Skin Theme Matchup: Headhunter vs Victorious
Hello Again everybody!
So, while I was sitting here, trying to think of what to come up with next in this nice series of mine, I actually realized something: The League of Legends World Championship is only a few weeks away, and with it comes a hell of a lot more skins, specifically a new Victorious skin, given to those players who are able to reach gold or higher. As for who the new champion to receive the skin is.......well.......we'll get to that.
As for the World Championship Winning team skins, I am actually going to do my own little competition between the skin lines in the coming weeks to see which team would be viable in today's meta, and to see which would reign supreme if they were all faced against each other. So, be sure to keep an eye out for those.
Anyway, the point of all of this is that, as you may have noticed, Riot is starting to complete skin lines, and even send out skin lines that have a full team already dedicated to it (such as the Pool Party line). I figured I would dive into these team comps, and evaluate how they would work. Also, I thought it would be interesting to analyze a possible matchup between the teams, and give my own opinion (while also asking for the opinion of the community) of how that match would possibly play out (under the assumption that each player playing that champ has a very good understanding of how that champ works (or, how we like to say "mains" them)).
Before I start, if you happened to miss my last iteration of this series on Arcade vs Pool Party, here is the link to that post:
And thus, for this iteration, we'll be looking at two skin lines that have been slowly getting champions over the years:
Headhunter
And
Victorious
http://img00.deviantart.net/3f2e/i/2015/071/2/a/be_victorious__morgana__by_emikadon-d8lfm55.png
Lets dive right in, shall we?
The Headhunter Line
Top: Rengar
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8DUyP8R0hU/UCnUrmd_jQI/AAAAAAAADjM/6vM6PD_h3kE/s400/Rengar_Splash_1.jpg
Yeah, I know, Rengar isn't the greatest at top lane, but since this team has champs that HAVE to go into certain roles, he is, unfortunately, forced to go top. That isn't to say, though, that he can't hold his own up there.
Jungle: Master Yi
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vQpo-2RLST8/maxresdefault.jpg
Why use this art over the official Riot art? Cause it's bad ass, thats why! Anyway, I am under a very strict belief that Master Yi does not belong anywhere else but the jungle. I can not stand it when someone takes him into a solo lane. His weaknesses are just too great in lane, and thus, I pushed him into the jungle. Besides, with Devourer, he is in a pretty decent spot jungle wise.
Mid: Akali
http://www.noobabble.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Headhunter-Akali-Splash-Art-1008x515.jpg
Yes, Akali isn't sitting pretty right now, but would you rather have her as a support? I didn't think so.
Marksman: Caitlyn
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4tCHuKQIyzs/maxresdefault.jpg
Don't think I need to say much here. This is blatantly obvious.
Support: Nidalee
http://i.imgur.com/qUojdi3.jpg
Ah, Nidalee. Basically the poster child of this skin line...........and she's getting forced into support? Yes, I understand how strong Nidalee jungle is, or even Nid in a solo lane. Unfortunately, she is really the only champ that can decently support when compared to everyone else. Thankfully, though, she is coupled with an ADC that really doesn't need that much support, thus turning their bot lane into a pretty aggressive poke/kill lane.
Team Comp Breakdown
Well, can you say "pick comp"? The title of this skin line can not more perfectly describe the play style of this team: Single. Target. Elimination. The strengths of this team are obvious to even a somewhat new player; they excel at focusing on a single target, and killing it VERY quickly. You NEVER, want to be alone when facing this team in the mid game, cause surely, things will not go well for you. This team is also very good at objective control. I mean, you basically have three junglers in this team, which are designed to keep the jungle objectives in check. Not to mention Caitlyn, of whom is one of the best ADC's for sieging turrets (behind Tristana and Jinx).
As for the weaknesses, well, they should be just as obvious as the strengths. This team has almost no teamfight potential. Yes, many of these champs can end up shredding entire teams single handedly, but not without some back up. Very limited crowd control, coupled with very limited AOE makes this team a near definition of a "pick comp". If this team ends up in a straight 5v5, chances are they'll struggle to maintain positions, and pick off the priority targets. That said, this team is surprisingly hard to kill. Mind you, they are not durable or resilient, but can simply out sustain their opponents in both damage and healing if the fights go for long periods of time. This is, however, much easier said than done, since most teamfight heavy teams tend to have strong initial AOE bursts of damage at the start of teamfights, making "pick comps" like the Headhunter line difficult to execute correctly.
The Victorious Line
Top: Jarvan IV
http://img2.leaguecraft.com/lol-splash-art/asset/wallpaper_760px_1602.jpg
Behold! The first and original Victorious champion!!! Good ol' J4 got this skin WAY back in season 1, due to his dominance of the jungle at the time. Few could stand toe to toe with him, whether it be in a duel, or teamfights, he was a VERY reliable pick. Unfortunately, his crown was kicked off his head by a certain monk that happened to ward hop his way into the scene (mind you, I was not playing League way back then, so, if this incorrect, please feel free to correct me).
