EU LCS W6D2 Pick/Ban Recap

As always for ease of reference here are my Tier 1’s for each role before we get to the recaps.
You can find my entire patch 6.3 Tier List here (I missed a couple Champions, Ezreal Mid would be Tier 3 and Rumble Jungler Tier 2): http://www.goldper10.com/article/3155-patch-63-competitive-tier-list.html

(Patch 6.3)

Top Tier 1: Fiora, Gangplank, Lulu, Lissandra, Malphite, Poppy, Gnar

Mid Tier 1: Lulu, Corki, Gangplank, Lissandra

Jungle Tier 1: Nidalee, Gragas, Rek’Sai, Lee Sin, Kindred, Elise

ADC Tier 1: Kalista, Kog’Maw, Lucian, Corki, Caitlyn

Support Tier 1: Bard, Thresh, Alistar, Janna

Here also is my Tier list for first pick/first rotation Champions right now.

Tier 1: Gangplank, Lulu, Corki
Tier 2: Kalista, Kog’Maw, Lissandra, Nidalee
Tier 3: Fiora, Gragas, Lucian

GIA vs EL
Bans:
GIA (Blue): Fiora, Alistar, Morgana
EL (Red): Kalista, Lulu, Malphite

Picks:
GIA (Blue): Lucian; Elise, Gangplank; Rammus, Bard
EL (Red): Braum, Nidalee; Graves, Corki; Azir

GIA first pick Lucian. While I’ve been a fan of Lucian for much of this season I don’t think he justifies this priority with the likes of Gangplank, Corki, and Kog’Maw available. GP or Corki would be the pick for me depending on playstyle preference.
EL first rotation Braum/Nidalee. Nidalee has risen the top of the Jungle ranks and I have zero issue with this pickup. Braum however continues to be hugely overrated and picking him over the aforementioned power picks is silly in my opinion. To be fair there are enough up they are likely to get some on the next rotation, but there are equally as versatile and in my opinion more powerful Supports available. I would have gone for Nidalee/Kog or GP/Corki here.

GIA grab Elise/Gangplank. No issue with the Gangplank of course, Elise is a logical choice to provide magic damage given their two AD threats so far, but Gragas is significantly more powerful this patch in my opinion.

EL second rotation Graves/Corki. Not surprising that they would go double ADC’s here given their first two picks synergy with these compositions. I’m not the biggest fan of Graves Top after the nerfs, but the huge Mid-game spike the trio of Nid/Corki/Graves bring to the table is certainly a potent snowballing tool. Taking Corki was also extremely smart here since Kog is still up and GIA have already taken their ADC, so EL now get the flex option of their last pick between Kog or a Mid laner. Good picks here, although I think a more traditional Top like Malphite/Lissandra would have been fine as well.

GIA last rotation Rammus/Bard. I do think Top Rammus is quite strong against multi-ADC compositions, but this isn’t quite his ideal scenario as their two ADC’s currently sport a mixed damage profile and Rammus will have a rough time early laning against Graves. I’d prefer they just go with Lissandra here as she would have major assassination potential against EL’s squishy carries with a much less volatile laning phase. Bard is always a fine pick, and while there are no immobile carries to catch with his Ultimate if he can manage to catch someone it is a powerful setup for GP’s barrels. GIA’s comp as a whole is fine, but they are going to be hugely outpressured in the solo lanes early on (especially if it’s Corki Mid) which can often get out of hand against a Nidalee as well. They should look for a lane swap to try and get to the mid-game relatively even so Rammus and Gangplank can really start making plays.

EL last pick Azir. Azir is a fairly weak laner these days, but GP should be a safe farm lane for both with similar scaling potential. He’s best used as an anti-dive Champion in my opinion, and he certainly has value here in denying Rammus’ engage. It’s still not ideal however as if Rammus TP Homeguard flanks and Azir has to Ult to deny that engage, his team is still stuck between the Rammus and the rest of the opposing team with no more Azir Ultimate to impede the other four. All in all it’s a logical pick, but I don’t think it really does much to change the dynamic of the game. Other picks like Anivia/Zilean/Lissandra could have provided similar disengage on a much shorter cooldown, but Azir is perhaps the best of these at pressuring Gangplank in lane so ultimately I think this pick was fine.

