Is playing Leblanc top reportable?

Mafia LeBlanc··6 votes·1,249 views

I main LeBlanc, and I've played her in every lane successfully, and I've been having a lot of success at top especially. She feels very comfortable in top lane, because her mobility lets her outplay almost every common top, and she can get fed very easily, while the early game bruisers are often unable to fight back.

Yet, more often than not, I have someone threatening to report me in pregame, people who troll or pick teleport/heal and say they will feed all game when I do it.

I am more confident in my LeBlanc skills than any other champion, and with the recent AP itemization update, LeBlanc has some great options for covering her weaknesses. I can comfortably build to be quite durable while still able to either pop the carry in one go, or take them out of the fight at least, while able to take a few hits so I can proc my chain in a teamfight with much less risk. Rylai's is also excellent on LB for the extreme potential range on a powerful slow, that makes the follow-up E much easier to hit, all while adding a significant amount of beefiness.

Once late game hits, I'm able to pop a W R combo on the enemy team, spreading massive dmg and AOE Slow like a mini Malph ult, so my team can follow up, and I can even pop a Zhonya's after to buy time. But it feels like nobody even acknowledges there's any other way to LB but the standard glass cannon mid lane that we all know.

But just last game, I decided to pick LB top after our mid was selected, and our Rengar said 'if we lose we report you'. Immediately when the game began, the Rengar didn't connect, and the Viktor d/c'd for 2/3's the game. Rengar came back 10 minutes late, and we ended up losing at 20 min, despite that I had won my lane, and out CS'd my opponent. As the Nexus fell, Rengar said in all chat "report LB" and I got a nice little notification afterwards.

Basically, if I keep doing what I'm doing, am I going to get a ban? I am doing my best to be as positive as I can in chat, even when people are yelling at me.

31 Comments

EndlessSorcerer6 votes

Not really. It's a perfectly valid pick and it has its uses.

Obviously, it might not be the best idea when your team needs a tank or an initiator, but it's not reportable.

Once played against an AD LeBlanc top as Dr. Mundo. It was impossible to actually catch, hit, or kill her between her distortion and her chains.

As long as you are trying to win and don't do anything else that is punishable, you should be fine.

BlackEyesBlue6 votes

Had a game last week where our top picked Ekko, to some criticism...

My response was to pick Fiora Mid, and we did just fine!

Another game our ADC picked Darius rustling some jimmies... as Supp I picked Sona and the combination of poke and SMASH dominated! Unusuall lanes can work as long as your team still has some balance and doesn't lack anything necessary come end game.

People get a little TOO snippy about non meta picks. As long as its nothing too extreme! IE someone wanted to go mid w/ Alistar... :/

Mellow out all! :P

Deep Terror Nami5 votes

https://support.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/201752884-Reporting-a-Player#h2q5

  1. DO NOT REPORT A SUMMONER FOR NOT STICKING TO THE METAGAME https://support.riotgames.com/attachments/token/nkhpsp2nseidr2x/?name=ap+darius.jpg

(please ignore that support Morg is actually meta now, that article is old as hell)

Aeolian Melodies3 votes

[{quoted}](name=Valkyrie Witch,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=wt7LOxjG,comment-id=0007,timestamp=2015-08-16T18:56:09.866+0000)

https://support.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/201752884-Reporting-a-Player#h2q5 https://support.riotgames.com/attachments/token/nkhpsp2nseidr2x/?name=ap+darius.jpg

(please ignore that support Morg is actually meta now, that article is old as hell)

this reminds me that I did support Morg once in S3 and my friend spent the whole time crying about it even if we did well in lane >.>

OverpoweredSoap1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Valkyrie Witch,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=wt7LOxjG,comment-id=0007,timestamp=2015-08-16T18:56:09.866+0000)

https://support.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/201752884-Reporting-a-Player#h2q5 https://support.riotgames.com/attachments/token/nkhpsp2nseidr2x/?name=ap+darius.jpg

(please ignore that support Morg is actually meta now, that article is old as hell)

The picture proves your point even further.

