How to beat Invasion: The Guide

So this guide'll only cover a normal game, not any of the special missions or Onslaught. These are based on the observations I've made while playing and the game we won.

Step 1: Champ select

Here are your tier lists

S Tier:

Poppy- Very Tanky so she can get in close with cannons like Kog and Vel'koz, wall stuns prevent them from firing, and her W blocks Kha'zix jumps. Her Q does % Max health damage which is good against Cho'gaths. Her ult is useful against Cho'gath swarms as it helps stop you from getting boxed in. NOTE: Level Order: R->E->W->Q. your utility is far more important here than your damage your team will provide damage in spades. Rush CDR as quickly as possible to reduce cooldowns further. Recommended items: Frozen Heart, Spirit Visage and Bami's/Sunfire to clear small voidspawn easily. As a tank you can also chance reviving allies as you take less damage for being in one spot.

Jinx- Long ranged, consistent AOE burst with rockets, and traps to help peel away Skarner that may be coming for you. Her ult can oneshot Vel'koz from across the map,especially on the escape mode. She can proc GET EXCITED!!! on the void champions. Builds normally, but she MUST STAY PROTECTED if she is to be useful.-> Stick with Poppy. *If Skarner is giving you trouble, consider buying QSS.

A Tier:

Ahri: High mobility to get in close and destroy cannons like Vel and Kog, CC in the form of Charm, and generally high damage. She does have drawbacks in the form of low(er) ranges and failure to tank shred (Cho).

Lux- Low Mobility but constant High-range damage make her an excellent pick. Combo that with good CC from E slow and Q snare adn you've got yourself a solid pick in any team comp. Very strong AOE with E, and W shield is just a bonus if you have the time.

EDIT: Soraka- Very difficult to pull of in Invasion, due to one big reason: Health costs. Healing others at the expense of yourself is usually offset by hitting Q however, given the rate at which allies receive damage, and how Soraka provide little else besides heals, and slow, her usefulness is very overshadowed. Her silence,however does prove to be of some usefulness as it seems that Kha'zix cannot jump or stealth while on it, and velkoz cannot fire nor can Kog'maw enrage. Her root may help kite Cho'gath if timed correctly. NOTE: Some of her health costs can be offset with a tankier build pointed out by Aeternelle, I'll test this a bit later, but the idea seems to have enough support to justify moving her up to C class.

B Tier:

Janna- Monsoon is excellent peel, her synergy with ardent censer and Jinx make her higher on the list, and it is due to her constant ms buff with W that she reachers high on this list, making it somewhat easier to dodge Vel'koz Shots. Tornado can peel off Skarner and Rek'sai, while also interrupting Kha'zix mid jump, keep in mind her CD's are fairly high in the early game so use sparingly

C-Tier:

Ezreal- Slippery, can fend for himself, does not deal a lot of damage, but ult is useful to clear mass waves. Not much to be said, but can be fitted into any team comp. DO NOT RELY ON HIM FOR ANYTHING BIG, he does not have ADC level damage but he does have high range to whittle down Skarners and rek'sai, and Cho's as the approach. Esepcially useful on the "ROAD" map.

Syndra- High single target damage is somewhat useless in Invasion mode where there is rarely a priority Target. She only ranks higher due to her W allowing her to throw voidspawn and her E serving as an excellent form of peel. Her Q does good AOE damage but it still only gets her as high as C-tier.

Lulu- Low mobility, but can work on a team with an ADC. Her shields are all around weaker than Janna and her ult is only a delay at best. Like Soraka and Janna, she is restricted by low mobility and fails to be useful on a team without an ADC. However, Polymorph affects void champions and makes it easier to deal with engage threats like Skarner and rek'sai, while her Q allows a team to kite the large slow-moving Cho'gath. Her E is useful as it provides true sight on the otherwise invisible Kha'zix, but ultimately, her utitlity is not as impactful as Janna or Poppy.

D-Tier:

Miss Fortune- exeptionally low mobility and low DPS make her difficult for many to use. Her ult, while usually very impactful, fails to deliver in a mode that seems to butcher anyone standing still. She is easily interrupted by Rek'sai, Skarner, and Cho. A skilled miss fortune may certainly be an asset, but for someone unfamiliar with the champ may face problems.

Note : Scaling Runes work very well because you begin the game at level 8, so attempt to use those for Invasion.

Map Guide

• I don't know the actual names so I'll make them up for now

Easy->Medium->Hard Scale

Survival Rating: Easy Large map: Hard

Just Kill everything, this order is the most fruitful:

Kog'maw->Vel'Koz-> Rek'Sai-> Skarner->Kha'Zix -> Cho'gath -> voidling -> Voidspawn.

Kog and Vel are priority targets due to their constant harass, too many and suddenly the mode becomes bullet Hell.

Skarner and Rek'Sai are annoying due to their CC, however slows are your friend against a charging Skarner, and mobility and hard CC shut down Rek. Of the two, Skarner is the less annoying one, as he only drags you for a short time, Rek'sai actually outputs damage very fast. Big Reksai charges massive distances, but she does shriek before it happens and I believe an outline forms where she will land.

Kha'zix can be focused very easily, and deals damage only while jumping, move out of his way, while jumping, or interrupt the jump for bests results. Chogath is a bit interesting. Those big ones who can feast will mark the champion they will feast with a purple Tahm fish symbol. Ensure that this champion remains far from the Cho. If Cho's begin boxing you in pray you have a Janna ult or Poppy Ult to keep you safe. small cho is easily kited and only has a melee range knockup. Stay away from cho if you're poppy unless you're following up someone else's CC.

If it is the larger map, then make sure you stick together. Follow the Poppy if you have one. Wall stuns here are exceptionally impactful.

Escape: Easy-medium

STAY IN THE CIRCLE.

If you step outside the circle, you will take damage over time. IF you are not Poppy, that damage is not negligible. Here Skarners will constantly charge you. Try to stay in the center of the circle so that Skarner cannot drag you too far within the duration of the suppression.
This mode will end the moment you reach the line, no matter how many of you survived. If you lose one along the way, and you do not have a poppy, leave them behind, as the miasma damage will kill you too.

Defense: Medium Usually fairly straightforward. Make sure you don't step outside the circle as usual, and enjoy skillshot practice. Poke champs like Ez, Lux, and maybe Ahri are useful in this mode.

BOSS BATTLE:

Here is the final battle,

Herald will knock you away from your team in the beginning, try to get back together. The most important rule of this fight is, Herald isnt your biggest concern. CC and kite Herald while you kill his allies. Prioritize Vel'Koz because if they stack up, it'll make dealing with Herald impossible. Lux, Poppy, Ahri, and to a lesser extent Lulu are very useful in keeping Herald at bay.

Herald Abilities and how to deal with them:

• Charge: It'll outline the area that it will charge, just move to the side. The charge itself didn't seem to do much damage, (but I happened to be playing poppy) but it will carry you to its destination.

• 360 degree projectiles: They cannot penetrate terrain, hide behind a wall or bench. If you cannot get to one in time, sit still so only one projectile hits you.

• Aoe Ground rupture: IDK what this one does or how to dodge it. Ours only used it when it was about to die, and so I didn't get to observe it much. Comment if you know what this does.

And That's all I got! Of course champion tiers mean less depending on familiarity with each champion, but this was written with non-mains in mind. If you have any suggestions, put them in the comments. Till next new mode, Let's protect the First Star's light.