Top 5 off-meta picks and builds to exploit on League of Legends season 11

With the start of season 11, League of Legends brought with it an overabundance of new possibilities for innovative and creative champion picks and builds.

Players now have more freedom than ever in their build paths with many new options in the item shop. But off-meta builds work only in selective situations while failing in many. They are worth trying and can work wonders in a lot of cases.

Unpopular opinion: The new item shop on league is great for the longevity of the game and versatility of champion builds. The old shop was outdated and needed to be fixed.

— Slayhen (@SlayhenRS) November 12, 2020

A player can be successful with off-meta picks and builds if they stick to strategies and try out various unique item combinations. The beginning of season 11 saw a lot of balance changes, which looked to nerf the jungle role massively and bring about quite a big shift in the meta.

Here are the 5 best role-wise unorthodox picks and their builds that players can abuse in their upcoming League of Legends ranked games.

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Five best off-meta options in League of Legends season 11

#1 - Top Lane

Ivern

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Ivern is usually played as a jungler, mid laner, or ADC to empower other carries. But in the current season, top lane Ivern can be powerful and effective using an interesting combination after League of Legends' latest item rework. It features core items like Moonstone Renewer, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, and Staff of Flowing Water.

In the top lane, Ivern farms for his core items before grouping with his teammates to buff them up and provide a fair amount of shielding and healing. Runes and build Items for Top-Ivern,

1. Runes: Summon Aery, Transcendence, Gathering Storm, Bone Plating, Revitalize.
2. Starting Items: Doran's Ring, Health Potion.
3. Core Items: Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Moonstone Renewer, Staff of Flowing Water.

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#2 - Jungle

Udyr

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The recent item rework has benefitted Udyr massively, making him one of the best jungler options in the current meta. He is now a popular League of Legends jungle pick with a dashing and powerful build-kit.

There are three main reasons behind Udyr's unanticipated off-meta popularity. The first and most prominent one is his item rework, the second reason is his recent buffs, and the last is the popular "Moonstaff" combo. Runes and build items for Jungle-Udyr,

1. Runes: Phase Rush, Nimbus Cloak, Celerity, Waterwalking, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity.
2. Starting Items: Hailblade, Refillable Potion.
3. Core Items: Mercury's Trades, Turbo Chemtank, Moonstone Renewer, Dead Man's Plate, Force of Nature, Lich Bane, Thornmail.

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#3 - Mid Lane

Viego

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Viego is the newest champion in League of Legends. Riot released him primarily with the intention of making him a viable jungler. But few players have started playing him in the top lane because of his unreal effectiveness in the role.

According to Champion.gg, The Ruined King's jungle win rate in Patch 11.3 floats below 48 percent (Platinum+), compared to his 50% win rate in the mid lane. This makes him one of the best off-meta picks in League of Legends Season 11. Runes and build items for Mid-Viego,

1. Runes: Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Bloodline, Coup de Grace, Taste of Blood, Relentless Hunter.
2. Starting Items: Long Sword, Doran's Blade, Doran's Shield, Refillable Potion,
3. Core Items: Goredrinker, Blade of the Ruined King, Sterak's Gage, Guardian Angel, The Collector, Berserker's Greaves.

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#4 - Bot / ADC Lane

Yasuo

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Bot Lane is not ideal to play for the melee carry champions in League of Legends. But it's not the same for Yasuo, who is a high mobility bruiser-assassin hybrid. Yasuo has the potential to run riots in the bot lane. His abilities are limited only by static cooldowns so he can freely use his Q and its follow-up combos as a no-cost harassing tool.

In a lane where ranged basic attacks and skill shots are the main way of winning trades, the shields from his W and passive allow him to shut down enemy marksmen and skill-shot based crowd control champions.

The lack of range is not an issue for "The Unforgiven" to fit perfectly in the ADC role during a match. His E-Sweeping Blade can handle the minion line well and deal heavy damage during solo fights. Runes and build items for ADC-Yasuo,

1. Runes: Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, Coup de Grace, Taste of Blood, Ravenous Hunter.
2. Starting Items: Doran's Blade, Health Potion.
3. Core Items: Berserker's Greaves, Immortal Shadow, Infinity Edge, Spirit Visage, Mortal Reminder, Guardian Angel.

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#5 - Support

Poppy

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Poppy, League's "Keeper of the Hammer" is generally known for her role as a top laner and occasionally a jungler. But due to her versatility, Poppy can be effectively utilized an off-meta support as well.

Support Poppy focuses on helping her ADC get kills by punishing bad positioning and overextending enemies extremely hard. She is also exceptionally effective against many opponent supports such as Rakan, who is irrelevant and ineffective in lanes with Poppy's presence at the opposite end.

Poppy is highly ignored in League of Legends as she takes a good amount of time to learn her abilities. But if played with proper strategy, she could turn out to be a beast in the rift. Poppy does not have a built-in shield, but if she lands her passive and picks up her buckler, she can still shield herself. Runes and build Items for Support-Poppy,

1. Runes: Aftershock, Font of Life, Bone Plating, Overgrowth, Hextech Flashtraption, Biscuit Delivery.
2. Starting Items: Steel Shoulderguards, Health Potion, Stealth Ward.
3. Core Items: Locket of the Iron Solari, Pauldrons of Whiterock, Dead Man's Plate, Knight's Vow, Vigilant Wardstone, Plated Steelcaps, Oracle Lens.

Note: This article reflects the author’s opinion, and what may seem the best to one may not be so to someone else.