LCS Pro Tips: Kog'Maw

Looking to deliver an Icathian Surprise to your lane opponents? Kog'Maw is your...monster. With a 2010 release date, this 4 year old void puppy has been around the rift a few times. During those years, he has cycled in and out of professional play and solo queue popularity. We had a few top voted players who couldn't respond this week due to preparation for Regionals and other conflicts. As a result, Doublelift and WildTurtle couldn't be included this week. Since we only have two tips from pros this week, we took a few more of the best from the community. Have your own Kog tips? Share them in the comments down below! Remember to vote for next week's champion, Renekton!

1. Imaqtpie - 12.2% (281 Votes)

LCS Kog'Maw Stats:

• Games Played: 3
• Games Won: 1
• Win Rate: 33.3%
• Average KDA: 5.7

@RiotKatana @lolesports activate your w on imitations, once w runs out make sure to run in and die so you can also get your passive hit! :))

— Michael Santana (@dignitasQtpie) August 14, 2014

Imaqtpie did respond with his tip...but did so in the classic qt style (ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ raise your dongers ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ). This tip might not be the most helpful for upping your Kog'Maw game, but hopefully it's good for a laugh. I'm not sure what 'imitations' are, but clearly they should be destroyed immediately. Get those Shaco clones. On a slightly more serious note, Icathian Surprise can be a great way to turn around a fight that doesn't go your way. If you're losing a close trade, you should do your best to slow them with E right before you die to increase your chances of landing the explosion to finish them off. It's meant to be a last ditch effort, so I wouldn't plan on using it in a trade as qt jokes, but definitely try to make the most of it in skirmishes and teamfights where you're already going to die.

2. CandyPanda- 11.0% (254 Votes)

LCS Kog'Maw Stats:

• Games Played:6
• Games Won: 3
• Win Rate: 50%
• Average KDA: 3.5

@RiotKatana @lolesports Never use W to farm unless you're forced to, instead force trades with e+w and zone

— Adrian Pander (@CandyPandalol) August 14, 2014

Luckily, CandyPanda came through with a solid tip about using Kog'Maw's W. Because of the bonus range and damage that it offers, using it to farm can be tempting, but ultimately this will hurt you in trades if it's on cooldown. Saving it for trades paired with the huge slow from your E will make sure that you have an easier time bullying your lane opponent. TSM's WildTurtle hinted at the same thing, but we ran out of time to get him to elaborate. Both focus on the fact that your W is one of your strongest damage outputs, so use the bonus hits on champions in lane or teamfights, and use the range to help you stay at a safer distance.

Community Tips

We had a lot of great tips this week, and I decided to add a few bonus tips to make up for the lighter pro input. Let us know what you think of the series and submit your own tips by commenting or using #LCSProTips.

@RiotKatana Make sure to combo your Bio-Arcane Barrage with your Caustic Spittle to get extra damage due to the armor/mr shred.

— Chris Kindell (@chaotrix100) August 14, 2014

Chris Kindell brings up the important point that Kog'Maw's Q has a significant armor and magic resist reduction (12-18% based on level), and leading with it before an engagement can really ramp up your damage.

@riotkatana When last-hitting under tower, you can set up last hits on the caster minions by using E on them; E + tower + auto = CS success

— Kriz Cuenco (@ggcKrizzly) August 14, 2014

Last hitting under tower can be extremely challenging - even pros miss minions in the early game when their AD is still too low to one-shot them. Kriz Cuenco's tip is a great way to make your last hits more reliable without having to pop your W.

@RiotKatana Use your E + Q to get minions that you can't auto instead of using your W for the range. It saves the cd and means you can trade

— Phy (@thephylol) August 14, 2014

Phy's tip follows in the same vein, though it's more of a general laning practice than exclusively an under tower situation. The recurring theme throughout all these tips is to save your W! Vote for next week's Pro Tip to help decide which pros will weigh in on Renekton! Katana is a Rioter in Esports who wishes that carrying from support was easier and that Thresh was never banned. You can follow her on Twitter @RiotKatana

Related Articles

• LCS Pro Tips: Lulu
• LCS Pro Tips: Thresh