Trying and Buying New Champions

Part of the reason League is so interesting is because there are over 100 champions to play. Even after playing for over a year, I still have a handful to try, and am incredibly far from owning everyone. There is a fairly simple process that may help when considering someone new. It is easily personalized, and once you know what you want, you should be able to tell if you like a champ before you play.

Decide what roles you like

Fairly straightforward. If you like to play mid, ad carry, support, and jungle, stay away from tops. Basically, think about investing in the roles you enjoy while avoiding wasting currency on champions that you will never play. This also allows you to do recon. After playing 500 games, you will have played against at least 80% of the cast. Graves and Taric are the flavor of the month. Like their skill sets and play style while getting rocked by them? Buy your role to keep up with the current meta.

Think about play style

More than just top, mid, bot, and jungle, this includes poke, burst, and sustain. These are all champion types to consider when trying someone new. Certain players like to passively farm, while others go all out for the kill. Soraka is not the best support if you want to go kill mode. This is all tailored to the individual. Find what you like and get good at it.

Research

Riot does all of this for you. They provide champion spotlights and profiles in the champions tab in your profile. Phreak explains what the skill sets do, an outline for runes and masteries, and how to react in certain situations. If that's not enough, all of the abilities are easily found in the champion profile along with videos of how each skill works. Like the kit? Play the champ.

I do not recommend buying buying a champion blind. I did it. That champion was Karma. I 100% regret my decision.

Think ahead

Champions come and go as the meta switches. Nerfs are inevitable. Back when you could stack sunfire capes, Amumu was amazing. I bought him and soon after, Riot made the sunfire effect unique. I have rarely played Amumu since. A little foresight can go a long way. Be prepared for the future and it can pay off when buying someone new. This goes for new champion releases as well. As soon as Diana is released expect to see her a lot that week. Prepare for what is coming, and buying that new champion will pay off in wins.

Try before you buy

Free champion rotation changes every week and it allows the player to use a champ before they own it. Some helpful points about the rotation: The newest champion is playable a couple of weeks after release. There will always be two AD carries free to play. The champions are shuffled fairly well, so there will be few repeats every other week. You cannot play a champion you do not own in Ranked Solo/Duo. 

Experiment with who is free. New things are good, and the rotation allows summoners to get a trial of champions. This is extremely helpful if you are considering buying someone. Pray they are on the rotation for that week, and play a couple normals. The best use of it is when you are considering buying a champion and you are borderline on the decision.

Fun factor

Underplayed champions are awesome, but are they worth buying? Xin versus Eve. Both are junglers that just got buffed. Who is more fun to play? You can load up YouTube repeater to listen to "I'll Make a Man Out Of You" while dashing to targets attacking super fast. Or you could sneak around the jungle Solid Snake style ambushing enemies. It all comes down to personal preference. I would choose Xin over Eve because I like making men out of my team and doing ridiculous damage.

Cost

About half the champions are 6300 influence points. I've wasted enough IP and think this is important enough to try to help others to not do the same. I made the unfortunate mistake of buying Karma, Caitlyn, and Jayce as soon as they came out. Some champions are simply not worth the price. Consider the value. Do not blind buy a champion when you can save 6300. Make sure you are willing to pay to play a new character.

Going against the gradient

You can bet certain champions will be picked in most games. Shen/Graves/Nunu are all pretty popular. Playing counters to what is popular is extremely beneficial. DO NOT PLAY COUNTERS FOR THE SAKE OF COUNTERING: KNOW THE CHAMPION. If you are a top laner, buying Yorick could be beneficial. He destroys Shen in lane. The same goes for Blitzcrank. He works well against both Graves and Nunu as he is tanky enough to survive Graves burst and has the abilities to reduce Nunu's snowball effect and cancel his ultimate.

Go forth and prosper with this new knowledge! Hopefully, you do not make the same mistakes I did!