Both teams dipped a little deeper into the power pool then I would like here. I’ll give a slight edge to GIA as I think they can win the game off any lane getting ahead, whereas EL is more reliant on getting ahead as a team and if they make one mistake against the Rammus late it can fall apart like a house of cards.

VIT vs UOL
Bans:
VIT (Blue): Poppy, Kindred, Kalista
UOL (Red): Nidalee, Gangplank, Alistar

Picks:
VIT (Blue): Lulu; Lee Sin, Kog’Maw; Quinn, Tahm Kench
UOL (Red): Thresh, Lucian; Viktor, Gragas; Malphite

VIT first pick Lulu here, which I agree with given that GP is banned.

UOL first rotation Thresh/Lucian. I like both of these Champions in general, but you absolutely have to take Kog’Maw here. Kog + Lulu is even more insane now than in previous seasons, and with Kog’s new hyper attackspeed build Lulu provides him with the equivalent of another on-hit item in damage when she shields him with Pix. In my opinion it’s a massive mistake to even give up this combination, and UOL are on the backfoot from the get go as a result. Kog + Corki/Lissandra/Gragas would be my choices here.

VIT take Lee Sin/Kog’Maw. I already mentioned how Kog is insane here, and I’ve got no issues with Lee as they want an AD jungler here and he and Rek’Sai are interchangeable for me. Great picks.

UOL second rotation Viktor/Gragas. I like these picks, as Gragas is the most powerful Jungler available in my book in addition to being a significant threat to catching out Kog’maw and displacing him enough that even Lulu likely can’t save him. Viktor provides significant threat onto Kog as well, although other Mid’s such as Ahri/Lissandra could provide similar threat with a slightly different playstyle as well.
VIT last rotation Quinn/Tahm Kench. I really dislike these last two picks and VIT botched this for me. Quinn is fine in general, but I dislike picking her when Malphite is up and Malphite is already a strong pick against you here as another hard engage to catch out Kog’Maw. They do have Tahm as a failsafe for their carries, but they are going to have absolutely no damage as a four man unit if Tahm is eating Kog, and Viktor/Lucian can easily shred them during this window. If Quinn has to group just to provide another threat in the teamfight, she would simply be better as a different Champion, such as Lissandra/Poppy/Malphite/Gnar/Trundle. I’m also not a huge fan of Tahm + another protective Champion in general, as I think you are losing value of the immunity Tahm provides when you have other shields or buffs being wasted while they are eaten, and you have an extremely lack of DPS as a result of so many supportive Champions with your carry eaten. These picks really just weakened their teamfight which had massive potential and added a split pusher who won’t be able to pressure Malphite late anyway unless she has a massive lead. I’d have liked to see Lissandra/Fiora + Janna here.

UOL unsurprisingly last pick Malphite, as mentioned above he’s excellent here due to outscaling Quinn and providing hard engage against Kog.

UOL in my opinion went about this draft in a smarter manner in terms of drafting a composition, but made a massive valuation error in allowing Kog + Lulu. VIT should have won the draft from that start, but allowed them back in with a poor last two picks. I actually like UOL’s Champion roster better significantly, but the carry potential of Kog here is enough to call this one a draw. Assuming Cabochard doesn’t get massively ahead on Quinn, the game will likely come down to Hjarnan/Kasing’s positioning so that they are close enough for Kog to be saved quickly but not too close that they are both caught by Malphite/Gragas CC.

VIT did throw a curveball at the end here, running Quinn Mid and Lulu Top. This does dodge the problematic Quinn into Malphite lane, but VIktor does just fine against her and they now have no TP on Quinn should she choose to split. Overall this swap gives them more snowball potential but an even worse situation for Quinn late game, and I definitely would have preferred a more standard Mid as Quinn just won’t be useful in teamfights here.

