Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth: Tank

This was posted in July, but it still holds true. Expect more of these SOON!

Picture this. You are Miss Fortune. Your team has been doing well through the laning phase. Winning the one on one fights without much issue. Ganks are going well. That is to say, they are going well against everyone except one. You know that one. Stacking armor and magic resistance. Stopping you dead in your tracks with his stuns and lockdowns. As the game goes on and lanes get pushed, the team fights begin. This is where he shines. Locking down your team with his unstoppable wave of crowd control. Soon, your beautiful replay you were going to post on YouTube is nothing more than another piece of fodder to prove that team composition matters, and that you should have picked a Tank.

List of Tanks (as of July 22, 2011)

• Alistar
• Amumu
• Cho'Gath
• Galio
• Leona
• Maokai
• Rammus
• Shen
• Singed

So, the first thing I think needs addressing here would be how short this list is. I did address this some in another article, but Tanks have the disposition of not being as viscerally fun. What I mean by that is that Tanks don't get the big numbers. They don't get the big kill streaks. But, they are the cog that moves the team past the laning phase. The time spent farming up minions and avoiding death is well spent come the mid-point of the game when you're the bane of the enemy team existence. In any rate, this leads to a lack of Champions with the disposition of "Tank" stuck to them. You could call other Champions "Tank" (Dr. Mundo, Nasus, Blitzcrank, ect...) but they lack in some places that a true Tank excels, or they are better in another role. So, for this discussion, I will only cover those Tanks listed.

Do keep in mind as we continue, Tank is a hard role to generalize. As anyone who has played most or all of the above Champions can tell you, while they are all Tanks, they all play very differently and could not be all generalized in a simple group. So I will be concentrating on the big similarities, but will cover differences if I feel they should be covered.

Tanks excel in 2 places. Survivability and Crowd Control. Tanks can stay alive through some of the biggest burst from some of the hardest hitters in the game. Crowd Control is a must as well since you won't be the one dishing the pain. You need to stop the enemy (or at least slow them down) to let your team do the dirty work. Without these things, a Tank is not a Tank.

Tanks are weak in all the obvious places. They don't deal large amounts of damage if build solely to Tank. Many also fall short in the ability to farm, though this isn't role wide. Singed and Maokai can be farming machines around mid-game.

Truly, the role of a Tank should be obvious; take damage for your team, stop the enemies, rinse, repeat. While this can seem overly simple and possibly as entertaining as watching grass grow or paint dry, there are a lot of intricacies to deciding WHEN to do these things.

There is a Veigar, a Vayne and a LeBlanc pushing your first mid tower and you are there with a Miss Fortune. You're all levels 10-12 and 2 of your team is dead. When do you push in? Do you push in at all? Is your Ultimate up? Is Miss Fortune's Ultimate up? Is your 5th member going to make it if you move in now? Who do you target with your Crowd Control?

See what I mean? Not to mention all of this needs to be decided in less time than it took you to read that. The Tank can be the hero or the martyr, and its all based on your choices.

Now, down to brass tacks. Why should you play a Tank? Could be because you enjoy rushing into a fight as Amumu or Galio, having all your teammates follow and destroying the enemy team. Could be that you like the harassment potential of a Singed, Alistar, or Cho'Gath, pushing the enemy team around where you want them. Could be that you like the ability to support your team from practically anywhere faster than anyone as Shen or Rammus. Could just be that no one else wants to do it. All of these are good choices that show that knowing at least one Tank can drastically improve you overall as a Summoner and make you CREDIT TO TEAM!

Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth: Tanky DPS

Welcome to the first in a series of articles called "Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth" where I explain the basic principles behind particular roles, as well as how they differ from other roles, the strengths and weaknesses of these roles, how they tend to do throughout the game, and any other information that could explain the role as a whole. Please keep in mind I will be speaking generally. None of this is specific to one particular Champion. I will do my best to be objective and cover as many Champions in this role that I can. I started this back in June, so this and the next will be a bit old, but expect more in the coming weeks!

