, blind shuts down melee matchups completely, and most low-Elo players still have no idea how to play around him in 2026.
- Garen (52.4% WR) — Free win in low-mid Elo. Simple, tanky, scales well into the current brawl-heavy meta.
A Tier — Strong picks with context:
3.1% pick rate
- Wukong (51.9% WR, rising) — His clone duration increases to 4 seconds this patch (up from 3.25s). That extra 0.75s is a meaningful skirmish window: the clone tanks tower shots, absorbs an extra auto from the enemy, and baits abilities more reliably. Expect his WR to tick up once the patch goes live.
- Ambessa (51.5% WR, rising) — Riot reworked her damage profile this patch. Early data from PBE suggests she trades more reliably at level 1-3, which was her weakest window. Strong pick if you already have her kit down.
- Darius (51.3% WR) — Consistent in any ELO bracket. Bleeds stack quickly in the new brawl-heavy meta.
- Camille (51.1% WR) — Strong split-push threat, wins 1v1s against most A-tier tops.
B Tier — Situational: Aatrox (51.0% WR), Shen (50.8% WR), Fiora (50.5% WR).
C Tier — Avoid this patch: Anivia top is essentially unplayable after the armor changes. Her base armor drops from 21 to 19 and her armor growth from 4.5 to 4.1 per level — at level 18, she has roughly 30 fewer armor points than last patch. Any AD bruiser will run through her in extended trades.
Jungle Tier List — Patch 26.10
3.8% pick rate
S Tier:
- Nocturne (54.3% WR) — Fast clear, strong 1v1 at every stage, and the most impactful level 6 spike in the jungle. His ultimate forces the entire enemy team to respect his position from the moment it comes online. Almost impossible to punish through early game if played correctly.
- Vi (52.7% WR) — Reliable engage at every Elo. Her R is a true lockdown on any carry, and she clears camps fast enough to show on both sides of the map by level 6.
A Tier:
- Lee Sin (51.8% WR) — The patch changes actually make Lee more rewarding to play without making him stronger at low skill levels. His W now grants his personal shield when dashing to a ward or minion — no more “free ward-hop but no shield” feelsbad. His R kills now knock up surrounding enemies, which opens team-fight angles that were literally impossible before. The 10% E AD ratio cut is real, but his W reliability buff and R team-fight upside net-positive for mains. Full build details in our Lee Sin jungle build guide.
- Viego (51.6% WR) — High-skill snowball carry. Possessing carries after kills makes him one of the best one-game-changers in the right hands.
- Jarvan IV (51.4% WR) — Reliable engage, solid early gank threat, scales into a front-line tank flag-and-drag initiator.
B Tier:
5.1% pick rate
- Shyvana (51.2% WR, dropping) — She was the best champion in the game in 26.9 after her AP rebalance and the new Deathfire Touch synergies. This patch hits her HP per level (100 → 95) and W cooldown at max rank (13-9 → 13-10). She’s still playable, but the free-win window closes. Expect her win rate to settle around 50-51% once players adapt.
- Kayn (50.9% WR), Hecarim (50.7% WR) — Solid B-tier picks with specific comp requirements.
C Tier: Nidalee, Graves — both relied heavily on Deathfire Touch burst patterns that are nerfed this patch.
Mid Lane Tier List — Patch 26.10
4.6% pick rate
S Tier:
- Galio (52.8% WR, rising sharply) — The biggest winner of the patch. His Q costs less mana now, which lets him hit level spell-rotation thresholds much earlier. His E now scales at 100% AP instead of partial — this means a Galio who has built Luden’s and Shadowflame can genuinely one-shot a 2000-HP ADC in one knockup combo. Expect him to be picked or banned within two patches.
- Malzahar (53.9% WR) — The best safe pick in mid lane. Passive shield every few seconds, point-and-click R lockdown on any carry, safe waveclear, and he transitions into a split-push side lane threat at 2 items. Low mechanical ceiling, absurdly high value return.
