5v5 Strategies for Champion Select

In solo que, it is generally difficult to come across a team who cooperates well with each other. Most bans in draft normal games, as well as in solo que, are generally targeted toward ensuring the advantage in a personal match-up of the first player on each team. For example it is frequently seen in solo que, when the first player wishes to go mid, that the first player bans all mid lane champions he or she does not wish to play against. Despite this frequently allowing one player to win and stomp in his or her respective lane phase, it will not stop the bleeding of other lanes who were forced into unfavorable matchups. In a Ranked 5's team however, you and your team can coordinate with more strategy throughout champion select. Being able to work the different minor aspects of the draft phase will help give your team an edge before even loading onto Summoner’s Rift.

The Ban Phase

Once champion select begins, the team captain (or first player) of each team will start the ban phase where each team is allowed to remove 3 champions from play they do not want to deal with in that particular game. In professional play, teams can be seen using this to their advantage by banning out players who they know are strong on certain champions. Another way to go about the ban phase is to keep the meta game in mind and ban out the champions that are currently being played frequently due to these being considered power picks on the current patch. The bans start on the left side of champion select which is the blue side and then alternate to the right side or the red side. This process is done until each team as banned 3 champions from the game. From here, we will go more in depth into each side and why each has a unique advantage that you can exploit to pick up the best composition for your team.

Blue Side Drafting

When you find yourself on the blue side of the map, you are given the first overall pick after the ban phase has concluded. This all important first pick on blue side can be used to set up the rest of your teams’ composition. However, it is not advised to ever pick a solo lane at this time. The reason for this is due to the ease of being counter picked in a solo lane by the opposing team. The best way to go about being on the blue side is to either pick a champion for jungle or support. These two roles in your overall team composition will generally provide more utility and crowd control than the high damage dealing solo lane champions.

In first picking a jungler or a support champion in the first rotation of picks for your team, you are able to create a solid foundation for the rest of your team to build around. Another strategy on blue side that can be implemented is to ban multiple champions in one role during the ban phase and then first picking another champion in that role. This is used when you are really trying to choke out a weak player on the other team who has a small champion pool or if one role is being dominated by only 3 or 4 champions. For example, if you were blue side and went into a game in patch 5.10, you might consider banning Gragas, Sejuani, and Rek’Sai and then picking up Nunu as the first pick.

At this point when the red side picks their jungle champion, they are forced to choose a champion that is not as effective in the current patch due to the lack of available champions in the jungle champion pool. In your next rotation of picks, it is advised to start building more of the framework for the composition you are attempting to run. This is the first rotation the blue side will have where this team can choose two champions.

Generally, the adc and support champions are selected here so you can get a good bot lane synergy early in the draft. However, it is also possible during this rotation to ensure you pick up a strong tank top laner as well as a high damage and well-rounded mid laner in the second rotation. All of these options are very viable, as well as any other combination of picks and rotations. The most important aspect to remember while on blue side, is that you have as the team have a powerful opportunity to lock in the first champion of the match. This choice will set the tone for the rest of the draft, and be crucial to the development of the overall composition.

Red Side Drafting

The draft phase of this side is more unique and allows for more counter play. Drafting on the red side of the map can be seen as more of a tide at the ocean or a dance. There is more ebb and flow, as well as more opportunity to react. The fact that the red side is the second team to select champions allows for this change of philosophy. The first rotation lets red side to choose two champions in response to the one that is previously grabbed by the blue side.

In response to this champion choice, the red side team now as two options. One available course of action is to secure a duo bot synergy that is powerful and super easy to win lane phase with. For example, if the blue side picked a jungler such as Gragas, the red team can shift their power down to the bottom lane with strong lanners such as Kalista and Thresh allowing for strong disengage. The other option is always utilize the red side power of the counter pick.

If the blue side has the first pick, this means that the final rotation of red side will have one pick. This allows for teams to directly counter one of the solo lanes, whether it be in top or mid, in order to ensure a decent lane phase. This is an interesting dynamic as it also allows for teams to have more situations on the red side where they can use the flex pick principle. By selecting a champion such as Kennen, you can force the blue side to start playing around an ap top lanner such as Kennen. The trick however is during the later stages of the draft you select a different top laner and move Kennen to a lesser seen role such as mid or support. These mind games are essential to creating a good situation for your team while drafting on the red side of the map.

Champion select is an extremely important aspect of League of Legends within which many times the game is decided before you even play the match. If you start the game off without a good synergy in your composition before you even start counting in individual mistakes of the game, it is very difficult to winning games when you start by putting your team in a worse position. Taking champion select as serious as you take the mechanical aspects of League of Legends will lead to more victories for your ranked team as well as a faster climb. As always if you have any further thoughts, criticisms, and discussions, tweet me @DignitasZyrxa