Newb time, which top champ to buy and general...

[quote=Luther3000]Are you sure you're talking about Renekton here and not some other champion? Renekton has been borderline stupid for ages. Sure he falls off late game, but he's still unkillable and does enough damage to be a significant threat to the backline with just a single damage item. There's a reason he's picked in every other LCS game.[/quote]

[quote=njdfan]I am trying malphite right now since he is free. Funny vladimir is mentioned, because i was against him top and he owned me completely. the thing with vlad is hes ranged and heals himself in the process, so without a ganker to help, i was helpless even after ramping up magic resist. i love malphite's ultimate, but i got mangled by both vlad and garen in two different games. malphite to me seems more of a team fight guy than a solo lane guy. i am totally down for learning a new even more complicated guy, but i think i know pantheon pretty well and i still struggle a lot with him as well. riven seems kind of cool but she was just free so i dont think i'll get the chance to try her for awhile. alternatively, i actually have been considering moakoa in a bottom lane/support role so i dont always have to play top.[/quote]

[quote=Embracing][[Renekton]] is extremely strong lol... He's been in the top 5 list of top laners for the longest time ever. He's not even close to being weak. @OP: The current meta favors tank tops who teamfight really well early on like [[shyvana]] and [[mundo]][/quote]

[quote=Toshabi][quote=Embracing] [[Renekton]] is extremely strong lol... He's been in the top 5 list of top laners for the longest time ever. He's not even close to being weak. @OP: The current meta favors tank tops who teamfight really well early on like [[shyvana]] and [[mundo]] [/quote] Except for the fact that he falls off harder than a sack of bricks off a 50 story building. I'm standing by my statement I said earlier: Renekton's only use is winning lane. That's it.[/quote]

[quote=Wayne3100]@ OP: Out of the champions you mentioned ([[Riven]], [[Irelia]], [[Malphite]], [[Nasus]], [[Amumu]]), I would probably pick [[Nasus]] as he's the cheapest of them all and he's still pretty damn strong atm. It's very hard to bully him out of lane because of the sustain he gets from his passive, especially if he also combines that with 2 or 3 Lifesteal Quintessences for runes. I should warn you though, I think he's a very boring champ as most of the early game is just farm, farm, farm to get stack on his Q :P. [[Riven]] is a lot more fun to play but a little harder to learn (agree with commanderAIK that learning how to play her is worth it though), [[Malphite]] is great in teamfights but can struggle in lane a little (especially vs ranged and/or manaless champions), I would say [[Irelia]] is a great champion to use for players new to top lane but she isn't as strong as she used to be (mainly weak early on, can get bullied by champions such as [[Renekton]]) and - finally - [[Amumu]] imo shouldn't lane top. As others have stated already, [[Renekton]] is also incredibly strong at the moment and he's easily one of the top picks together with [[Shyvana]] and [[Dr. Mundo]]. Two other cheap champions that I would consider looking at are [[Garen]] (another good champ for newer players imo; he's pretty strong in lane, but does get kited in teamfights rather easily) and [[Jax]] (much like [[Irelia]], he has a relatively weak early game, but he scales incredibly well into late game and can become an absolute monster if fed). I could mention more stuff but this should be enough for now. Good luck! :)[/quote]

[quote=njdfan]Just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback. Ideally I'd like to get someone that can do something decently other than top, but I think some of the tops are at least OK at jungling too. Riven is tempting but I finally checked out Darius and he seems really interesting. Funny Shyvana has been mentioned a few times, because I have literally seen her once, maybe twice...ever. I think maybe some of my struggles are kind of rune-based, sometimes somehow lvl 30s end up in my games and I get 1v1 on them so maybe not all of my assessments are fair. Are any top guys any good vs. ranged champs? Garen's silence thing seems legit...well, I know it at least annoyed me a lot because it kept blocking my ults. I was talking to a friend the other day and he mentioned some of the top guys are OK in mid as well (I think he was referring to Irelia) if they have a get in do damage/get out ability (if that makes any sense).[/quote]

[quote=Wayne3100]As far as top laners go that can also be played in another role: - [[Riven]] can also go mid or jungle - [[Lee Sin]], [[Shyvana]], [[Dr. Mundo]], [[Rengar]], [[Nasus]], [[Malphite]], [[Jarvan IV]], [[Wukong]] can all go top as well as jungle - [[Jayce]], [[Lissandra]], [[Vladimir]] can all top or mid - [[Kennen]] can go mid/top when built AP, but has also seen play as an AD Carry in the past. [[Garen]] and [[Darius]] should do ok in the jungle too. I know I've mentioned some champs that I didnt mention before (sorry :P), but thats what came to mind first. Some champs I wouldnt personally play in any other role are [[Renekton]], [[Irelia]] and [[Jax]]. Champs that do well vs ranged ones are generally either also ranged or have a gap closer / dash. Heavy sustain ([[Nasus]]) can also work depending on the enemy as some ranged opponents can't poke endlessly without running out of mana.[/quote]

[quote=sirell][quote=njdfan] I am trying malphite right now since he is free. Funny vladimir is mentioned, because i was against him top and he owned me completely. the thing with vlad is hes ranged and heals himself in the process, so without a ganker to help, i was helpless even after ramping up magic resist. [/quote] [[vladimir]] totally counters [[malphite]], which is why you struggled so much. [[vladimir]] can play right in your face and [[malphite]] will run out of mana just trying to last hit minions. He'll get so far ahead of you that you will struggle to buy magic resists in time for his power spikes. To counter-balance this, you should attempt to shine in teamfights, since that is one of the major reasons your pick [[malphite]] - [[unstoppable force]]. Also having [[teleport]] may help too, for a gank on botlane. So even if you lose your lane and tower, you can win an objective elsewhere, evening things up. Also, making [[teleport]] to bottom means you can help your team secure a dragon. Always a better trade anyway - your top tower for kills on botlane + drake and possible bot tower as well if you can. [[vladimir]] is an okay pick in a fair number of circumstances, most notably against melee top laners who have trouble trading with him - [[olaf]], [[malphite]], [[shen]], etc. He was actually one of my favourite top laners, but I feel he doesn't add as much to teamfights as, say, [[rumble]].[/quote]

[quote=luizdeh]A fed [[vladimir]] is just ridiculous in teamfights. You see that fucking mark and just pray you can kill everyone fast enough before going down. As for [[olaf]] vs Vlad, an early [[negatron cloak]] and heavy W usage makes it fair game and a skill matchup, IMO. Learning how to bait the pool and punish after is key. A champion a lot of newcomers seem to enjoy is [[jax]]. He's still very strong. [[renekton]] and [[tryndamere]] are the favourites of a friend who started playing recently and took a liking to top lane strats.[/quote]

[quote=sirell][[olaf]] can't afford to get a [[negatron cloak]], that's the problem. [[vladimir]] literally walks up to Q/E him every single time, dodge/W the Axe, rinse and repeat. [[olaf]] gets forced to use his mana just to last hit and sustain in lane and loses out on a lot of gold and xp when he has to recall when he's oom. Melee champions without gap closers tend to have a very hard time against [[vladimir]]. If your jungler gets off a gank on [[vladimir]] and gives you a kill advantage in lane, you can make it more even when you buy [[negatron cloak]], but if it's just 1v1, [[vladimir]] straight up bullies [[olaf]].[/quote]