User blog comment:QuantumFeint/Tanky meta... or is it?/@comment-24183927-20150505170327

I can't really agree with many of your points. The theory that the current importance of mid-game is what is dictating the meta, especially around ADC viability, feels like a blind stab. I disagree that IE synergy is the prime influence. It's not hard to see the evidence against it.

One of the top ADCs by the end of S4 was Corki, who is pretty much the mid-game carry king. He still is. Pros still consider him good, and he still saw professional play during pre-season 5. Only reason he's not used as much is because he can't kill tanks, pure and simple. And that's from the pro gamers.

The the ADCs currently cosidered top and on perma pick/ban status in the Korean pro scene are Kalista, Udyr, and Sivir. From the Korean Spring season Quarter Finals to the Grand Finals these three have been either been picked or banned in almost every single game. Out of those three, only Sivir even builds IE as first item, and she isn't even your typical "mid-game ADC." Udyr doesn't even build IE at all, period. Not even at 6 items. Sivir and Udyr are both utility picks, not picked at all for their synergy with IE, and neither is Kalista on the latter point.

Outside of those three sitting solidly at the top, Corki, Lucian, Jinx, and Kog'Maw were played a bit here and there. Out of these four, only Jinx goes IE as first item. In all of Korean Spring playoffs, Graves has not been picked or banned (or heck, even remotely cosidered), even once. Graves is just an ADC that is great for solo queue. Easy laning phase, high burst that's fail-proof even for dummies, and good survivability for an ADC. Not sure where you're getting the idea, but Graves isn't "meta" at all.

Also, contrary to what you suggest, Kog'Maw's tank busting power is very much the solution to the current tank meta. The problem is just what it has always been, the need to build an entire team around him. Good luck with that in solo queue. The pros however, still do it from time to time, when the time is right to pull out such a strategy. Sometimes they even play 2~3 supports just for Kog, relying solely on Kog's ability to kill everyone, tank or no tank.

You can arguably do the same thing with Vayne, but there is no reason to pick Vayne when you can do it better with Kog'Maw. Also, I don't know if you've been watching pro games over the past seasons, but while Vayne is also a hyper-carry, she is not played like Kog'Maw at all. With Kog, you get him fed, then march your whole team toward their base. Siege, team fight, blow up everything, kill everyone. With Vayne you don't do that. A fed Vayne constantly goes off alone shoving lane, farming even more gold or push a tower, and try to create opportunities to make solo picks off of enemy targets by dueling or assassination. That has always been the play pattern with Vayne in the hands of pros. You can't get 2 cores on Vayne, immediately try to 5v5 team fight every chance you get, and hope to win with high consistency.

One last point is about dragon fights. You theorize that the whole IE synergy ties into the higher importance and abundance of dragon fights around mid-game, but this is very much not so. Team fights around dragon are now even less of a mid-game thing. Dragon is now first taken earlier by teams, as early as when junglers are lvl 3. So now the mini-game over dragon slaying actually starts sooner, from early-game and on. The more important thing however, is that most times, dragon is now taken uncontested. Nowadays, early and mid-game dragon is taken mostly as a "prize" after something else that happens elsewhere on the map. Whether it's the opposing jungler showing up at top lane, successful ganks, a victorious skirmish, or a solo sneak made possible due to vision control, it's all mostly secured indirectly. The dance around the dragon pit is now mostly a late-game thing. When third, fourth, and especially fifth stack of the dragon buff is on the line.

A side note: The whole Smite tanky top thing isn't really a anything new if you take a look at it closely. Over-farming in the jungle (of both sides) with a tanky champ to carry game, where have we seen that before? Diamondprox of Moscow Five has been doing that with Shyvana since season 2. It's how we even have the whole counter-jungling thing as it is today. Shyvana players have also been doing that forever even as laners. It's the same idea, but now it's just been modified to take advantage of the super efficient Cinderhulk. Champs like Shyv and Hec do perfectly fine without Flash or Ignite anyway.