The Targon Lane: a mathematical thought on using the 2-1-2 formation

There was a time when double jungler almost became a thing, but Season 4 brought us a new meta that looks just like the opposite. After all the nerfs, is this double Ancient Relic lane a viable combination? We take a deeper look into the numbers and strategies behind the Targon Lane composition and offer you some topics as food for thought.

Disclaimer: My view on the Lane and Meta

There is no such thing as a no jungler game, and if there is, it is in no way optimal, especially after the recent nerfs to Relic Shield. But some champions are not able to handle the jungle early game and this is a limitation to team compositions. The Targon Lane is a great way to end these limitations by changing the role of the jungler to a laner during the early game and setting him up to easily jungle after. This does not qualify as a meta change per se, because the jungle meta itself does not change. It can't change - it is not optimal for now. But it does expand the realm of possibilities.

The Basics

The essential idea behind the Targon Lane is a simple one: Instead of running the typical 1-1-2 formation with a jungler we move the jungler to one of the solo lanes, effectively becoming a 2-1-2 formation or variant. Now you have 2 duo lanes, one with the typical ADC and Support and the new one with 2 champions, whose combinations are infinite at this point, both buying Relic Shield as a starting item.

Creep Score Management

For this to work properly this duo lane will be required to share the CS, unlike your normal duo lane where the ADC just takes the farm. In fact, the sheer concept of the Targon Item promotes some minion sharing in order to maximize its potential. But it goes beyond that: The goal is that both Targon users transition out of the laning phase with a balanced share of experience and gold, because in theory they should be ahead of both the enemy jungler and the enemy laner who laned against the Targon Duo.

Also, it is important to remind you that the Targon items are more efficient if you kill minions in the lane with a higher value, so the priority goes to the siege minion and the melee minions. These should be executed with a Targon Stack whenever possible. This determines the Gold side success of this strategy.

 

Zoning and Pushing Management

In order for this strategy to be optimal, this lane requires good roaming and rotation. Knowing when to zone ( in theory when your lane is pushing ) and when to take advantage of the lane and push ( so you can roam to the enemy jungler or mid ) is key to winning with this tactic. If well done, this 2-1-2 is both successful in denying both the solo laner and the enemy jungler, while also potentially pressuring another lane with 2 people.

This is one of the most curious aspects when it comes to the Targon Lane: Your superiority versus a solo laner, especially if picks are well made, is so great that it gives you the freedom and power to make plays elsewhere, providing your team with a jungler duo, when it seemed your team had no jungler.

 

The Advantages

If you compare the enemy solo laner and jungler to your two Targon laners, the last two will almost always come out stronger. Jungling flow is slower in terms of experience in the early game and while late game jungling pays off more, by that time the laning phase is no more and ideally one of the Targon Laners will still have Smite, so he can jungle easily if he desires.

The pressure this strategy puts on one side of the lane can be game deciding if well played or poorly handled, to the point where the enemy team has to commit resources into dealing with both laners. This is an aspect that the users of this strategy must be aware of and probably be asking for it: If the enemy team does commit resources to handle the lane, a plan must be available.

 

Smite

Smite is an important ability in the game, whose value transcends that of helping a jungler clear his jungle. It is often a game changing skill when it comes to contesting jungle objectives, especially the two big ones Dragon and Baron. As such, it is fitting to have a player with Smite, even if he is not doing the jungle full time. The fact is that the Targon Lane takes great benefit in having Smite since it helps them harass the enemy jungler when invading, or taking buffs when they’re available.

Experience

Experience gains and related maths are harder to make. In theory you can assume that effectively zoning the enemy solo laner out of 2 or 3 minions per wave ( in average ) will allow the Duo to stay equal ( if not ahead in levels ). But it gets harder. While last hits are easy to deny from the enemy, experience is harder but still doable. After 10 minutes of play the jungler will come out slightly ahead in experience but not in levels, whilst if the solo laner manages to gain most of the experience from the minion waves he will come out ahead in a level. It is of the utmost importance that this scenario does not come to happen because a level can make a difference during a 2v2 fight in case the jungler comes to help. This Targon Lane must be micromanaged to the point where the right champions must always be picked in order to win these skirmishes with the enemy jungler and solo laner, and for that to happen not only the champions must have good synergy between them but their opponent's levels in check.

The downsides

The main issue with this strategy is the loss of global presence or pressure from a jungler, especially in a particular half of the map. It’s true that if the strategy is well played your team will have a significant presence on one side, but that comes at a cost. This may hurt your team’s ability to pressure or obtain certain objectives ( particularly dragon ) early on. But it doesn’t stop here.

Vision can also become an issue since, for the most part, all 5 members of your team will be allocated in all 3 lanes. The surprise element decreases significantly but what also becomes an issue is reduced jungle vision. Your team will have no jungler and junglers have this silent job of vision throughout the jungle that often goes unnoticed. They are a moving ward throughout the jungle, constantly gathering and feeding information to your team, information that often proves vital in the course of the game.

The Pro Scene and My Conclusions

Two months have passed and between patches and nerfs I still see this 2-1-2 being used in high solo queue games. Is this viable enough to be adapted in competitive games? I don't know the answer. It certainly is viable enough to be used a lot in solo queue, since pro players are doing it themselves, even after the nerfs. How to transport that into competitive gaming is another issue. Teams are formed around the classic 1-1-2 formation with a jungler and I see it staying like that. This does not in any way replace the jungler meta: it is simply a complement, something else that can be done sometimes, an extension of the meta. I believe it requires some degree of adaptation. The fact that there is such an extensive discussion around it is a good sign in my opinion.

At the very least I believe Riot has done a good job in opening this possibility. It allows the game to grow in new, different ways.