Only Play Darius3 votes

That player isn't a troll. That player is a pioneer!

LordGeovanni2 votes

and you cant pioneer before people consider you a troll i was playing support nautalus this time last year and got called a troll alot then this year it was played in the lcs now natalus is one of the most contested supports at least in solo

Icestar11864 votes

Meta-breaking is not punishable. A true trollpick like full AP Zed might be.

7ha7guy7773 votes

R.I.P. DFG Zed

MLDzXnRRR3 votes

Metame breaking is not reportable action. (As long you don't feed and troll.) You can play anything in any lane,

Trídent2 votes

It's reportable, but not punishable.

BeatzBoyFTW2 votes

Bring LeBlanc top is a very sissy move, but it's up to you.

BlackEyesBlue1 votes

No worse then Heimerdinger :P

Shroom Junkie2 votes

YES.

GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY LANE YOU ASS HAT.

THIS IS MY WORLD.

Calabok2 votes

you should not pick LB for top. She is MIDDLE.

if they even let you that is...

Mafia LeBlanc2 votes

{quoted}

you should not pick LB for top. She is MIDDLE.

if they even let you that is...

Why is she middle?

LordGeovanni1 votes

because people took her there and she was good no other reason.

LordGeovanni2 votes

no champion in any lane is legitamately reportable but that wont stop people from trying

Marthian2 votes

Nope. Unless you were trolling/being a jerk (like picking Leblanc top when someone was already going top and picked before you.)

And that's not even a leblanc issue, that's just an issue with being rude (though have seen duo tops work, ask before you try it. Don't just sit in their lane without permission.)

IllllllIIIIlllll1 votes

If you're not doing it to troll, then you won't be banned for the reports.

Bondage Bunnyboy1 votes

Of course not. I take LeBlanc top every time I wanna use her but someone takes mid. It's extremely snowbally though. Either I get ultra fed and do literally everything to carry my team (cc and majority of damage) or I am forced to farm and have a few deaths.

Just try playing with premades more often. At least then you can drop reports on the intentional feeders/flamers and watch them get their accounts banned.

Aeolian Melodies1 votes

No unless you are toxic while doingi t.

Only Play Darius1 votes

Not unless you feed. Which is a distinct possibility because LeBlanc sucks against tanks and can't really snowball off of a fighter because they can afford to rush magic resist if you are giving them the slightest bit of problems in lane.

Also people just hate LB and her playerbase in general so they are itching for a reason to report you.

Raptamei1 votes

Whether or not a report for picking a champ is valid has nothing to do with "the meta" and everything with what your team wants. Going against the wishes of 4 is in fact reportable.

IcyPepper2 votes

Going against the wishes of 4 is in fact reportable.

I mean if you're an ass about it, yeah.

But if you get "pick that and we report you" it's not... breaking rules. It's one thing to refuse to communicate, and that is reportable, but ignoring threats from others (when they could, ya know, ask politely) is not. And meta-breaking is explicitly said to not be a reportable offense.

If you can find me a rule in Riot's list of rules that you must pick what your team says after they threaten to report you, go ahead. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm just going off OP's experience here, and it doesn't look like he did anything wrong whatsoever. What's wrong with him picking LB top?

Mafia LeBlanc1 votes

{quoted}

Whether or not a report for picking a champ is valid has nothing to do with "the meta" and everything with what your team wants. Going against the wishes of 4 is in fact reportable.

Look at it from my perspective - I have collectively thousands of games on LeBlanc in every single lane. There is no other champ in my repertoire that I feel more confident in my abilities than LeBlanc.
Sure I can pick some silly in-meta champion that I may or may not have played a collective total of three times in my 5 years of playing this, and sure I can pick this to appease people like you. But it also will significantly decrease our team's chances at a win, and certainly will kill any chance I have of carrying from my lane. I do have a few other champions I pick in a pinch if LB gets banned for some reason, but these aren't really in-meta champions either (Evelynn and Lulu, but not in jungle or support role). So it's either, I can listen to people who cry and threaten me and take a good 15-20% hit to my chance to win, or I can do what I am comfortable with, and have a much better chance to win and carry. To me, it's a no-brainer, and I'll likely get reported anyway if I pick the champion that I'm told to pick, and then feed on them because I'm not used to playing them.

