There is more to a successful dynamic queue drafting phase than just making sure you ban all of the OP champions. Today we’re going to talk about a few small optimizations you can apply to your drafting strategy to give your team an edge before the game even begins.
The pick and ban phase isn’t something you have a whole lot of control over as an individual player, but by earning a better understanding of what an optimal draft looks like you can enter games with more confidence and a clear purpose.
Declare Your Champion
This is so simple, yet rarely is there a full team in dynamic queue who all declare the champion they intend to pick. Even if you’re looking to counter pick or get a better picture of the enemy’s team composition, hover over a couple of your most played champions. This will help your teammates pick a champion that synergizes with your potential team composition.
Don’t Ban Your Counter Picks
Often times the exact same bans are repeated game after game. There are always a select group of champions that are especially strong and nobody wants to play against them. Unless they are strongly favored in their match-up.
For example; if you have a Darius main on your team, don’t ban Irelia. Darius is strongly favored against Irelia, so your ban is better used to target another champion.
You Don’t HAVE to Have Mixed Damage
Having both ability power and attack damage sources is generally recommended. It forces the enemies to prioritize defensive items against one damage source or the other, making them vulnerable to the damage they didn’t itemize against. However, you don’t always have to have mixed damage.
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It all depends on the enemy’s team composition. You don’t have to have mixed damage if they don’t have a beefy front line. The team composition of Swain, Nidalee, Viktor, Ashe, and Karma is lacking a front line tank. If a 5 AD team played against this team composition, who is going to stack armor? Armor is not an optimal stat for any of these champions.
Understanding Your Win Condition
Once the draft is completed it’s important that you and your team understand your win condition. How can your team optimally play team fights? The answer is dependent on both team compositions.
Poke compositions will want to damage their opponents from afar before engaging in a team fight. Glass cannon teams will need to kite back to avoid getting blown up by engage compositions. Make sure you and your teammates know how your team should play the game out.
