5 Best Top Laners in League of Legends Patch 10.4

With the release of a new League of Legends Patch 10.4 scheduled for Thursday that features major changes to top lane items and champions, it's time to revisit the top lane tier list. Here are the five best top laners you can play in League of Legends Patch 10.4.

1. Ornn

The buffs to Sunfire Cape, combined with Ornn's strong initiation focused kit, make Ornn the nearly undisputed king of the top lane. Ornn's early itemization caters to the new buffs to tank items, rushing Sunfire Cape into Abyssal Mask which can both be upgraded by Ornn's Living Forge (Passive) into Forgefire Cape and Infernal Mask at level 12.

This powerspike makes Ornn a menace for opposing carries to deal with during most mid game team fights and his ability to build even more resistances only makes him scarier in the late game.

2. Sett

After receiving one too many nerfs on Patch 10.3, Sett received his health regeneration back and is poised to return to the top lane meta. His kit combines strong intiation with true damage in his Haymaker (W) to single out a carry in a team fight.

His kit also synergizes incredibly well with Conquerer, which allows him to quickly stack it on his lane opponent or an enemy champion in a team fight and enjoy the increased lifesteal from the rune.

3. Garen

Garen was one of the top laners to receive massive buffs on Patch 10.4 and added damage to monsters in order to facilitate his transition into the jungle.

Among the buffs to Garen include increasing the AD ratio on his Decisive Strike (Q) by 10 percent and gaining 10 percent increased armor and magic resist on Courage (W) after getting max resistances from enemy kills. He will also recieve a shield with Courage that will now scale with bonus health, encourage more players to try both the damage and tank Garen builds.

4. Poppy

Poppy is yet another champion that benefits significantly from the buffs to Sunfire Cape on Patch 10.4. In just over 1,000 games on the new patch, Poppy is enjoying an impressive 53 percent win rate which is a marked improvement over her performance on Patch 10.3.

Combine the additional health and damage with an already strong kit that can either engage or peel for her carries, and you have a champion poised to dominate top lane.

5. Vladimir

Vladimir has been in a strong position in the meta for almost two whole seasons at this point and will continue to have a strong foothold in top lane for the forseeable future. His ability to sustain through the early game using Transfusion (Q) and escape ganks and solo kill attemps with Sanguine Pool (W) make him a safe choice in the early game.

But it's his late game scaling that makes him a monster in both team fights and split pushes, allowing him to either one shot an opposing carry using Sanguine Pool, Transfusion, and Tides of Blood (E) or threaten inhibitors if the enemy team fails to respond to his push.