So, if he was awarded this skin for the jungle.........why is he going top? Well, Jarvan may be known for his jungling, but he actually makes a decent laner. Due to that, and the other champs, this just made the most logical sense.
Jungle: Elise
http://i.imgur.com/3NPBJL7.jpg
Now, this makes sense! Season 3 is when the Spider Queen was awarded this skin, due to, like J4, her dominance in the jungle. Being able to out perform that certain monk in almost every regard, she became a staple pick for most teams due to her impressive ganking ability and decent objective control. At the time of her reign, she was almost redefining the jungle role itself, which led to the awarding of this skin (again, please correct me if I'm wrong).
In this current meta, however, Elise is actually sitting in a decent spot due to some number tweaks across the board, and the introduction of Runeglaive. Not to mention her spiderlings now do magic damage, which helps her clear speed by a considerable amount.
Mid: Morgana
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QiNtc2ddi2s/maxresdefault.jpg
And, we come to our most recent Victorious skin winner. Not many people would have thought that Morgana, who has been played in the mid lane for most of her life, would actually come bot as a support, AND CHANGE EVERYTHING. At the time of her being introduced to the bot lane, the support role was dominated by three specific champs: Thresh, Leona, and Annie. Turns out, due to A SINGLE SPELL, Morgana is actually a decent counter to all 3 of those champs, ESPECIALLY Thresh and Leona. Couple this with the longest snare in the game, and an AMAZING teamfight ultimate, you have one hell of a support. HER PRESENCE ALONE ended up with the reintroduction of both Nami and Janna into the competitive scene, since these 2 were really the only supports who could deal with her to some degree, but were being out meta'd due to the aggressiveness of Thresh and Leona. Riot didn't change a thing, and yet, due to someone just wanting to experiment one day, the entire support role was completely redefined.
So......why is she is going mid again, if she truly shines in the support role? Well, compared to Janna, it's clearly obvious who the better mid laner is. And, mind you, Morgana was designed as a mid laner. So.....yeah.
Marksman: Sivir
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wL2yXFlg7Q8/hqdefault.jpg
Yup. Behold, the next recipient of the Victorious skin. Well........at least that's what everyone thinks thus far. Riot has confirmed that the next Victorious skin is going to an ADC, and, when you look at the entire line up of ADC's, and the general fashion in how Victorious skins are awarded, all the evidence points to Sivir. Victorious skins are normally given to champs who have had the largest impact on the game over the course of the previous season. It was awarded to Jarvan and Elise for their dominance in the jungle, and also to Janna and Morgana for their dominance of the support role. This season, however, we haven't had much of an impactful jungler or support, but instead, quite an impactful ADC, and that is Sivir. Her ultimate changes the theme of a team entirely, making what would be a slow, crowd control heavy team comp into a heavy engage "rush at you" team comp. Not to mention she can also hold her own in several situations due to her spell shield, and decent damage output. She is one of, if not the best ADC for pushing down a lane into a turret due to having some of the best wave clear of all of the ADC's in the game. All of this combined makes Sivir the perfect candidate for the next Victorious skin. However, we could be all wrong. For another hell bent, revenge hunting, spear throwing spirit marksman has also had quite a decent impact on the game.
So then.....why am I using Warden Sivir? Well, the skin hasn't been officially released, let alone even teased, thus, I am using the skin that most closely resembles the Victorious line.
Support: Janna
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YkpPQlp5iyU/maxresdefault.jpg
And lastly, we come to Season 2's awardee. Unlike Morgana, of whom just waltzed into bot lane and changed everything, Janna has actually been a staple competitive pick for a very long time. She always seems to make some sort of comeback in the competitive scene, and Season 1 and 2 are the seasons where she was deemed Queen of the bot lane, and very few supports could match her ability to stick to targets, or be able to isolate them, splitting up the entire enemy team into unfavorable positions (while also healing her team on the side). Unfortunately, her crown was lost when a green, ghastly hook wrapped around it, and yanked it off. That isn't to say, though, that she is still a very well respected support champion, and I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up being a strong pick in this season's World Championships once more.
Team Comp Breakdown
This is a surprisingly well rounded team. You got good engage, coupled with some of the best disengage in the game, and plenty of damage that no one should laugh at. You have plenty of ways to isolate targets, but also enough AOE to make the rounds in a teamfight. Somewhat decent objective control, but also a decent ability to siege turrets. Although not as versatile as, say, the arcade team, this team can still quite easily deal with pretty much anything thrown at it, at least, to some degree.
