An idea, A strategy, A teamcomp.

An idea. A strategy. A teamcomp.

We've all had that time of inspiration when a great team composition comes to mind. Im going to give you an example of which things you should have in mind when you are developing a strategy and all the factors you should consider to put your ideal teamcomp on the field. In the end im going to give you an example of a determined teamcomp.

What to have in mind?
Avoid solo-queue experimentation: As matter of methal sanity I would advice you to avoid trying new things involving teamcomps in solo-queue. A great teamcomp will only shine when there is very good comunication between the parts involved in it. So save it for your buddies!

Roles: Try to develop experience in a certain role, so when the testing of your teamcomp comes you already know who is doing what, and everyone knows by experience what their role is going to be inside of the scheme.

The Idea
Every teamcomp starts with an idea, be it champion synergy, optimizing the use of ultimates, or the use of a champion in a specific role. The idea is the foundation of the scheme that comes afterwards so you have to have a solid idea, something you know is efective, you dont want your foundation to be weak. The more strong the idea, the less risky the teamcomp will be. Today I will use an idea that has been proved many times and by many teams. It's the Orianna-Malphite ult combo, I will take it and try to build a teamcomp that optimizes its effects. In other words, an R-key team composition.

The Strategy
So there is one vital champion for this composition, Orianna, if she is banned this composition won't work, and it has to be dropped inmediately. Why is this? Orianna's ult has the unique capability of setting enemy teams to get hit by a succesion of other abilities without retaliation (it is also long-ranged, instant cast, has a displacement and it can be directed by a teammate, all you need to do is push the trigger).

Every other role in the team is replaceable, some with better results than others. Im going to give an ideal and an alternative champion for each role.

For top lane: What do we want? A tanky diver, hopefully with a displacement and initiation capability. He/she has to endure the first burst of damage of the enemy team so Malphite comes as a great solution to all this problems. His ultimate goes through walls so a surprise initiation is always possible.

After triggering the chain reaction this teamcomp is supposed to cause, Malphite is free to pick his target inside the enemy team (idealy the enemy AD Carry). The replacement? There are many champions who fit this description to some extent. Lee Sin could jump in as quickly as Malphite does but he only has a single target displacement and he is nowhere as tanky. So my pick would go to Shyvana (yes, on the top lane). She has everything we need (initiation, displacement, tankyness) for the role.

 

Jungle: Our jungler is going to be the initiation follow up, that means he is the third man in our line of action (top ults in, ori ults enemy team together, jungler goes in), this also means he has to be tanky and he is somewhat responsible of helping the initiator last long enough. Our jungler also needs a way of getting to the enemy team, it could be a more indirect kind of engagement but for him CC is vital. Idealy a stun. You can't let the enemy AD Carry survive or escape (we all know how sneaky they can be with their flash-cleanse combo).

My ideal candidate for this would be Amumu, he can bandage toss in and then ult in a short time. The second choice is Sejuani, she can also jump in and her innate tankyness is great, her ult next to Amumus is slightly inferior in amplitude but long ranged. Her jungle clear and gank potential are inferior to Amumu's so I pick her for second.

Support: Fourth (could change to third depending on the positioning of your team members) in the chain reaction. Has to have a way of hard AOE-CC, hopefully long ranged. Lulu comes to mind as the clear first choice, her ult on Malphite or Amumu would provide a knockup and a slow in the middle of the enemy team, plus the great bonus of added survivability to the initiator or jungler, if you put on top of that her shield and glitter lance, there should be no enemy team left for your AD Carry to clear anymore. On close second, Sona, if you have seen an Amumu ult into a Sona ult you know how devastating this is. Plus she adds some great heals, damage, and mobility to the mix.

AD Carry: Last but not least, the AD Carry should provide the clean-up quota you might need for end-game teamfights, he should sweep along the CC'd members of the enemy team killing them one by one. It is a great plus if he has an ability that contributes so some extent to the chain reaction synergy. Varus comes to mind inmediately, but considering he has rough laning phase i would not pick him straight away. I would pick him reactively to the enemy jungler pick and the lane match-up. Twitch on the other hand doesn't contribute much to the great scheme of things at the first glance, but watching a 5-6 item Twitch activating spray and prey over 4-5 people of the enemy team that are completely CC'd for most of the duration of it, is indeed priceless. So there goes my pick.

 

 

The counters?
Any champion that has the ability to quickly escape and pick up a vital target of your team, should be a must kill, namely Akali/Talon/Leblanc/Diana.

Final thoughts
It is not mandatory to pick all 5 enemies with the Initiation + Command: Shockwave, even if you pick 3 of them, you will force enemy team to pick an engage with a clear disadvantage or just abandon their members to their luck, which if you and your friends have practiced the teamcomp and sequence enough, should be 3 guaranteed kills.

This is my first blog here and any feedback would be great. I have a lot of ideas in storre, and anything to help me improve is very very welcomed.