This past League of Legends preseason has brought a ton of new additions to Summoner’s Rift. In fact, one player found a way to cheat death by using the bottom lane alcove to dodge his would-be attacker.
In the clip, the Jarvan IV came in for a gank against a Karthus and a Caitlyn. He flashes in and eventually gets a kill, but he is taken to 17 health in the process. His teammate dies to Karthus’ passive, and the opposing team’s jungle Nautilus comes over to what should be a guaranteed kill.
This is where the alcove comes into play. By using the small little island and a ward, the Jarvan is able to dodge and juke the Nautilus multiple times over a 20 second time period, before his allied Lucian is able to return to base and save him.
At the start of the preseason, many people believed that the alcoves in the top and bottom lanes were unnecessary. However, as people began to use the alcove more and more, the player base realized the kind of potential plays that it gave teams—this daring escape could not have been possible without it.
Not only that, but it also provides junglers a new way to help gank a lane, since they can sneak into the alcove to surprise their enemies. The alcove gives players new angles to attack their opponents, while also giving people a new way to confuse their enemy if they need to make a quick return to base after a play gone wrong.
