A common problem I have come across in the MLA is the inability to 3 stack waves at lvl 1, this is an absolutely crucial skill to learn especially if you play lane bully type control mages e.g Viktor.
What exactly is a ‘3 stack’?
3 stacking essentially means to build the first 3 waves into the enemy at lvl 1, which allows you to optimize your harassing under the tower. Think of it as a long term investment, you don’t trade as much lvl 1 and 2 BUT you have an amazing lvl 3. It is the most effective way to dominate low range weak early laners.
What are the benefits of a ‘3 stack’ vs. 2 stack?
1) Gives you more time to poke under tower, making it hard for the enemy to farm without taking a LOT of damage
2) Gives you the ability to tempo reset
3) Gives you a LOT of time to potentially roam/invade
4) Prevents enemy assassins from ‘playing off the bounced wave’
What are the disadvantages?
1) Limits your lvl 1 and 2 trading ability because otherwise you will over shove the wave and ruin the 3 stack
– This is the only main disadvantage, if you CAN 3 stack you should 3 stack
When can I ‘3 stack’?
– When you are versing low range weak lvl 1 and 2 champions e.g Qiyana/Fizz/Kassadin/Kayle & sometimes Sylas depending on what champ you are playing
NOTE: You need to be playing a strong/advantageous lvl 1/2 champion as well e.g Viktor/Akshan/Lucian etc.
Common questions:
Q: What happens if the enemy walks up and hits the wave in the process of me trying to 3 stack?
A: Harass and punish them for it, the more they hit it, the easier it will be to stack the waves. You might need to compensate/adjust by AA’ing a little more though
Q: Should I 3 stack if I am versing a high threat jungler like a Shaco or Jarvan?
A: No, it is not wise because you will often get punished for it, and find it hard to poke under tower
Q: When & where do I ward when I 3 stack?
A: Ideally you are warding as the first 2 waves stack, roughly around 2:15ish. You ideally want to be already leaning to one side and quickly ducking off to one side and warding over the ledge on the ramp. But this also depends on the jungler you are versing and how susceptible you are to ganks. Often times when 3 stacking, your jungler has a lot of freedom to invade, so you can often just lean to that side.
Q: Does the enemy need to hit the wave for me to 3 stack?
A: NO, even if they don’t touch the wave at all, it will 3 stack as long as you last hit
How to counter 3 stack if you are on the opposing side:
– All you need to do is walk up lvl 1 behind/next to your casters, and try to get the enemy to hit you, forcing them to either AOE the wave OR take minion aggro which speeds up the shove.
NOTE: SCORCH IS NOT GOOD when you are 3 stacking because you can’t harass under tower well without taking tower aggro!
Now for HOW to 3 stack:
There is no clear cut way to 3 stack because it massively depends on what the enemy does. For example, if they don’t touch the wave AT ALL you need to simply last hit the first 2 waves and get a very slight minion advantage and then start hard shoving the 2nd wave as the 3rd wave arrives. For an accurate depiction of HOW click the link below where Tim will explain it for you!
For an example of a ‘3 stack’ click HERE
I hope this helps! If you have any questions just let me know 🙂
Cheers,
Curtis