OG vs H2K
Bans:
OG (Blue): Fiora, Thresh, Elise
H2K (Red): Kalista, Lulu, Kog’Maw

Picks:
OG (Blue): Nidalee; Corki, Gangplank; Ahri, Tahm Kench
H2K (Red): Alistar, Lucian; Lee Sin, Nautilus; Leblanc

OG first pick Nidalee here. With Gangplank and Corki up as well as the second best Jungler in Gragas I don’t agree with this. She is very powerful however, and if you feel she simply has the biggest power gap of any position from first to second it’s fine.

H2K first rotation Lucian/Alistar. Lucian is the top ADC available with Kog/Kalista both banned so he’s a safe early pick. Alistar is not this valuable to me however, but if they just want to hide as much of their composition as possible these are fine picks. I’d prefer any combination of Lucian/Gangplank/Corki/Lissandra/Gragas that balances AP and AD, but they can wait as long as they want on Jungle obviously.

OG grab Corki/Gangplank next. These are extremely powerful picks and they now have three massive damage threats. It’s not quite Ideal for me as I prefer Gangplank with significant AOE CC setup which neither of the other two Champions bring, but his second best use is in a siege composition which Nidalee/Corki certainly fits.

H2K second rotation Lee Sin/Nautilus. I love Lee here as one of the few champions with significant displacement to catch out Gangplank. I’m not a huge fan of Nautilus Top, and to me he’s only worth picking against immobile carries like Kog and Viktor. He is a safe blind in general so the pick isn’t horrendous, but I’d much prefer the likes of Lissandra/Gnar/Poppy.

OG last rotation Ahri/Tahm Kench. Tahm is a fine choice as while their composition doesn’t scream needing his protection he’s a great counter to Nautilus engage. I’d prefer Janna against H2K’s tank heavy composition, but this is fine. Ahri is a pick I rarely have a problem with and I think she’s decent here as a safe blind, but there really isn’t anything about this game that’s advantageous for her. H2K’s composition has only one carry to assassinate and it’s the mobile Lucian, and she provides neither significant CC for Gangplank or great siege potential. I’d much rather they go all in on the siege here with Caitlyn and Corki Mid, or bring significant zone control against H2K’s lumbering frontline with Anivia/Lissandra/Viktor.

H2K last pick Leblanc. This is a strong pick against OG’s squishy extremely low CC composition, as she will be able to go for assassination plays with impunity. The lane against Ahri is pretty even, and this or Lissandra were the best choices for me here.

OG gets the edge for me here as they have significantly more damage and I have a tough time seeing H2K killing them quickly with Nautilus’ engage potential nullified. Getting Leblanc ahead is extremely key to H2K’s success, as she’s the only major threat who can reliable get in range to deal with OG’s four threats.

SPY vs FNC
Bans:
SPY (Blue): Kog’Maw, Kalista, Quinn
FNC (Red): Poppy, Fiora, Gangplank

Picks:
SPY (Blue): Nidalee; Braum, Lulu; Caitlyn, Nautilus
FNC (Red): Alistar, Lucian; Viktor, Graves; Maokai

SPY first pick Nidalee here with Lulu and Corki up. Same as last game I would prefer the flex picks but teams seem to think Nidalee just has a bigger power gap at her position.

FNC first rotation Alistar/Lucian. Once against Kalista/Kog are banned here, so Lucian becomes the go to ADC. Again I dislike the Alistar however, and Lulu/Lucian would have been an outstanding pairing here. Corki/Lucian is an option as well in order to heavily pressure the ADC pool, especially if you think the opposition is unlikely to play Caitlyn.

SPY grab Braum/Lulu. Love the Lulu, Braum continues to be overdrafted for me but choosing to hide your ADC over Support is fine. I’d have gone Lulu + CaitlynCorki here as I like other Supports more and I’d rather just lock in my Lulu synergy and see how beneficial Janna will be after FNC has shown four picks.

