Best Solo Carry ADCs for Season 12

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Best Solo Carry ADCs for Season 12

ADC is one of the most popular roles in the game. Players love the role thanks to the “carry” type nature that the role provides. There are so many cool champions played in the bottom lane and some of the most popular champions are played there.

If you’re getting serious about climbing in League of Legends, then you need to pick a champion that is going to give you the best odds of carrying the game and fulfilling the prophecy of being a carry.

In the fourth part of our five-part mini-series, we will list 12 of the best solo carry ADCs to play in League of Legends. Need more tips on these champions? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered on the Mobalytics site.

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1. Ashe

The first champion on our list is Ashe. Ashe is a very good champion at all ranks and is a pretty consistent champion. The only thing she really lacks is a dash or escape tool that many other ADCs have in League of Legends.

During the laning phase, Ashe has lots of poke with her W, which she maxes at level 9. At level 6, in even matchups, or any matchups actually, she can set up her Jungler to gank her lane.

Post 6, her Ultimate is very good. It can be used to catch enemies out of position who are too far forward or away from their team. A good Ultimate in the mid or late game could enable her team to take the Baron or the Dragon.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Use your E to scout vision for your team by shooting it diagonally through the enemy’s jungle. Your team can see what jungle camps have been taken and which ones are still up. You might also spot the enemy Jungler.
• To initiate team fights, cast your Ultimate on a target that is isolated or too far forward. Your team can then collapse and focus them down while they’re CC’d.
• If your lane is even and the enemy has little kill threat on you, once recalled, you could shoot your arrow straight through the middle of the map to assist your Mid laner.

2. Caitlyn

Caitlyn is the second champion on our list. Caitlyn has always been a strong ADC, although her play rate is not as strong as it once was, she is still a solid champion throughout all stages of the game.

Caitlyn is very good during the laning phase. She has superior range to all enemy ADCs, which she can use to her advantage to harass the enemy and poke them down whenever they try to farm. She also has great pushing power with her Q. Most Caitlyn players tend to get early towers and extra gold purely from pushing early.

During the mid-game, her kill pressure increases, and so does her pushing power. After taking the first tower, she should switch to the mid-lane to get more gold and more plates (if they’re still up). Caitlyn can get so much gold quicker than most enemy ADC champions.

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Tips and Tricks:

• You have a high auto-attack range. Whenever you can, make sure you abuse it and auto-attack the enemy whenever they try to secure a minion.
• When pushing and sieging a tower, make sure you place your traps behind the tower to zone the enemy. If they step in one, then you can go for a favourable trade.
• Save your 90 Caliber Net to use as an escape tool in case the enemy tries to trade, or the enemy Jungler ganks your lane. Make sure you save enough mana to use this ability in case of an emergency too.

3. Draven

Did someone call a carry? Draven is one of the best Solo Queue and lane dominant ADCs around, thanks to his early game pressure and snowball potential. Mastering Draven will allow you to take over the lane and the game in no time at all.

He has more early game damage than every champion, thanks to his Q. As long as you can play around your Axes and pick them up whenever auto-attacking the enemy, you will deal extra damage to them. This early game damage allows you to get kills and snowball from there.

Draven is very difficult, though, so you need to put a lot of practice into playing him and mastering him. If you’re new to Draven, you’re not going to unlock his full potential. But stick at it, you’ll eventually learn what you can and can’t do as Daddy Draven.

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Tips and Tricks:

• If your Axe drops in the open and the enemy has skill shots or CC, don’t pick up the Axes if it will put you in danger.
• When you have hundreds of stacks of Adoration, play a little safer and request assistance from your Jungler or Mid laner to cash out.
• When trading with the enemy, make sure you watch your positioning, the enemy’s position, and the Axe drops. Try and make sure you pick up your Axes as you can to deal extra damage in the trade.

4. Ezreal

Ezreal is the most popular ADC in LoL. He is consistent at all ranks and all stages of the game. He is fun to play, a good carry and strong when he’s ahead. Why is Ezreal such a good solo carry champion? Well, let’s start with his E.