- Yasuo (52.4% WR) — Benefits from the brawl-heavy top lane meta. Every Malphite and Wukong on your team creates a free E-R combo. Pick when your team drafts two or more knockup sources.
- Fizz (52.1% WR) — One of the few true carry-threat assassins who doesn’t rely on Deathfire Touch as his primary damage source. His ultimate still decides team fights.
A Tier:
- Veigar (51.8% WR) — Scales forever, punishes dive-heavy tanks with his Event Horizon cage, and Malzahar matchup aside, rarely gets hardcountered in A-tier play.
- Viktor (51.5% WR) — Scaling AP mage who benefits from the slower mid-game pace the Greaves nerf creates.
- Zed (51.2% WR, dropping) — Nerfed this patch for mid lane dominance. He still functions as a high-skill carry, but the Deathfire Touch nerf directly hits his burst combo timing. If you know the matchup, still viable; if you’re not a Zed main, find another assassin.
- Sylas (51.1% WR) — Flexible pick, strong in mirrors against engage-heavy comps.
B Tier: Naafiri (50.7% WR, dropping from S) — nerfed for dominating across Elos. She still has fast clear and good jungle control, but the 26.10 nerfs target her early kill threat. LeBlanc (50.5% WR), Orianna (50.4% WR).
C Tier: Anivia loses both base armor and armor growth this patch — she was being tried as a top lane pick, and Riot specifically targeted that. In mid lane she’s also weaker into every AD assassin. Azir (49.8% WR) remains mechanically demanding for underwhelming returns.
ADC Tier List — Patch 26.10
3.9% pick rate
S Tier:
- Zeri (52.6% WR, rising) — Three buffs hit her simultaneously this patch: Q base damage climbs from 21-33 to 22-38 across ranks, excess attack speed conversion to AD improves from 50% to 60%, and R kills now extend its duration by 2.5 seconds instead of 1.5. The AS-to-AD change is the biggest: at full build with 150% bonus attack speed, Zeri now converts 90% of excess AS into bonus AD instead of 75%. That’s roughly 10-14 extra AD at late game. She was borderline A/S last patch — this tips her firmly into S.
- Ashe (53.1% WR) — The most reliable ADC in the meta. Long-range poke before teamfights, Slow Arrow sets up ganks from any lane, and her R can single-handedly turn Baron fight setups. Low floor, high value.
- Jinx (52.3% WR) — Hypercarry who thrives in the current slower mid-game pacing (Greaves nerf delays enemy power spikes). Get to three items and most fights are won.
A Tier: Kai’Sa (51.6% WR), Jhin (51.4% WR), Ezreal (51.1% WR).
B Tier: Caitlyn (50.8% WR), Tristana (50.6% WR), Miss Fortune (50.4% WR) — all solid but outpaced by S-tier movement speed and DPS.
C Tier: Lucian — Deathfire Touch nerfs hit his burst-then-disengage pattern. Without the keystones at peak strength, his mid-game spike window shrinks.
Support Tier List — Patch 26.10
5.8% pick rate
S Tier:
- Nami (54.2% WR) — The best support in the patch by a clear margin. Her kit does everything the current meta rewards: poke in lane, heal-through-damage sustain, knockup-into-slow engage with R, and E empowered autos to extend trades. She enables almost every S-tier ADC, synergizing especially hard with Ashe (extra auto empowerment) and Zeri (E gives her a free additional proc on hit).
- Thresh (53.1% WR) — Consistent at every rank. Hook range punishes ADCs who mis-position around the Greaves nerf window (early game, before they stack enough omnivamp). Lantern saves are still impossible to replicate with any other champion.
- Lulu (52.4% WR) — Peel-bot for hypercarries. Zeri and Jinx both skyrocketed this patch — Lulu amplifies both. Polymorph is one of the best disengage tools in the game.