FNC second rotation Viktor/Graves. These are both safe blinds and gives them Jungle/Top flex potential for their last pick. There were more powerful and still safe champions in both roles for me however, with Corki/Lissandra available Mid and Gragas/Rek’Sai/Lee all available Jungle. The picks are Lissandra/Gragas for me both on pure power and engage potential against a peel heavy composition from SPY.

SPY last rotation Caitlyn/Nautilus. Love the Caitlyn as she has far more synergy with Lulu than Corki who would have also given them too much magic damage, and they have plenty of tools for a siege composition. Nautilus is again a fine blind and he certainly provides substantial peel, but Lissandra/Malphite/Gnar are all more powerful Champions in my eyes who can provide similar teamfight power here. Malphite in particular would be excellent here against Double ADC’s and the immobile Viktor.

FNC last pick Maokai. My feelings on Maokai are extremely similar to Nautlius, just weaker than other options. He does provide engage potential with homeguard flanks here, but SPY has enough disengage with Nautilus ultimate/Braum Shield/Lulu to likely survive the initial CC, and this just isn’t the type of value I’d like to see from a last pick. Gnar would have been a solid choice here to bully the Nautilus in lane post Black Cleaver, but they would certainly lack engage potential. There honestly isn’t a particularly exciting pick here, and I think they made a mistake in saving Top/Jungle for last pick with four Top laners banned severely limiting their options. Ultimately I would have gone for Gnar or Gragas with Graves Top here, but the Maokai is okay given what has already transpired.

This is a close draft overall, but SPY gets a slight edge for me as while the lanes and early pressure should be close their composition is a little more oppressive from ahead.

ROC vs G2
Bans:
ROC (Blue): Nidalee, Braum, Gangplank
G2 (Red): Kog’Maw, Corki, Kalista

Picks:
ROC (Blue): Malphite; Bard, Ezreal; Rumble, Viktor
G2 (Red): Alistar, Lucian; Lee Sin, Nautilus; Lissandra

ROC first pick Malphite here despite Lulu being up. While I’ve been a big proponent of the rise of Malphite in this meta he certainly isn’t this strong, and there are a number of better first picks in my opinion. Lulu is an easy choice here with GP and Corki banned.

G2 first rotation Alistar/Lucian. This seems to be the go to lane with Kalista/Kog banned out, and with Corki banned as well Lucian is certainly a worthwhile pick here. Lulu is a far superior pick to Alistar for me however.

ROC grab Bard/Ezreal. While I prefer Caitlyn for pure power, Ezreal is certainly a decent pick with this many ADC bans if you don’t want to play a siege composition. I love Bard as always. That all being said I’d prefer they just take Lulu/Caitlyn here as they are a strong pairing and the strongest champions available in role.

G2 second rotation Lee SIn/Nautilus. The Nautilus train continues, nothing new to say as I’d again prefer the likes of Lissandra/Gnar/Fiora. Lee is fine of course, though I’d prefer Gragas for power reasons as Lee will have a tough time catching out these first three picks from ROC.

ROC last rotation Rumble/Viktor. Rumble Jungle to me is a strong pick against teams with immobile carries where the equalizer is a massive threat, and pretty mediocre in other situations. This certainly isn’t one of those situations, and I’d vastly prefer the likes of Gragas or Rek’Sai here. Viktor is a safe blind as always, but it’s rather strange to pick him into Lee Sin and Nautilus. I’d definitely prefer a more mobile Mid here like Lissandra/Ahri. ROC’s composition is pretty underwhelming as I don’t think Ezreal/Rumble are very powerful champions in a vacuum, and while Viktor and Malphite are a little higher in power there are no game specific reasons why they’re good here. Bard is the only power pick they secured here in my eyes, and his gap over the other Supports is very small.

G2 last pick Lissandra. Solid pick here to threaten the Viktor and control Rumble. Lulu would have been fine still as well, but if they want more kill potential in lane Lissandra is certainly preferable. G2 has a generically powerful and versatile composition, with Nautilus the only negative spot for me. Huge edge to them here as there’s just a large gap in raw power between the two compositions, and ROC has zero game specific advantages to make up for it.

Toast

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