His E is on a short cooldown and is very versatile. He can use it aggressively to make plays or use it purely as a defensive tool. Regardless of what he uses it for, it makes Ezreal a much more potent champion and harder to kill.

During the laning phase, Ezreal has lots of poke with his Q, which he can use to bully and harass the enemy. Are you in a bad matchup when playing Ezreal? Not to worry, you can use your Q for farming so you don’t miss out on gold.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Use your abilities as frequently as possible to stack your Tear of the Goddess. The quicker you complete this item- the better.
• Don’t use your E aggressively unless the enemy has their core abilities on cooldown. Using it aggressively will make it easier for you to get killed if you use it when their abilities are up.
• To destroy towers quickly and get more gold from tower plates, you can use your W on the tower and follow it up with an auto-attack.

5. Jhin

I should’ve put Jhin as the fourth pick on our list, but he’s fifth instead… Whatever. Jhin is a good champion for Solo Queue as he is a very reliable pick. He can make plays and get set up plays for his team thanks to his basic abilities and his Ultimate.

Jhin’s W and R are great tools to get picks and create plays for his team. He can catch someone out with them and potentially get him or his team some kills. The CC from both of these abilities can cripple the enemy’s chances of escaping.

He is also very strong in the later parts of the game. When he has a couple of items under his belt, he can deal so much damage with his fourth shot. He can literally one-shot squishy targets with his Q, 4th shot and his W.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Keep a constant eye on how much ammo you have left when trying to fight. Do not commit to an extended trade when you have little to no ammo, as you’ll be left reloading in the fight.
• Try and consume your 4th shot on an enemy champion as the fourth shot deals tons of damage.
• When casting your Ultimate, make sure you’re in a safe position where the enemy cannot CC you or kill you while you’re standing still.

6. Jinx

Jinx is a fan favourite ADC. Her performance and her portrayal in Arcane were amazing, and I think that has bumped up her popularity in LoL. While this is great for Jinx outside of the game, her in-game performance is also very good.

Jinx synergises incredibly well with a lot of different Supports, which makes her a great pick in solo queue as this means she can be played with a lot of different champs. For instance, she is good with hard engage and utility champions.

Thanks to her Passive, she can kite and escape enemies. This, combined with her E and W, allows her to get out of sticky situations and protect herself from incoming damage.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Try and synchronise your E with your Supports CC to chain CC the enemy in the lane. This will make it very difficult for the enemy to escape or trade back with you.
• If you’re not able to get kills in your own lane, try and use your Ultimate to snipe low-health enemies in other lanes.
• The best place to throw your E is directly under you when the enemy engages. Throwing it toward the enemy can be a mistake as it may not prime itself, and they may just walk past it. By throwing it under you, the enemy will either walk into it or be forced to disengage.

7. Karthus

Karthus is the first AP champion on our list. While ADCs were the rave back in the day, it’s more common to see AP champions in the bottom lane now. While AD champions still dominate the numbers game, champions like Karthus do find success in the bottom lane.

Firstly, he is a good pick when your team has AD champions in the mid and jungle. The mixed damage will force the enemy to buy both armor and magic resistance.

He has good wave clear and poke with his Q and E during the laning phase. He can use his W to set up his Jungler or help him escape ganks. Post 6, his Ultimate offers him global map pressure, which can allow him to get kills elsewhere on the map

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Tips and Tricks:

• Farm with Q in the early game to make it easier for your to pick up CS.
• Deactivate your Defile once the skirmish has finished, as it will eat through your mana bar.
• Keep an eye on the minimap at all times and use your R to pick up kills on low health

8. Samira

One of the latest champions to hit Summoners Rift is Samira. Samira hit Summoners Rift with an amazing effect. She is a great solo carry thanks to her Ultimate, but her laning phase is pretty strong too.

She has really strong all-in potential and can deal a lot of damage when she has stacks for her Ultimate. Similarly, because of her strong all-in potential, she synergises incredibly well with a lot of different Supports.

