Diigiscuss: Meta VS Comfort

When choosing between playing comfortably or what the meta says, which do you feel has the right-of-way? Or is there a fine line that can be met? I believe this is a question that has long dwindled and probably has done so because there is no right or wrong answer. Do you play a champion that is currently set on a pedestal in ranked play because of the characters kit and mechanics? Or do you let that champion slide and pick something you know you, personally, can work well with?

There have been multiple occasions in large tournaments and even in simple solo queue streams where I feel the professional League players fall victim to this choice. Jacky "Nyjacky" Wang used to run a mean Morgana back in the day. Other professional teams would ban her away, for fear of the blind Dark Bindings Jacky would always manage to land. Then, and even now, Morgana doesn’t have a high pick or ban ratio in completive play, but Jacky still managed to use her in large tournaments due to how comfortable he was playing her.

Now, you normally see Jacky on Katarina or Twisted Fate. Orianna was another one he added to his pool. These are champions the team, and most of the professional League world, felt was doing really well at the time. Opposite of Morgana, Orianna was picked or banned almost every game in season two playoffs due to her high win ratio, even going 100% in some other tournaments.

Jacky, is no means bad with Orianna, but you rarely, if ever, see her banned against him, even though she had such an impact for other competitive players. I feel that other players and teams just aren’t as worried about Jacky’s Orianna, even though she was what the meta should fear.

Then there is the fine line. You do not give Kurtis "Toyz" Lau Orianna. It’s almost a guaranteed loss. Toyz is very comfortable with Orianna, be it from routine practice or simply playing her since launce. She, as stated, also fell or even still, falls into that meta picture. Same can be said with to Ge "kid" Yan’s Ezreal and, currently, Brandon "Saintvicious" DiMarco’s Lee Sin.

I, being on the spectator side, always find myself cheering for the comfort side of the field. I feel even if you manage to snag said meta champion, if you’re not comfortable with how that champion plays, you’re not going to do nearly as well if had you gone with someone you know how to play better. I might even be so bold to say that most of us fans feel this way as well. I was completely overjoyed when interviewing Lauri "CyanideFI" Happonen to find out that there are pro League players that also find this to ring true. “We sometimes practice combos, but usually we just aim to play the heroes that we are comfortable with and just make sure they fit well together as we pick.”

There is a reason we cheer when we see niche or even unconventional champions in tournaments. Of course seeing Ezreal, Graves, and Corki every match was getting boring, even if some of our favorite players destroyed with them, but it’s not even so much about that. It’s about roots. The rush I get when Cody "Elementz" Sigfusson plays support Fiddlesticks is, I’m sure, similar to the one Marcus "Dyrus" Hill’s fans get when he trolls over Singed.

You, as the loyal fan and follower you are, know (normally) things are about to go down. Your favorite player is on their comfort champ and things are about to explode into amazing. Your down-with-the-meta side comes out. You want this player to do well to show that you don’t have to play the champions the meta wants you to. You can play what you want to play because you are, once again, comfortable. In fact, I’m sure there is a cowboy hat somewhere that is due for an eating in the name of untraditional comfort.

I’m sure there are many different opinions on the matter. Maybe you, personally, do get legitimately excited when a champion that is highly sought after gets picked up by a player that plays them well, regardless if you see the champions face at least once every game (Diana). That’s okay. Maybe you have strong feelings over there on the meta side of the ball park. Maybe you agree with me. Obviously season three hasn't blasted off quite yet, so the meta may change, but I want to know how you feel as a fan, and also how you would feel if you were in the shoes of one of the players that constantly are on stage, shooting for the goal. Diigiscuss below.