Top 5 off-meta picks and builds to exploit on League of Legends patch 10.25

Patch 10.25 brought with it a plethora of new possibilities for innovative and creative champion builds. Players have more freedom than ever in their build paths with so many new options in the shop.

Keep in mind that off-meta builds are off-meta for a reason. They work in fringe situations and sometimes fall flat. Then again, they also work and my goodness are they fun when they work.

Top 5 off-meta picks on League Of Legends patch 10.25

#5 - Urgot - Top Lane

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Urgot has been absent from the League of Legends meta for sometime now. He is currently only being picked in 1.5% of matches, but has a 51.42% win rate.

The Dreadnought has been finding success with a damage oriented build. He is very difficult to bring down onto his eight mechanical knees when he has two or three items.

The Runes

Urgot has a lot diversity in his ability to utilize a lot of different rune trees effectively, but for this build, players should take Press the Attack (PTA) as their keystone. Following that in the precision tree is Triumph, Legend: Tenacity, and Last Stand. In the secondary tree, it's Conditioning and Overgrowth in Resolve.

PTA is extremely easy for Urgot to proc on enemy champions with his W, Purge. For this reason, Urgot is able to kill most enemy champions at level two if he lands Disdain (E) and full channels Purge (W) on an enemy.

Conditioning and Overgrowth pay off later in the game when team fights start and Urgot transitions into being an off-tank. Through Triumph healing and the bonus health and armor from Conditioning, he becomes a Jugger/Dreadnought hybrid.

The Build

Teleport and Flash are the summoner spells of choice. Urgot has enough kill pressure early on that he does not require ignite and later in the game, his R, Fear Beyond Death, is an execute.

Starting with a Doran's Shield or Blade based on your matchup will have you on even ground with any champion and grant you kill pressure at level two. Urgot's sheer strength will likely earn you a favorable back that should occur when you have around 1200 gold.

The 1200 gold you back with will begin your journey towards Goredrinker, which is the core item of this build. The item provides healing, damage, health, and ability haste. All of which Urgot utilizes perfectly.

Based on the game state, Urgot will want Merc Treds or Plated Steelcaps for boots.

The second item after Goredrinker/Boots will be Black Cleaver. This item offers the same statistical benefits as Goredrinker and provides Urgot with armor shred so he can kill tanks with ease.

The remaining items in the build are more open to what the game dictates, but players can't go wrong with Ravenous Hydra, Sterak's Gage, Guardian Angel, or Chempunk Chainsword.

Skill Order

Urgot's build is best complimented by his ability to constantly channel his E, Purge. At level one take E, then W at two and Q at three. From here max W, then E, then Q while taking R at 6, 11, and 16.

#4 Rammus - Jungle

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Rammus, the Armordillo, has gained traction over in Korean solo que as a counter to many of the god-tier damage junglers. He isn't often played, but is a ton of fun when you watch an enemy player hit themselves to death on your spiked shell.

Rammus has a 52.95% win rate in Korea coupled with a 4.65% pick rate.

The Runes

Rammus feels best when he is virtually indestructible. For this reason, players will want to take Aftershock in the resolve tree alongside Font of Life, Conditioning, and Unflinching.

Font of Life rewards allies for targeting champions you taunt and Conditioning provides a little extra tankiness. Unflinching is the take over Overgrowth because the free tenacity makes it so Rammus is able to keep rolling in team fights without being kited too effectively.

For secondary runes, players should look to the Precision Tree. Here they take Triumph and Legend: Alacrity.

The Build

The build boils down to two words: Tank. Items. Rammus is at his most fun when enemy champions can't kill him no matter how hard they try.

Don't ever mess with The GOAT🐐Rammus🐢TRYING TOO RECALL! #LeagueOfLegends pic.twitter.com/mLdQyF20SH

— The GØAT Rammus (@TheGOATRammus) December 8, 2020

Starting off, taking Hailblade is the best bet because of the upgraded Chilling Smite. Chilling Smite makes it easier for Rammus to reach his target and taunt them, allowing your teammates to join in on the killing.

The first item players should look to complete on their first back for 1200 gold is Plated Steelcaps. Moving fast is perhaps the reason players play Rammus and these boots help him do just that.

Once players have aquired the go-faster shoes, they'll want to go directly into his tank items. These items are, in order, Sunfire Aegis, Thornmail, Force of Nature, Deadman's Plate, and Randuin's Omen.

Rammus' damage scales off the amount of armor he has, so each item in his build should consist of health and armor. He is susceptible to magic damage though, so Force of Nature, with it's MR stacking passive, is the perfect addition to the build.

Skill Order

Rammus works best when he is on top of enemy champions, but at level one he has to kill a jungle camp. For this reason, players will want to start by leveling W, Q, then E. From here, max Q, then E, and lastly W while leveling your ult at 6, 11, and 16.

#3 Rell - Mid

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This is perhaps the most odd pick on this list, but it can work. The situation in which it works best is with a hard carry jungler like Graves, Kha'zix, or Hecarim.

The idea behind Rell mid is that she is nearly impossible to kill 1v1 and has great gank setup. Therefore, players who try it out should let their jungler know to gank them often.

The Runes

Rell mid can get solo kills, but not in the traditional burst your opponent down from 100 to 0 in a half second. She kills her opponent over time by dealing damage and taking very little in return.

