Forming a Strong Champion Pool

Introduction

In League of Legends, a champion pool is most commonly defined as the list of champions which a player feels confident taking into a ranked match. Whether conscious or unconscious, every player knows certain champions that they feel comfortable with. Making note of these champions and using such knowledge to your advantage can allow you to climb up the ranked solo queue ladder with ease.

Wide and Deep Champion Pools

When referring to champion pools, many people use the terms “wide” and “deep”. When a player’s champion pool is wide, they play different champions in various roles, without focusing on one specific aspect of the game, thus restricting the development of any sort of higher understanding. On the other hand, when a player’s champion pool is deep, they play many champions in one role, without focusing on other parts of the game. Although players with deep champion pools usually have extensive knowledge of their role, they feed when faced with playing any other part in a team. I have created a chart to help explain the concept, and why it is important to control the size of your champ pool.

 

1. This player’s champion pool is wide, but not deep. Type one players can play many roles, but do not play any one of them exceptionally well. They play a small amount of champions, and face problems when their mains are banned out. Some people take this to the extreme, by focusing solely on one champ. Although top tier players such as Henrik ‘Froggen’ Hansen and BestRivenNa climbed the ranked ladder by playing one champion, it took them many hours of practice to attain a high level. To main one champion and succeed requires extensive knowledge of all matchups, as opponents will often try to counter you in champ select. Although the process of maining one champion works for the dedicated few, most people benefit from playing and learning multiple champions

2. The second player’s champion pool is deep, but not wide. Type two players play one role and have a high degree of knowledge, but their skills crumble in any other lane. This player will typically say “___ or feed” in champion select. Pro players focus on one role exclusively and can typically be put in this category, but the difference between the professional scene and solo queue is that in solo queue, you are expected to be able to play any role while the pros are guaranteed to play the same lane every game.

3. The final player has a “Goldilocks” champ pool. That is, the champion pool is not too wide, not too deep, but instead, just right. Type three players play enough roles to fill out a team comp, and play enough champions to gather a decent understanding of every role. Like player number two, player three has a comfort role and champion that he prefers to play when he can, but still performs well in other positions. By following this guide, you too can learn to form your own balanced champ pool.

Finding your Style

On average, levels 1-30 take around 200-300 normal games. These games are a crucial point in developing a solid champion pool. Without even knowing it, your first games will allow you to understand which champions you enjoy, and which champions you do not enjoy. It is important to play a variety of champions in your early levels not only to find your style, but also to understand the kits of all champs in order to take advantage in future matchups.

Next, you must also find what role you like most. Fortunately, your favorite role will most likely be the role of your favorite champion. It is important to have a main role that you can confidently play, while still ensuring that you will not be caught out of place when playing less popular positions such as jungle and support.

After establishing a favorite champion and role, you may now find it best to expand into other lanes. The easiest way to make this transition is to find champions that are similar to your favorite champ. List traits that define your favorite hero, and use these to your advantage. Do you like long range snipe of Xerath? Try out Lux and Nidalee. Do you like the assassin style play of Kha’Zix? Play Fizz and Twitch. Do you like the tankiness and CC of Nasus? Try out Zac and Vi. There are many top-tier champs that fit any play style, and can be used to climb the solo queue lader. It is vital to use this process of elimination for all 5 roles, in order to come out with a list of champs that you feel confident playing.

After you have created a list of 2-4 champions per role, it is time to find the weaknesses in your roster. Are all of your favorite champions especially susceptible to crowd control? Are most of your champions AP casters, which can be countered by stacking magic resist? Try to use this knowledge to eliminate as many holes as possible.

Types of Bans

One weakness many people don’t consider is picking champions that are constantly banned, also known as flavor of the month, or FotM picks. FotM picks often come about because of a dramatic buff to a champion or item in a given patch, and by nature, are not long lasting. In the current patch 3.12, the Trinity Force is a popular item, so FotM picks include Corki, Jax, and Ezreal. Champions that stand the test of time, or in other words, champs that remain consistently powerful throughout many patches, are also banned.

For example, Ahri, Kassadin, and Fizz have sustained their position as top rank mid laners throughout many rounds of patch notes. Another method of banning to take into consideration is tier specific bans. In Bronze and Silver elo, common bans include Blitzcrank, Malphite, and Amumu. If you find that unusual bans appear often in your ranked league, these are most likely tier specific bans. Although it has been said before, games can be won in champ select, so make sure to avoid being countered and see your LP rise.

Fine Tuning your Skills 

The final step of forming a champ pool is practice. Before entering even one ranked match, you should have sufficient practice with all champions in your champ pool. Basic practice such as csing can be done in custom games, while all-around practice is accomplished through blind pick and draft mode normal games. At any time, your champion pool can be altered if you find that one pick is not working for you, but keep in mind, changing your champ pool too much can lead to a pool that is too wide and too deep, where you have little understanding of many champions as opposed to heightened understanding of fewer champs.

That being said, it is a must to pay close attention to each new set of patch notes in order to ensure your main doesn’t get Olaf'd. During practice, make sure to play every role evenly, while still giving the necessary time to become skilled at your main position. Make note of all the matchups you face, what rune and mastery combinations work for which champions, item builds, and any other factors that can affect the outcome of a game. After you feel confident in your abilities as an all-around team player, you can queue up and hopefully see your elo shoot sky high.

 

Thank you for reading my guide. If you have any comments or questions, just comment them below and I will do my best to answer them completely.