Playing YOUR game, not the meta's

We all know that the meta will allow you to play the game at its most utmost efficiency, but what if you have no clue as to what Shyv's E does, or Lulu's W? If you're in Bronze or Silver, you are better off playing what you KNOW, not what is OP. Although, you should start adopting the meta into your gameplay once you gain the skill and confidence to branch out and try new champions. Once you reach about Gold I start to use more meta champions because you'll start to get to the level of play where people can use these champions effectively. I do advise you use new champions in normal games first, as a way to build some confidence on them. With that said, if you're my fellow Bronze, Silver, and low Gold players, read the rest of the article to help you gain confidence and avoid tilting in your games.

 

The mentality is that if you don't pick the OP, you will lose, and so we have the infamous "Bronzodia". We're just average players looking to get up on that ladder and one day see William "Scarra" Li on the other team, and when that day comes, we can tell ourselves that we made it. Until then, we've gotta learn the basics, and the OPs can help you, but they're not a "Get out of Silver" free card. You have to play with what you know.

We see tops like Shyv, Trundle, Mundo, and Renekton or mids like Nidalee, LeBlanc, and Lulu being played ALL the time in pro games, and so we think to oursleves, "Wow! they got really fed and owning! I should try *insert meta champion here* in soloq!" What we fail to realize is that we aren't them. We are average players who miss CS, who don't know how to make the best rotations ever, whose objective control is alright, and who LOVE to chase. And all that's alright. We'll get better. If you main, let's say, Satan, err, I mean, Teemo , play him! If you know how to play him because you have 500 games played with him, go ahead and play him. You have to be comfortable. You have to know your champion. As Michael "Imaqtpie" Santana said in his interview with Duncan "Thorin" Shields, "I f***ing love Ezreal. I don't care about good match-ups, bad match-ups. I just pick Ezreal... I just feel so comfortable on Ezreal..." (Pssst. I even bolded the key word in that quote...)

League of Legends has a lot of psychological elements involved, and champion picks fall under that category as well. You're more easily put on tilt if you're playing on a champ that you're not familiar with. If you die in lane you're not going to know how to comeback in the lane because you don't have enough experience with that champion, so you don't know their limitations, their power spikes, or their team utility. You're left alone in your lane, alone to wallow in your OP-champion-who-you-don't-know-how-to-play sorrow. It's ok though. You'll get out of this game and go back to your mid Sion next game cause you can "rek sum nubs" with him. 

 

"What about if they counter you?!" Don't worry about them being your "counter". You will get countered a lot. The best solution is to learn how you play against it. I am in gold at the moment, and I'm stuck. I tried playing more in-meta champions, but I always seemed to fall a little short, and I wasn't able to carry many games even if I got fed because I hadn't played enough games with these champions to know what to do to win. Recently I went back to my roots and played Vayne.

My last two games were with Vayne. 19/3/7 ;  15/1/6; both wins. I know Vayne, I know how to carry with her. If I get fed, I can help my team win the game. Both of those games, I was laning against a Caitlyn. "She counters Vayne in-lane!" She might, but I've played enough games with her to know what to do against a Cait in-lane.  Stay out of auto range, miss some farm - it's not the end of the world, and wait until late game. If your jungler can give you some lane pressure, even better. If your support can peel for you in-lane and in teamfights, even better.  

Remember, just pick what you feel most comfortable playing. It doesn't matter if it fits the meta. The meta is just there to give you a guideline on how you can approach the game. It's not the be-all-end-all of your game. So don't listen to the guy saying you're a troll because you're picking mid-Panth because it was "so season 3", and play your game the way you can play it at your utmost best. Have fun out there and I hope to encounter some "unconventional" picks in soloq!