Why This 7.0d Tier List Actually Matters
After grinding a few dozen ranked games on patch 7.0d (mostly Emerald+ solo queue), I hit the same wall over and over: champ select. Mel dropped, items shifted, and suddenly my old comfort picks felt coin-flip. The breakthrough came when I stopped just locking what I liked and started drafting around the actual meta power picks for each role.
This guide is built around that experience: how to use a role-specific tier list in League of Legends: Wild Rift on patch 7.0d to lock in reliable S-tier champions, and when it’s worth gambling on off-meta options like Vayne top, Seraphine mid, and Malphite/Lux support.
If you just want to climb and not reinvent the wheel, focus on the S-tier champs I call out for each role. They’re strong, consistent, and forgiving in solo queue. Once you’re comfortable, you can sprinkle in the off-meta picks that I’ve seen (and used) to hard-carry games when drafted correctly.
How to Read and Use a Tier List in Champ Select
Before we go role by role, it helps to know how to use a tier list properly. I wasted a lot of time trying to brute-force “my” champ even when the draft clearly didn’t want it.
- S-tier = default pick: If the champion isn’t banned and you can play them decently, these are your go-to options. They’re strong in most matchups and most comps.
- A-tier = comfort counterpicks: Slightly weaker overall or more situational, but still great if you know them well or if they counter the enemy draft.
- Off-meta picks: Things like Vayne top or Lux support. They can be S-tier in the right game, or grief-level in the wrong one. Only pick them when conditions are right.
- Don’t fight your team’s comp: A champ can be S-tier, but if your team already has three squishy AP burst champs, maybe don’t add another.
The rest of this guide walks through each role, highlights stand-out meta champs from my games on 7.0d, and explains why they’re strong and when to pivot to something else.
Top Lane – Bruisers, Tanks, and the Vayne Top Question
Top became a lot more punishing this patch. With new items like Ragelade and strong tank options, falling behind early can make the entire game feel unwinnable. That’s why I lean heavily on simple, reliable S-tier tops in solo queue.
Top S-tier standouts I’ve had the most success with:
- Camille: Still one of the best carry tops. Safe laning with her hookshot, insane split-push, and a point-and-click ultimate that makes engaging on enemy carries braindead simple in teamfights.
- Garen: The definition of reliable. Fantastic into melee bruisers, easy to pilot on mobile, and surprisingly tanky with Heartsteel-style builds while still deleting squishies with his ultimate.
- Fiora / Jax: High-skill duelists that thrive in extended sidelane pressure. I only recommend them if you’re already comfortable with their combos-otherwise you’ll just feed to tankier, simpler tops.
When Vayne top actually works (off-meta): I’ve seen people either 1v9 or lose the game at min 5 with this pick. In my own games, Vayne top works when:
- You’re facing immobile tanks or bruisers that rely on regen (e.g. Mundo, some Garen builds).
- Your team already has front line elsewhere (a tanky support or jungle) so you aren’t the only melee target.
- You’re comfortable spacing and kiting with Vayne on a small screen; misclicks in lane get you killed instantly.
Common mistake: Don’t blind-pick Vayne top into aggressive gap-closers. Champions like Camille or Riven will dive you under tower on cooldown before you get items, and you’ll never hit your Ragelade + on-hit power spike.
Jungle – Objective Control and Reliable Engage
In 7.0d, junglers who bring both reliable engage and fast objective clear feel incredible. After swapping from my old high-mechanics picks to simpler, S-tier bruisers and tanks, my win rate jumped noticeably.
Jungle S-tier picks that feel best right now:
- Rammus: Great into heavy AD comps and mobile assassins. Powerball + taunt is easy to use on mobile, and he takes objectives quickly with his defensive stats and damage reflection.
- Amumu: Extremely forgiving. Clear is decent, ganks are reliable once you get bandage toss down, and his ultimate can single-handedly win teamfights at dragons.
- Wukong: Still a staple. Strong ganks from level 3, stealthy engages with his clone, and huge teamfight impact with his knock-ups.
What finally worked for me in jungle was stopping the full-farm, late-gank style on fragile assassins and instead playing around early dragons with tanky engage champs. On 7.0d, securing early objectives with a reliable S-tier jungler matters more than getting one extra camp.
Mid Lane – Mel, Control Mages, and Safe Waveclear
Mid is where patch 7.0d feels the most different thanks to Mel. After she dropped, I noticed a clear shift: more control-mage style mids and fewer random assassins.
S-tier mid picks I’d prioritize:
- Mel: As the newest champion, she’s overtuned enough to feel oppressive in lane when played well. She brings strong mid-game presence and can both shove waves and contribute meaningfully in skirmishes, making her a top pick if you’ve put in the practice games.
- Syndra: Classic control mage. Great waveclear, long-range stun for picks, and an ultimate that reliably deletes priority targets if you’re orb-managing correctly.
- Orianna / Kennen / Teemo: Different flavors of zone control. They all punish bad positioning and shine in dragon and Baron fights where their area-of-effect damage and crowd control can hit multiple targets.
