It’s the end of the month again and time to sit down and reflect on the most popular League of Legends Champions for April 2013. There’s some exciting changes this month with a new Champions reaching the top 10 and a surprising margin between the top two contenders. We’ve seen the rise and fall of the best in recent months but what was in store for April?
10 
Tristana 
Tristana made her first appearance last month landing in a respectable 7th place for the most played League of Legends Champions in March. Popular for her insane burst damage and very powerful end-game builds Tristana has been a regular in the competitive scene for League of Legends but appears to lack the popularity to maintain any true success in regular play.
Her easy to use abilities appeal to many variations of League fans but her strengths are quite often misplaced as players will level abilities and choose items regardless of opponents. Although she has the arsenal to carry any game, the choice of leveling farming or burst damage skills early on can be the difference between a great or a terrible Tristana.
9 
Jarvan IV 
Another Champion that made his debut into the top played Champions list last month, Jarvan. Like Tristana, Jarvan has dropped in popularity in recent weeks after entering the charts at rank 7 before dropping down to rank 9 for this month. Widely considered to be the foundations for any League team attempting AoE synergy for team fights, Jarvan has the ability to both pack a punch and withstand one.
His versatile skill list allows him to function well as a laning partner, or as an adept Jungler although we’ve rarely seen him exploit the Jungle since the more recent Jungle-centered Champions have been released.
8 
Lee Sin 
Lee Sin is one of the few Champions that has made an appearance in every top played list for this year. Starting the year strongly he was featured at rank 3 in the January article but has dropped in recent weeks resulting in a rank 8 spot for this month. There’s not really any explanation for the rapid surge and decline in Lee Sin players but his rank bounces around faster than his Resonating Strike.
Hated by many a greedy player for his ability to excel in the kill stealing department, Lee Sin is still considered by many to be one of the most difficult Junglers to play. With his general decline since January will next month see Lee Sin vanish from the list altogether?
7 
Ezreal 
Currently sitting as one of the most popular League of Legends Champions for 2013 Ezreal started the year strongly securing the rank 1 spot in January. Since then he has featured at rank 2 and rank 5 but April sees him at his lowest popularity rating this year. Despite many attempts by Riot Games, the constant nerf bat assault on Ezreal hasn’t had much affect as his ability to build around almost any role makes him versatile enough to be extremely powerful with a variety of item builds.
Currently a target of frustration in the community due to the Pulsefire skin bug (a bug that doesn’t show gold obtained from last hitting), he still proves to be a popular Champion but if you’re looking at investing in his appearance, I’d hold out until a full fix is deployed.
6
Leona 
A bit of a late bloomer in 2013 Leona waited until March to make her first appearance in the most popular Champions, creeping in at rank 10. This month has proven a popular month for the tank-support hybrid as she climbs a respectable 4 spots to rank 6. Leona is a unique Champion in the way her ability scales to her success within a game. Most would argue this is a feature prevalent in the entire League but it does seem to have more of an impact in Leona’s case.
An early kill or two can make her become an immortal killing machine but falling behind by a minimal amount of gold can see her burned to a crisp at the start of team fights.
5 
Miss Fortune 
Miss Fortune has been bouncing around the middle ranks since her first appearance at rank 6 in January. One of the few Champions to be featured every month this year, she continues to prove popular due to her insane laning ability and end-game damage.
A strange phenomenon in recent weeks has seen Miss Fortune making a surprisingly regular appearance as a Jungler. Despite the fact she lacks any serious gap-closing abilities or escapes, besides her speed buff, some consider her to be a viable choice for solo-role. However, I wouldn’t expect this to appear much in ranked or competitive games.
4 
Thresh 
Making his first appearance for the year is Thresh, the Chain Warden. Currently a priority target by the ever-expanding “QQ crowd” some are expecting an incoming nerf from Riot Games in the next few weeks. Of all the complaints a few seem to appear more often than most with many suggesting the range on this Q and W abilities is too much and very few would argue that his movement speed isn’t insane.
Thresh excels as a Jungler, is adept at laning and can both carry and support a team at the same time. Arguably one of the most fearsome opponents to see during the League of Legends match loading screen.
3
Lux 
Lux missed out on ranking in January but made her first appearance at rank 9 in February. Since then the Lady of Luminosity has secured the 3rd rank spot for 2 consecutive months and continues to be one of the most played Champions in competitive gaming. Constantly a target by players without full knowledge of her ability set, many consider Lux to be overpowered due to her insane damage, crowd-control and support.
In reality she is one of the most potent Champions in the game but will often fall short of impressing in the hands of an unskilled player. She was the target of some minor nerfs following the introduction of season 3 but we still see Final Spark exploding in mid-lane on a regular basis.
2 
Taric 
Currently sitting as the most popular Champion in 2013, and one which I personally hate, Taric continues to dominate the rankings at rank 2 for this month. Beginning the year at rank 2 in January Taric took the spot spot for both February and March but was dominated this month falling behind Caitlyn by 207,000 matches, a considerable margin even for Taric.
I could sit here for hours and express my rage at his ability to support, tank and crowd-control, but it would just further my rage the next time I was on the wrong side of a pub-stomp. Every League player knows Taric and the smart players fear him.
1 
Caitlyn 
A regular in the top 5 rankings for most played Champions is one of the most popular ADC’s in the game, Caitlyn. Just losing out on the top spot last month April sees her climb 1 ranking to take the top spot today. Despite featuring in over 635,000 matches, Caitlyn hasn’t managed to secure a positive win/loss ratio as she currently falls behind by almost 5,000 matches. I’m looking at you bottom lane feeder.
Personally I’m delighted to see Taric take a bit of a fall but I don’t expect to see him dropping from the top 10 anytime soon. Are you surprised by the introduction of Thresh? Do you think Lee Sin will be excluded for the first time next month? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
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