LoL Arena champion tier list: Best champs for 2v2v2v2 mode

Arena made its much-anticipated return to League of Legends on May 1 with Patch 14.9. Players immediately returned to the mode, and started looking up changes to discover the tier list of the best champs in it.

However, with 167 champions, it’s difficult to determine which are the best for Arena and which are not.

These champions are from different roles in the game’s Summoner’s Rift modes, but there is one thing most have in common: they each scale exceptionally well. On top of that, most require some mechanical skills. But once mastered, they can be valuable in your Arena duo.

Why you should play each S-tier champion in LoL Arena

Brand, the Burning Vengeance

• Best duo: Trundle, Darius, Vi
• Core items: Void Staff, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Shadowflame
• Strongest Augments: Magic Missile, Witchful Thinking, Infernal Conduit

With his unmatched power, Fiora is undoubtedly one of the best picks in Arena. He’s always been powerful in one-versus-one and two-versus-two scenarios, and with proper Augments and build in the returning League mode, he can excel quite fast and earn you many number-one finishes.

Kayn, the Shadow Reaper

• Best duo: Galio, Brand, Swain
• Core items: Duskblade of Draktharr, Serylda’s Grudge, Guardian Angel
• Strongest Augments: The Brutalizer, Outlaw’s Grit, Thread the Needle

Kayn has a lot of damage, sustain, and mobility in his kit. All these aspects are heavily favored in Arena, since they allow champions to come out on top in many situations. Therefore, with a few core items under his belt, Kayn can navigate a number of Arena games.

Veigar, the Tiny Master of Evil

• Best duo: Trundle, Illaoi, Darius
• Core items: Rabadon’s Deathcap, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Luden’s Tempest
• Strongest Augments: Big Brain, Witchful Thinking, Eureka

I don’t know about you, but in Arena, I often like to go for AP-based picks that can just create more chaos on the battlefield. Veigar is a prime example of such a pick. With a proper setup with your duo partners, Veigar can burst squishy targets while also navigating space with his Event Horizon (E).

Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper

• Best duo: Zed, Pyke, Illaoi
• Core items: Rabadon’s Deathcap, Night Harvester, Cosmic Drive
• Strongest Augments: Witchful Thinking, Rabble Rousing, Eureka

Similarly to Veigar, Vladimir is also a perilous champion in Arena. His kit doesn’t involve as many crowd control tools, though his damage is still one of the highest with proper build and Augments. On the other hand, his sustain is way better, so he’s able to last longer in fights.

Darius, the Hand of Noxus

• Best duo: Brand, Sona, Lillia
• Core items: Guardian Angel, Force of Nature, Sterak’s Gage
• Strongest Augments: The Brutalizer, Goliath, Rabble Rousing

Fighters are immensely powerful in the latest Arena mode, with Darius leading the charge. His mix of tankiness and damage can quickly transform the Hand of Noxus into one of the most perilous picks, especially if he’s allowed to get some kills early.

Vi, the Piltover Enforcer

• Best duo: Brand, Nilah, Xin Zhao
• Core items: Guardian Angel, Black Cleaver, Death’s Dance
• Strongest Augments: The Brutalizer, Outlaw’s Grit, Thread the Needle

Similarly to Darius, Vi can be flawless in one-versus-one scenarios if given the time and space to feed. With her targeted ultimate and squishy AD and AP carries being popular in the Arena, she’s a perfect counter to such picks in many scenarios.

Zed, the Master of Shadows

• Best duo: Vladimir, Galio, Brand
• Core items: Serylda’s Grudge, Infinity Edge, Lord Dominik’s Regards
• Strongest Augments: The Brutalizer, It’s Killing Time, Thread the Needle

If you’re gifted mechanically and want to show your prowess, there’s hardly a better pick than Zed. Once he gets his core items and picks up his favored Augments, Zed can outplay almost every champion in the Arena.

Yorick, the Shepherd of Souls

• Best duo: Ziggs, Zyra, Taliyah
• Core items: The Collector, Death’s Dance, Guardian Angel
• Strongest Augments: Goliath, Minionmancer, The Brutalizer

Coming back from the grave in the Arena is Yorick, who’s currently stronger than ever. When given proper Augments, items, and duo partner, he can become an immensely strong front line, which is almost impossible to crack.

Trundle, the Troll King

• Best duo: Brand, Sona, Veigar
• Core items: Spirit Visage, Guardian Angel, Black Cleaver
• Strongest Augments: Lighting Strikes, Scopier Weapons, Symphony of War

Trundle ruled the previous iteration of Arena and the Troll King is back on top this time around. It’s easy to out-sustain enemy fighters with his Q and R, block squishy targets with his E, and deal considerable damage all around.

Swain, the Noxian Grand General

• Best duo: Illaoi, Galio, Poppy
• Core items: Spirit Visage, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Rabadon’s Deathcap
• Strongest Augments: Magic Missile, Rabble Rousing, Infernal Conduit

Similarly to other mages above, Swain is a fantastic pick if you’re feeling good with your mechanical skills. Those who are will find it easy to surprise a few enemies and quickly advance to the top places in Arena, especially when matched with another solid pick.

Lillia, the Bashful Bloom

• Best duo: Illaoi, Poppy, Galio
• Core items: Void Staff, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Shadowflame
• Strongest Augments: Magic Missile, Infernal Conduit, Witchful Thinking

Thanks to her crowd control tools and mobility, Lillia can outplay a lot of enemies if played properly. Look for agressive Augments, build AP-based items and try hitting as many skillshots as possible, and your enemies should be dead.

