In the history of League of Legends, there have been strategies that dominated the meta so strongly that the champions essential to those strategies would be banned as soon as the game started. Over many seasons, numerous strategies have faded away for various reasons. However, recently, these “Stone Age” strategies have returned to the meta and continue to dominate it as if it were second nature.
Here is a list of strategies that are being “unearthed” once again:
Funnel Strategy
First, the funnel strategy is a playstyle where the entire team funnels all resources into a single primary carry. Master Yi jungle is the most trusted and frequently chosen carry in this strategy.
As for teammates, as mentioned above, everyone tends to support Master Yi. The mid-laner will play Taric support (buying support items), providing a terrifying combo with Alpha Strike (Q) and Radiance (E) that opponents can hardly evade, only capable of blocking with a spell shield. Thanks to this combo, the Taric-Yi duo can gank extremely dangerously.
In the top lane, teammates can choose a tanky champion to initiate fights. In the support role, the most prioritized champion is Morgana. When Morgana teams up with Taric, Master Yi receives two buffs that grant immortality and immunity to effects, charging straight into the enemy team without any concerns. Additionally, many other strong buff champions like Karma, Zilean, Yuumi,… can also greatly assist Master Yi. The ADC can choose any champion they want, but many players have gone so far as to select two mages to buff the bottom lane for Yi.
Submarine Strategy
By definition, the “submarine” strategy involves one champion diving into the enemy while “carrying along” one or more teammates. In this strategy, many champions are chosen to initiate into the enemy team, such as Jarvan IV, Rengar, Nocturne, Twisted Fate,… The objective of this strategy is to eliminate the enemy team’s carries as soon as the fight begins.
As for the champions being “carried along,” one of the key factors will be Shen in the top lane with Stand United (R), ensuring the diving champion does not get burst down and count their numbers in an instant. Additionally, Shen is also a champion with wide crowd control and excellent damage mitigation, ensuring the targeted enemy cannot escape. The second champion that can dive along with hard crowd control is Galio – who can play top lane, mid lane, or support just fine. These champions are quite versatile, allowing for reasonable role distribution.
In the bottom lane, when the enemy team’s carry is continuously controlled like this, because it’s hard to keep up with the “submarine,” you should choose a champion with global damage like Senna, Ezreal, Draven,… to deal damage with the team in time.
Finally, if playing this strategy, your team should ban Tahm Kench – the champion that can ruin all plans by swallowing the carry and running away.
Siege Strategy in the Bottom Lane
Recently, the bottom lane has undergone significant changes regarding its role in a team composition. Notably, the siege strategy against enemies has made a powerful return. Specifically, the bottom lane will choose pairs that can continuously poke from a distance, forcing the enemy to stay away from minions and lose gold and experience if the jungle doesn’t help.
Additionally, this strategy is also used to counter the Gathering Storm rune that some ADCs with strong trade-hitting bring to the bottom lane. Because if they cannot hit the opponent, the Gathering Storm will be an ineffective item.
As for popular pairs in the bottom lane that can poke effectively, consider Varus, Ezreal, and Ashe in the ADC role. Champions like Karma, Xerath, Lux, Vel’Koz,… will fit the support role for poking very well. Since these champions are quite weak if the enemy gets close, the most important thing when playing poke is vision – to see the enemy for poking and to avoid the enemy jungle from approaching. While laning, limit trading health with auto attacks, and when you have the advantage, freeze the minions and poke to push the enemies away from the experience range.
Additionally, you should also ban strong pull champions like Blitzcrank, Thresh, or Nautilus to ensure a safe laning phase.