I'm always polite in pre-game. I always greet my team, I never complain or argue, I call my role and pick my champion just like everyone else and then that's it. When people start yelling at me, I do not engage them back, and I do not try to defend my position. At this point, all people are trying to do is try to convince me to change my pick, and since I'm going to refuse, they will get angrier once I've opened communication, than they would have if I just don't say anything and let the game start. I've played this game thousands of times and I've never once yelled at another person for their champ pick, unless it's an obvious troll (i.e. picking AP Riven, or ghost/tele Karma and having them say "I'm going to feed lawlalwlloolol"). But Karthus/Ashe/Jax support? Vayne/Annie/Morg top? Varus mid? Sure, go for it, you have my blessing. Those might sound like semi-common picks now, but that's only because there were people who think outside the meta and made it work, despite their teams yelling at them for trying something new.

Maybe its a product of having played this game before season 1, when it was common to pick whatever champion you wanted, and put them in whatever lane you wanted, and nobody cared one bit who went where.

Divewing1 votes

I don't care where you go or what you go. All I care about is how you perform. Granted when you pick Vayne Zed and Amumu into Anivia, I do wonder if you are taking your opponent seriously

Baby Ghoul1 votes

Things like Ekko top and Fiora mid are part of the meta, and are very well established picks for good reasons, not just because people play them a lot and didn't get their main role.

LB top makes me wince for a lot of reasons. Most of us are one trick ponies to an extent, but I'd never try to be Fiora ADC or an AP Fiora because I respect my teammates. I respect the fact that it's not just my world, and I'm playing with 4 other people. My actions effect them, and I always feel bad if I waste people's time on purpose. Normals is where you learn new roles anyways. I can play most of them okay outside of my main.

In normals I would be a little more chill about it, I mean you're still possibly wasting 20 minutes of my life by not being a team player, but at least I won't lose LP over it. Still I'm tired of seeing things like Karthus and Garen ADC even in my normals. I tend to leave the lobby if people do that.

You just need to remember that it's a grey area. You're not properly communicating with your team, your going against your team's wishes, and you're taking a pick that might not fair well against the majority of competent top lane matchups. It just can create a toxic situation because you need to remember this, you're a stranger to them. They do not know you, they do not know what you're like, your past, how long you've been playing, etc. They're judging you based on their past experiences with "meta breakers". If you're comfortable with that, and take responsibility for your actions, then I don't see too much of an issue with it.

What if you run into someone who has played just as many games as you have with LB though? It just seems like too much of a disadvantage to be a good thing. If you turn it out, then expect a big applause, but don't blame people if they're a little salty if you end up losing badly.

Mafia LeBlanc1 votes

{quoted}

Things like Ekko top and Fiora mid are part of the meta, and are very well established picks for good reasons, not just because people play them a lot and didn't get their main role.

LB top makes me wince for a lot of reasons. Most of us are one trick ponies to an extent, but I'd never try to be Fiora ADC or an AP Fiora because I respect my teammates. I respect the fact that it's not just my world, and I'm playing with 4 other people. My actions effect them, and I always feel bad if I waste people's time on purpose. Normals is where you learn new roles anyways. I can play most of them okay outside of my main.

In normals I would be a little more chill about it, I mean you're still possibly wasting 20 minutes of my life by not being a team player, but at least I won't lose LP over it. Still I'm tired of seeing things like Karthus and Garen ADC even in my normals. I tend to leave the lobby if people do that.

You just need to remember that it's a grey area. You're not properly communicating with your team, your going against your team's wishes, and you're taking a pick that might not fair well against the majority of competent top lane matchups. It just can create a toxic situation because you need to remember this, you're a stranger to them. They do not know you, they do not know what you're like, your past, how long you've been playing, etc. They're judging you based on their past experiences with "meta breakers". If you're comfortable with that, and take responsibility for your actions, then I don't see too much of an issue with it.