Tanky DPS Champions (List is as of 27 June 2011)

• Dr. Mundo
• Garen
• Irelia
• Jarvan IV
• Lee Sin
• Nasus
• Olaf
• Pantheon
• Renekton
• Trundle
• Udyr
• Xin Zhao
• Yorick

Tanky DPS is one hell of a role. Taking damage while dishing it out is the name of the game. These Champions are defined by their early game presence (so much so that I have heard them referred to as "First Blood" Champions) as well as their ability to not get damage items and still dole out major pain. They have one or two Crowd Control (CC) abilities ranging from silences to slows to stuns. They also come equip with high damage abilities that can (at times) take down a squishy Champion without much effort.

With an intro like that, you could be saying "Well, I'm never gonna play another type! These guys seem unstoppable." But, they have some major downsides as well. The lack of damage items tends to make them reliant on abilities rather than auto-attacking. They also have some long cooldowns on said abilities as well, making them somewhat bursty. So if your abilities are on cooldown, you just standing there hitting for almost nothing, and taking damage. Along with that, these types tend to have some poor damage scaling, so late game, they are more of an annoyance than a threat.

Before I continue, I'd like to cover the difference between Tanky DPS and "Bulky" DPS. Some would call these two different types of Champion, but I will be including them both in this article. Why, you ask? They play, build, act, and basically ARE the same, with one difference. Crowd Control. Bulky tends to have none or one weak CC. Champions I have listed that fall into this "sub" category are Dr. Mundo, Irelia, Lee Sin, Nasus, and Trundle.

Now, after everything I'd just laid out, you'd still like to play some Tanky DPS? Well, your in luck. Tanky DPS isn't so much a situational type of role. This is the type of role that could and should be included in just about every game. If DreamHack was any indication, Tanky DPS is far superior to Tank in the current meta-game. So no worries on when you should pick Tanky DPS. Just keep in mind good team composition and don't overpick.

So, you enter a game to see that your up against the dreaded Garen! So, that means it's GEEEEGEEEE! No. Tanky DPS isn't as hard to counter as most people think. As I stated before, they have weak points, so exploit them!

If you're in a Ranked/Draft game, there are some great Champions to pick up to counter Tanky DPS. (though some of them are Tanky DPS) Look for True damage (Ex. Olaf, Vayne, Cho' gath, ect. ) CC to stop them from dealing damage (Ex. Any Tank, Anivia, Heimerdinger, ect.) or damage based on health percentage. (Ex. Vayne, Xin Zhao, Mordekaiser, ect. ) These are not the only things to look for, but they are some great places to start.

"But I'm in a Normal Game and/or I don't like/am not good at those Champions. What in the world can I do?" Well, Little Billy, there are other options. If you play Attack Damage Champions like Teemo or Master Yi, get a Madred's Bloodrazor. That will counter them nicely. If your anyone else, do what your meant to do. All you can do is what your meant to do. and support your DPS in taking them down.

Tanky DPS is quite the foe to come across. Heading into a team fight with a good Olaf or Nasus can turn the tieds of this fight. But, as I will always point out, it takes a team to win a game. Knowledge on one role will not win you a game. You need a good team composition as well as competent team mates. So, know your roll, shut your mouth, and GO WIN SOME GAMES!

Who are these crazy kids?

So, you finally found me. I knew this day would come one day. Tell my wife I love her and tell Little Timmy to feed the dogs... Wait, your here for gaming? Oh, I thought you were someone else... MOVING ON!

So, you may be new here, so let me fill you in. This is the home of Jezanee and MajorMayo. Two of the most happening Livestreamers to ever stream LIVE! Wait... you've never seen a stream of ours? Well, your in for a treat good sir/ma'am! We will make a triumphant return to streaming VERY soon.

"But how do I know if your steaming," you ask. "I'm not psychic!"

First off, I'm not a fan of your tone. Second, we have a Twitter and Facebook for that. SO THERE! (But if you are psychic, let us know.)

"What games do you play," you also ask. "Or should we guess at that?"

Again, your tone isn't that pleasant, but I will answer you none the less!

• League of Legends
• Starcraft 2
• Sims 3
• Random Steam Awesomeness

We have almost no limit to the things we play. From Ranked League of Legends matches to whatever Let's Play I want to pull out my ass.

So stay with us. More content will come out over the coming weeks!

-Mayo-