There are multiple terminologies in the League of Legends unique to the game. Things like snowball, or elo, macro and micro, kiting, and so much more. However, today we are focusing on one, namely power spike. When talking about power spike, each champion has its own. Power spike is when a champion reaches a certain level or builds an item and suddenly becomes twice stronger than before. Champions like Riven, for example, have a level 3 power spike and can 1v1 anyone in the early game and come out on top. Champions like Vayne, who has Press the Attack, and when she builds Kraken Slayer, she suddenly becomes OP.
Nevertheless, we are not going to talk about those champions. Others are much more powerful when they reach their power spikes, that when they reach it, it is game over for the opposing team. So now let us look at the top 7 power spike champions you can play this season 12.
1. Kassadin
Starting off the list is none other than the level 16 monster Kassadin which most players call “Kassawin,” simply because he can demolish any team composition given that his team controls the game’s tempo and let Kassadin farm.
His power spike comes at level 16 when his ultimate ability reaches its peak damage. However, the highlight of this power spike comes from the cooldown of his ultimate. Kassadin has a very weak early game because he is a melee champion, making it hard for him to cs in mid lane as most mid laners are ranged and skillshot dependent champions. This puts Kassadin at a great laning phase disadvantage. However, you can work together with your support or jungler to help you in the lane occasionally. Your win is guaranteed if you manage to avoid too many deaths and farm for your items well. Suppose you manage to secure kills early on. In that case, you can establish lane dominance in the mid-lane and roam to your side lanes, making the game even easier for the entire team. League of Legends is a team game, after all.
When you reach your power spike, you can play as an assassin and burst down unsuspecting enemies. Their ADC will most likely be your primary target as they are very squishy most of the time. You can also take conqueror and be at the frontline of team fights as you can rely on your massive heals from your conqueror passive. You can also flank the enemy team as the team fight rages on, pick their backline with a quick in and out, repeat this, and you will slowly win the game for your team. Remember, you need to be patient when playing Kassadin, you might not get kills early on, but I guarantee you that all kills will be yours once you reach his power spike.
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2. Master Yi
Another great champion to consider is Master Yi, a swordsman who can cut his opponents up like butter. When you pick him, it is very important for you to power farm. This would benefit your team much better because his value comes from his late game. Sure, he can gank lanes, but it is not that effective unless you manage to flank the enemy.
Master Yi’s power spike comes during mid to late game. He reaches a certain stat or damage in his skills that can literally one-shot or two shot an enemy carry during this time. Once he builds his core items like Duskblade, if you build lethality or infinity-edge, the game is over if you build crit and attack speed. When you are in solo queue, and you see no tanks or much CC from the opposing team, you can pick him and power farm until you reach your power spike and start mowing down every lane you are near at.
When you reach your power spike, you should coordinate with your team before going on ganks. Make sure your team applies their CC’s to the enemy, so they get locked down, and you can go in and kill them. Usually, a few hits kill your enemy and reset your q ability which is perfect to cast it multiple times. During late-game team fights, you can either wait for the enemy team to exhaust their CC abilities and go in so they cannot stop you as you kill them all. Make sure you also have enough sustainability so you can survive long enough to get that Penta.
3. Yasuo
Ah yes, the infamous 0/10 power spike, this might be a meme for many people, but this somehow makes sense. Yasuo is very dependent on the item he builds depending on his opponents. Nevertheless, suppose you are not feeding, unlike most Yasuo players. In that case, you can get your power spike as soon as you level up your E ability. This gives Yasuo so much kiting ability that you can either play very aggressively or defensively.
His power spike during the early game comes when he reaches 100% crit chance. This is achievable by rushing items that would get your crit chance to 50% as his passive doubles his crit chance but lowers his crit damage. To make up for the loss of critical chance, Yasuo can build an infinity edge. This would be his second power spike as he will be able to deal massive damage with this item.
During late game, if you somehow got yourself killed multiple times, you can build enough crit damage and penetration with high sustainability. This way, you can 1v5 the enemy team with your great maneuverability. A simple Item combo of Infinity Edge and Immortal Shieldbow is enough for Yasuo to bounce back to the game.