The weaknesses this team has, I would say, is actually mana costs. Everyone on this team (with the slight exception of Jarvan) doesn't do well in the early game. Sivir in particular is probably the most mana hungry ADC in the game, so much so that her spell shield actually returns mana on a successful block as compensation for her high mana costs. However, everyone should know that come mid to late game, mana really doesn't become a problem for anyone, even for someone as mana hungry as Sivir. Not to mention, each champ actually scales quite well into the mid and late game. So, while they lack an impactful early game, they make up for it in a strong mid to late game, and strong teamfights.
The Hypothetical Battle Review
LANES
Top: 
vs 
This is an interesting matchup, for these 2 are surprisingly similar. If you read my previous article of Arcade vs Pool Party, this matchup is quite similar to how Riven and Renekton matchup. Both Jarvan and Rengar have the ability to jump on the other, they both have some AOE to help with wave clear, and they both can set up ganks very nicely. However, like Riven and Renek, Rengar leans more towards damage, and Jarvan leans more towards tank. However, I do feel that Jarvan has more advantages over Rengar than Renek does over Riven. Jarvan's passive does a surprising amount of damage, especially for someone who mainly builds defensive items. Also, Jarvan has a bit more reach than Rengar, due to his Q and his ultimate. No doubt, Rengar could potentially steam roll Jarvan, but I feel that the small advantages Jarvan has over Rengar may help him not only in trades, but also in harassing Rengar out of lane. The advantages are not as obvious or glaring as like a Nasus against a Teemo, but they are still there.
Jungle: 
vs 
Yet another interesting matchup. Early on, Elise has every advantage in the book except speed (cause, really, who can out run a Master Yi besides Hecarim?). If these two are ever to meet in the jungle, Elise could very easily win, so, Yi should just get out as soon as he can. IN terms of clear speed, again, Elise is just better. With her spiderlings providing extra damage, and the ability to tank the monsters for her, it just makes sense (though, Yi could possibly match her in clear speed due to his Q). Also, Elise is better at ganking (one of the reasons why she even has the Victorious skin) in every regard. When Yi ganks, he just runs at you, and hopes you dont hit with a snare or stun. Elise, however, can shut you down from range, and then jump to you almost immediately. Thus, early on, Elise has every advantage in the book over Yi.
The interesting part comes mid game. Elise has a strong mid game, no doubt, but Yi is known for his astounding late game. Elise kind of plateaus in power in the mid game, whereas Yi consistently grows in power as the game progresses. Not so much now that that Devourer was given a power cap, but that doesn't really take away from his extremely powerful late game. In the early to mid game, Elise holds every advantage over Yi. Come late game, the power shifts to Yi just due to sheer damage output. Elise should know this, and should take the actions necessary to help her team push through the early and mid game as much as possible, due to the ticking time bomb that is Master Yi.
Mid: 
vs 
A small secret about me is that very early on when I just hit level 30, and was introducing myself to ranked games, I was a mid lane Morgana main (alright, not so much of a secret, but, oh well). During my time playing Morg in the mid lane, Akali was quite strong back then, and was simply dominating the lower elo solo queues left and right. However, every time someone would pick Akali, I would LOVE to pick Morgana into them. The reason for this is because Morg is a FAR better farmer than Akali, allowing you to starve her of farm when under tower. Levels 1 to 5, Morg holds every advantage over Akali, however, the matchup gets a bit more interesting when both champs hit 6.
Even today, Akali's damage output should not be laughed at. If she can get onto Morgana when she hits 6, Morg will actually have a hard time getting Akali off of her. However, Akali has to make damn sure she does not get hit by Morg's snare, for if she ever does, she will either die, or be put so low that she is forced to back, giving Morg free damage on her tower. Unfortunately, Akali holds a pretty significant advantage over Morg, and that is the ability to roam. Yes, today, Morg loves to roam since she mostly being played as a support, but in the mid lane, Morg tends to stick to her lane, and push down the tower as best she can. Akali tends to get her snowball rolling off the enemy bot lane, especially when she is against a Morg of whom is a very difficult target to kill while in lane. The enemy ADC is just a far more appealing target.
So, is this a skill matchup? I would say no. Morg holds too many advantages over Akali to consider it a skill matchup. Instead, this lane more hinges on which mid laner can can help (or benefit off of) their bot lane the most. Speaking of bot lane....
Bot: 
vs 
Way back when Sivir got her visual and gameplay update, she was considered one of the biggest counters to Cait, and even today, she will still win a 1v1 against her. Today, however, people have learned, and thus, the matchup isn't as bad for Cait. As long as she can rely on her support to keep Sivir in check, Sivir won't have a nice time. That said, Sivir in this particular team is paired with possibly the best support that a Sivir can get. The speed and sticking power that both Sivir and Janna bring to the bot lane make them almost impossible to out run (unless, of course, your a Yi or a Hecarim). However, interestingly enough, Cait is also paired with someone she can work quite decently with. The combined poke of both Cait and Nid will certainly keep anyone opponents on their toes, and the constant traps will certainly be annoying.
