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Patch 15.6 Notes Explained: Winners and Losers

League of Legends Patch 15.6 has landed, and with it comes a new wave of buffs, nerfs, and meta shakeups that will affect ranked and competitive play. Some champions are rising as clear winners, while others are falling behind in power.

In this breakdown, we’ll go over the biggest winners and losers of Patch 15.6, how item adjustments affect the meta, and what it means for your next ranked grind.

The Big Themes of Patch 15.6

Before diving into champions, let’s highlight Riot’s intent with this patch:

  1. Balancing jungle influence – adjusting clear speeds and sustain.
  2. Tuning down hyper-carries that have dominated solo queue.
  3. Revitalizing underplayed champions with targeted buffs.
  4. Minor item adjustments to shift core builds.

Winners of Patch 15.6

1. Ahri (Buffed)

  • Buff: Increased mana regeneration and Q damage.
  • Impact: Ahri becomes a safer blind pick in mid lane again, with more sustain and stronger poke. Expect her to return to pro play as a consistent control mage.

2. Kha’Zix (Buffed)

  • Buff: Increased isolation damage and ultimate cooldown reduction.
  • Impact: Jungle assassins have been struggling, but Kha’Zix now has stronger kill pressure. He thrives in lower-vision games and will likely climb in solo queue pick rate.
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3. Sivir (Buffed)

  • Buff: Reduced cooldown on Ricochet and improved mana efficiency.
  • Impact: Sivir re-enters the ADC meta as a waveclear powerhouse who can stabilize bot lane and enable teamfights with her ultimate.

4. Malphite (Buffed)

  • Buff: Increased armor scaling and reduced cooldown on R at later ranks.
  • Impact: Malphite’s natural tankiness and reliable engage make him a counterpick winner against AD-heavy comps.

5. Sunfire Aegis (Item Buff)

  • Buff: Burn damage increased.
  • Impact: Tank junglers and top laners like Sejuani, Ornn, and Malphite benefit heavily, making them sturdier frontliners with real DPS.

Losers of Patch 15.6

1. Caitlyn (Nerfed)

  • Nerf: Reduced base AD and headshot damage scaling.
  • Impact: Caitlyn loses some of her oppressive laning phase power. She’s still viable, but won’t dominate bot lane matchups as easily.

2. Jarvan IV (Nerfed)

  • Nerf: Lowered base armor and reduced E+Q knock-up duration.
  • Impact: J4 has been a staple engage jungler, but these nerfs weaken his early game gank reliability. His win rate is expected to drop.

3. Zeri (Nerfed)

  • Nerf: Attack speed growth reduced and W cooldown increased.
  • Impact: Riot continues to tune down Zeri’s hyper-carry potential. She requires more scaling and doesn’t hit her item spikes as hard.

4. Rell (Support Adjustments = Nerf)

  • Change: Reduced tankiness on base stats, compensating her engage kit.
  • Impact: Rell remains strong, but is now much more punishable if engages fail. This limits her dominance in pro play.

5. Liandry’s Anguish (Item Nerf)

  • Nerf: Burn damage slightly reduced.
  • Impact: Control mages like Cassiopeia, Ryze, and Swain lose some of their DPS over time. Other AP items may become better choices.
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Neutral Adjustments – Meta Shifts

Some champions/items weren’t clear winners or losers but had changes that will shift the meta:

  • Shaco: Small jungle tweaks; likely still niche.
  • Cho’Gath: Adjusted scaling; more relevant in tank metas.
  • Enchanter Supports: Slight itemization shifts (Moonstone vs Shurelya’s).

What This Means for Solo Queue

  • Expect to see Kha’Zix, Ahri, and Malphite a lot more in ranked games.
  • Bot lane is less dominated by Caitlyn and Zeri, opening room for Sivir, Jinx, and Kai’Sa.
  • Engage junglers like Jarvan IV will fall slightly, replaced by assassin or scaling junglers.

What This Means for Pro Play

In professional matches, Patch 15.6 will likely:

  • Increase priority on Sivir as a scaling ADC.
  • Bring back Ahri as a safe, flexible mid pick.
  • Encourage teams to draft Malphite + Sivir style wombo-combos.
  • Decrease Zeri/Caitlyn priority in drafts.

Conclusion

Patch 15.6 is a balancing patch with clear winners (Ahri, Kha’Zix, Sivir, Malphite) and losers (Caitlyn, Jarvan IV, Zeri, Rell). While no champion is completely gutted, the adjustments shift the power curve across lanes and open new meta possibilities.

If you’re climbing ranked, adapt quickly—lock in the winners, ban out the nerfed hyper-carries, and prepare for a slightly slower, tankier meta.

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