Team Setup : Basics

    Here is the article about different kinds of setups, their advantages and disadvantages.Enjoy!

 

 

     Before taking look at team setups, let's talk about priorities when picking your champion (First is the most important, next one's are less important):

 

1.Your skill's playing this champion.

2.Counterpick.

3.Team setup.

4.Other priorities.

 

 

     There are 5 basic team setups :

 

1.Assasins setup

2.Poke

3.Late game carry

4.Pusher

5.AOE damage

 

 

    Let's talk about every single team setup now!

 

 

                                             1.Assasins setup

 

        This setup is the most popular at the moment.The core of this setup is instant killing the most important enemy champions (AD&AP carries) and trying to engage 4v5 fight.This setup don't like fair 5v5 fights and tries to dodge it.

 

Required attributes :High burst damage,High CC that allows to isolate a single champion from his team.

 

Desired attributes : solid engaging/escape abilities, champion's with cooldown resets after killing champion/taking assist, vision revealing  abilities, traps, invisibility and other things that allow you catch one champion offguard.

 

Prefered places to teamfight : Jungle, Bush traps and grabbing enemies from "Safe zones" (under tower etc.)

 

How to counter this strategy : Dont get caught by different grabs&hooks, dont pick champions without escape.Pick champions like Zilean and Kayle that will be able to save champion who got caught.Building defensive items like Zhonya or GA.Ward all key places on the map, buy oracle's.

 

This setup is weak against : Late game carry - team that tries to defend their carry will play very careful and it will be hard for you to isolate somebody from enemy team.

 

Team example's :

AP mid/top : Lux, Gragas, Kassadin, Le Blanc, Fizz

AD mid/top : Zed, Kha'zix

Jungler : Jarvan, Evelyhn, Nautilus, Skarner

AD carry : Tristana

Support: Blitzcrank, Thresh.

 

 

 

                                             2.Poke Setup

 

       Poke setup is second the most popular setup now.Core of this setup is poking (harrasing) enemies from long and safe range and later, when enemies are low, Engage 5v5 teamfight.

 

   Required attributes : Poke abilities with long range and short cooldown.Abilty to disengage simply with spells or using shurelya etc.Dodging fair 5v5 teamfights.Fast wave-clearing abilities (they allow you to siege enemy team faster).Healing and shielding abilities will improve your HP exchangings.

 

 

 

Desired attributes : Vision abilities, traps, everything that makes poke easier and stronger.

 

 

   Preferred places in teamfight : Wide zone's, where you can easily disengage and run away from enemies.Or just sieging towers.

 

 

How to counter this tactic : Try to catch them on Baron, Dragon, in narrow passages where enemies can't disengage.Pick champion's, that allow you to engage from long range ( TF, Nocturne) or/and champions who can non-stop heal your team like Soraka or Taric.

 

 

 

This setup is weak against : Assasin setup.To poke enemies you must go in bushes, go far away from your team to throw "invisible spears" that allow enemy assasins to catch you offguard.

 

 

Team examples :

AP mid/top : Nidalee, Xerath

AD mid/top : Jayce, Kha'Zix

Junglers : Jarvan, Maokai

AD carry : Caitlyn, Ezreal

Support : Janna, Zyra, Sona, Lulu

 

 

 

 

                                             3.AOE damage setup

 

       This setup is not so popular as 2 previous but it's very effective on low elo games and easy to understand and play.Core of this setup is catching all 5 members of enemy team standing together and allowing your AOE casters to make a pentakill :D.

 

    Required attributes : AOE engagers with powerful AOE CC, Powerful AOE casters, A lot of powerful AOE casters.

 

 

Desired attributes : Long range engager ( TF, Nocturne), Surviveability.

 

 

Preferred places to teamfight : Narrow passages, Baron, Dragon , any place where all the enemy team is standing at small area.

 

 

How to counter this setup : Don't fight in narrow passages, Don't mass all together, when fighting at Baron/Dragon, come from different sides, so enemy will hit only half of a team with their AOE burst.Pick Janna.Buy items like QSS, Banshee's, pick Cleanse etc.

