Pro Tip: Preparing the Battlefield
Greetings! Shingetsu again. I was brushing up on my mechanics in another game for tournament season, and while I was at work, I realized a little thing that might be oft overlooked in League, especially by newer players, but is still very important: Preparing your battlefield.
Sun Tzu states that you're more likely to win a battle when you dictate where the battle will be fought. Part of this is handled by baiting the other team out where you want them, true. But that's not all. Even when the enemy is closing in and battle is imminent, you often have at least five or ten seconds to observe the site of the showdown and collect your thoughts. Here are a few good practices to get in the habit of.
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Ward Against Flanking. When you sense that a battle could start soon, dropping wards in nearby bushes and around dangerous corners. Move a little, too; don't only check the areas currently on your screen! Do a quick scan for the most dangerous "dark zones" and make sure you have as much vision as possible. Even if you think you know where the enemy will come from, some clever foes will go around back to hit your squishies, cut off your escape routes, or otherwise collapse your battle line. If you see them coming, you have time to react!
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Have Two Plans. One for the fight, one for if the fight goes wrong. For the fight, know who you intend to focus on. If they've got a particularly dangerous player who's been giving you trouble all game, have a general plan for how you'll prevent him from having his way. The second plan is the escape. As soon as the fight stops going your way, have a route - preferably warded - that you intend to escape by. I like to have a second route in mind in case that one gets cut off for some reason, as well, but always have at least one.
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Make A Formation. Know your role and who you want to stay behind. Even if your team isn't premade, it helps just to have your own personal plan for where you intend to be in relation to your team when the fight starts. Here are some general guidelines that might give you some ideas.
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THE ECHELON. If you're mobile and versatile (Nidalee, Volibear, LeBlanc, Vi...), you might consider keeping a small gap between you and your team, making sitting in bushes or otherwise scouting the enemy's movements around walls. Be nearby, but aim to be out of sight. Never let yourself get far enough from your team that you can't be there in 2.5 seconds or less when the fight starts. This way, you can not only avoid area initiations like Ornn's charge or Amumu's absolute madness, but you can pick a prime target and you have a chance to disrupt their formation when you swoop in.
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THE SENTINEL. If you're big and tough, let your teammates know to stay behind you in teamfights (hopefully they already know). If they reliably do this, perfect! Look for choke points, especially if the fight is in the jungle, and position yourself in those with your team behind you. If a fight is going your way and you yourself have had to back out for whatever reason, consider guarding choke points to the sides or rear of your team while they finish up. Prevent any nasty turnabouts from assassins closing in on your carries while they're distracted.
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THE COLUMN. If you have a tank who likes to get in fast and initiate, follow them. Stay more or less parallel with their vector and about as far back as your longest-range ability. This way you can support him if he gets swarmed, and you're in position to start on enemies when he locks one down, but you're not exposing yourself. He's also in position to help YOU if you get jumped on.
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THE RAIDER. If you're mobile and do solid damage, satellite around your tank. Let him start the fight, then swoop in, fire off your abilities, and dip back behind him. Imagine you're tethered to him and you can't go more than a certain distance away. Even better is if you can stick near two or more such allies. This way, you can do what you do best and the enemy will have to get through your bodyguards if they want to punish you for it. They're never too far away.
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THE ARTILLERY. If you've got a ton of range, great! Stay way back and use it. But be mindful! A smart enemy will send someone around to ambush you while you're vulnerable. Stay back, but always just close enough that you can run towards an ally at a moment's notice. Even if you're a master of the siege, keep your relative position to your allies in mind.
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THE SUPPORT. If you're a weak little support whose primary strength is buffing allies, position yourself with these two things in mind, in this order of priority: 1, keep as many allies between you and enemies as possible, and 2, keep allies on as many different sides of you as possible. This serves not only to put you in good position to buff/heal whoever needs it at a moment's notice, but also forces the enemy to surround themselves with your allies if they want to leap on you.
- Skirmish If Necessary. If you still have some allies getting to the battle, signal your team to stay back while you either swoop in and out (if you're agile or tough) or drop AOEs (if you have poke) to deny territory to the enemy. Don't get sucked into a fight. Move back if you need to, but avoid giving too much ground. "Bend but don't break." Only run away if you're pretty sure you're about to get pulled into a fight you can't handle. Do this until the rest of your team arrives, then give them everything you've got!
Knowing your battlefield is highly important to winning teamfights. Hopefully these tips help you win more of them, even if you're playing with strangers. If your team isn't following these, no big deal; as long as you are to the best of your ability, you're giving the team a benefit it didn't have before.
