Utility champions are usually defined by their ally-friendly features. These picks are great when you want to take more of a supporting role or when you trust your team to carry the game.
These kinds of champions are usually created for support and jungle, but there are few that fit the description for top lane too.
Here I will share all the best utility top laners, that I have encountered on my climb from Silver to Master tier.
Getting to know these champions will greatly help you in your ranked journey, and I have no doubt you will find something that fits your needs.
1. Sion
Sion is one of my favorite utility champions. He has plenty of CC, builds diversity, and is great for solo-carrying games.
The most distinguished features of Sion are the following:
- Ultimate with a global presence
- Great split push capabilities
- Great for team fights
If you choose to play Sion in the utility role, I would recommend playing him as a tank. This will also serve well for countering AP champions.
Tank Sion works great since it synergizes well with all his abilities. He can rush into any fight across the whole map and start CCing the highest-priority targets of the enemy team. He can also take the role of peeler support and protect ally carries.
In cases where team fights are not favorable, Sion can simply play in the side lane and push the enemy lanes. This will force the enemies to respond to him, and they will usually have to send at least 2 people to deal with him.
Regarding items for utility Sion, I would definitely recommend these 3 for most games:
- Jak’Sho, The Protean
- Gargoyle Stoneplate
- Sunfire Aegis
And for the runes, these 3 will always work:
- Grasp of Undying
- Demolish
- Overgrowth
Read Also: 7 Best Utility Junglers in League of Legends
2. Shen
Shen is most likely the highest utility champion in the top lane. His laning phase is not the greatest it could be due to his R being unusable, but he is still a really strong laner.
Shen has:
- Global presence with ultimate
- Decent CC to facilitate jungle ganks
- Great balance of defense and damage output
The most notable thing about Shen’s laning phase is his sustain. He has abilities that allow him to shield himself and restore HP, which allows him to stay in the lane longer and farm effectively.
The key selling point to Shen is his global ultimate. It allows him to teleport to any ally on the map. It is great for responding to fights and securing objectives, and it also makes him a great splitpusher.
3 items that are great for Shen in most situations:
- Radiant Virtue
- Sunfire Aegis
- Titanic Hydra
And these are the runes that will benefit you the most:
- Grasp of Undying
- Shield Bash
- Ultimate Hunter
3. Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser is most famous for his ability to pull the enemies to the shadow realm, and execute them in 1v1 duels.
He has a number of strengths, such as:
- Low entry barrier
- Great mid and late game
- Great defenses making him hard to take down
Mordekaiser is relatively weak during the laning phase, and many enemies will be able to take you down early on. Thankfully, Mordekaiser gets stronger with each level that passes. At level 3, you can unlock the W, which will give you a shield that will make fights much easier.
At level 6, the ultimate unlocks. This is the point where Morde does a 180-degree change and becomes able to fight most enemies. A few short trades coupled with a ultimate+ignite combo will defeat even the hardest counters.
Games with Morde start getting increasingly more interesting the longer the game goes. In the mid to late game, you can provide insane utility to your team with your R.
I always like to use my R on the most fed enemy carry, when I am ahead, it pretty much makes the game over. The enemy dies shortly after being ulted, and the enemy is forced to play 4v5 without their carry.
These are the 3 most optimal Morde items for a bunch of sustain and over the time damage:
- Jak’Sho, The Protean
- Demonic Embrace
- Rylai’s Crystal Scepter
And here are the 3 most optimal runes:
- Conqueror
- Legend: Tenacity
- Last Stand
Read Also: The Strongest Hybrid Champions in LoL
4. Pantheon
Pantheon was once one of the best Assassins in the game, but after he got reworked, he became more of a utility bruiser:
Pantheon is:
- A really strong laner
- A champion with great map presence due to his R
- A champion with few counters
To succeed at playing him, you will need to take advantage of his powerful early and mid-game. In the early game, you will want to poke the enemies with your Q as much as possible and look for all-ins when they are low enough.
As soon as the tower plates fall and mid-game starts approaching, you will want to start helping your team. Pantheon can provide a huge utility with his R, and he can join most fights at a moment’s notice.
He is really strong in fights due to his ability to reflect damage and jump on enemies with his W. You can play as a peeler for ally carries, but I would mostly recommend focusing on killing the enemy carries.
Late game is really hard for Pantheon, and neither you nor your teammates should expect you to perform well. The only tip I can give is to use the fog of war as much as possible. This will allow you to flank enemies and remain somewhat useful.
These are 3 key items for Pantheon:
- Goredrinker
- Black Cleaver
- Spear of Shojin
And 3 key runes:
- Conqueror
- Legend Tenacity
- Last Stand
5. Karma
Karma is most commonly played as support, but she can be played in top lane too. She provides endless utility, and she is certainly one of the best utility top laners.
She has:
- Massive shield buffs
- Massive movement speed buffs
- Great CC
Since top lane seems to be losing impact with each patch, playing Karma becomes more and more viable. She can survive all the lane matchups, and enjoy a nice mid-to-late game buffing the best ally carries.
To win as a Karma in the top lane you will mainly want to focus on farming well. This will ensure you get to the later stages of the game safely. This is not to say that you should not be fighting and poking enemies when opportunities arise.
A good thing to remember is that Karma is good at setting up ganks for junglers. There are two situations you might find yourself in. The one where the enemy is pushing you and the one where you are pushing and the enemy is under the tower.
In the first situation, you can easily CC the enemy and have your jungler kill them with you. In the second situation, you can poke enemies under their tower, and dive them with your jungler once they are low enough.
In the late game as Karma, you will mainly want to be around your team. You can provide 5 man buffs with your ultimate and choose between giving huge shields or movement speed buffs, depending on the situation.
I would recommend these items when going for a utility top lane build:
- Radiant Virtue
- Chemtech Purifier
- Redemption
And these runes:
- Summon Aery
- Manaflow Band
- Revitalize
Read Also: 5 Best Utility ADCs in League of Legends
Conclusion
Utility champions are the best choice when you want to facilitate your allies to carry a game. Most utility champions are made for the support and jungle role, but there are some strong utility top laners too. The most fun pick in my opinion is Sion.
There are some other picks that will depend on your needs. For example, if you would like to be a full-on 2nd support, I would recommend Karma, and if you want a balance between supporting and being a carry yourself, you can go for Shen.
There are also two other great picks, Pantheon and Mordekaiser. Mordekaiser is great for isolating and killing enemy carries, which turns the tides of teamfights. Pantheon is great for having a global presence, flanking, and executing carries.
