League of Draven

League of Draven

We’ve seen pretty much the same three AD carries in professional play for some time – Graves, Corki, and Ezreal. Recently at MLG Raleigh we saw Derek “zig” Shao on Team Dynamic play Corki 15 out of 15 times. Occasionally you’ll see something different, but those three are the staples in competitive play because they are simply good at everything – they hardly have any downsides. They have a strong laning phase, good means of escape, and of course high damage.

Each excels in their own way, but they are by far the most complete and well-rounded. With coming nerfs to them in the next patch, both to their damage and mobility, this gives an opportunity for other champions to shine. This isn’t to say that Corki, Graves, and Ezreal will be obsolete (unless the nerfs prove to be drastic) but that there might be other picks more frequently now because more champions will now be on the same level.

Welcome to the League of Draven.

Draven may very well be the champion who comes out on top when players look for a new AD carry to play. Many pro players have acknowledged how strong Draven can be, including Steve “Chauster” Chau who plays for CLG Prime. He has repeatedly stated in AMA’s and in response to question on their website that Draven is the best carry in lane.
So why else might he become a new favorite? Let’s take a look.

 

Why is he so strong?

First off it’s important to say that Draven is a lane bully. Just like his brother Darius, he is a very strong laner that can zone out his opponent. He’s excellent at trading, constant harass and making the enemy return to base. Now that being said, Draven is a champion that has to be played just right. He has to be aggressive early to get an advantage without being greedy. True that that’s what can be said about most champions in the game, but for Draven it is crucial. Once you have an advantage though, it’s tough to lose the lane. Your passive damage over time effect and Spinning Axe make it so that you can come out on top of most trades just due to the sheer amount of damage that Draven puts out. Almost no other AD carry can one-on-one you in the laning phase and mid game.

Spinning Axe: This is what makes or breaks Draven. Being able to use this ability well is what makes a good Draven or a bad one -- and it’s far more than just being able to catch them over and over. What makes a Draven good is knowing when it’s the right time to catch the axe and when to simply let it go. In lane, Spinning Axe is great for just out damaging your opponent, or going in for harass when the enemy goes for a last hit. But this great ability can also do more harm than good. In the laning phase, skilled opponents will take advantage of you catching your axe – like a good Corki will go for a Phosphorous Bomb if you go to catch. So you have to know when to catch, and also be mindful of what direction the axe will go, as it goes in the direction you’re moving. But if you can play your early levels well and with the proper amount of aggression, you should be able to get a pattern down and zone out the enemy.

Part of what makes Graves, Corki, and Ezreal such good picks is that they all have an excellent defensive move, or alternatively a gap closer to finish off enemies. Many solid carries like Ashe and Kog’Maw lack an ability like this and therefore are not chosen quite as frequently. Draven has two. Neither is as strong as the main three champions, but both of his moves provide utility and a means of escape.

Bloodrush is a very powerful ability because it is his damage steroid and his means of escape – two incredibly important aspects for a carry. Luckily, it is refreshed when an axe is caught so if played correctly he can kite and deal significant damage. The movement speed isn’t as strong as a true dash move, but something is better than nothing.

Stand Aside is nothing to scoff at either. It’s a powerful, versatile tool that can be used in a variety of ways. The first is an escape tool. Pretty straightforward but definitely useful against ganks or when your opponent goes in for a kill. When your jungler goes in for a kill, it can be used as a way to halt the enemy to hopefully give enough time for your jungler and support to catch up to them. In a team fight it provides a solid way to kite when coupled with Bloodrush and a great way to disrupt the enemy team. It can hit multiple targets so if the enemy team groups up, this ability can really shine.

 

Negatives

The biggest downside to Draven is that he is hard to play, and even harder to master. So much of his damage output is from Spinning Axe, but in a team fight this might get you killed. No one really questions his superior damage, but instead his survivability. As mentioned earlier, he doesn’t have a dash move like Quick Draw on Graves or Arcane Shift on Ezreal – Draven is less mobile and therefore easier to pin down and kill.

Because of this Draven requires a real team effort to maximize his potential – and one of the reasons he’s less popular in solo queue. He also must be picked at the right time – he’s not like Graves that is almost always a solid pick. He lacks the dash move so an enemy team with a good amount of initiate and gap closers could easily shut him down. In addition he needs the right support to lane with because he has to be aggressive early. A passive farming support like Soraka is probably not the best pick, so this has to be accounted for when it comes to team composition.

Final Thoughts

With the coming nerfs for the most popular AD carry champions, Draven has a chance to become a more popular pick. Many pro players agree that he is already a strong champion with some of the highest damage out there. But he needs the right setting and the right player to thrive. He is challenging when it comes to getting the mechanics down perfectly, and being able to survive and deal significant damage in team fights – more so than his counterparts. With the right team though, he may very well dominate the League of Legends.

Thanks for reading and feel free to ask questions or comment below.