Long sword and 3 pots a viable start for adc's?

Qweebee·10/26/2014, 7:50:38 AM·2 votes·5,652 views

I know the standard starting-buy items for adc's are doran's blade and a potion... but... can't there be another viable way? I mean I feel everyone only goes with the meta, which happens to be Doran's Blade and a potion. Doesn't a long sword with 3 pots provide more damage, a quicker way to vamp sep, and more short term sustain (assuming you don't let yourself get poked 24/7)?

My question is... Can long sword with 3 pots be as viable, if not more viable than the current adc meta?

20 Comments

JustMyBassCannon10/26/2014, 8:16:24 AM5 votes

It's basically the choice between spending an extra 200ish gold (iirc, Doran's sell back for half price, right?) early on to gain an advantage in harass and sustain, or sticking with a building block and needing to be a lot more careful.

I simply prefer building blocks. Not saying it's the best strategy, but I personally use Long+3 pots instead of Doran's Blade+pot.

Unidad10/26/2014, 8:54:19 AM3 votes

lol who the f buys a vamp scepter on first back? Pickaxe/BF sword + boots or GTFO.

Sightless6610/26/2014, 4:48:19 PM3 votes

Yeah, it's technically an option, but it makes you a lot more vulnerable for trading. The guy with Doran's can all-in you because he has 70 health you don't, and if you are lower than him, he can zone you while freely autoing the wave to push and heal himself. The ideal situation for longsword is more poke based trading to exchange equal amounts of health and use your better short-term regen, but it's pretty easy for enemies to take advantage of the stat differential. It's also weaker if you end up staying in lane for long periods of time.

In short: It is viable in some situations. I might do it if I was playing as Caitlyn Nami vs Twitch Soraka, a lane where I know there is no serious all-in danger. Otherwise, the costs of having a fighting disadvantage are just too big. You just can't give up 70 health against an angry Lucian without some serious risk.

Brov Poy10/26/2014, 7:55:18 AM3 votes

The problem is the long sword doesn't give you the starting 70 HP, and 3% Lifesteal. Yes, it's a quicker route to the Vamp Scepter (440 gold as opposed to the 800). When is the last time you backed with less than 800 gold? Granted, you may die early but, I don't think you should ever die before 800 gold atleast. The starting HP and gauranteed lifesteal is just too hard to pass up, especially because it allows you to poke and trade from level 1, as opposed to having no sustain and not being confident in poking because of less lifesteal. The pots do make up for this fact but the dorans blade stats stay even when you back, and you don't just gain the lifesteal on a back from upgrading to Vamp Scepter, you keep the HP, which can often be the difference between living, and dying.

Aspynn10/26/2014, 7:51:34 PM1 votes

The reason that people don't do that is that in most cases, adcs want to farm up to a bf sword before they go back to lane (depending on the champ) And if you are eating poke, 3 pots won't give as much sustain as the dorans blade will (I can't remember the %) If you sit in lane for ten minutes farming and poking, the person who got dorans will win over the person who got longsword in pots, the reason being, they have better ling term sustain AND THEY HAVE MORE HP. Dorans blade gives something like 70 hp I believe, not a lot when you think about it, but that's like two more auto attacks you can take before you die at early levels, and can have a big impact on the game. The only time it's ever a good idea to get longsword and pots is when you KNOW you will crush lane, and send your opponents back to base frequently or get kills. I almost always get longsword and pots when I go Quinn top, because it helps me to build into cutlass earlier than usual, and Quinn counters most bruiser toplaners.

FantasySniper10/26/2014, 8:06:48 PM1 votes

The sustain falls off fairly quickly, so good luck if you end up eating harass without any pots left.

It's generally best as an aggressive start where you plan on pushing the opponent out of lane fairly quickly. (and successfully)

Salidfingers10/26/2014, 8:26:53 PM1 votes

I prefer sword + 3 pots

Pots can provide riskier trades and come out on top while they are trying to recover HP through pushing or last hitting and if they are to low you can start denying them farm.

Not saying Dorans is bad, I have purchased it a few times. Usually Against Low Range ADC and non aggressive supports

OwlMechanic10/29/2014, 11:48:53 PM1 votes

Typically I will do sword pots on weak aa strong ss harass adc like sivir/varus 2red 1blue pot. Because they can use the mana to farm and harass without risking a direct trade... Which they would likely lose anyway. for strong aas like cait/draven or low mana cost like vayne drowns is almost always better to keep you from getting zoned out.

katagamisths12/26/2014, 3:46:58 PM1 votes

Draven Azir

The Whamboozler12/26/2014, 3:58:19 PM1 votes

This is my usual start as well. I rarely start Dorans. I much prefer to start with items that I can build into something. If that means I have to play a little more safe early on, so be it. The sustain with the three pots seems much higher than the bit you get from the lifesteal too... at least in the VERY early game. Obviously over the entire game lifesteal matters more. The only sticking point for me is the health, which CAN be nice...

I'd say it's a matter of personal preference.

FarRockBF12/26/2014, 4:00:19 PM1 votes

You can snowball pretty quickly just buying dorans...

hOrnn10/26/2014, 8:58:13 AM1 votes

its good because it lets u rush vamp sceptor, phage, or brut, but its bad because u dont get the health or lifesteal, this hurts when their adc does, esp vs better players.

athame10/26/2014, 10:39:46 AM1 votes

There are other strategies yes, I actually main Ahri but do not meta her start, I instead grab 2 of the small 3 mp/5 items, 3 pots, and my ward (or in hexakill/other game modes I add boots to that) and an extra potion. so there are ways other than the meta out there, you just have to experiment, find them and see just what works for you, I do think there are champions who can work long sword and 3 pots. But again, I main a caster, but I wish you good luck in your experiments.

Mannysmoker10/26/2014, 11:14:39 AM1 votes

the only possible way you can start Long 3 pots is if you have Lifesteal Quinn, or a sustain base support like Taric Soraka Sona Nidalee Alistar Nami .