First Impressions of Nemesis (Game Mode)

Good day everyone,

I just played my first couple games of the new Nemesis Draft game mode and wanted to share my thoughts with you (and Riot). I'll go through a quick overview for anyone who hasn't tried it then follow with its disadvantages and advantages.

Nemesis Draft is a 5v5 match on Summoner's Rift that features the usual ban and pick format with a twist: you pick for your enemies from your champion pool. We all have those champs we bought on a whim, maybe so that we could hit 16 total for ranked, that suuuuuuuck. You get to give the enemy those champs or maybe better champs but giving the enemy a bad team comp.

There are some disadvantages to this format. The main thing is time: draft has always been kind of slow to start. This mode is no different. A more important problem is that being given a hated character can, for some, be rage inducing. I had to restart the draft process a couple times because people bailed out of frustration. That's probably my biggest problem with how the mode plays out in practice. It also can be really challenging for some people to adapt to using new champs in new places ( more on this below).

There are a lot more advantages imo. One huge advantage to this format is that it breaks the meta apart. Because of the team comps that come out of the process you have to play champions in positions where they wouldn't usually be played. You get all kinds of interesting duos bot, for example, like Darius and Zac. In another game we had an Eve top. The enemy generated team comps create an interesting challenge to deal with and encourage adaptation. I think that is an excellent quality to develop for League play. Better than that, a lot of characters that are not chosen regularly because they lag behind in the meta are seen in this mode. I know the community has been hungry for more action from the non-meta champs and we are getting that with this mode. I love that aspect the most.

TL:DR Overall, Nemesis Draft is a fun mode that will challenge your ability to adapt to new champions, in new positions, in new team comps. It strikes me as a sort of gift to the community: we get to see the game turned on its head with the meta pushed out and the underdogs pushed into the spotlight. The price is some time burnt from ragers leaving champ select, but that comes with the game and is worth a refreshing experience on the Rift.