Should You Main Bard? Tier S
Yes. Bard is tier S for maining. 16 Challenger and 29 Grandmaster mains across Korea, Europe West and North America, on 309,989 games played worldwide.
Reviewed for League of Legends patch 16.15.
Verdict. Bard returns more high elo mains per game played than almost anything else in the game.
The numbers
Score 14.34 high elo mains per 100,000 games played, ban-adjusted · 16 Challenger · 29 Grandmaster · 196 tracked mains in KR, EUW and NA · 309,989 games played worldwide · 3.37% pick rate · 1.25% ban rate
How this was measured
Two numbers, one division. First, how many players are currently in Challenger or Grandmaster maining this champion in Korea, Europe West and North America, from onetricks.gg. Second, how many ranked games the entire playerbase plays of this champion worldwide across every rank, from op.gg. The result is high elo mains per 100,000 games played, then reduced by the champion's ban rate, because a champion you cannot pick is a champion you cannot main.
This is not a win rate list and it is not a patch strength list. It measures whether commitment to a champion converts into rank. It covers Master and above only, it does not include the Chinese server, and it counts accounts rather than people, so one dedicated player with several high elo accounts shows up more than once. Patch 16.15. The full plain English explanation, including everything this list cannot tell you, is on the main list page.
Popularity is not viability. What matters is how many people who commit to a champion actually reach the top, not how many people play it.