In team fights, she is good thanks to the AOE on her Ultimate, which can allow her to deal a lot of damage to all of the enemies at once. Because of her insane damage output, it makes her good for carrying team fights.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Try to use unique attacks by using different abilities often to gain style points. Keep as many style points as possible.
• In team fights, avoid going in unless you have at least an A or something close to it. You will gain max stacks if you use your E to close the gap and then activate your Ultimate in the fight.
• You can use your E to dash to enemy champions and minions. This can help you reposition in a fight.

9. Tristana

Tristana isn’t as popular as she once was, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a great champion anymore. When paired with an aggressive Support or someone who can fight with her early, Tristana can be a real monster to deal with.

Tristana is great for solo queue because of her carry potential. If she with an aggressive all-in Support, they can constantly all-in the enemy when they overextend. When she is paired with a utility Support, they can buff her up and empower her.

She is strong throughout all stages of the game, but her early game can be the strongest if she is in a favourable matchup. With her E, she can keep pushing her lane early, take objectives and get tower plates too.

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Tips and Tricks:

• When using your E, make sure you auto-attack the enemy as much as possible to increase its damage output.
• While your W can be used aggressively, before jumping in, make sure the enemy’s CC abilities are down, and the Jungler is not nearby. Jumping forward into the waiting arms of the enemy Jungler/ Support will leave you for dead.
• In team fights, use your Ultimate as a self-peel tool. Use it to knock away the enemy frontline to keep yourself safe.

10. Zeri

Zeri is the latest champion to hit Summoners Rift. If you’ve not played her yet but are looking for an amazing solo carry ADC, then I would highly recommend her. Zeri is a very mobile hyper carry who only needs 1 kill to snowball.

She is really strong and has great kiting potential. She can kite and escape the enemy with her dash, which she can even use over large walls to escape. This increases her survivability and enhances her kill pressure.

Zeri is extremely good in team fights too. She will be able to dish out a lot of damage while remaining somewhat safe. This makes her good in Solo Queue as you will be able to survive fights and deal enough damage to get kills and carry them.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Is the enemy ganking your lane? Use your E through terrain to create a larger distance between you and the enemy.
• Be on the constant move! Moving will generate energy which you can use to deal extra damage to the enemy.
• Whilst your E>R combo is insane, don’t go for it unless your allies are in a position to follow up.

11. Vayne

The 11th champion on our list is Vayne. Pretty much everyone knows why Vayne is a great champion, and her scaling is incredibly good. As games tend to go longer in Low ELO, she can usually scale with ease and carry in the late game.

Her W is a very strong ability that can help her deal considerable amounts of damage to the target she focuses. Because of this, her 1v1 potential is pretty strong and her being known as a tank buster is somewhat fitting!

While Vayne is great in Solo Queue, she is quite hard to play. She is one of the hardest champions to master in LoL, so make sure you put in a lot of practice if you want to master her.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Stay safe in the early game and do not fall behind. Farm what you can and get as much gold so you can become strong in the mid and late game.
• Try to always auto-attack the enemy 3 times, so you get your Passive proc off with your W. This will make trades more favourable.
• Watch your positioning in team fights and be prepared to use your Q defensively rather than towards the enemy.

12. Veigar

The final champion on today’s list is Veigar. Veigar is the second AP champion we recommend, but that doesn’t mean AP champs are not strong. Veigar has unlimited scaling and can be a real terror to deal with thanks to his Ultimate, which he can use to one-shot a squishy champion in team fights.

He isn’t great early, but with time, he can get so much extra AP that his abilities will deal a lot of damage and he will be able to take out squishy champions quickly. Like we said, with enough AP, he can one-shot champions just with his Q and R.

Veigar generally max his E second, which allows him to look for picks and can help him catch people out of position. This is good in Solo Queue as you can start fights without relying on your team to start them for you.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Do not use your E unless you are going for a kill or to set up a gank. It costs a lot of mana and is the main source of escaping.
• Look to farm with your Q to gain stacks and increase your AP. Line up multiple minions for extra damage.
• Use your R on squishy targets to execute them at the start of the fight and make it 5v4.

Summary

While picking a strong ADC is highly favourable, your strength in the lane and throughout the game will depend on how good your Support is. This is just one of the unfortunate facts about League of Legends. For extra tips and tricks for any of these champions on today’s list, head over to the Mobalytics site.