In the NA LCS Echo Fox has disappointed fans with just how slowly they have come out of the gates. This team showed a lot of promise closing out the 2016 Spring Split and with the team sticking together and having ample time to work on their issues, there was no reason for them not to come out strong to start off the Summer. This hasn’t been the case though as after winning their first series against the current last place team in the LCS, Echo Fox has gone on to drop their next 5 series, prompting the firing of their coach and leaving the team looking for answers. I want to take a look at what I have observed as some of the team’s major issues and what I believe should be done to start their road to recovery. This team has a lot of talent and with such an involved owner there is no reason they can’t still find some success this season.

Passive is the term you hear thrown around a lot when fans are discussing what is wrong with Echo Fox, and it seems to show up in every aspect of their game. Even out of game this passivity has followed them all the way to their drafting. Echo Fox so far this season has had a very predictable formula when it comes to their draft that other teams have been able to prey on. In order to ensure that their solo lanes can get safe picks as often as possible, Echo Fox is almost always using their early picks on Keith and the Jungle. While getting counter picks can be great there are also a lot of negative properties to having such a reactive drafting style. First, they are giving away a lot of power picks. This comes not only from trying to ensure solo lanes have the opportunity to counter pick, but from limited champion pools in other lanes. The biggest culprit used to be Keith on Lucian, which was almost always the highest priority pick for Echo Fox in the Spring. Nowadays Keith has been trying to branch out to other picks and it seems the bigger issue is how much priority is being put on Rek’Sai. Rek’Sai is definitely a strong pick but when the only jungle ban is Nidalee there are still tons of powerful junglers left. It really makes you question Hard’s comfort with his own champion pool when Kindred, Gragas and Elise are all up but Rek’Sai is consistently picked in the first round. An example of how detrimental this drafting style can be was in game 1 versus Immortals.

Rek’Sai was the first pick followed by picking up Lucian & Braum in the second round. Immortals grabbed Irelia & Karma in the first round followed by Gragas & Viktor. Immortals were able to take probably the two best solo lane picks available while not losing very much ground in the jungle since so many jungler were available. Immortals show a completely different, aggressive style of drafting where even though they are guaranteed a solo lane counter pick if they want it, they choose to go ahead and take the strongest solo laners available to them knowing that they can outplay their opponent with those picks secured. Heck they still got Karma who is among the most contested support picks while still allowing Wildturtle to pick an adc that would thrive against the Echo Fox composition. This game really highlights the benefits of drafting aggressively, not waiting around for counter picks, as well as drafting around what bans have been used. Echo Fox needs to start moving toward this style or else they will constantly find themselves behind in power picks. The other issue that arises from picking your adc early is that you can’t play riskier carries. Ashe and Twitch are examples of picks should never be picked in the early rounds as the other team can just stack hard engage to make Keith’s life hell. While Keith has the capacity to carry with these more unique picks there is currently no threat of him taking them as they always lock up the adc position in earlier rounds.

The next point of passivity that shows up constantly is in their gameplay and decision making. When watching Echo Fox play I’m reminded of CLG from a little over a year ago. CLG had a problem where if Aphromoo wasn’t making the plays then no one did. Aphromoo was the leader and playmaker but for some reason everyone else was afraid to make plays on their own. If Aphromoo had a bad game, CLG lost and that was that. There are a lot of parallels to that CLG team and Echo Fox. Throughout most of the game you get the sense that everyone is sitting around waiting for Froggen to try and make the game winning play. No one is actively trying to be playmakers themselves which is leading to such passive gameplay. Even with a lead the rest of the team still seems to depend on Froggen to make the play. All the steps can be set up to close out a game with vision control and map pressure, but you will never actually win without some aggressive plays being made. In a lot of ways the strategy for Echo Fox for the first 3 weeks has boiled down to having a safe early game which transitions straight into waiting around for Froggen to make a pick. If that pick isn’t ever made or not made often enough then Echo Fox just roll over and die. A great example of just how hesitant everyone is to aggressively go forward is against NRG in week 2.

Echo Fox had great position around baron and are forcing NRG to run through an Anivia to stop the objective being taken. Echo Fox immediately start retreating as soon as NRG steps forward until Froggen hits a 2 man stun. There is a delay and some members keep retreating while Big recognizes the potential pick and flashes forward with the Braum ult. No one else really commits and it ends up with Echo Fox running away and leaving NRG with Baron. There are definitely arguments against Big flashing forward there but wouldn’t it have been something if as soon as the Anivia stun hit they all collectively hit the go button and tried the aggressive play. Confidence needs to be instilled in these players so that they trust themselves and their teammates to be able to make these game winning plays when the opportunity arises.

This team is filled with talented players who need to start showcasing why they are here. It isn’t just Froggen and his Idle Friends, it’s Echo Fox and everyone needs to be a playmaker. I don’t want it to sound like Froggen is free of blame either. He surely knows that he is the one required to make plays and needs to start playing champions to fit that style.With how much priority they have been giving him in champ select there is no reason he shouldn’t be picking a play making champion and impacting the map. To continue to highlight the personnel I want to discuss kfo. There is nothing stopping kfo from becoming a star in the LCS and it’s time for him to assert himself as the premier carry on the team. When kfo was finally able to join in the Spring he brought an aggressive style that was desperately needed. After Echo Fox’s first week it looked like he was building upon that aggressiveness but as the losses have piled up he has reverted to the passive play that seems to plague every member of the team. With carry off laners in meta Echo Fox needs to put kfo in a position to be a real threat. Hard and Froggen need to work together to not just farm up during the early game but instead actively try to get kfo advantages that he can run away with. It’s important that they understand it’s not just about getting kfo Irelia/Fiora, this is a team wide effort to put kfo ahead and then play around that advantage. Finally it is necessary that Echo Fox finds their identity as a team. They need to realize that this isn’t done just by cycling through different picks, but by implementing a play style that complements those picks. Picking someone aggressive like Lissandra doesn’t mean anything if the play continues to be passively farming. It is also important that just because a game plan results in a loss that doesn’t me it’s time to revert back to old and comfortable habits. While I hated how early the Ashe pick was in the NRG series, I loved that Echo Fox tried something different. It wasn’t working as well as they hoped though and they immediately fell back to their passive play. Sometimes you just get outplayed and need to work on your execution, not throw in the towel on an entire strategy.

I’m hoping that moving forward Echo Fox will pick up on some of these issues and take the steps to improve on them. They are still an incredibly talented roster that just need some guidance to find their identity as a team. I’m confident this team will be able to pull it together and hopefully even be able to make a run for a playoff spot this split.