Patch 26.9 dropped on April 28 and brought sweeping system-level changes: two new Doran’s starting items, Gluttonous Greaves (the first new boot variant in years), a Statikk Shiv rework, and the return of Deathfire Touch and Stormraider’s Surge as runes. The champion pool shifted hard. This tier list covers every role with win-rate-backed data so you know exactly what to pick and what to avoid before queuing up.
Patch 26.9 Key Changes That Shaped the Meta
Patch 26.9 is one of the most system-heavy updates of Season 2026, and understanding the changes is key to picking the right champions.
New starting items reshaped the early game for multiple roles. Doran’s Bow gives attack speed and Omnivamp, making it the go-to opener for attack-speed-reliant ADCs and some junglers. Doran’s Helm adds sustain for frontline champions. Both items open new build paths before first back.
Gluttonous Greaves are the first new boot variant since patch 14.10. They provide Omnivamp and are viable across several classes, giving sustain-oriented carries and bruisers a strong alternative to traditional boots.
The Statikk Shiv rework turned it into a hybrid item: 40 AD, 45 AP, 30% attack speed, and 4% movement speed, with Energized attacks chaining lightning for 60 magic damage to 4–7 targets. Champions that can use both AD and AP stats — like the newly adjusted Ezreal and Shyvana — benefit most.
Runes returning: Deathfire Touch and Stormraider’s Surge are back, shifting damage profiles for a number of mid-laners and assassins.
Champion-level shifts:
- Buffed: Taliyah, Gragas (Q damage to minions and monsters increased), Warwick, Tahm Kench.
- Nerfed: Ambessa (R cast time: 0.55s → 0.70s), Briar (reduced health growth).
- Adjusted: Shyvana (differentiated AD/AP builds), Zeri (power moved from burst to mobility and early laning), Ezreal (AP ratios on Q, W, R restored), Zoe (Spell Thief less damage; Sleepy Trouble Bubble refunds cooldown on champion hit), plus Kennen, Teemo, Udyr, Xin Zhao.
The net result: enchanters and scaling carries thrive, Ambessa drops from must-ban, and the jungle pool expanded significantly.
S Tier — The Best Champions Right Now (Patch 26.9)
These are the champions carrying games in Emerald+ this patch. All statistics are sourced from millions of ranked games across all regions.
Top Lane — S Tier
Mordekaiser and Gnar sit at the top of the top lane pool. Mordekaiser’s isolated dueling in his R domain punishes the melee-heavy carry top picks that dominate the current meta, while Gnar’s ability to flip teamfights with Mega Gnar makes him a premium pick against stacked compositions.
Teemo emerges as a surprise S-tier top laner after his patch 26.9 adjustments. His shrooms create persistent lane pressure and punish split-push attempts — especially relevant now that WASD movement in Ranked makes precise dodging slightly harder to execute.
Jungle — S Tier
Nocturne is the best jungler in patch 26.9 with a 52% win rate, and it’s not close. His R (Paranoia) provides unmatched pick potential in the current vision-light meta. Farm fast, hit 6, and take over the map. His clear speed is reliable and his threat in the mid-game forces opponents to over-ward rather than invade your jungle.
Shyvana is the second-strongest jungler (57.2% win rate across all builds) after the patch 26.9 rework differentiated her AD and AP paths. AD Shyvana excels at durable dragon-fighting and objective control; AP Shyvana demolishes backlines in teamfights.
Mid Lane — S Tier
Taliyah leads the entire game with a 58.8% win rate after her buffs — the highest of any champion this patch. Her roam threat and global ultimate make her oppressive the moment she hits level 6. She enables top and jungle simultaneously with W+E combos that can wave-clear and roam in the same rotation.
Ahri continues her streak at the top of mid, providing consistent damage, reliable CC in her R, and a kill threat that forces Summoner Spell usage even before 6. Her scaling keeps her relevant into the late game.
ADC — S Tier
Miss Fortune and Jinx dominate the bot lane. Miss Fortune’s Double Up and Bullet Time teamfight ultimate are a perfect match for the enchanter-heavy support meta. Jinx’s hypercarry scaling is the most rewarded in the game when paired with an enchanter — Milio or Nami shields amplify her Get Excited! resets into unstoppable late-game snowballs.
Support — S Tier
Rakan (56.0% win rate) is the best support in patch 26.9. His The Quickness + Grand Entrance combo initiates and disengages in the same rotation, making him invaluable for both aggressive and defensive teams. His synergy with any ADC who can follow up on CC is essentially instant free wins in coordinated play.
A Tier — Strong and Reliable Picks
A-tier champions are not the absolute best but they will consistently win games in the right hands. These picks outperform the average champion at their role and are safe ladder climbers.
Top Lane — A Tier
Garen and Malphite are rock-solid A-tier tops. Garen’s pure simplicity — Q silence, spin, execute — works in all elo ranges, and his low item dependency means he contributes from first back. Malphite’s R remains one of the most teamfight-warping abilities in the game: a perfect Malphite ult into a peel-heavy team wins fights outright.
Jungle — A Tier
Skarner (55.8% win rate) and Zac (55.2%) are the most reliable A-tier junglers. Skarner’s rework made him a dominant skirmisher with strong objective control; his E ground-slam enables gank setups from unexpected angles. Zac’s blob sustain makes him nearly unkillable for the first 15 minutes, letting him farm and counter-gank freely before transitioning into a teamfight monstrosity.
Rammus, Jax, and Amumu round out the jungle A-tier. Rammus benefits directly from Doran’s Bow opening giving physical DPS junglers a faster clear. Jax and Amumu provide reliable engage that the current dive meta rewards.
