For Today, I Am a Tryhard

I often weigh in here on the boards. Just as often, someone digs into my game history and discovers I'm an unranked peasant who runs Exhaust/Cleanse in every single game. I tell them it works better for me than other spells. I explain in depth why it works better for me. Every last one responds that no, no one uses these spells. If they worked, everyone would use them. I have never convinced a single person that my method works best for me, and my stubbornly unorthodox play style, leading to as many horrible defeats as it does close victories, doesn't support my claim a whole lot.

So I had an idea. I decided, okay. For a couple days, I'll actually try. I'll actually use some of the knowledge I possess about League, I'll apply some of my experience, and I'll make an effort to win that outstrips my desire to win with a very specific setup. I never try to lose, I just don't mind if it happens, because the goal of the game for me is to see how well I can do with a setup Riot doesn't want me to use.

So I did it. I tried. Here are the results (ignoring the Nidalee and Sona games, which were me caving to my fans' wishes and picking something crazy again; the Sona was a 4v5, by the way).

https://i.imgur.com/gxgrfNY.png

Notice that I never changed my summoner spells (except for that time my support supplied Exhaust). I changed only three things:

• Some of the champions I played (I literally spent blue essence just so I could use Xayah for this test).
• Some of the items I built. I didn't necessarily go for pure movement speed this time, mostly because I hadn't played some of these champions before and I relied on League's recommendations in many of those cases.
• How I approached the game. I was a lot more strict on myself in terms of going for big plays or saving teammates who did something foolish.

EXTRA POINT TO STRESS: I never play ranked. Ever. I tested this in normals because I play in normals. Had I tested it in ranked, there would be no way to measure if my performance actually increased or not.

Here you see the results, with these same two spells (Smite when I had to jungle). In the games in which I wasn't fooling around again, I had six victories and only two losses. My personal performances weren't stellar by any means, but they were more than sufficient to win and in a couple cases even carry games. I still did far better, on a personal level, than I do when I'm not taking it seriously at all.

This despite the fact that I pretty much never play ADC or jungle (when I have to jungle, I usually just roam around from lane to lane, shifting every time I get a level). These have always been my two worst and most hated roles.

Yet I managed to carry two games as Xayah (one of the carries was debatable; we also had a 19/13 Jax) and one as jungle Qiyana. With these runes.

So Why the Title?

So, what can we conclude? When Shingetsu actually tries a little, Shingetsu tends to win (and even play pretty well when he doesn't, Janna). With the same runes he always runs. Exhaust/Cleanse. I say "take off your Air Jordans" because I liken it to basketball.

Summoner spells are equipment. They facilitate your success. To suggest that certain spells are universally worthless because certain other spells are universally better is similar to saying "Because Michael Jordan wore shoes just like these, I should be able to become a pro if I wear them!" Why would anyone wear anything else in that case?

Obviously, the shoes have almost nothing to do with it. It's the feet in those shoes that win the games. Maybe some people are more comfortable in a shoe with a lower top or less springiness in the soles. This is why everyone wears different shoes. You wear what you feel most comfortable playing in.

Similarly, many summoner spells are being overlooked for no reason. There is considered to be a rigid definition of which spells are appropriate to use. (Cleanse is just about never on that list, despite its many uses throughout the game.) Flash, for example, is considered a necessary spell for all but the toughest or most agile of champions.

Well, as you can see, I didn't take Flash on Xayah and I carried two(ish) games with her.

If Flash/Ignite regularly works for you, great! Use it forever. However. If you're having trouble, if you feel you can't make excellent use out of a spell no matter how long you practice at it, don't be afraid to make a change! Everyone has different skills. For those of us who are skilled at juking, Flash is often a waste. Yes, it can be used to juke as well, but a truly exceptional juker will mostly be wasting a slot on it. What good is that Flash if they manage to Ignite you at low HP, after all?

Find your strengths. Build according to those. That will almost always be more beneficial than throwing yourself at a wall trying to master a setup your instincts aren't comfortable with.