Hello gamers!
This is a review on the NA LCS League of Legends game between the professional gaming organizations Cloud 9 (C9) and Renegades (REN), that participate in the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split. You may watch the game here: Game
This is no post or message to blame anyone, it is just about my tactical opinion and issues on that game.
Let’s start with the team compositions and the draft:
REN play on blue side, that means they got the 1st ban and the 1st pick. They can secure whatever pick they want, as long as it is not banned.
While REN ban Jhin, Twisted Fate and Lee Sin, which are target bans towards the enemy team, C9 just went to ban Lulu, Kalista and Nidalee, some very strong picks at Patch 6.4.
REN pick Graves 1st, this is a flex pick, that could go toplane or jungle.
C9 run Gragas and Corki afterwads, while gragas surely goes jungle
Gragas is strong at ganking lanes and splitting the enemy team.
Corki has nice potential to burst squishy enemy targets and is strong at clearing minion waves and dealing poke damage.
REN later on picks Elise as jungler, so the graves is toplane, and their support Braum.
Graves toplane has a nice ability to push turrets and waves, he also has nice burst Damage. Elise is a good early game jungler, that falls off later during the game, but she has a nice pick potential to get some kills, just as Gragas.
C9 reveal Trundle and Morgana right after. While Trundle as a toplaner is tanky and able to secure some kills by slowing the enemies down and speeding himself up. At 6.4 he is not as fast as Graves to kill towers in the early game. Morgana is a Support to Pick enemies and lock them down by following CC, she also can help teammates to escape by spellshielding.
C9 still didn’t open their comp at all, because they still have a flex mid/adc pick.
REN pick Kog’Maw and Zilean to fill their comp – Kog’Maw has nice Damage, so he is the one to protect all game, while Zilean gives your team CC and buffs, he also may revive a teammate by using his ultimate.
C9 picks Varus last, so they reveal their comp by that.
While REN look for teamfights and picks all over the map, C9 want to poke and kite their opponents. Reaching late game C9’s comp looks quite stronger as long as REN can’t connect to C9’s carries Kog’Maw and Varus.
Let’s go right into the game:
Both teams start with a lane swap, C9 are taking over the top side of the map, while they let bot side go to REN. Both teams get their t1 tower just in time. Instead of going for the same play again (so C9 going top and REN going bot), C9 opt for a fight in the toplane. There are two mistakes in my opinion.
They don’t care on summoner spells (Zilean has teleport, while Varus runs cleanse – so in the worst case it would be 4v5, if top and mid tp, while Varus can’t follow) and all in on a greedy play deep into the enemy territory. As they notice they made a mistake, it is already too late and they give first blood to REN by losing Gragas.
Right after that the opponents 2v2 on toplane by farming up. As C9 backs off to send their duo lane to bot, REN stays top. They get a lead by pushing the top turret faster and setting better backcall times for their toplaners. Graves recalls at a better timing than Trundle, who sits in the toplane, getting EXP, but no CS at all while REN are able take the turret.
While REN takes the tower faster and setting this play, they get themselves a time lead round about 30 seconds. Using that time they roam to the midlane and get a 3v1 kill on Varus, their proactive play gave them an advantage over C9.
On a 2v2 toplane duell between the toplaners and junglers, REN is also a few seconds ahead, gaining another kill by a missplayed ultimate from C9’s jungler Gragas. While people join the toplane fight with no further kills, Kog’Maw is able to get another turret (t2) on botlane, but he sacrifices his life for that and also a tp. But C9 isn’t reacting to minion wave pressure, so they also lose their t1 in mid. REN leads by 4-2 turrets and 3-1 kills at that point of the game.
While REN fight 2v1 as jungler and toplaner, picking up that kill on C9’s toplaner, C9 opt for a fight next to the botlane t2 turret of REN, while C9’s mid is still in the midlane, REN is also faster on that play. They send their midlaner bot to make that fight 3v3 – trading adc for adc. Afterwards REN is able to catch the jungler and support of C9 on their way back through REN’s jungle. REN pick up first drake right after, having a 4k gold lead at 18 minutes.
REN are now able to dictate the map, but they are not doing proactive plays except picking up two more dragons and trading some kills, they’re not snowballing their lead. C9 has all the time pretty good vision on baron, so REN can’t go for that. In my opinion REN lose the vision game on the baron by not denying the enemy vision and setting several pink wards on the map. They went for more dragons, which shouldn’t be your main goal at the game, you want baron, tower, pressure. At 36 minutes REN trade their jungler for C9’s support on the toplane – a very greedy play by REN, because they can’t secure their fourth dragon. They have to give it to C9, but they only want to stall the game – to poke and siege. Shortly after C9 are able to pick a kill in midlane on Braum. The first proactive play by C9 is the following baron attempt. While they get that baron, REN is able to turn the fight around afterwards, getting a tripple kill on Kog’Maw, and pushing the toplane turrets and inhibitor. They also pick up their 4th dragon right after. It has to be mentioned, that this could’ve been their fifth by not playing as greedy. On REN’s trying to push the remaining two inhibitor turrets, C9 is able to defend their structures.
After a long extended fight without anybody dying C9 makes a strong call at baron. While REN sleep in that situation, Trunde TP’s back into the baron area and C9 take two kills and baron. While REN weren’t successful on tower siege, C9 is. They get the mid inhib, their second drake and are able to continue the siege on bot, picking up another inhibitor there. At this point of the game C9 pretty won the game, unless they throw it away. They outrange REN and are able to play the siege/poke game all day. By denying REN’s vision on the baron area, which never was as good as C9’s vision in that game, they pick up another baron, ending the game.
While C9 had issues on playing the early game, going behind there, REN wasn’t able to snowball their early advantage properly – doing nothing except drake for 20 minutes. C9’s plan to stall the game went fine, winning with their late game comp. C9 won the pick and ban phase and they also won the game – even though they played the early game bad.
GG WP.
