5 Best Top Laners in League of Legends Patch 10.5

With a new patch on the horizon that features multiple changes to top lane items like Death's Dance and Tiamat, here are the five best top laners in League of Legends Patch 10.5.

5 Best Top Laners in League of Legends Patch 10.5

1. Sett

Sett and Ornn have traded the top spot in top lane over the past several patches in Season 10. The planned nerfs to Ornn in Patch 10.5 give Sett full control of the top lane. Sett is a strong champion at all stages of the game, which is part of the reason why he's been so dominant in solo queue and competitive play.

He can combine with Sejuani or other strong level 3 junglers to secure an early kill and lead in lane and use Show Stopper (R) in late game team fights to remove a carry or tank from the fight entirely. His synergy with the Conqueror rune only adds to his strength and new buffs to Titanic Hydra and Ravenous Hydra might make him even stronger should he itemize into it.

Even though he is getting a few nerfs to his base HP regeneration and base armor, his itemization should allow for him to still be viable in the top lane into a variety of match ups.

2. Ornn

Ornn is still in a strong spot on Patch 10.5, but Living Forge (Passive) and Bellows Breath (W) will both be receiving nerfs. Ornn will now get his own upgraded items at level 13 instead of level 12 and Bellows Breath will now a little less percentage HP damage at max rank.

This still leaves Ornn with a strong kit and great old efficiency. The one level change to his passive only slightly delays his power spike and doesn't effect his strength at level 18 where he can buff the items of the champions on his team. His strong team fight oriented kit also makes him strong around objectives and in sieges against enemy towers. Ornn may not be as good as he was on Patch 10.4, but he's still one of the best top laners on Patch 10.5.

3. Sona

Sona had a 60 percent win rate in solo queue in top lane on Patch 10.3 before a series of hotfixes and nerfs brought the champion down to its current 54 percent win rate. But those nerfs and changes are being slowly reverted, as Sona will be receiving another buff to her base Attack Damage and her Song of Celerity (E) haste.

The buffs are likely an attempt to keep Sona in a viable position after the changes to Spellthief's Edge, which no longer gives gold to champions in solo lanes. The buffs to her movement speed and attack damage only give her greater lane control in solo lanes and her support item path allows her access to her power spikes before other laners have a chance to respond. Just like with Soraka, expect Sona to be the next dominant healer in the top lane.

4. Aatrox

Aatrox is a champion that hovers around relevancy most of the time and so far that has been the case in Season 10. When played well, Aatrox can be a forced to be reckoned with. His Darkin Blade (Q) gives him three different modes of crowd control and can be paired with Infernal Chains (W) to lock down an enemy carry.

Aatrox also benefits heavily from the changes to Death Dance and will now have an easier time sustaining into mage top laners. The added magic resist also helps him against strong mid lane mages or a magic dealing jungler, which can allow him to turn around fights in critical situations. He's still a very skill intensive champion, so keep that in mind before you pick him in your next game.

5. Darius

Darius has gotten multiple buffs to his jungle clear in an attempt to help newer players adapt to the jungle. But these buffs have also helped top lane Darius to get back into the meta, with a 53 percent win rate in top lane on Patch 10.4. His strong early game damage and all in potential give him pressure in lane and allow him to rotate with his jungler to get priority in the early game.

The kill potential Darius has with a competent jungler should turn most lane match ups in his favor and allow him to snowball into a monster in the mid game. These early game leads can often help swing the game, as the objectives give his team the power to carry in the late game, even as Darius falls off.