Demacia Split Meta Snapshot: What is Broken Right Now? (Tier List)

The "For Demacia" split (Split 1 of 2026) has been live for about a week, and I'm going to be honest with you: This is the most unbalanced meta I have seen in five years.

Riot claimed they wanted to "slow down the game." They added durability. They tweaked towers. And then they added Role Quests, Void Grubs, and buffed Lethality Items.

The result? The game is faster, snowballier, and more chaotic than ever. Games are ending at 15 minutes. Inhibitors are falling before the first Baron spawn. It is pure adrenaline.

As a smurf, this is heaven. But if you are trying to climb out of Emerald playing "fair" champions... god help you. You cannot play fair right now. You need to abuse the S+ tier abominations that are terrorizing the ladder.

Here is the definitive Season 16 Smurf Tier List.

God Tier (Pick or Ban)

These champions are currently fundamentally broken. If they are open, you pick them. If you can't play them, you ban them. If you leave them open for the enemy team, you dodge.

Top Lane: Darius

• Why: The Level 20 cap unlock Quest ("Duelist's Oath") was practically written for Darius. He wants to fight Level 1. He stacks the damage requirement instantly.
• The Broken Part: A Level 20 Darius with the new "Ghostwalker" boots literally cannot be kited. He runs at you at 600 Move Speed, pulls you, and resets his Ult on your entire team.

Jungle: Graves

• Why: The new "Hunter's Pursuit" quest gives Move Speed in the river. Graves with fleet footwork + river speed + Youmuu's Ghostblade is lighter-than-air.
• The Broken Part: He invades your jungle, kills you, takes your camps, and is back in his own jungle before your laners can even rotate. He generates gold so fast he gets 6 items while everyone else has 3.

Mid Lane: Katarina

• Why: Gunblade is back. That's it. That's the analysis.
• The Broken Part: Hybrid Pen Katarina kills tanks. She kills squishies. She heals to full HP off one wave. If the enemy team doesn't have point-and-click CC (like Lissandra or Malzahar), the game is over in champ select.

ADC: Samira

• Why: In a burst-heavy meta, Samira is the only ADC who survives. Her Windwall (W) blocks the burst, and her damage output is instant.
• The Broken Part: The new "Collector's Edge" item executes enemies below 10% HP. Samira's Ult applies this. She spins, and everyone just... disappears.

Support: Maokai

• Why: The "Warden's Vision" quest gives free wards. Maokai can throw saplings into bushes that *also* act as vision.
• The Broken Part: You literally cannot step into the jungle. Every bush has a bomb in it. He controls the entire map without spending a dime on wards.

A-Tier (Strong Carries)

If the God Tier champs are banned (which they will be), these are your best bets for 1v9ing.

• Top: Fiora (Split push queen), Jax (New items are good), Camille (Roaming).
• Jungle: Bel'Veth (Void grubs synergy), Kindred (Snowball), Evelynn (Stealth is OP in low elo).
• Mid: Akali (Gunblade user), Talon (Roam speed), Sylas (Ult stealing).
• ADC: Draven (Gold generation), Kai'Sa (Hybrid builds), Lucian (Early pressure).
• Support: Pyke (Gold sharing), Blitzcrank (Pick potential), Rell (Engage).

The "Do Not Play" List (F-Tier)

Please, I am begging you. Stop picking these champions. They are dead in the current meta.

• Nasus: Too slow. The game is decided by the time you have 200 stacks.
• Sivir: She can't fight early. You lose the "Marksman's Greed" quest race every time.
• Yuumi: The nerf hammer hit her so hard she's basically a minion. You have zero agency.

How to Learn the Meta Fast

The meta shifts weekly. By the time you master Fiora on your main, she might be nerfed in Patch 16.2.

The smartest way to stay ahead of the curve is to build a Smurf Roster.

• Account A: Top Lane Fighter practice.
• Account B: Mid Lane Assassin limit testing.

This way, you can learn the broken champions in a lower stakes environment (Gold/Platinum) without tanking your main account's MMR. When you feel confident, you take that 60% winrate monster to your main and climb to Diamond.

Check out our unranked smurfs here and build your champion pool today.