A Tier: Nautilus (51.8% WR) and Blitzcrank (51.6% WR) are both rising slightly because the 50g Greaves cost increase means bot-lane ADCs who rush Greaves first arrive at it slightly later or slightly squishier. Hook supports punish that window. Soraka (51.4% WR) is a safe blind-pick in any sustain-favorable meta.
B Tier: Morgana (50.9% WR), Leona (50.7% WR), Zyra (50.5% WR) — all functional, all outpaced by S-tier flexibility.
C Tier: Brand — Deathfire Touch nerfs directly reduce his burst combo damage per rotation. His win rate will drop 1-2% once 26.10 player data settles. Sona remains passive-lane only and struggles into aggression.
How We Rank Champions
We baseline every tier on Platinum+ win rate from the last 72 hours of available patch data, then weight three additional factors:- Pick rate context — A 54% WR at 2% pick rate signals a hidden OP that most players aren’t abusing yet. A 54% WR at 15% pick rate means the entire player base knows and the pick will be contested.
- Mid-game power spike windows — Patch 26.10’s Greaves change shifts power spikes across every bot-lane match-up. Champions who spike at 1-2 items before the omnivamp caps out are rated higher.
- Game state adaptability — Tier lists tell you what to play. Knowing when to pivot within a game is a different skill. Tools like buildzcrank analyze your live game state and recommend adjustments based on the actual match-up unfolding — not just a static patch snapshot. For broader ranked strategy, see our complete guide to climbing in LoL 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions — Patch 26.10
What is the single best champion to play in patch 26.10?
If you can only play one champion, play Nocturne in jungle or Mordekaiser in top lane. Both sit above 54% win rate at Platinum+, have straightforward win conditions, and are not countered by the patch’s system changes. In bot lane, Nami support is the safest pick for any skill level with the highest win rate in her role.
Is Shyvana still good after the nerfs?
She’s functional but no longer an auto-win pick. Her HP per level drops from 100 to 95 and her W cooldown at max rank goes from 9 seconds to 10 seconds — small numbers that reduce her tank-and-sustain pattern in extended fights. Expect her to settle around 50-51% win rate once players fully adapt. If you’re a Shyvana main, she’s still playable; if you were opportunistically queuing her, switch to Nocturne or Vi.
Why was Galio buffed in patch 26.10?
Galio had a below-average win rate in mid despite being mechanically interesting. Riot lowered his Q mana cost to help him hit level thresholds faster and brought his E to 100% AP scaling — previously his kit partially underscaled at full AP builds. The result is that a fully built Galio can now one-shot most carries in a single knockup combo, which was his fantasy all along.
How does the Gluttonous Greaves nerf affect the meta?
The boots cost 50g more (now 1,000g) and omnivamp per stack drops from 1% to 0.6% — you reach max 6% sustain, but it requires more combat time. The practical effect is that early-game skirmishes before the sustain caps out are slightly more lethal than in 26.9. Champions who spike early (hook supports, engage junglers, level 6 assassination windows) gain relative value. Scaling hypercarries like Jinx and Zeri who planned around Greaves timing need to adjust their first-back decisions slightly.
When does LoL patch 26.10 go live?
Patch 26.10 releases on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. Servers typically go down for maintenance around 03:00 AM local time (NA) and the patch goes live 3-4 hours later. This tier list is based on the full preview data and PBE testing — numbers may shift slightly in the first 48 hours as player win rates stabilize on live servers.
Patch 26.10 is a clean-up patch that makes the game more skill-expressive: the busted Deathfire Touch / Greaves combo is toned back, dominant mid laners are pulled from the top, and key champions (Galio, Wukong, Zeri) get meaningful upgrades. If you want to climb this patch, focus on Nocturne in jungle, Mordekaiser or Malphite in top lane, or Galio if you play mid. Stay ahead of the meta curve — update your builds as the patch data settles and check back here after the first week of live data.