Counterplay

I'm not sure if this is the right section but...here it goes.

The vast majority of the community talk about this one issue: counterplay. Many say that there are some champions that are inherently op or broken because they believe that those specific champions provide no counterplay. My personal background with MOBAs are simply the original DOTA and DOTA 2. As a result, my understanding of counterplay may be entirely different from yours. Please remember everything that is stated here is subjective and you are entitled to your own opinion of counterplay.

The definition of counterplay in chess is defined as followed:

An attack that is intended to counter the opponent's advantage in another part of the board

Meaning counterplay is not limited to just champion kits but reaches out to realms like playstyle, itemization, team composition, summoner spells, warding, ganking, etc.

From what I've read on the Boards, there are many people who believe that counterplay is simply based on the champions kit. For example, a very popular and scrutinized champion is none other than the Deceiver herself, LeBlanc. Most players (high and low elo alike) agree that it is "anti-fun" to play against a LeBlanc. Most people complain about her extreme mobility paired with her huge burst damage and then proceed categorize her as a "no counterplay" champion. LeBlanc mains/players usually counter those arguments by pointing out that a) she's extremely squishy b) horrible wave clear c) cannot do much if behind d) like every assassin, crowd control kills her.

So what are the solutions that people provide? people say to build zhonyas, abyssal sceptor or choose a champ that directly counters her such Galio or Mordekaiser (old, I'm not sure how he's doing right now after his soft rework). Still others say to deny yourself farm if you can't handle her lvl 2 Q+W cheese. I have even heard people say instead of taking ignite, take barrier or heal.

Now many people say that this is not counterplay. If you need to center your whole team comp to counter one champ then it is not counterplay. If you need go out of your way to build a defensive item rather than an offensive one then it is not counterplay. If you can't do anything in lane because of how much LB can bully then it is not counterplay and the list goes on and on.

Let's recall the definition of counterplay in chess. It is an attack to counter an opponents advantage in another part of the board.

Here are a couple of examples:

If X person chooses Galio when Y person first picks a LB then X person used an "attack" to counter LB's huge AP damage "advantage" in "another part" of the game.

If X person chooses Ahri and Y person chooses LB and because Ahri doesn't want to get bullied out of lane therefore she denies herself farm and tries to cs under tower that is an "attack" to counter LB's "advantage" of bullying in "another part" of the game.

If Y person is smart then as the LB he or she will freeze lane to counter Ahri's counter of playing safe.

If Z person is Lee Sin and decides to gank mid lane frequently that is countering LB's lane freeze

And it goes on and on and on.

You see that League is played a lot like chess. If an opponent makes a move then you yourself must adapt and do something else. Be innovative, interesting and different when playing. Break the meta.

What does that mean? If you must build abyssal scepter before your Morello to counter a certain champ then do it. If you need to ward more frequently then do it. If you need to deny yourself farm then do it. If you need to choose a champion that is not part of the meta, then do it. If you need to peel more rather than fulfill your hunger to get kills the do it.

To be honest, League is a game that should never really have a meta. Because every "OP" or "broken" champ can be countered by another champ. They can also all be countered by certain items, summoner spells and/or different playstyles in the game.

If you take a look at SKT T1 Faker. He does NOT always take ignite in mid lane. There are times he actually takes cleanse instead because he doesn't want to build that QSS. Sometimes, he actually takes cleanse AND QSS because he knows that it will help him in the long run. If you notice when Faker plays Ezreal mid, usually he's getting pushed under tower so he just continues to farm. He even uses his ult to help push top and bot lane waves because he knows he can't leave. That's called being an innovative player.

In DOTA 2, every item can destroy one hero. That is why builds are ever changing based on the situation in DOTA 2. Now it's probably because DOTA 2 has so many items with different actives and League doesn't. However, zhonya's (the most broken item in the game) counter many champs (like zed). It's preposterous for an ADC to take zhonyas because it gives a useless 120 AP right? No, it's not. An adc can dish out more damage if he or she can stay alive (even if it's a few seconds longer) and if that ADC needs to buy zhonyas to have some extra self-peel to reduce the pressure on the support then the adc should. To be honest, the adc can still build a mercurial scimitar and get AD and the QSS active which will also help immensely.

As a very low elo player, I don't have the best credibility but seeing so many people asking for nerfs on so many champs disappoints me because so many players refuse to play, build, plan meaningfully against those certain champs. It's sad that in solo q most people say that you should always depend on yourself than your teammates because there is "no communication." I hope that League will eventually become a game that has ever changing standards because innovative players with innovative ideas. There is no uber broken champ, rather it's how you respond to that champs weaknesses and strengths.

If you read this whole thing I applaud you. Here's a pet poro for you :D

TLDR: Counterplay is not limited to just champion kits but also involves team composition, itemization, playstyle, etc. As a player, I hope to see the the League community to stop complaining and start innovating. And lastly, please remember EVERYTHING IS SUBJECTIVE.