Mid Lane — A Tier
Viktor and Orianna are strong A-tier picks for players who want scaling safety. Both deal consistent AoE damage and are forgiving of early-game mistakes as long as you reach 3 items.
ADC — A Tier
Jhin, Caitlyn, and Smolder form the A-tier ADC trio. Jhin’s long-range poke and 4th-shot burst fit perfectly into the poke-into-engage comp pattern most teams run right now. Caitlyn maintains lane dominance through her range advantage and trap-headshot combos.
Support — A Tier
Milio, Nami, Sona, and Soraka are all A-tier enchanters capitalizing on the hypercarry meta. Leona is the top A-tier engage support, providing reliable CC chains that set up jungler ganks and teamfight all-ins.
B Tier — Solid Situational Picks
B-tier champions perform around average for their role and are good choices when you’re a champion-specialist or the matchup is favorable, but they require more conditions to succeed than S or A-tier picks.
Ezreal is a notable B-tier ADC this patch. His AP ratios on Q, W, and R were restored in 26.9, meaning AP Ezreal is playable again. His poke pattern and safety net (E blink) make him a reasonable pick into all-in bot lanes. However, his floor is higher than Miss Fortune or Jinx, so he rewards investment.
Zoe lands in B-tier mid after her adjustments. Spell Thief deals slightly less damage, but Sleepy Trouble Bubble now refunds its cooldown on champion hits — making her poke loop more forgiving on misses. She still punishes immobile champions severely but struggles against assassins with gap-closers.
Xin Zhao and Kennen are B-tier in their respective roles (jungle and top/mid) after their 26.9 adjustments. Both retain strong teamfight tools but lost enough raw power to slide out of the A-tier rotation.
Udyr is B-tier jungle after his adjustments shifted his power away from burst and toward sustained damage, which is slower to snowball but more consistent in extended skirmishes.
For B-tier picks, getting your item build right on the first attempt matters more than in S/A-tier. Tools like buildzcrank that adapt build recommendations in real time based on the enemy team composition are particularly useful here, where a wrong item purchase can cost you the advantage.
C Tier — Struggling This Patch
C-tier picks have meaningful weaknesses in the current meta. Avoid these unless you have deep champion-specific knowledge that compensates for the statistical disadvantage.
Ambessa is the biggest faller of patch 26.9. Her R cast time increased from 0.55 seconds to 0.70 seconds — a 0.15-second window that skilled opponents now use to Flash, dash, or reposition before the knockup lands. Against players who know the matchup, her primary engage tool is noticeably less reliable. She still works in low-coordination environments but drops a full tier in high-elo.
Briar was also nerfed, losing health growth that previously let her trade aggressively through mid-game skirmishes. Without the extra durability, she’s punished harder by anti-heal and grievous wounds compositions.
Other C-tier occupants include Rell (support, outclassed by enchanter meta), Kalista (ADC, requires extreme coordination to reach her power spike), and Azir (mid, his sandtroopers’ positioning demands are punished heavily by the current engage-heavy meta).
How We Rank Champions
Our tier list is built on win rate data from millions of ranked games in Emerald+ across all regions, updated after each patch goes live. We combine win rate with pick rate and ban rate — a champion with a high win rate but 0.3% pick rate is likely a pocket-pick anomaly, not a true meta indicator.
We organize champions by the role they are most commonly and successfully played in. If a champion appears in multiple roles at meaningful pick rates (like Shyvana this patch), we note their best-performing lane.
Tiers at a glance:
- S Tier: Win rate 54%+ or exceptional carry potential in the current meta
- A Tier: Win rate 51–54%, consistently outperforms most opponents
- B Tier: Win rate 49–51%, viable with good execution
- C Tier: Below 49% or structurally misaligned with the meta
For per-game build decisions, static tier lists can only take you so far. AI-powered tools like buildzcrank adapt item and rune recommendations in real time based on your specific lobby, helping B-tier specialists punch up into A-tier territory with optimized builds. Check our patch 26.8 tier list to see how the meta evolved between patches.
Frequently Asked Questions — LoL Tier List Patch 26.9
What is the best champion in League of Legends patch 26.9?
Taliyah is the statistically strongest champion in patch 26.9 with a 58.8% win rate in Emerald+. Shyvana (57.2% in jungle), Rakan (56.0% support), and Skarner (55.8% jungle) follow closely. Nocturne is the single best champion to climb with in jungle specifically due to his consistency across all elo ranges.
Is Taliyah overpowered in patch 26.9?
Yes — Taliyah’s post-buff win rate of 58.8% places her in objectively OP territory. Her global ultimate and strong roaming pattern are extremely rewarding in the current meta where games are often decided by mid-lane priority. Expect a nerf in 26.10.
Did Ambessa get nerfed in patch 26.9?
Yes. Ambessa’s R cast time increased from 0.55 to 0.70 seconds, making her primary engage tool easier to dodge or react to. She remains viable at lower elo but falls significantly in high-elo and organized play.
What are the new items introduced in patch 26.9?
Patch 26.9 added Doran’s Bow (attack speed + Omnivamp starter for ADCs), Doran’s Helm (sustain starter for frontliners), and Gluttonous Greaves (Omnivamp boots, first new boot variant in years). The Statikk Shiv was also reworked into a hybrid AD+AP item suited for champions that scale with both damage types.
Keep climbing: Check our role-specific guides — best Top Lane champions, best Mid Lane champions, and best Jungle champions — for in-depth picks and builds beyond the tier list.