As League of Legends continues to evolve as a game, we’ll begin to see players become creative and play more champions in roles they weren’t designed for. ADCs are a great example of this effect. In the past, we have seen the likes of Vayne top and AP Corki mid played, but Riot usually makes an effort to nerf the features of these champions to prevent it from continuing. But as the game continues to grow, we’ll likely see more ADCs in other roles. This article will look at a few possible role changes we’ll see in the future from the ADCs.

Caitlyn Mid

This one is a personal favorite of mine, Caitlyn in the mid lane provides a high damage poke champion that has the ability to bully out most mid lane champions out of lane, while positioning herself at a safe distance. Along with that, her traps provide an additional zoning tool for pushing, as the guaranteed Headshot allows for a decent burst of damage that may force the enemy to give up on the defense of an objective. While she may lack mobility compared to current meta mid laners such as Vladimir and Taliyah, she does have a significant ranged advantage which allows her to safely lane against such opponents. Along with all of this, Caitlyn’s ult provides a safe and easy way to clean up kills that may escape after a fight thanks to its high base damage and AD scaling. Due to these traits, Caitlyn has the potential to see play in the mid lane in the future as she can fill the role of champions such as Lux and Xerath: champions that can have a safe laning phase that transition into a strong mid and late game as they zone and poke out enemies while their team takes out objectives one by one.

Lucian Mid

Most high elo mid laners enjoy playing champions that are mobile and have the ability to make plays on their own. Because of this most, high elo mid laners enjoy playing Lee Sin as their go to pick in the jungle. Lucian falls under this same concept. As seen in the final team fight in the NA LCS finals between TSM and C9, Lucian’s high mobility and overall damage output allows for the player to single-handedly turn around a team fight for the win. Despite his low range, Lucian’s high damage output and potential level two all-in allows him to be a huge threat in a solo lane as well. Because of this, as more playmaking mid laners such as Taliyah get nerfed, Lucian could have the potential to see some play in the mid lane as well.

Quinn Top

While Quinn top used to be a niche pick in solo queue, the reworked Quinn has the capabilities to see some potential play in competitive play as well. Her ult allows her to roam with ease and provides a great initial burst to start off a gank. Quinn is also a capable laner thanks to her ability to reposition with her E and her ability to harass thanks to her passive and Q. All of this allows Quinn to be a mobile carry from the top lane and as top lane tanks such as Gnar, Shen and Yasuo get nerfed, the potential for a surprise Quinn top lane in competitive play will only continue to rise.

Ashe Mid

If you played League since the beginning, this one may feel like a throwback. Back in the early days of League, Ashe used to be played in the mid lane with Teleport. This allowed her to ult down mid lane and teleport in to start a fight against the enemy that’s not expecting the arrow to hit. While this may have been a pretty common pick back then, the game has evolved and that strategy has been lost to history. But with the Ashe rework, we may see the frostiest of champions back in the mid lane. This is mainly thanks to her great harassment from her Q and W while still providing the same great global presence from her ult. While she may not completely excel in the mid lane, her overall strength during team fights completely makes up for that. Overall, Ashe has the potential to make her way into pick compositions as the game evolves due to the lack of strong pick mid laners.

Conclusion

As League evolves as a game, we’ve seen a lot of champions in roles they weren’t originally meant for and as the game continues to evolve, this will happen again and again. ADC will likely be the main source of this due to their unique kits and each ADCs role on a team. This is one of the great things about League, the ability to succeed with champions in other roles makes the possible strategies unique and interesting. Now it’s simply a matter of teams taking that risk to implement these strategies into their games.

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