Weekend at Sona's #3: Rope-a-Dope Redemption
Some context: My friend Madman asked me if I wanted to play one last Team Builder match this weekend. He's mostly a mid/top and wants to gain some experience in other areas, much as I did with my Rammus game last night. He doesn't play ADCs very often, so he wanted to make use of my experience at bot. We were on Skype, mostly so I could keep him on track, which is a strength of mine.
Some further context: I'm not an aggressive player by nature. On the Top Gun spectrum, I am Goose, maybe Iceman. I am definitely not Maverick. That's not to say that I can't be aggressive. I tend to be a cold, methodical killer. I wait patiently until the time is right and take the kill with as little risk as possible.
... or at least I was until my friend started pushing me to do more damage as a support. This was in the days before "Damage to Champions" and I'll admit that it had some merit. I need to work harder at taking CS during down times. I also needed to learn when to pull the trigger. I say "needed" because Sona was the champion that I used to learn proper aggression. I'm still a little too tentative at times, but I will readily admit that my idea of a perfect game is one where I was always in control and I never died.
As you may have noticed from my last couple of threads, I have been prying at new Sona, trying to crack that nut. After that disastrous game against Nautilus last night, I sat around spitballing with my friends and they encouraged me to do what I always do: go back to first principles. They helped me see that I was too fixed on how Sona was "supposed to work" and that I needed to step back and do a base assessment of the champion. You can watch the growing realization over my posts from last night and today.
I have come to believe that new Sona is the first "hyper-Support" and this latest game was my test of that theory. While 2/1/22 might seem to speak for itself, I still have serious concerns about the rework.
-
My laning phase was boring as hell. Yeah, we got a couple of great ganks from our Vi, but most of my time was spent passively waiting. Being patient was effective, but it sure wasn't exciting. I also remain unconvinced that the best response to all-in comps is to tower hug.
-
I don't know about you, but my impression from watching the Leona was that she was highly frustrated. In a lot of ways, we met the literal definition of rope-a-dope. This is not good for the game.
-
It was a Team Builder game, which is essentially Blind Pick on steroids. Not being able to see the champions as they are drafted means that the best comps and matchups are those that are reliable and flexible. I knew Trundle was in trouble from the Teemo from the very beginning. I also knew that Zac was not going to be able to compete with Vi. I guess that's a long-winded way of saying that they might have been able to come down and crack us if the out-of-lane matchups had been in their favor. More experimentation is required.
-
My Q proc remains invisible and unsatisfying. Sivir was routinely unable to make effective use of the bonus damage, though some of that is the fact that I wasn't rushing it early and I was playing very safe. I'm sure it did something during the team fights, but no one could have told you what it was, including me.
-
I hate to say this, but the shield off W might be too strong. When you're ahead, it's really distortive for tower dives and the objective push after a team fight. Now that I'm playing Sona "properly", it's either impossible to apply the shield - in which case I don't bother - or it's a trivial exercise. At the very least, I watched it turn slightly lopsided encounters that might have been salvaged into complete blowouts. Again, I don't know how much of that is due to our lead, but that feeling of helplessness can't have been fun.
Actually, that touches on a theory from M;tG called "win more," the idea being that some cards/plays feel great, but were unnecessary because you were already winning the game. I'm beginning to have the sense that the shield is like that. It's not very effective when you are behind or when you need it, but it's oppressive when you're ahead. If you watch the recording, the point at which I shield the Talon as he's fleeing from the Kat comes to mind.
That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more as i digest.
I do have to apologize for saying she's nonviable. I don't think she's in a healthy place and there are some unfortunate parts of her kit, but she's definitely viable. I was wrong to say that.
