League of Legends: Breaking Down a Protect the KogMaw Composition
The Draft
Throughout picks and bans your team should be focused on removing any potential counters to the strategy, while also picking up any champions with shields or heals that synergise well with KogMaw. Bans should be targeted towards heavy engage or dive to prevent opponents from jumping on Kog and instantly blowing him up. As for the pick phase, your team wants to hide the strategy for as long as possible, without losing a number of key picks, such as KogMaw or Lulu. Finding the right balance could be the difference between the perfect composition and one that falls flat.
Bans
First of all, it’s essential that KogMaw makes it out of lane even or ahead. Therefore it would be wise to cancel out any laning phases counters, such as Blitzcrank, due to his obnoxious hooks, or Leona, who can permanently jump on your carry. As for later in the game, unavoidable engage tools should be banned out as they can start a teamfight from nothing. Sejuani’s R – Glacial Prison and Zac’s R – Let’s Bounce! both pose huge threats to both KogMaw and his surrounding teammates, so banning these champions out is ideal to avoiding dangerous teamfights and sticking to a Kog front line.
Top Lane
The top lane is probably the least important role when running this strategy due it being the furthest away from the AD Carry at all points of the game. In fact, in the majority of cases you can pick any top laner to match the Kog comp and it won’t make a difference. However, in this scenario we’re going to look at top champions that synergise best with this approach.
Ideally, you’ll pick up Shen for your team composition due to his ability to split-push and join a teamfight in an instant using his R – Stand United. Despite wanting to group as a five-man unit as much as possible, there are situations where a top laner may have to catch a wave or prevent an enemy split-push and Shen is perfect for this role. Other options include Gangplank with his global ultimate or Kayle who can add another layer of protection for the KogMaw with her ult Divine Judgement.
Jungle
Ivern, simple. The Friend of the Forest is the perfect addition to a Protect the KogMaw comp for obvious reasons. Providing a shield and peel while also being an adept jungle champion creates an easy option for the draft phase. If for whatever reason the enemy team has decided to waste a ban on Ivern, you could get desperate and emulate Spirit as he demonstrated Lulu jungle on the professional stage, though this is not recommended in solo queue.
Mid Lane & Support
There are a bunch of choices that can be swapped between mid and support to get the most out this strategy. As previously mentioned, Lulu is a great option and would ideally be placed in the support role due to her excellent utility, but she can also be used in the middle lane. Similarly, Karma, Morgana, and Zilean can be swapped around both roles to peel for the ADC in teamfights. Ultimately the support should just be an enchanter equipped with heals and/or shields to keep KogMaw healthy and prevent burst mages or assassins from instantly killing him.
AD Carry
Unsurprisingly KogMaw is the number one priority for this game plan to work, mainly because of the max health damage and excellent range on his W – Bio-Arcane Barrage. Nevertheless, there are a number of other marksmen that can replace him. Jinx’s range makes her an excellent candidate as she can match Kog’s DPS in teamfights, as well as apply splash damage to several enemies at once using her Q – Switcheroo! Another option is Twitch who can blow up the entire enemy team by combining Runaan’s Hurricane with his ultimate ability Spray and Pray.