Choosing a champion: check the shared bench, then complete the team
ARAM Mayhem does not let you browse the entire champion roster. Choose from the options dealt to you and the team’s shared bench, then balance frontline, engage, damage, and comfort within that limited pool.
Key takeaways
- Start with your dealt champions and the shared bench, then identify which option fills a team need.
- The map is revealed after champion select, so it cannot guide the pick.
- When role fit and comfort are close, use champion rankings as the tiebreaker.
Start with the champions you were actually dealt
Each player initially chooses between two champions, with a third appearing in some cases. Unchosen champions move to the shared bench. Compare the real options in front of you instead of making a wish list from the full ranking.
The shared bench is the second round of champion select
Any teammate can take a champion placed on the shared bench, and swaps create more ways to adjust. Check whether your side has dependable physical and magic damage, frontline, engage, sustained damage, and protection; champion select is blind, so solve the needs you can actually see.
Use rankings only between available options
When several available champions can fill the same need, compare their overall results. Detail-page damage, durability, control, and participation stats can help explain what each pick normally contributes, but a highly ranked unavailable champion is still not an option.
Rankings already reflect mode-specific balance
ARAM Mayhem applies champion-specific balance modifiers, and the rankings capture the combined match results under those rules. Do not rely only on Summoner’s Rift impressions. Check that common builds, spells, and skill orders also have enough games behind them.
Build augments around the champion, not the other way around
Augments are random, and skill augments only appear when the champion can use them. Choose a champion that can perform a useful team job before imagining an ideal roll. Picks that can use several different candidates are less dependent on luck.
Make the final call between team fit and comfort
When the numbers are close, choose the champion whose core actions you can execute and who fills a missing role. A small statistical edge matters only if you can turn it into damage, control, protection, or a reliable engage in the actual game.
Common mistakes
- Treating the ranking as a free-pick roster instead of working with dealt champions and the shared bench.
- Picking for a map before the random map has been revealed.
- Assuming a specific augment will appear and making the champion depend on it.