Galio, the Colossus

• Best duo: Illaoi, Lillia, Swain
• Core items: Rabadon’s Deathcap, Thornmail, Hearsteel
• Strongest Augments: Guilty Pleasure, Courage of the Colossus, Impassable

We mentioned that the most dominant tanks in the mode are those who can hurt enemies while also being beefy, and Galio fits that description perfectly. With his aggressive kit it’s best to pick another fighter alongside him, while even giving Galio items like Rabadon’s Deathcap or Demonic Embrace, just to increase his damage a bit higher.

Nami, the Tidecaller

• Best duo: Shen, Graves, Yone
• Core items: Rabadon’s Deathcap, Morellonomicon, Chemtech Purifier
• Strongest Augments: Sonic Boom, First-Aid Kit, All for You

Sometimes, all you need in Arena is a proper support, and with Nami’s abilities, you couldn’t find a better one. With two great crowd control tools and a heal she’s a terrific pick in the mode.

Gragas, the Rabble Rouser

• Best duo: Zed, Trundle, Jayce
• Core items: Void Staff, Spirit Visage, Shadowflame
• Strongest Augments: Witchful Thinking, Eureka, Bread and Cheese

Gragas is another great choice for Arena due to his ability to control the enemies with her powerful crowd control. On his own, she’s not strong enough to win fights, but when matched with a Fighter like Zed or Trundle, he can provide a perfect frontline and damage to come out victorious.

Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess

• Best duo: Galio, Swain, Singed
• Core items: Guardian Angel, Sterak’s Gage, Death’s Dance
• Strongest Augments: Perserverance, Goliath, Rabble Rousing

Last but not least, we have Illaoi. She’s similar to other fighters on the list, though, she deals both a lot of damage, while also turning battlefield to hell. When paired with a tank, enemies may find her hard to counter, especially if she lands her ultimate just right.

A-tier champions in LoL Arena

• Morgana
• Briar
• Zyra
• Singed
• Udyr
• Pyke
• Lux
• Kennen
• Poppy
• Shyvana
• Kog’Maw
• Garen
• Hwei
• Jayce
• Jhin
• Tryndamere
• Aatrox
• Sylas
• Anivia
• Xerath
• Nunu & Willump
• Evelynn
• Xin Zhao
• Naafiri
• Shen
• Taliyah
• Twisted Fate
• Senna
• Sona
• Mordekaiser
• Olaf

These champions are still incredible in teamfights and can greatly benefit from a number of Augments in Arena. Besides that, you’ll find tons of versatility among these champions, from squishy yet powerful AD carries, mages, and supports to beefy and tanky bruisers and tanks, which combined can create some powerful combos.

By picking one of these champs, you have a guaranteed head start in Arena, especially since they mostly don’t require much knowledge and mechanical ability. They’re just not as successful as our S-tier champs.

B-tier champions in LoL Arena

• Malzahar
• Zac
• Ryze
• Lee Sin
• Kha’Zix
• Wukong
• Nasus
• Lucian
• Hecarim
• Jarvan IV
• Riven
• Pantheon
• Ahri
• Ashe
• Fiora
• Vayne
• Renekton
• Volibear
• Yasuo
• Rammus
• Cassiopeia
• Gwen
• Master Yi
• Samira
• Amumu
• Fiddlesticks
• Bard
• Rell
• Rumble
• Graves
• Karma
• Ezreal
• Zeri
• Yone
• Nilah
• Azir
• Cho’Gath
• Sett
• Kayle
• Alistar

Now we pivot to the unusual and tough-to-use choices. These champions often have kits that are quite strong in Arena if used right. Yet most of them lack enough steam to be powerful throughout the whole game and often just fall behind at one point in time.

Nevertheless, if one of these champions is your main and you can’t imagine climbing the ladder without them, we’re sure you’ll find ways to claim victories along your way. You just need to know your limits, find a proper duo partner for your Arena battles, and hope for some really nice Augments.

C-tier champions in LoL Arena

• Lulu
• Viego
• Tristana
• Sion
• Caitlyn
• Lissandra
• K’Sante
• Maokai
• Leona
• Dr. Mundo
• Camille
• Teemo
• Katarina
• Jinx
• Malphite
• Draven
• Annie
• Gangplank
• Talon
• Qiyana
• Warwick
• Urgot
• Akali
• Rengar
• Irelia
• Bel’Veth
• Taric

The champions are often still formidable in many key aspects of Arena, like teamfighting, tanking damage, being the main damage source, or providing utility and crowd control. Yet, often, they are superb in only one or two of these aspects, and in most games, they’ll get outclassed by other champions unless you got lucky when choosing your Augments.

D-tier champions in LoL Arena

• Jax
• Sejuani
• Kai’Sa
• Skarner
• Ornn
• Twitch
• Soraka
• Shaco
• Heimerdinger
• Miss Fortune
• LeBlanc
• Nautilus
• Diana
• Smolder

We’re off to the penultimate section of our tier list. Champions in this category might be fun to play, especially once you land a fun Augment or two, but they often fail to produce results. They are usually tough to use in most duos and don’t have enough tools to climb the ranks efficiently—at least, they didn’t help us.

E-tier champions in LoL Arena

• Aurelion Sol
• Yuumi
• Tahm Kench
• Ekko
• Fizz
• Neeko
• Braum
• Blitzcrank
• Thresh

Last but not least, we have the list of champions who are barely playable in the Arena, at least at the moment. They require a lot of game knowledge and proper combination with your duo to come out successfully while playing them.