The way she does this is by trading around her primary keystone, Aftershock. The resolve tree is her best friend and should additionally have Shield Bash, Bone Plating, and Overgrowth. In the secondary tree, players have some options.

If Rell has a matchup against a poke heavy (Xerath) or trade heavy (Yasuo) champion she can take Inspiration. That tree will be complete with Biscuit Delivery and Time Warp Tonic.

If Rell is playing to aid in ganks and team fights, she'll want to have Domination as her secondary tree. In Domination players will want to take Cheap Shot and Relentless Hunter.

The Build

The scaling on Rell's abilities don't really work in her favor to build full AP. This being the case, Rell should be played as a utility mid laner who focuses on enabling her teammates and not dying while doing so.

Starting out, players will want to grab a Doran's Shield to improve their tankiness in lane. Rell should have no problem picking up CS in lane because of her ability to jump on champions looking to punish her in melee range.

Functioning as a supportive type mid laner, Rell wants to first build Locket of the Iron Solari. In addition to providing a game changing shield in team fights, this item provides armor and MR, furthering the enemies difficulty to kill you in lane phase.

Following the completion of Locket, Rell will want to complete her boots, either Merc Treds or Plated Steelcaps based on the enemy team.

Moving into the mid game, Rell can focus on building some hybrid AP/health items like Demonic Embrace, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, and Cosmic Drive. These items make your full combo threatening to any squishy enemy champions. Morellonomicon can be built as well against heavy healing teams.

Skill Order

Rell's great gank setup is emphasized by the reliability and ease of landing her knockup with W. Players will want to take W at level one and E at level two if they are expecting an early gank. Otherwise players will want to alternate leveling W and Q until level 7 if they feel they will not get any jungle attention. Maxing W, then Q, then E is always the play. Put a point into Rell's ultimate at level 6, 11, and 16.

#2 Viktor - Bot

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Viktor bot is another pick spawned originally in Korea. It was good for some time in previous seasons, but now he has found a glorious creation of a build with the new items.

His ability to shove waves and trade effectively with his Q, Siphon Power, makes him a real threat in the bot lane. Especially when paired alongside a Nami who can augment his damage further with Tidecaller's Blessing (E).

The Runes

Viktor bot plays very similarly to Viktor mid, but this build works best alongside a support.

For the primary tree, players will go into the Sorcery Tree and take Arcane Comet, Manaflow Band, Transcendence, and Scorch. In the secondary tree, they'll go Domination with Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter.

These runes enhance Viktor's ability to poke in lane and translate well into the late game where he is a damage machine.

The Build

This specific build revolves around the item Imperial Mandate, though you will not build it first.

To start, Doran's Ring alongside two pots works perfectly fine as you will want to focus on farming as effectively as possible. This works out well because you only need 850 gold for your first back to pick up a Blasting Wand.

From there, look to complete your Rylai's Crystal Scepter to have the added slow on your abilities. Once complete, it's time to make your Imperial Mandate which will make you deal tons of damage due to its synergy with Rylai's.

Finishing the build off will be your Sorc Shoes, Lich Bane, Deathcap, and Zhonya's Hourglass.

For the Hexcore upgrades, players will want to stick with the usual E > Q > W ordering because that maximizes damage output. While players could evolve W first to help proc Imperial Mandate's passive, it is best to just buy the Rylai's for this purpose.

Skill Order

Viktor bot can take either Q or E at level one. He wants to take Q if the player feels like they will trade a lot at level one and take E if the lane needs early pressure. Either way, Q and E are Viktor's first two abilities to be skilled.

Maxing E, then Q, then W will allow the Imperial Mandate build to preform best. Players should also level their ultimate at 6, 11, and 16.

#1 Maokai - Support

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The top laner turned support has found a large amount of success in in bot lane. His CC filled kit makes him great for offensive ganks or defensive peeling and this off-meta build makes him feel like an assassin at times.

The Runes

This Maokai build will diverge away from the traditional Aftershock rune and have players take Sorcery as their primary tree instead. In sorcery, take Arcane Comet, Manaflow Band, Transcendence, and Scorch.

This primary tree set up allows Maokai to put out high damage early in lane and threaten the enemy ADC/support, but it does leave him fairly squishy. For that reason, players should take Inspiration secondary with Biscuit Delivery and Magical Footwear.

The biscuits help with sustain during the lane phase alongside Maokai's passive.

The Build

For the build, Maokai will want to take Flash and Ignite/Exhaust depending on the matchup. He should start with Spellthief's Edge and two potions as well.

On the first recall, players will want to pickup a Bandleglass Mirror or Kindlegem with the intention of building them into Imperial Mandate. This item has incredible synergy with his constant AOE CC and provides his teammates to wipe out the enemy team in the blink of an eye.

Following that item, players will want to grab Sorc Shoes, Demonic Embrace, Morellonomicon, and Thornmail. All of these items grant Health which ensures Maokai doesn't die quickly when making his engages.

Skill Order

Maokai's support/damage has a different skill order than most players familiar with Maokai are used to.

At level one, players will take W for the easy and reliable root that also procs Aftershock. Following that, Q at two and E at three give players access to his full combo. From there, maxing Q, then E, then W gives Maokai the highest damage output possible with the build.

Players should look to level his ultimate at 6, 11, and 16.