League of Legends Guide: Dominate Lane by Using the Cheater Recall

Continue to learn about the cheater recall in this League of Legends guide.

Which Lanes Does this Work in?

Top lane is the clear best lane for this strategy to work. It’s a long lane with a one-on-one matchup where both champions are likely taking teleport. In addition, getting an item advantage in the top lane “island” is almost always going to instantly win the matchup.

Bot lane is another fine situation for a cheater recall, only slightly compounded by the fact that there are two laners on each side. This means that you have to have coordination with your lane partner so that you both get to base and one of you doesn’t stay behind. There’s also the matter of two enemy laners being able to hold that initial wave outside of tower (something we’ll discuss next) to negate this strategy.

Finally, mid lane is the riskiest situation for executing a cheater recall because of how short the lane is and how many champions are Mages. Mages have a lot of area of effect (“AoE”) abilities, meaning that they can easily negate you from getting that initial push advantage on the first two waves. It also means that they will have an easier time clearing that large minion wave under their tower.

Both of these considerations are further compounded by the fact that mid lane is the shortest lane. Therefore, it will take less time for your opponent to push the wave back to your tower so that they can reset and recall without needing to burn teleport themselves. While this strategy can work in the mid lane, it is considerably riskier.

How Can You Counter the Cheater Recall?

The simplest way to counter this strategy is to shut it down before it starts. That means not letting your opponent get that initial push advantage or get that cannon wave into your tower. This is why the cheater recall is very hard to execute when your opponent has a “push advantage,” meaning they can push the minion wave faster than you can.

Another way to counter someone trying to cheater recall is to simply stop their recall. If your opponent has a long range ability that can cancel your base (like Xerath, Caitlyn, Cho’Gath) and they are able to do so, it can be devastating. Remember, recalling takes eight full seconds and every second matters as you need to run back to lane after the recall.

Finally, your opponent can counter by pulling that third wave so that it does not actually hit the tower. This is a risky choice, because he will have to tank the minion wave, losing even more health. However, if he does this correctly, he will be able to set up a freeze on you, leaving you vulnerable to a gank.