 

 

This setup is weak against : Pusher. This guys will just splitpush and won't allow you catch them as 5. They will just make you desperately trying to stop this non-stop pushing at all lanes.

 

 

 

Team examples :

AP mid/top : Annie, Karthus, Rumble, Malphite, Brand, Kennen etc.

AD mid/top : Wukong, Jarvan

Junglers : Sejuani, Amumu, Fiddlesticks, Zac, Rammus

AD carry : Miss Fortune, Varus, Ezreal

Support's : Sona, Zyra, Leona, Alistar, Nami

 

 

 

 

                                             4.Late game carry setup

 

      Actually  This setup don't needs any special champion pool or something like that.Core of this setup is just defending your carry hardly, allowing him to deal Tons Of Damage and carry the game.

 

 

Required Attributes : Powerful late game carry like Vayne or Kog'Maw, powerful tank who can take a lot of damage and don't die, High CC and support who can defend Your carry aswell.

 

 

Desired Attributes : Different shield's that make your carry invulnerable or respawning skill's.

 

 

Preferred place's to fight : There's no preferred places to fight. This setup can fight everywhere vs anybody.

 

 

How to counter this setup : Babysit enemy carry from the very beginning of the game.Try to end the game as fast as possible.Or just pick Olaf, give him cs and kills and protect him when he kills enemy carry :D.

 

 

  This setup is winning when the game goes to the late game but if the game isn't - it's lost.

 

 

Team examples:

AP mid/top : Anivia, Morgana, Lux , Zilean, Kayle.

AD mid/top : Renekton, Singed, Shen.

Junglers : Nunu, Jarvan IV, Xin Zhao, Nasus, Cho Gath, Trundle.

AD carry : Vayne , Kog'Maw, Tristana

Support : Janna, Sona, Lulu, Thresh, Nami, Soraka

 

 

                                            5.Pusher

 

   

       This idea came from Korea, where it's overpopular.Korean's understand that the main aim of the game is Nexus.Kills, Dragons and Baron's are just ways to do it.This setup is not popular on EU server because our people love fighting XD.In EU it's mostly like single player pushing one lane.

 

 

Required attributes : Ability to clear waves fast and destroy towers fast, High mobility champions, and you need your 4 champions who aren't pushing to be able to defend your base.

 

 

Desired Attributes : Having champion with it's own teleport or just take TP as a summoner spell.

 

 

Preferred places to fight : You must fight only under your towers.Nothing else.

 

 

How to counter : First of all, you should have some strong 1v1 duelists, who can kill pusher or just stop his push.Second, you must have great map vision  and try to deny enemy vision with pinks or oracle to stop different Teleports on ward and backdoor.You also need hight team mobility, so ahving Shurelyas in your team is great.

 

 

 

This setup is weak against : Assasins.This guys will always catch your pusher, kill him and counter your pushing strategy.

 

 

Team examples :

AP mid/top : Singed, Anivia, Teemo, Twisted Fate, Cassiopeia

AD mid/top : Tryndamere, Jax, Shen, Aatrox, AD Nidalee.

Junglers : Udyr, Trundle

AD carry : Tristana, Ashe, Caitlyn, Corki

Support: Janna, Zyra.

 

 

                     Setup combining : Global Pressuring

This strategy is combining three setups : AOE, Pusher, Assasins.This setup became popular when Gambit Gaming started playing it.

    This setup is all about picking champions with global ulties ( Shen, TF, Nocturne, Pantheon etc.) Having 1 or 2 champions like this allows you to instantly turn around game when some of this champs teleports in teamfight.

    Also, because you have champions with TP, this also allows you to have a splitpush strategy.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!Hope that this article will help you when picking team setups!CYA :*

     P.S.This article is not mine!!!I just translated it from russian blog.This article is written by russian player Darth Zak.Here's real article ( in russian ).I do not own anything !!!XD