Both bot lane pairs are really strong and synergize quite well with each other, but they don't necessarily straight counter one another. Cait can almost match Sivir's wave clear, but does it more efficiently. Sivir can block a lot of the poke thrown at her, but only once every 15 seconds or so. Nid can blow up anyone she hits with a spear, but those spears aren't the easiest things to land. Janna can keep her opponents under lock and key, but is quite squishy herself, and lacks any natural sustain.
All in all, I think this lane will be heavily influenced over teammate intervention. For Headhunter, you will more than likely have Akali roaming bot on a regular basis, while Victorious has the very strong ganks from Elise. Nonetheless, this is an interesting and very exciting matchup if you ask me.
Teamfighting
Teamfighting is probably the wrong word to use for this title, simply because there won't be that many teamfights due to the Headhunter team wanting to avoid those as best as possible, especially against the Victorious team. Instead, the Headhunter team would want to force the Victorious team into unfavorable positions, which, is actually easy for them to do due to the poke duo of Cait and Nid. The Victorious team will be dancing all over the battlefield in order to avoid the poke coming from Cait and Nid as much as possible. Unfortunately, no matter how much you try, you will eventually get hit by one of those Peacekeepers or Spears, and you better hope its the Peacekeeper.
Even though Nid's spear damage was nerfed, this isn't to say that they still hurt like hell, being able to drop a carry to half health with a full damage build at max range. Once one of the Victorious team members takes a bit too much poke, this is where the opportunity arises for the Headhunter team, cause they could easily eliminate any weakened target before they even have the chance to press B. This is, however, much easier said than done, and takes quite a bit of patience and timing. Thankfully, though, the headhunter team is well equipped to play the patience game, due to being able to stay on the battle field for extended periods of time.
However, patience should not be on the Victorious teams agenda. Since they have the obvious advantage in teamfights, they want to push down objectives as best they can, forcing the Headhunter team to group up, and play that patience game that they so desperately need to. Thankfully, the Victorious team is actually quite decent at just that. They are not going to find the Headhunter team out in the open, thats just a given, so, most of the teamfights that the Victorious team will push for will either be next to Dragon or Baron, or be under a turret. When teamfighting, though, they need to be very cautious and make sure that their very squishy back line survives. The Headhunter team has many ways to slip through the cracks, and make carries disappear in an instant. With so many threats on the field, I would hate to be the player behind Sivir or Janna.
Conclusion
To end this article off, I think that the Victorious team will win, and I'm not saying that due to any bias feelings................OK, maybe a little. But mind you, this will be no easy walk in the park. The Headhunter team can and will put up one hell of a fight. Even though the Victorious team has the obvious better teamfight potential, there will still be those times where either Rengar, Yi, or Akali happens to slip past Jarvan, Elise, and even Morg to those crucial squishies in the back line.
The reason why I think the Victorious team will win is actually due to the ultimates of Morgana, Sivir, and Janna. All of these ultimates are extremely impactful ultimates, and can turn a game around completely. The Headhunter team lacks theses very impactful ultimates, and it is very difficult for them to come back from the use of these ultimates while in a fight. Even though someone on Headhunter may slip through, Janna and Sivir still have their ultimates in order to escape. Morgana has the potential to lock down the entire enemy team, and a priority target for even longer. When you combine this with Sivir's ultimate, Morgana can actually be the one engaging on the enemy team instead of Jarvan especially if she has flash and Zhonya's. This makes it incredibly difficult on the Headhunter team, because the Victorious team could have an answer for whichever angle they come at, and whatever strategy they happen to come up with. Also, due to the Victorious team having a decent ability to push down towers, the Headhunter team would be forced to act in some way once faced with the potential loss of a crucial tower, and sometimes, act in a very unfavorable manner.
With that all said, though, I feel that this matchup would probably be a very exciting and entertaining match to not only play, but also watch. There will be epic plays and moments throughout the game, and could possibly make this game one for the record books. No doubt, I would love to see two professional teams duke it out with these team comps. Odds are that it wont ever happen under normal circumstances, but, one can only dream, right?
Well, thats it for this iteration of Skin Theme Matchup! What are your guys' opinions? Do you think the Headhunter team can take advantage of their elusiveness, and keep the Victorious team running for the hills? Or, do you think that the Victorious team could live up their title, and show the Headhunters who the true kings and queens of this game really are? Feel free to share your comments below, and vote for who you think would win.
Lastly, if you at all enjoyed this, feel free to upvote this post that way others can get the chance to share their thoughts as well! If you have any suggestions of which skin lines I should analyze next, I am more then willing to here you're ideas.
Thanks for reading!
