The concepts that decide a Top lane game, what players of the role actually do at every rank, and what the role's communities advise.
How the game behaves, in plain words.
Minion waves leave each base every 30 seconds and meet in the lane. Most of your early gold comes from last-hitting them, landing the killing blow on a minion. Where the waves meet decides who is safe: the closer to your tower, the safer you are, and the further your opponent has to walk to reach you.
Freezing keeps the wave still just outside your tower. Last-hit only, and let the enemy wave stay a little bigger than yours so it pushes towards you exactly as fast as your minions die. Your opponent then has to walk up to farm, far from their tower and in reach of your jungler. Use it when you are ahead, or when your opponent can't afford to lose minions.
Slow-pushing builds a big wave on purpose: kill the enemy's back-row caster minions first and leave the melee ones, so your wave keeps a few extra minions each time. Over two or three waves it grows, then crashes into the enemy tower all at once. That buys time to roam, to dive with your jungler, or to back without losing much.
Crashing, or fast-pushing, means clearing the wave quickly so it reaches the enemy tower. While the tower kills it you have a free moment: back, ward, or help a fight. The wave then bounces back towards you, so the best moment to back is right after a crash.
If you hit an enemy champion with an attack or a spell while you are near their minions, those minions switch to attacking you for a few seconds. Trading next to a bigger enemy wave costs you extra health, so trade when the enemy wave is small or your own wave is bigger. Enemy towers do the same: hitting a champion under their tower makes the tower target you.
Back when it costs the least: right after your wave crashes into their tower, when you have the gold for an item or component that changes a fight, or before an objective your team is going to contest. Backing with a big wave about to hit your tower loses minions and tower plates.
Measured below: First trip to the shop, Gold in hand then, Shop visits before 14:00.
Teleport takes you back to lane after a back, or to a fight or objective far away. A Teleport to a fight is worth it only if you arrive before it ends and your team can win it with you. Look at your wave first: the minions you leave behind are lost. Its rules change during the game, so read the spell's tooltip.
After the laning phase a top laner often pushes a side lane alone. It works when your team can avoid a five-against-four fight, when you can win a one-against-one or escape, and when you have vision to see who comes. Otherwise group with your team for the next objective.
A power spike is a moment your champion gets much stronger: levels 2, 3 and 6 (your ultimate), and each finished item. Fight when you have just spiked and your opponent hasn't, and avoid fights just before theirs. The matchup section of your game review in the companion shows the levels your lane opponent usually gets kills at.
Wards show you where enemies are; a control ward also reveals and disables enemy wards near it. Ward the river or the enemy jungle entrance before you push forward, and place a control ward where you will fight later. Your trinket recharges, so use it whenever it is ready.
Measured below: Wards before 14:00, Control wards before 14:00, Wards a minute.
712,241 player-games of ranked solo queue from the last day (EUW, KR, NA), read minute by minute.
First trip to the shop falls with rank: 3:55 in Iron, 3:22 in Master +.
Gold in hand then falls with rank: 684 in Iron, 574 in Master +.
Shop visits before 14:00 rises with rank: 4.2 in Iron, 5.1 in Master +.
Wards before 14:00 differs between ranks, but not steadily one way (4.2 to 4.7).
Control wards before 14:00 differs between ranks, but not steadily one way (0.1 to 0.2).
Wards a minute differs between ranks, but not steadily one way (0.35 to 0.41).
With 2+ teammates from 20:00 barely changes with rank (43% to 47%): it doesn't separate players.
These go with climbing; copying a number does not by itself make you climb.
Players who won and lost at the same rank play almost the same way. These gaps are small, and a winner's numbers are partly what winning looks like.
| Measure | Won | Lost | Everyone |
|---|---|---|---|
| First trip to the shop | 3:35 | 3:34 | 3:34 |
| Gold in hand then | 643 | 612 | 627 |
| Shop visits before 14:00 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| Wards before 14:00 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| Control wards before 14:00 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Wards a minute | 0.41 | 0.38 | 0.40 |
| With 2+ teammates from 20:00 | 45% | 42% | 43% |
Advice that several players in the role and coaching communities gave, with how many gave it: opinion, not measured.
The communities' advice for this role is still being collected.