League of Legends Draft Guide: Team Compositions & Tips

Drafting is a crucial aspect of League of Legends, and understanding how to create a balanced team composition can greatly increase the chances of winning.

This guide will explore the major team compositions and how they can be applied in solo queue games to understand win conditions better.

Note: This is just an outline for basic tips on drafting and how certain comps work. Furthermore, this guide does not talk about meta picks and counter picks as of now. We will make a separate guide for it.

League of Legends Draft Guide

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Pick Compositions

Pick compositions, also known as skirmish compositions, excel in the early game and can outperform most 2v2 situations. They consist of bruisers and assassins that focus on gank, roaming, and bursting down opponents.

Key champions for pick compositions include:

• Assassins: Akali, Nocturne, Xin Zhao, LeBlanc, Kha’Zix, Zed
• Supports: Blitzcrank
• Jungle: Vi, Xin Zhao

A perfect example of this comp should be the second game of Gen G vs BLG MSI Finals 2024.

Front-to-back compositions with zone control elements can counter-pick compositions by locking down the assassins and preventing them from accessing the backline.

Poke Compositions

Poke compositions rely on champions that can deal damage from a distance, gradually whittling down the enemy team. The key to a successful poke composition is creating a clear battle line and maintaining distance from the enemy team to prevent engages.

Essential components of a poke composition include:

• Poke champions: Jayce, Ziggs, Ezreal, Nidalee, Lucian (with his ultimate), Varus
• Disengage champions: Alistar, Nami, Braum

Front-to-back compositions with heavy engage champions, such as Maokai, Nautilus, Sejuani, Ashe, and Ornn, can effectively counter-poke compositions by soaking up the poke damage and initiating teamfights.

Zone Control Team Compositions

Zone control team compositions focus on controlling specific areas of the map by making it costly for the enemy to access them. Champions with area-of-effect abilities are key to this composition, with some being stronger than others.

Examples of zone control champions include:

• Heimerdinger with his turrets
• Caitlyn with her traps
• Veigar with his cage
• Aurelion Sol with its ultimate

To counter a zone control composition, teams can bait out long cooldowns, use poke champions like Ziggs, or opt for flanking champions like Kennen.

Split Push Compositions

Split push compositions require a high level of macro knowledge and coordination from the entire team. The goal is to have a strong split pusher, such as Fiora, Jax, or Camille, constantly pressure a side lane while the rest of the team avoids teamfights and plays around the split pusher’s pressure.

To execute a split push composition successfully, the split pusher must be ahead and able to 1v1 or even 1v2 the enemy team. The rest of the team should have disengage champions or champions that can clear the lane faster if the enemy team tries to push in. A perfect example of it was how Bin played on Camille against T1 in the lower bracket finals of MSI 2024.

Pick compositions with champions like Nocturne, Akali, Xin Zhao, LeBlanc, Kha’Zix, Zed, and Ashe can effectively counter split push compositions by assassinating the split pusher or picking off members of the team.

Front-to-Back Team Compositions

Front-to-back compositions are the most straightforward and commonly used in League of Legends. They consist of a bulky jungle, a control mage, and a traditional DPS AD carry. The key to success with this composition is having disengage or counter-engage abilities, which allow the team to start fights on their terms.

Some great champions for front-to-back compositions include:

• Jungle: Sejuani, Maokai
• Control mages: Azir, Victor, Orianna
• Disengage champions: Nami, Braum, Janna

Split push compositions can be effective against front-to-back compositions, as they can break apart the team and force them to fight in separate states.

Drafting Techniques When Playing as a Team

1. Player Identity:
   • Understanding each player’s champion pool and preferred playstyle is crucial for successful drafting. Categorize their champion pool into three tiers: S-tier (most confident and proficient), A-tier (strong picks but not as mastered), and counter-pick (situational choices).
2. Team Identity
   • Determine the team’s overall playstyle and win conditions based on the collective strengths of individual players. Draft compositions that align with your team’s identity and allow each player to operate within their comfort zone. For example – Gen G is one of the strongest macro teams in the world and they know their win condition hence they stick to it.
3. Flex Picks
   • Flex picks are champions that can be viably played in multiple roles, providing valuable draft flexibility and keeping the enemy team guessing. By incorporating flex picks into your draft strategy, you can force the enemy team to reveal their intentions early or risk being countered later in the draft. Examples of strong flex picks include champions like Poppy (support/top), Ornn (top/support), and others.
4. Champion Pairings
   • Identify and prioritize champion pairings that synergize exceptionally well together. These pairings can be based on complementary abilities, shared win conditions, or strong lane duos.
5. Scouting and Bans (Applies while playing tournaments or scrims)
   • Before heading into a draft, take the time to research your opponents’ champion pools, preferred playstyles, and recent performances. Identify key players and their signature champions, and consider targeting them with bans to limit their impact on the game. This strategy was recently seen in a lot of matches against T1 in MSI 2024, where in certain matchups Faker was targeted.

Conclusion

Remember, drafting is not an exact science, and even the most carefully constructed team compositions can be outplayed or countered. However, by understanding the principles behind effective drafting and consistently applying them in your games, you can give your team a significant advantage before the game even begins.

By understanding these team compositions and their strengths and weaknesses, players can better draft and play around their win conditions in both solo queue and competitive play. Remember, drafting is not just about picking strong individual champions but also creating a cohesive team composition that can execute a specific strategy.