In League, learning how to play a new matchup is a skill that must be developed for long term improvement.
You will need to utilize this skill during your learning journey when picking up a new champion or learning a matchup due to a new champion being added to the game, or even learning how to play against an unconventional lane opponent.
Before we get into the details, we must first have a solid understanding of our own champions identity.
We must know the following inside and out:
1) Our power spikes and troughs
2) Optimal game pace as a result of these power spikes and troughs
3) What the inherent strengths and weaknesses of our champion are
4) What sort of trades or champions likes and doesn’t like taking
Let’s start by breaking down the process of learning a new matchup from scratch.
First of all, I will assess the runes & summoners. This will give me a rough indication of what the champion is looking to do. If I see sustain runes like Fleet, it may suggest poking is a bit harder, if I see runes like Conqueror or Electrocute it suggests aggression.
Similarly, there is a big difference between a laner with ignite vs. TP.
The most important thing is to have a hypothesis about the lane. This can be as simple as…
“I have ignite and they have TP, I know my champion is strong lvl 3, so let’s keep neutral wave state and look for aggressive trades at lvl 3”.
OR
A bit more complex…
“I believe Yone is very ‘E’ reliant, so if I play reactive to that ability, I can bait it out and trade on the back end”
If you are REALLY unsure about a matchup, then what I recommend doing is something that I call ‘Calibration Trades’.
A Calibration Trade = Is a form of testing trade, that allows you to identify how the abilities interact, with the intention to identify the enemies core trading pattern and learn a matchups stat comparisons.
For example, if I am playing Fizz vs. Yone for the first time, I might choose to do a full Q–>AA–>W–>E trade onto him and see what happens. I might then find out as a result, that Yone can use his Q3 to avoid my combo and then chase me on the back end with his own ‘E’.
With this information I might then choose to use my ‘E’ reactively for his Q3.
NOTE: I would never have realized this interaction existed if I never went for that initial calibration trade.
Calibration trades can often lead to disadvantageous situations in that specific game. BUT, you must maintain a long term view. If you fail to take these calibration trades, a few things will happen….
1) You will often slowly lose the game anyway through giving unnecessary pressure
2) Be unable to review the VOD effectively because you aren’t able to know what your champ is or isn’t capable of
3) Be unable to verse the matchup any better the 2nd time around because you have such little new information
Now, after the game ends there are a few things we can do in order to get the max value out of that game:
1) Load up a VOD from either the MLA VOD Library or Youtube that shows the exact same matchup being played out and look at the details to see what was different.
Look for wave states, trading patterns, the holding of certain abilities, reset timers, itemization/rune usage, lane positioning and game pace.
Then compare this with your own VOD to see what the specific differences were. If you were unsure of what you saw in the VOD then you can use the Discord to ask for other opinions.
NOTE: The more specific and detailed oriented you are, the easier the learning process will be.
2) Go into your own VOD, and use ‘feeling’ to identify favorable and unfavorable situations.
What I mean here, is that often in a game you get a ‘comfortable’ feeling when you are able to win trades or when you have a lot of freedom with your movement. This is often due to a specific wave state, or a particular power spike.
Other times, you will feel ‘trapped’ or ‘uncomfortable’, this is often again due to a particular wave state or power trough.
Go to the situations where you felt comfortable and break down what made it feel this way, with the intention of trying to replicate these conditions. Conversely for the negative feelings, find out what about it felt so awkward, and look to avoid these situations.
This technique is what I call ‘reverse engineering’, and is the main tool I use for identifying ways to counter champions.
Example: This is a Yone vs. Annie game, the coaching client in this example said he felt awkward when the wave was constantly on Annie’s side of the lane. He could use ‘feeling’ in the VOD Review to know that this was not optimal. Therefore, he had to go back in the VOD and see how he could have had the wave on his side of the lane
Example: Later on in the VOD, Yone bounced the wave and Annie was forced to over-extend in the lane. This resulted in Yone ulting her and nearly getting a solo kill. This was only possible due to the wave state. A perfect example of how ‘feeling’ could have been used to identify the correct wave state and begin the process of replication.
During this entire process you will often find out things not just about how to verse that specific champion, but more about your own champions identity and how to replicate getting leads. If you are able to undergo this process for an extended period of time with a small champion pool, this is where serious champion mastery will be developed.
Let me know how this goes for you guys!
Cheers,
Curtis