Talk:Riven/@comment-85.19.89.238-20120312105511/@comment-50.103.5.185-20120318180447

The glass-cannon build loses to the Assassin/Mage with hard CC. Riven's damage is very strong, but useless if she can't combo off. Yet, the Assassin loses to the tanky-DPS build. If the Assassin can't finish the DPS champ off, they need to flee while they run cooldowns, since they WON'T win in a straight-up fight.

So following the triangle here, you think the Glass-Cannon beats the Tanky-DPS build, right? Not necessarily. It's a matter of timing. If Tanky-DPS initiates, the Glass-Cannon might lose to attrition. This is especially true for Riven since she's NOT an assassin. See, Riven's damage combo is actually quite consistent; rather than "bursty". Where Tryndamere relies on crits to win fights (basically the epitome of burst-carries; which are highly inconsistent until very late game), Riven relies on her combo and charges to dish out strong, but consistent hits. E-Hit-Q-Hit-Q/W-Hit-W...etc..Riven isn't rolling dice on any of those. It's consistent. She isn't Gangplank, who bursts once with his pistol every 3-5 seconds.

The problem, is that Glass-Cannons are utterly ineffective unless the enemy is playing VERY predictably; and running right into your meat-grinder.

What a glass-cannon build wants is a strong initiator. Rammus. Amumu, Shen, Galio, Malphite, etc. These champs enable Glass-Cannon Melee champs. The assassin might get in on the action anyway due to the presence of gap-closers, but that's precisely what an initiator is for. You CAN'T ignore them for long. A single taunt/silence will cripple an assassin's burst combo, and THEN your glass cannon goes to work.

In the absence of those, Riven has to build tanky or she just dies to CC interrupting her combo.