4. Gangplank
Here is another very mediocre champion early game but will become a monster if he gets to farm late game. Gangplank has ‘ok’ damage during the early game. He can trade with champions and be evenly matched with them, but come late game is where he can truly show his damage.
Gangplank has lots of sustainability. He can build early game life steals or pick the Undying Grasp keystone, so each poke heals him. He also has his W ability to heal him with the bonus of cleansing crowd control effects used upon him. One of the best things in Gangplank is his ability to upgrade his ultimate. Come late game. His ultimate will have been upgraded so much that standing inside it would slowly chip your health down.
His power spike comes late game when he completes his items. He can deal massive damage with his barrel q combo, along with his passive ability that burns targets and gives him movement speed. When he reaches his power spike, he can get one-shot most enemies. His skills will also drop at a very low cool down in the late game, making him even scarier to deal with. To top it all off, he can build a Collector to guarantee his takedowns on enemies. ADC and squishy AP midlanes should be cautious when a GP enters late game. Keep your eye on his barrels, as this could one-shot you.
5. Kayle
Most of these power spike champions have in common that they are all very weak early game and are very susceptible to dying multiple times before becoming useful. Using these champions requires lots of patience, and that is what you need when playing Kayle. She is a champion who deals really low damage early game and is very weak to trade against toplane champions. She is melee during the early game, which would make it hard for you to CS or trade. That is why you need to build sustain items or keystones to survive and prevent death until you reach level 16.
Her power spike comes when she reaches level 16, this is when her ultimate is upgraded to level 3. Her passive ability to become a ranged AOE champion will not go down anymore when this time comes. Instead, her attack speed increases with every hit, making her deal more damage as an AOE. You can build almost any item on her so long as it gives attack speed and ability power. When she reaches level 16, she will demolish every team fight. She can also stand on her own as she has the ultimate active ability that prevents her from being damaged in any way. There is also a bonus that she deals burst damage to nearby enemies. When playing against a late-game Kayle, you might want to tell your teammates not to stick together when team fighting as Kayle can easily burst you all down.
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6. Nasus
Oh, you would not want to leave this monster behind in the lane. The top lane is far from early game objectives, so only a few people bother to gank and prioritize this lane. Nevertheless, if there is a Nasus in the top lane and he gains control of this lane, you might want to delay his farming as much as possible. When playing as Nasus, you can build almost purely defensive items and raise your sustainability because his power spike does not come from items but the passive of his Q ability. With every last hit on units he gets using his Q ability, Nasus gains a flat amount of stack to the damage of his Q ability. This means that it will not matter if he has no damage items when he stacks so much passive on his Q ability. His Q stacks make him strong enough to oneshot late-game ADC champions.
His power spike comes when his q stack reaches 500. With this, he can solo any lane and push it until the third-tier tower. By this time, he will have so much Q damage and defensive items that it would be impossible to deal with him 1v1. TO top it all off, he has his W ability which slows you for a very long time, making it easier for him to chase and slap your champion down.
7. Veigar
Similar to Nasus, Veigar can thrive even without the help of items. He can stack ability power which affects most of his abilities. Sure he can build more AP items to further his damage output, but stacking his passive should be his main priority.
Veigar reaches his power spike when he builds a high enough stack of his passive. This makes him deal more damage and affects the cooldown of his W ability. Come late game. He can stun you and one-shot you with his simple combo. He can also keep enemies from pushing lanes during the late game because of the low cooldown of his W ability which deals an incredible amount of burst damage.
He can also build a Rabadon’s Deathcap to take his ability power to crazy levels. Veigar can reach up to 1500 AP damage with this item during the late game, which makes even the tankiest champions think twice to go near him. His ultimate ability also deals even more damage to champions that has low health. This is a perfect finisher for his basic combo.
Now there are more champions out there who can carry games given enough patience for farming. Early game champions also reach their power spikes when they acquire certain ability combos, but that is all up to you to discover as you play more games and familiarize yourself with hundreds of champions that League of Legends has. Now go practice and GLHF summoner. See you on the rift.
