The bot lane early skirmishes can make or break our game, so why not join the party with some menacing picks? It’s known that good early champions played with confidence and skill can set us up for a nice snowballing journey, but what champions are the greatest for this task? Well, here they are.
Best Early Game Champions
Pyke
Pyke paired with Hail of Blade might as well be the strongest support you can take in the early game. However, it’s also important to note that the cost of playing this champion incorrectly is not that small either. Landing most Q’s on this champion is a must, but it’s not the only requirement. Most Q’s also have to be connected with E, which is not that easy to do consistently.
Anyhow, there are no reasons to worry, as these mechanics can be improved infinitely with enough practice. When these mechanical basics of Pyke are set in stone, that’s when the true fun begins. With great Pyke gameplay, you can assert dominance in most early bot lane setups, and start almost every game with a great lead.
Leona
If you want most of the Pyke benefits, but you are not really looking to spend too much time honing in on mechanics, Leona might be the perfect choice for you. The champion has an outstanding early game presence. With her E, she can dash towards any champion, root them, then follow up this attack with a stun and slow. This can be quite deadly in the early game, as the ADC accompanying Leona will be able to dish out tons of damage while an enemy is impaired.
Pantheon
Pantheon is another HOB enjoyer. Aside from this, we will usually want to select ignite for this pick as well. These two pre-game adjustments will allow us to significantly damage enemies in the bot lane, especially in the early game. The Pantheon lvl 3 combo is quite simple, W, AA, Q, AA, E, ignite. Yep, that’s the combo, the enemy is either flashless or staring at the gray screen waiting for the respawn timer to finish.
Nautilus
Nautilus is yet another great early-game support pick. His distinguishing feature is his hook Q mechanics. The hook has a pretty low cooldown, and it is great for pulling enemies towards yourself. After hooking the enemies, you can subject them to a wave of other impairments such as passive root, E slow, and R knock-up. Another perk of early-game Nautilus is that you can use him to invade the enemy jungle at level 1.
Now, Nautilus is one of my favorite picks from this list, as he is not only strong in the early game, but he will scale just as well into the mid and late game. He has pretty great tankiness, allowing him to permanently peel ally carries, or disrupt enemy carries. Despite being a utility tank, he also has some damage to him, which is really just a plus on top of everything.
Final Thoughts
Early-game fights in the bot lane can be game-changing, and for those willing to step up and face the early challenges there are some great picks to consider. The list features the greatest picks that generally have the highest utility in ranks below the diamond. If you are looking for more suggestions, you can consider picks such as Soraka, Swain, Thresh, and Poppy.