The top lane is an interesting place in League of Legends. To succeed there, one usually has to be able to defeat the other opponent in a 1-on-1 duel. The almost forgotten champion Trundle, who has been mostly seen in the jungle in recent weeks, is now apparently a true early-game monster.
Trundle is visually and in his gameplay design an old champion. No impressive animations or complex abilities. He has a club, and he hits with it. He is especially strong in fights against individual champions since his abilities weaken the opponent and strengthen himself. On the PBE, he currently has an incredibly strong build, but in recent months he has been quite an irrelevant champion.
In the last patch, he was slightly adjusted, but that apparently helped make him stronger. The YouTuber LoL Dobby shows why Trundle currently seems unbeatable at level 1. You can watch his video here:
An Early-Game Monster
In the video, LoL Dobby shows how strong Trundle is at level 1. For this, he also shows the runes and summoner spells:
- As the main rune, he takes Lethal Tempo. Since he mainly attacks with his auto-attacks, this is the best rune.
- Additionally, he takes Triumph, Alacrity, and Last Stand.
- For his second rune tree, he takes Resolve and Bone Plating and Demolish, as this allows him to easily destroy towers later.
As summoner spells, he recommends Teleport for split-pushing and then Ghost. Ghost is not a spell to escape. It is similar to Darius, to stay close to the opponent and consistently deal damage with auto-attacks and the Q ability.
In the video, you can see him fighting against Yone and trying to punish him for every wrong mistake at level 1. After every attack, he runs into the bush to prevent Yone from hitting him too hard while trading. The key is constantly punishing the opponent for poor dashes and when he comes too close.
By leveling the Q at level 1, he can not only deal damage but also slow it down and reduce the opponent’s AD value. Additionally, Trundle gains AD for a short time, making his auto-attacks even more devastating.
A Simple but Powerful Combo
The best combo for trading would be auto-attack, Q, and immediately another auto-attack. The Q resets the auto-attack animation, allowing you to quickly execute both auto-attacks. This can also be used to destroy wards at level 1 since the Q also hits wards.
Due to the reduction in mana costs in the last patch, he can use his Q ability more often. Additionally, his AD increase has been raised from 3 to 4. While it may not sound like much, it also improves his scaling with items like Trinity Force.
In the video, he also disrupts the jungle at level 1, and as you can see, he has no problems fighting both opponents alone. If you kite between attacks and perfect your movement, you have an easy match at level 1 and in the early game.
Later, you deal with towers and push where you can. Individual opponents should not cause any problems either, as the Q ability combined with the ultimate and his remaining kit makes Trundle a big threat. Considering that Trundle is a straightforward champion, he is the perfect choice for a relaxed top lane match.
Statistics on U.GG also look good for Trundle. Looking at the stats across all ranks on the top lane, he has a very good win rate of 52.99%. In the low Bronze range, he even exceeds 54% and is currently the best top laner in that area. (Stand: 04.12.2023)
Another champion is currently not doing well, and this is even intentional by Riot:
