When Season 6 came about, there was an overhaul of the marksman (or ADC) itemization. It put a lot of ADCs that weren't in the meta before in the spotlight. For the most part, it helped every ADC in the game to some degree. In this top five, we are going to talk about who the best ADCs are right now and my thought process behind these picks. This top five is in no particular order, as it would be hard to flat out say "this champion is the best marksman in the game period".
1. Jhin, The Virtuoso
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Jhin came out earlier this year and has made a big splash in both competitive and solo queue. This champion is very different from other marksman, as he works on a reload system, similar to Graves. Jhin only gets four shots before he has to reload, but his attack speed is converted to attack damage and his fourth shot is guaranteed to crit, making his burst and laning insanely strong. Jhin also has a ridiculously long range ultimate, which also has four shots, helping him either pick people off after a team fight or engage, since the shots in his R - Curtain Call slows people it hits. Jhin's long range W - Deadly Flourish is a root, allowing for even more pick potential. His Q - Dancing Grenade helps him wave clear and his E - Captive Audience is a trap that slows people, making people wary to walk into bushes. However, Jhin is very immobile. He has to position very carefully in fights so he doesn't get picked off quickly by the enemy team. Overall, Jhin is a very strong ADC, with a good laning phase and scales incredibly well into the late game.
2. Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer
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Ezreal is a poke type ADC who shines in skirmishes and siege situations. His itemization is also very different form other ADCs. Most ADCs rush damage items, while Ezreal gets a Tear of the Goddess and then Iceborn Gauntlet. This allows Ezreal to have a very high mana pool so he can spam skill shots. This also allows him to kite very well .Coupled with his E - Arcane Shift, no one should be able to chase this champion down. Ezreal's Q - Mystic Shot is a linear skill shot that applies on hit effects, which has made this ability hard to balance for Riot in the past. This ability applies the AoE slow of Iceborn Gauntlet, making his Q hurt and apply crowd control. Ezreal's R - Trueshot Barrage is a global ultimate that is used mainly for picking off low enemies or clearing minion waves across the map. Overall, Ezreal is an odd ADC, but once you get the hang of him, the enemy team will have a very difficult time catching up to you to kill you.
3. Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover
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Caitlyn is a long range marksman who excels at dealing damage from afar. She has the highest auto attack range in the game. Not only that, but her Q - Piltover Peacemaker and her R - Ace in the Hole are also long range abilities. Her ultimate is mainly used to kill a low health enemy, as it follows them after locking on to them. Caitlyn's E - 90 Caliber Net is an escape tool that also slows enemies hit and gives her an automatic head shot on that champion, which is her passive. This passive (rightfully called Headshot) allows her to deal extra damage on her next auto attack when she either auto attacks six times, hits someone with her E or if someone walks on her W - Yordle Snap Trap. Her W utilizes a trap system that allows her to place a trap and once an enemy champion walks on top of it, they are rooted and it gives Caitlyn the ability to head shot them within the next couple seconds. This, along with the rest of her kit, makes her dangerous in narrow passages. Caitlyn does not have a very good early game, only being able to harass enemies from afar during laning phase. But she scales very well into the late game, making her a force to be reckoned with once the games reaches 25 minutes.
4. Sivir, the Battle Mistress
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Sivir is a champion that does very well if your team enjoys running at the enemy and killing them. Sivir has very good wave clear with her Q - Boomerang Blade and her E - Ricochet. Her E bounces from enemy to enemy, dealing damage and has the possibility to crit, which is also why this ability decimated enemies in team fights. Her Q is also good at poking enemy champions. Sivir is a relatively safe ADC to pick, as nothing counters her super hard and her passive - Fleet of Foot gives her movement speed when she auto attacks. Her E - Spell Shield also keeps her safe, doing exactly what the name suggests; it shields her from a single spell. Not only does it to do that, but if Sivir successfully shields a spell with her E, she gains mana. Sivir's R - On the Hunt gives herself and her allies a huge boost of movement speed, making engages happen and also allowing her team to runaway from a bad team fight. Overall, Sivir is a pretty safe marksman who does well with teams that like to engage on the enemy.
5. Lucian, the Purifier
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Lucian isa champion that has been hard to balance since his release in
2013. His passive - Lightslinger, allows him to get a second
consecutive auto attack after he casts a spell. This makes Lucian's
dueling potential insanely good. His Q - Piercing Light is a good wave
clear tool and is decent at poking enemies out during laning phase. His W
- Ardent Blaze is kind of lackluster, doing very little damage and lets
him move faster if he (or an ally) attacks the champion that Lucian
hits with his W. His E - Relentless Pursuit however, is the exact
opposite of lackluster. His E allows him to dash in a direction. That
doesn't seem like much on the surface, but whenever Lucian procs his
passive, the cool down of this ability is lowered, making Lucian very
mobile. His R - The Culling fires bullets from his twin pistols in rapid
succession, easily clearing waves or ravaging an enemy champion's
health bar. This champion has seen plenty of nerfs in his years, but he
continues to be a top tier ADC due to his extreme mobility, insane
dueling potential and great wave clear.
In conclusion, the best five marksman in League of Legends right now are Jhin, Ezreal, Caitlyn, Sivir and Lucian. All of these ADCs are very good in their own rights and deserve thought when you are either banning champion or picking an ADC in the bot lane. So next time you pick ADC as your primary or secondary role in queue, remember these champions and how much of an impact they can have in the games ahead.
