The current League of Legends meta has introduced some of the coolest, strangest, and most terrifying strategies we’ve ever seen. These include the gold funnel, running Smite mid on highly-mobile assassins, and the popular non-marksman bot lane.
You’ve probably already seen the Vladimir-Morgana, Yasuo-Alistar, and Heimerdinger-Fiddlesticks bot lanes dominating solo queue lately. A few months ago, picking these duos would have resulted in queue dodges and flaming. But now, it’s become the norm, except for ADC mains who have to adapt.
We previously wrote a small feature on a few fun combos to try when this meta started last month, but now there are even more combinations to explore. Here are seven of the strongest non-marksman bot lane combinations to play.
7) Brand with Nami
Brand is a high-damage AoE mage who can bully opponents out of lane. However, he has weaknesses such as squishiness and immobility. Nami is the perfect support for him, as her engage synergizes extremely well with Brand pre-six. Her ultimate ensures that enemies can’t escape Brand’s attacks once they both hit level six. Moreover, Nami’s heal keeps Brand healthy during fights, and her speed boosts, slows, and bubble provide peel without her having to dive into the action.
6) Ziggs with Rakan
Ziggs is a long-range poking mage who lacks upfront burst damage. Rakan supports him by providing survivability and peel. Rakan’s charm can group enemies together for a coordinated Ziggs ultimate. With Rakan’s assistance, Ziggs can bully enemies in lane, become a teamfighting machine at level six, and destroy towers late-game.
5) Mordekaiser with Pyke
Mordekaiser and Pyke’s kits can work together to deal massive damage. Pyke’s Q can pull enemies towards Mordekaiser, and his E can keep them in place while Mordekaiser unleashes his damage. Unlike other Mordekaiser supports like Blitzcrank and Thresh, Pyke also offers high damage and can secure kills without impacting Mordekaiser’s gold income.
4) Swain with Vel’Koz
Swain becomes an absolute titan in the late game, but struggles with early damage. Pairing him with Vel’Koz provides high early-game poke and synergy with his passive. Swain can handle himself with his self-peel and sustain, making a tank or healer less necessary in this lane.
3) Veigar with Brand
Veigar can prevent ganks with his “baby cage” ability, but he lacks early-game damage. Pairing him with Brand adds early damage and competes with high damage bot lanes. If Veigar can reach the late game where he has high AP, he becomes very difficult to beat.
2) Heimerdinger and Zilean
Heimerdinger’s turrets can be easily countered, but Zilean’s bombs provide poke and zoning capabilities to protect the turrets. Zilean’s ultimate allows Heimerdinger to stay in fights longer, increasing his turret up-time.
1) Yasuo and Alistar
Yasuo and Alistar create a versatile combination. Alistar’s high-value peel keeps Yasuo alive, and he can match Yasuo’s aggression. A combination of their ultimates leads to strong AoE knock-ups, making Yasuo even more effective in fights.