I’ve covered all the roles, except for one. Marksman (as Riot wants us to call them) are now the main focus of the meta. Most LCS compositions have two or three AD carries, with only one going bottom lane. The new items like Rapid Firecannon and Essence Reaver have given a new level of strength to these high DPS machines. Riot threw most of these weapon users through the rework machine, creating some alarming auto attackers. Graves and Quinn are amazing, they just aren’t really played in the bot lane, so I won’t mention them here.
Lucian
Fun Fact: when Lucian was released, he was one of the worst marksman in the game. He had to be buffed through the roof, until he was to strong and had to be nerfed again. Now he’s back on top, being the go-to marksman in the meta. He has long range poke and great wave clear with his ultimate, The Culling. I’ve seen many engages get turned by a perfectly used Culling. He is also one of the best laners, winning trades easily with his long range Q and double tap passive.
Essence Reaver is a must on Lucian. The cool down reduction it gives works in tandem with his abilities. The more he can double tap, the better his damage will be. If you are ahead in lane buy a Caufield’s War hammer first. In the right hands a Lucian should be able to press for early aggression, winning trades with a forceful support like Thresh or Braum.
Ezreal
Ezreal is a champion that requires a high amount of skill to play well. Unlike other marksmen, Ezreal’s main damage is skill-shot based. Though his autos still hurt, his real damage is in his Mystic Shot. Its a low cool down skill shot that pairs extremely well with Maramune and Frozen Gauntlet. Early game he may do no damage, but as the game timer starts to go up, so does Ezreal’s damage. Are you ready for a true display of skill?
Tristana
Nobody destroys towers quite like this little yordle. Doublelift picks her constantly. Tristana’s rework last year turned her into a one-trick-pony hyper carry into a tower melting machine. Unlike Vayne and Kog’maw, Tristana can actually make plays early in the game because of her Explosive Charge. Since everyone tries to trade towers in the LCS, teams pick Tristana for that extra damage. If she gets into a pickle, she can just Rocket Jump away, or shoot the enemy back with her ultimate.
Being the over all package, critical chance is the best thing to build on her. As she levels up her range increases, allowing her to blow people up from much farther away. Start with a BF sword and then work your way up to an Infinity Edge. Grabbing a Stattik Shivv or a Rapid Fire cannon is great second item.
Sorry Freeze, Draven just does not make the cut.
