Wave clearing is an essential mechanic in League of Legends. Clearing waves quickly enables the player to manage the wave state more efficiently, and use that advantage to make plays around the map.
Here are the champions with the best wave clear ability in the top lane!
Best Wave Clear Toplaners
Tryndamere
Tryndamere is a champion that is synonymous with split-pushing, and like all the split-pushers, Tryndamere has an amazing ability to quickly clear waves. He does a pretty good job at wave-clearing in the early game, but this ability only grows stronger after purchasing the first Hydra component, Tiamat.
Tryndamere is a nice pick when you want to control the flow of the game. Due to his pushing capabilities, Tryndamere can do a lot to affect the strategic outcomes of the game. He can use his kit to push the towers and bait the enemy, and he can also plow through the enemy jungle. He is truly a versatile pick.
Garen
Garen is a pretty simple champion that is great for those who want to enjoy the top lane gameplay without investing too much time into learning all the fancy champions. He is not lacking in the wave clear department either, as he can slash through any block of minions by simply pressing his E and walking back and forth.
When it comes to Garen gameplay, you will just want to trade with enemies from time to time. With a couple of successful trades, you can go for an all-in with the execute ultimate that does true damage. If you happen to lose trades, you can simply stay out of combat and wait for your passive to regenerate your HP.
Sion
Sion is another split-pushing menace that unlocks an incredible wave clear at lvl 3. At this point in the game, he can just E one minion through a wave then follow it up with a Q and he is set. When it comes to his other gameplay elements, he is a bit unique.
As Sion, you will mostly want to distract enemies by split-pushing in the side lane. When too many enemies get close, you simply retreat and repeat the business. In some other scenarios, you can use Sion as a utility pick to disable enemy carries and peel for ally carries.
Gangplank
Gangplank is a champion whose passive will reward you extra gold for killing a minion with one of his barrels. This is quite great as it incentivizes the wave clear plays we are going for. With GP and a couple of item components on our side, we can slice through enemy minions like they’re nothing.
Now I must issue a word of caution regarding this pick. GP is a highly mechanically demanding pick and it can take a while to get used to him. However, mastering him feels really great and rewarding, so playing him does make a lot of sense for a lot of people.
Final Thoughts
There are different classes of top lane champions that do well at wave clearing. The greatest one in general would be the one of split-pushes. Most split-pushing champions will just build Tiamat which would enable them to simply clear waves without much effort. However, there are picks that have great wave clear in-built in their kit, and those would be the likes of Gangplank and Garen.