Setting up a Perfect Teamfight in 1000 Words

Intro:

Teamfights are a core part of League of legends, but how can one set up consistently good fights, since they change from game to game?  Here is a quick guide to use to assess whether that teamfight will be a good investement, and how to execute the set up properly.

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Who?

Keep in mind that your team is made up of 5 individual players, all with their own agendas to win.  You all want the same thing, but have 5 differing schematics on how to do so.  The important part is trying to figure out the best way to go about winning fights, that everyone can get behind.  To do this, remember who your partners are playing.  Think about how you could combo your cc with your damage, your support with your backline, and so on.  Think into the specific abilities that each champion posesses.  If you have an Amumu and a Miss Fortune, try and chain the ults together as frequently as possible.  If you have a taric and a nidalee, make sure taric stays close to her so that if she needs to go deep to grab a kill, he can keep her healed and sheilded. Also this can transcend into the 'where' portion of the article. If you have a team that needs to land skillshots, maybe fighting in the close quarters of the jungle, where it is harder to  is not a bad idea.  Remember your chase potential, escape potential, and who should be your initiation in case you want to start a fight.

When?

Move out now:

This is the riskier option.  You might have great footing in the jungle or in the lanes, you've seen their damage carry somewhere far away on the map, and you know the time to fight is right now.  But the faster you go all gung-ho into the fight, the less time your team has to plan the attack.  If you decide to go in too early, this could lead to a disorganized team.  This means that, simply enough, someone might think the teamfight is not worth it and bail early.  Someone else might target an enemy who is off to the side instead of going in for the objective as you all are.  Someone else might decide to teleport in from your team too late, and then your team is not only down a teleport, but an extra member as well.  Make sure if you need to go in unison, you get the basics down, know your first target, and then clearly take charge of when to leave.

Set up a fight:

This is the more logical solution.  It requires clear communication about who you are going to target, who needs to initiate, where you want to fight, and how the fight should progress.  The ideas crafted in the 'who' section should be relayed here.  Essentially the point of planning out a teamfight is because you want to make sure the plan of action you take is the same as the other four members of your team.  This also does give the disadvantage that you might miss out on a good oppurtunity, or be less ready to improvise, but if you can stay to the books as much as possible, you should be able to do substantially better than you would without any pre-planning.

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Where (specific Objectives)?

Baron/ Dragon:

The largest two monsters in the game also can cause some of the most game changing fights possible.  The effects of the new elemental Dragons, as well as Herald and Baron Buffs are astronomically important, especially if you are behind and trying to close a gap.  Before you try and get one of these objectives, know if a fight is possible, and if it is very possible (jungler is alive, no vision of team near pit and so on), be ready to fight it.  This is not entirely an evaluation of winning the fight, but whether a fight for one of those objectives is worth the risks over possible splitpushing and other objectives falling. 

Bot Lane (pre-15 minutes):

For the most part, team fights will not begin until about 13-15 minutes, and normally these fights are objective based.  The only exception tends to be a failing bot lane early on, if other laners decide to roam with a jungler.  In this case getting a great fight off might set your team up for a snowball victory quite early.  Assess if you think you could secure enough kills to make the summoner spells worth it, and have enough members where a quick dive under tower to grab some low hp targets is possible.

Base:

Normally, teams that start fights in rival teams bases have an advantage.  So if you are the defending team, you need to play smartly, and take out the biggest threats that push, or possibly take out the damage soakers so that the enemy team cannot get further into the base w/o the aid of waves.  This will come down to the enemy team's positioning and who is pushing, but the furhter they are in the base, the more you should prioritize them.  If you are the attacking team, just try and take out their damage dealers, and maybe attack them under towers if the wave will take the tower in the near future.  

What/Why?

What are you trying to accomplish and why do you want to accomplish it:

Remember teamfights should be fought with a purpose.  It's alright to fight for the sake of fighting if you are ahead, but make sure you have pressure on the map, so if something goes wrong, you don't get heavily taxed for your one bad fight.

Conclusion:

Well there you have it! Sub-1000 words on how to teamfight, all above, in case you need them!  If you need more info, wanna chat, or wanna play a game or two in the future, find me @buns_and_roses on twitter, and good luck with those fights.