In the most recent world quarterfinals between Hunters and Tiger-Phobia, we were able to witness the first matchup that lasted a full three games. As these two teams attempted to outmaneuver one another with their hero picks and bans, there were some trends that started to emerge. In particular, we observed which team compositions – a.k.a team comps – were stronger or weaker during different phases of the game and how the teams adapted their strategies based on this knowledge. By learning from these observations, we can be more effective in what heroes we select and how we play them.

First, let’s take a look at which heroes are strongest at each phase of the game:

Please note that this is simply showing which heroes are strongest at each phase of the game. Just because a hero is strong in the early-game, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s weak in the mid- or late-game. Admittedly, some heroes that are strong in the early-game do begin to taper off a bit in comparison to heroes who shine in the late game. Some heroes – such as Ringo – can be strong in all phases of the game.

That being said, most competitive teams have been running with two heroes from the early-game column and supplementing them with a hero from the mid- or late-game columns. This creates a balanced mix of early-game strength and late-game power. In many cases, the early-game strength causes the team to snowball and their “late-game” hero gets fed with gold and experience much earlier in the game, while starving the other team of gold and experience.

Today’s World Invitational matches contained three real-world examples that helped illustrate this theory.

Game 1

Tiger-Phobia: Vox, Koshka, Adagio

Hunters: Glaive, Koshka, Catherine

When the first game started, Tiger-Phobia already knew they had a stronger level one team comp and they capitalized on this advantage by invading early and often. Also, they wanted to use this advantage to starve their opponents from ever reaching their mid-game strength. By seven-and-a-half minutes into the match, Tiger-Phobia’s Koshka was level seven and Adagio was level six, whereas Hunters’ Koshka and Catherine were both level five. Even when Glaive and Catherine hit their mid-game stride, it was already too late to turn the game around.

Game 2

Tiger-Phobia: Vox, Krul, Adagio

Hunters: Ringo, Vox, Fortress

In the second game, Tiger-Phobia tried something different: they went with two late-game heroes. However, upon seeing the early game strength of the opposing team, they accounted for this. First, Adagio was a good jungle companion to the weak early-game of Krul. Second, they started jungling at the very back – they didn’t even bother to try contesting the small camp by the jungle shop. This was a good read on their part.

In spite of Tiger-Phobia’s mindfulness, Hunters still ended up pressing their early-game aggression with Ringo and Fortress, realizing that if they let Vox and Krul reach their mid-late game potential, they would regret it.

Game 3

Tiger-Phobia: Vox, Koshka, Fortress

Hunters: Adagio, Koshka, Fortress

For the final game, Tiger-Phobia opted for a more balanced approach with the early-game strength of Koshka and Fortress and the late-game potential of Vox. Normally, this sort of strategy would be solid; however, Hunters put all their eggs in one basket: the early game. This was a risky move because if Tiger-Phobia was able to successfully keep itself afloat, a late-game Vox might be the death of Hunters. In the end, Hunters managed to capitalize on their first-level advantage, pushing hard into Tiger-Phobia’s jungle, and starving them into irrelevance.

Now that you’ve seen how the strength of different heroes at different phases of the game play out, use that knowledge in your own games, particularly in hero selection. No matter the team comp, be mindful of your strengths. If you see your team has a strong mid/late-game, play more passively and focus on farming gold and experience as much as possible. If you see the opposing team has a weaker early-game composition, capitalize on it early and often by frequent jungle invades. Doing these things – thinking like pros – will help you see more success out in the Halcyon Fold.

— Gadianton

If you enjoyed learning about how the professionals are playing Vainglory, you will want check out the previous articles in this series that you may have missed.