Character scalability / meta game

[quote=BloodHawk54231]Hi guys, This is my first post here. I have been playing league for about 2 months and really seem to have a talent / affinity for it. My friend, who is 1700 ELO + was extremely surprised by how quickly I picked up the game and became good. I have done quite a bit of online research about strategies and characters and I still have a few questions. I was hoping you guys could help! 1) I have an affinity for melee AD characters. I want to make sure the character I choose to master has viability into High Elo play. I simply don't want to play a character that does not have the tools to succeed at high levels of play. My question is then, which characters should I focus on. I have played the following: Pantheon, Riven, Lee Sin, and Poppy. I have also looked at playing Nocturne and Talon. So, my question is, of these characters, who would I be best served to learn in order to have the tools to succeed at high Elo play. (I understand that player skill is a very high part of this as well, I am not discounting that). 2) I am not overly familiar with the current Metagame for high Elo play. I am not even sure if melee ad carries are used / viable. Would I be better suited to learning a melee tanky dps? Thanks so much for your help! Please feel free to throw out champion ideas if you think of one I have not listed.[/quote]

[quote=th3BlackAngel]Melee AD carry's are rarely used, although they do counter certain picks. From the champions you said though, Lee Sin and Talon are pretty strong. Some say Riven is pretty good too, but I have yet to see a good Riven. On a side note, Lee Sin is usually a jungler, so you might want to try that.[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard]1) [[Riven]] and [[Talon]] are good for laning solo top. [[Lee Sin]] and [[Nocturne]] are fantastic junglers. 2) The current meta is: Solo top: Tanky melee AD (or sometimes AP carry) Mid lane: AP carry Bot lane: Ranged DPS + Support Jungle: Offtanks like [[Lee Sin]], tanks like [[Amumu]], or melee carries like [[Master Yi]]. There are a few exceptions, like [[Fiddlesticks]]. Keep in mind that most melee champions are meant to be build survivable. Only a few like [[Master Yi]] and [[Tryndamere]] work really well if built glass DPS. I even build [[Nocturne]] tanky. If you love melee AD champions, you're probably going to be focusing on solo top lane and jungling. Remember that not everyone plays (or even knows) the meta, so you may have some games without a jungler. If you have no jungle runes (or masteries), [[Warwick]] and [[Nunu]] are your best options for junglers. They both can jungle without runes, if you know what you're doing.[/quote]

[quote=BloodHawk54231][quote=PsiGuard] Keep in mind that most melee champions are meant to be build survivable. Only a few like [[Master Yi]] and [[Tryndamere]] work really well if built glass DPS. I even build [[Nocturne]] tanky. If you love melee AD champions, you're probably going to be focusing on solo top lane and jungling. Remember that not everyone plays (or even knows) the meta, so you may have some games without a jungler. If you have no jungle runes (or masteries), [[Warwick]] and [[Nunu]] are your best options for junglers. They both can jungle without runes, if you know what you're doing. [/quote] Thanks for the input guys! This is really valuable information to me. What would be an example of a "tanky melee Ad"? I am curious what characters fit this mold. I should mention I have not picked up runes yet. I am level 19 and am waiting till 20 before buying runes. This way I can go straight to tier 3 runes.[/quote]

[quote=Luther3000]Most melee characters will build tanky, including Lee Sin - I believe the current build people are using for Lee Sin is Atma's + Warmog's.[/quote]

[quote=th3BlackAngel]Tanky Melee AD: Garen, Jax (he's more of a hybrid, but works really well), Nasus, Renekton, Gankplank, Nocturne, Lee Sin, Olaf, Trundle, and Udyr. Most of these are best as junglers (Nocturne, Lee Sin, Gankplank, Trundle, Olaf, Udyr), although some are good at solo top (Nasus, Renekton, Udyr).[/quote]

[quote=Luther3000]One more thing, you should also pick up at least two champions of every role in the game before playing ranked. It's fine to specialize in a particular role, but you never know when you might get forced to play something else. All the champions you mentioned in the OP are in more or less the same role.[/quote]

[quote=Xenasis][quote=PsiGuard] 1) [[Riven]] and [[Talon]] are good for laning solo top. [/quote] Riven's a LOT better in the jungle, she is pretty bad solotop and will get stomped there if the player is good, and she's one of the best junglers in the game... I think the choice is clear :)[/quote]

[quote=Symphunny][quote=Xenasis] [quote=PsiGuard] 1) [[Riven]] and [[Talon]] are good for laning solo top. [/quote] Riven's a LOT better in the jungle, she is pretty bad solotop and will get stomped there if the player is good, and she's one of the best junglers in the game... I think the choice is clear :) [/quote] whoa there, [[riven]] is just as good in lane (>:[/quote]

[quote=BloodHawk54231][quote=Luther3000] One more thing, you should also pick up at least two champions of every role in the game before playing ranked. It's fine to specialize in a particular role, but you never know when you might get forced to play something else. All the champions you mentioned in the OP are in more or less the same role. [/quote] This is a great point. I should have mentioned that I play quite an assortment of champions. Currently I have at least 2 champions for the roles: Tank, AP carry, AD carry, offtank / jungle. My plan is to specialize in one type of character, however, the good of the team will come first ;-)[/quote]