Seraphine mid as an off-meta option: I started testing this when my team already had a hard engage and AD carry threats. It works best when:
- Your team has at least one true frontliner and one strong AD damage source.
- You’re comfortable playing fights slowly-layering shields, heals, and crowd control instead of diving for kills.
- You can reliably hit multi-target ultimates around objectives.
Don’t make my early mistake of picking Seraphine mid into full-early-game dive comps. You’ll get shoved in and camped before you hit your supportive item spikes, and your team will hate you.
Dragon Lane (ADC) – Consistent DPS Over Fancy Outplays
On this patch, the dragon lane feels incredibly punishing to squishy carries who need a lot of resources and protection. The S-tier ADCs I’ve had the most success with mix decent safety with strong mid-game DPS.
ADC picks that feel most reliable:
- Kai’Sa: Flexes between poke and dive builds, has a self-peel ultimate, and spikes hard on two items. She fits into almost any comp.
- Xayah: Very safe in lane and in teamfights thanks to her feather recall & ultimate. Great when your support wants to engage aggressively.
- Varus: Can go on-hit or lethality; both work well in 7.0d. His ultimate provides much-needed engage or peel in comps that are otherwise low on crowd control.
What about Vayne as ADC? She’s still playable, but between item shifts and burst-heavy metas, I only feel comfortable picking her when the enemy comp is double-tank and my support is dedicated to peeling. Otherwise, I stick to the more forgiving S-tier marksmen.
Support – Engagers, Enchanters, and the Lux/Malphite Debate
Support is where a lot of people underestimate their impact. On 7.0d, a good S-tier support can completely decide how easy your ADC’s lane is and how clean your engages are later.
S-tier supports that overperform in my games:
- Bard: Insane roaming potential, great pick tools, and game-changing ultimates. Harder to play on mobile, but worth it if you put the time in.
- Janna / Sona: Top-tier enchanters. They keep carries alive through burst and are perfect when your team already has engage from jungle or top.
- Rell / Braum: Ideal if your team needs a true frontline. Their kits offer low-commitment peel and hard engage around objectives.
- Brand / Lux: “Mage supports” that bring huge damage from the support role and can solo-win lane with good combos.
Lux & Malphite support as off-meta: These two are incredibly fun but very draft-dependent. In my experience, they shine when paired with CC-heavy ADCs like Ashe, Varus, or a snowballing Jhin. Key points:
- Lux support: Think pick and poke, not pure utility. You need to hit bindings consistently; missing Q repeatedly turns you into a squishy minion.
- Malphite support: You’re basically trading traditional laning for level 5–7 all-in potential. Great into dive-heavy or AD-heavy comps, but miserable if your team lacks follow-up damage.
Don’t fall into the trap I did early in the patch: locking Lux or Malphite support when your team has zero tanks and no other crowd control. Suddenly you’re the only engage and also made of paper.
Common Champ Select Mistakes in 7.0d (and How to Avoid Them)
Using a tier list helps, but I still lost games at champ select by ignoring a few basics. Here’s what I had to unlearn:
- Forcing assassins mid/jungle every game: With Mel and strong control mages in mid, plus tanky junglers, pure assassin drafts often run out of steam if they don’t snowball early.
- All-AP or all-AD comps: It’s too easy for the enemy to itemize one resistance and nullify your entire team. Make sure your S-tier picks still give you a healthy damage mix.
- No frontline drafts: Four squishy champs and a mage support is a common low-elo trap. At least one of top/jungle/support should be able to start fights and soak damage.
- Picking off-meta blind: Vayne top, Seraphine mid, and Lux/Malphite support go from “secret OP” to “free LP for the enemy” if you blind-pick them into bad matchups and comps.
If you’re unsure, default to a standard S-tier pick in your role that you’re comfortable on. Consistency beats occasional 1v9s followed by five auto-loss drafts.
Putting It All Together – A Simple Draft Blueprint
Once I started thinking about drafts in terms of roles and S-tier strengths instead of “my favorite champion”, my games got much easier. Here’s a simple blueprint you can aim for with the champs we’ve talked about:
- Top: Frontline bruiser or tank (Camille, Garen). Swap to Vayne top only if the enemy comp and your team comp allow it.
- Jungle: Reliable engage and objective control (Rammus, Amumu, Wukong).
- Mid: Control mage or Mel for waveclear and teamfight control (Mel, Syndra, Orianna), or Seraphine if you already have engage and AD damage.
- ADC: Consistent DPS with some self-peel (Kai’Sa, Xayah, Varus).
- Support: Either a true tank/engage (Rell, Braum) or a strong enchanter (Janna, Sona). Fit in Lux/Malphite or Brand when you already have frontline somewhere else.
Play a handful of normals or low-stakes ranked games on one or two S-tier champs in your main role until their combos and trading patterns feel automatic. Then, start layering in off-meta picks when drafts line up. That’s how I stabilized my climb on 7.0d-and if it worked for me, it’s absolutely doable for you too.
