Board Thread:Game discussion/@comment-218.186.15.10-20130322103639/@comment-218.186.15.10-20130322155205

@ Bouseherb

Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but I'm saying the direct opposite.

@ Luci0us

While I can see things from your point of view, it ties into the point that I made earlier: No lane matchup should be 50-50 all of the time.

Before I go on, I have to clear 1 misconception - Darius does not automatically win any lane. Your statement is saying that Darius completely stomps almost all solo-tops, and provides total lane dominance, causing the opponent to get 0 CS. This is false, as all solo-tops (or any champion for that matter) have at least a limited ability to farm or even duel Darius in lane.

Pre-6, most conventional solo-tops will have the power to trade with Darius, even if it is limited. Heck, some champions like Jayce have the ability to zone Darius due to their innate range advantage. Darius, like I mentioned earlier, has lower base damage on his basic abilities to accomodate for his ult, and to a certain extent, his passive. His passive is inconsequential for most of the laning phase, expect for special cases when your opponent escapes with like 15HP. Most strong tops like Riven, Elise, Xin or Vi will have the power to go toe-to-toe with him.

Post-6 is where it gets more complicated. This is when Darius becomes a threat. But this is the very same reason I said the nerf was badly done. Compare the power of a Darius ult to one like Amumu's or Vi's (even Jarvan's). Sure, it gives you a lot of true damage, but that's it. Why? Because it's supposed to be reusable. It's meant to be a damage tool, and only a damage tool. His entire kit is balanced around it. Have you ever fought a Darius in lane? What are you afraid of? His ult. Without his ult, you know that you can safely jump in, harass, then get back out, or even kill him. And Darius? Well, he has mediocre damage and low utility. In teamfights, a Darius without his ult is not going to be a very useful one apart from his pull, and that's on 550 range. Darius was built to be a damage bot with low utility. But with the recent nerf, he's vulnerable due to most of his damage output being negated for a period of time.

Of course I'm not saying he's useless. He still has power, but it's really limited. Darius becomes abusable by other champions who have much longer range and escapes. What strategy does he have now? Hope that someone walks within hooking range and have him stick long enough to you to put in 1 Decimate, 1 W and 3AAs? What if the opponent is someone like Xin or Vi (who also have about the same zone of control)?

Even in lane, say you're afraid to fight Darius 1v1 post-6 due to his ult. If you've been really passive, then chances are that his attempts to harass have pushed the lane towards your side. Then make sure your lane stays there. Kill a few creeps or freeze your lane (so that the enemy jungler doesn't dive you). Even if Darius catches you there, chances are that you will be under your own tower in 2 seconds. By then, you should have notified your jungler, who will gladly take the (almost) free kill top. Even if the enemy Darius is careful not to push the lane that hard, last hitting by itself will push the lane, albeit at a slower pace.

You say that the jungler has to camp top, but that's not true. 1 or 2 ganks and the Darius will eventually get the point. Either you'll be ahead (in which case you can go and trade with him) or he'll be afraid to be as aggressive as he previously was. The enemy jungler will probably be unable to gank you if you're shoved towards your tower (which is why shoving it back away from tower range is important) or they will have to try for a straight-brush gank, which, if you're careful enough, will not kill you.

And even if the jungler does camp top, then that's a free bonus for you. Make use of it then. Start trades which you cannot win to bait the Darius and lure him away from his tower for your jungler.

As I said, counterplay does not have to exist between 2 champions. You make use of your opponent's weakness and make him pay for it. If you're using a champion that loses to Darius, you probably have a champion that provides much more team utility. Then let that be your strength. Sure, he may beat you in lane, but make use of the fact that he pushes the lane and call for your jungler to make up for your own weakness and punish the Darius for his. 'This is a team game. No one champion should have an equal chance at everything. You sacrifice utility for damage and damage for utility; you lose lane dominance for teamfight dominance and vice versa. '