What if you run into someone who has played just as many games as you have with LB though? It just seems like too much of a disadvantage to be a good thing.

They may not know me personally, but my stats with LeBlanc are public and available on any LoL stat site. With your Fiora example - I don't think many would complain if you took her mid if top was already taken, but obviously building AP on her is stupid because she doesn't scale with AP. I am communicating the exact same amount as any other person on my team, unless people start yelling at me for my pick. Just because it's not a popular pick doesn't mean it's bad.

What exactly would you want me to do if I was on your team?

Baby Ghoul1 votes

[{quoted}](name=LeBonk James,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=wt7LOxjG,comment-id=00110000,timestamp=2015-08-17T13:17:43.480+0000)

They may not know me personally, but my stats with LeBlanc are public and available on any LoL stat site. With your Fiora example - I don't think many would complain if you took her mid if top was already taken, but obviously building AP on her is stupid because she doesn't scale with AP. I am communicating the exact same amount as any other person on my team, unless people start yelling at me for my pick. Just because it's not a popular pick doesn't mean it's bad.

What exactly would you want me to do if I was on your team?

Mid Fiora is a viable meta pick though, especially after her rework. Top lane Leblanc is not.

If you were on my team, then I'd want you to learn another role or champion like the rest of us have. It's not that hard, and I know the frustrations of not always getting your role, but we all deal with it. I've seen people try to do AD LB even though that FOTM has long since passed, and it's not pretty. They all come in and tell me that they are LB mains, and they've done it so many times before and owned it.

I'd still be nervous if you were nice, but I certainly wouldn't berate you before the game starts. That's wrong on their end. Top lane LB is not considered a good pick because you're at a disadvantage instead of on a level playing field. That's not saying you can't win in top lane, but your chances are considerably less so than if you had went for someone who can adapt to top lane well. This angers some people because it can be considered throwing the game, and putting your own team at a disadvantage. It's a very thin line, but if you feel you can pull it off, then I don't know if you should be discouraged. However you must be able to understand how people must feel if you end up losing big.

I also should say, that I am trying not to always pick Fiora top. I know sometimes if I get top lane I need to learn a tank, and be reliable in that way. If my team needs that kind of stability then I will be there to provide it to them. That's part of what being a team player means.

You need to balance what you're good at, with what your team needs.

Charmed by Ahri1 votes

LB top is soo good! you explained very valid reasons why she's viable top. Assassin top works well. Just gotta deal with the BS that top brings, which is usually tanks. After a few levels, she can actually kill most tops, or just get ahead in general with TP across the map for assassinations. Plus you aren't on wave clear patrol for mid. I played her top/mid like my Ahri if she was banned or picked. With a 57% winrate S4. This season was horrible for her imo... Due to removal of DFG, silence and blink speed nerfs. With Leblanc now i have a 29% winrate in S5. As an avid Ahri main, whenever she's banned/picked i would LB, with an excellent success rate last season. And countless games from team builder, normals, game modes on her. Just doesn't even reflect countless hours playing her, with a 29% winrate and overall positive score. Although i've done all kinds of crazy shit on her like not running flash, and running exhaust ignite with a true damage spec. Worked out last season. This season not so much. So i tend to run flash ignite now i just throw her top with item 3165 , item 3089, item 3135 , item 3157 or summoner 4 summoner 12. She excels at picking off priority targets, and disrupting the enemy team. I would say go for it!! Annie Ekko Yasuo Zed Vayne Talon Riven Nidalee Kassadin Fizz these champs have been thrown top before, so i always say so Leblanc & Ahri can too. Also statistically speaking, LB has a high winrate if you swap out magic pene reds for attack damage reds rune wise. I used to build a dorans blade(to accommodate that fact) at the start, since i can't stand not penetrating at all stages of the game. But mana regan with flask or dorans ring is also still good. 54% Winrate with attack dmg reds opposed to 43% magic pene reds. Something to consider.

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