If you ask any professional League of Legends player what the most isolated lane is in Summoner's Rift, we're positive all of them will say the top lane. Because of this, top players depend on only their own personal skills and match them against the enemy team's top laners. This is why it's very important to ensure the champion you're playing has the potential to dominate the lane and help you climb ranked.
Although which champion you should go with is determined by several factors such as your playstyle, there are some champions that, although they're very different from one another, are known to have the ability to dominate the top lane. Those champions are Riven, Jax, Malphite, Olaf, and Shen.
We'll be going through five of the best top lane champions you should go for if you want to dominate the upper most lane in Summoner's Rift.
#5: Riven
First on this list is Riven, one of the most deadly close range combat champions in the game. Don't let her bunny skin distract you, all it takes is for her to catch you once with her combo and we guarantee your champion's health will feel it. Pair that with her incredibly high mobility and you got yourself a winner.
However, there are some things to keep in mind first. The most important of which is the fact that this champion isn't exactly easy to master. Therefore, if you decide to main her, we recommend you put in some good practice hours first otherwise you won't be able to make the most of her abilities.
Secondly, as mentioned above, her mobility is her greatest asset. A bunch of players tend to neglect that part of her utility and simply focus on performing devastating combos on the enemy. What they don't know is that when her mobility is used correctly, it can also help her escape from potential ganks from other enemy champions, making the battle a true 1v1.
#4: Jax
Up next on the list is the staff wielding master himself, Jax. Although most players consider Jax to be a jungle only champion, we beg to differ. While he may have been a jungle only champion in the past, a bunch of AP builds have been created for him that allow players to use Jax as a top lane powerhouse.
Jax is a champion that relies heavily on his power spikes when laning, because of which he's rather weak early on. Additionally, it's more than possible to stop him in his tracks by putting him up against a large number of CC. Finally, an AP build Jax will be rather squishy without his ultimate.
Regardless of all of these downsides, when used correctly, Jax can very easily dominate the top lane by chaining his abilities to effectively delete anyone who stands in his way.
#3: Malphite
Since we've been including only difficult to learn champions on this list so far, we thought it's about time we go through a champion that is not only easy to use but also extremely deadly for the opposition. To be more specific, as long as you don't go up against Vladimir or Kennen in the top lane, you can VERY easily dominate it.
Many players consider Malphite to be a situational champion, but when put in the top lane, he can use his versatile abilities to pretty much cancel out any other champion. Additionally, when you build him correctly, he becomes an unkillable tank that will stop at nothing until he takes you down.
Finally, he's exceptional when it comes to team fights. Because of this, the go to strategy for most Malphite top players is to continue building him as a tank and then wait for their jungle or any other teammate to gank the lane and join forces with them to take the top lane out for good.
#2: Olaf
Here's another champion who is easy to play but also has the potential to beat pretty much any other top laner in a 1v1. Olaf is a unique entry on this list because, unlike the other champions who rely on their abilities to deal heavy damage, Olaf's auto attacks are his strongest weapon. This allows him to very easily bully the enemy champion.
Additionally, Olaf is perhaps the best top lane champion to play during the laning phase, and his biggest advantage is that he spikes mid game. It doesn't matter which champion he's up against, if it's the laning phase and the player controlling him knows what they're doing, nine out of ten times Olaf will win.
However, you have to keep in mind that not only is he very easy to kite by a skilled enemy player, but if he gets left behind during the laning phase, it becomes close to impossible for him to catch up.
#1: Shen
Finally, who else to give the number one spot to than the River god himself, Shen? Shen might not be the easiest champion to master, but by putting in enough time and effort into learning the ins and outs of how to best utilize his abilities, you'll eventually be able to impact the game from anywhere on the map.
That's right, we said anywhere. His ultimate ability allows him to shield and teleport to any friendly champion regardless of the distance. By using this and building him as a tank, anyone on the team can pretty much instantly have a deadly and unkillable ally by their side.
Although he can't really carry the match on his own and poking him is rather effective, he's still surprisingly efficient in the laning phase, and it's possible to protect the actual carry of the game at any time by using his ultimate.
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