Ya, I can clickbait too. It’s not my fault; it’s your fault for reading… baka.
So, Rebels are OP I guess, something something, you won’t believe number three, something something, amazing! Read the list. Am I doing it right?
For reference, this is the comp I’m talking about.
55 Percent Winrate
Since patch 9.23, I’ve analyzed 10 games from each of the top-10 NA challengers, totaling 100 games. Throughout the months of doing this, I’ve found a lot of useful data. One of the most interesting finds was how oppressive top comps were.
The strongest comps historically have been 9.23 Ocean Mage with 34 wins, 10.4 Shadow Yi with 30 wins, 9.24 Blender with 25 wins and 10.5 Electric, also with 25 wins. These are all dwarfed by Rebels’s 55 percent first-place rate. That means over half of the games played in high Challenger, at least the games I saw, were won by Rebels.
And this doesn’t account for play rate. It’s not uncommon to see three or more players forcing Rebels.
Can you count the number of Rebel players?
Malphite
There isn’t much to say about this champion other than why the hell does he have 70-base attack damage at level one? A one-cost tank has more AD than most champions.
The only champions that either match or beat Malphite’s base AD are Cho’Gath, Irelia and Jinx, all at the same attack damage of 70, and Jhin at 90 AD.
Now, does anyone notice any similarities between those four champions. Those FOUR champions? That’s right, they’re all four costs.
Now, why the hell do Rebels, the best comp in the game, have access to a champion with 70 AD, which also scales with the Rebels trait, at stage 1-1?
The AD plus his massive shield puts him on similar footing with release Leona.
He isn’t as strong as she used to be, but he functions similarly. He’s a one-cost tank that’s strong in the early game and can tank insane amounts of damage in the late game. Not as much as Leona used to, but the 70-damage claps he throws out in the early game get you winstreaking, which more than makes up for it.
Ziggs
Speaking of early-game champions, why do Rebels have slightly better Kog’Maw?
Kog’Maw’s ult did 150 and 300 damage at levels one and two and required 40 mana. Ziggs’s ultimate also requires 40 mana, but does 250 and 325 damage at levels one and two.
Although he isn’t as strong in the early game because of Predator versus Rebel, as a standalone unit, they’re basically the same. However, one scales way better into the late game. Also, Demolitionist versus Poison isn’t even debatable.
No Point of Weakness
There is no point in the game where Rebels dip in power significantly enough. They're one of the strongest early-game synergies with some of the strongest early-game champions. You can throw a Luden’s on Ziggs and blindly win the first three rounds. The only time you’re pressured in the early game is when you’re deciding to level to five or save gold.
The only real dip is maybe an unlucky level six where you don’t find any useful four costs and don’t find a Yi.
But there’s so many four costs that work with the comp. Cho, Irelia, Soraka, and Wu. Even Jhin works because you haven’t committed your AD items to anyone. And, obviously, Jinx and Kayle are core, so if you find any of those at level six, you’re chilling.
Braindead Positioning
I mean, you saw the picture, right? Put the comp in a hexagon, separate MF from the group, put the main Rebel carry in the middle, put the secondary Rebel carry to the right. If you lose when your champs are on the right side, switch them to the left.
Now you can use all that unspent brainpower on something else. Wow.
Much skill; such positioning.
Only One Counter
There’s only one comp that can stand up to late-game Rebels: Protector Mystics.
It's a good composition, but relies on hyper-rolling Xin and getting perfect items on him. Typically no one contests either Xin or his items, but if those are contested, the comp kind of crumbles.
Also, it’s way harder to force than Rebels due to the item requirements and the need to hyper roll.
The other problem is it gets massacred by Jhin, and Jhin gets bodied by Rebels, so it’s a rock-paper-scissors in the late game. However, the Rebels comp will have way more health, sometimes even like 80 health compared to 40.
Mathematically, Rebels are almost guaranteed second in the case that all three comps come online.
Now, there are comps that can kill Rebels in the early and mid game and continue using their lead into the late game, so even if they are the weaker comp, they’re so far ahead in gold that it doesn’t matter.
However, as stated before, the only comp that stands up to Rebels when they get everything online is Protector Mystics, which again, wouldn’t be a problem, except that Rebels are strong at every stage of the game.
Too many Carries
Don’t you hate having a bunch of unusable items? Are you upset at that random B.F. Sword laying around, just collecting dust?
Well, I’ve got the solution for you!
Dial 1-800-Rebels and watch all your troubles melt away.
For three easy payments of four gold each, you too can build your own carry! Shipping and handling included.
Have some early Rods? Put them on Ziggs!
Have some AD items? Put them on Jinx!
Have some tank items? Also put them on Jinx to make Red Buff and Sword Breaker because build paths make no fucking sense!
Didn’t find A Sol? Just put AP on Kayle! She uses every AP item anyway.
Have some Gloves laying around? Literally every champion in the comp uses Thief’s Gloves well!
Kayle
This is number three. Did you expect it? Something something, comments below.
Kayle is probably the best four cost in the game. She also synergizes with the other two Blademasters, and you throw in MF to deal even more damage.
The problem with her isn’t that she’s strong, it’s that she’s an AP carry.
If she were an AD carry, you would have to decide to either stack her or Jinx based on the situation. However, since she’s AP, you have a really easy decision to make.
Do you have an Aurelion Sol? If no, can you wait for him? If no, put AP items on Kayle. Such decisions; wow!
Aurelion Sol
Hey, I used that image already!
Speaking of A Sol, you’ll still deal over 2k damage at level one without items.
Just put him in the middle of the hexagon and enjoy his 2,125 health.
If he has Morello and Seraph’s, the game ends, but you can put most AP items on him and the game should be over anyway. Once he’s level two, the game also ends, or, if by some ungodly miracle you get a Spatula, make him a Demolitionist, and the game also ends.
Gangplank
Ya, everyone saw this coming.
A level-one Gangplank can out-damage most carries.
Everything about him is too strong.
His ultimate hits everyone, his mana requirements are too low, his health is too high, and his ultimate does 650 damage level one.
One ult can wipe most of the enemy team, and whatever’s left will be stunned anyway, so it’s still basically a wipe.
You can also upgrade his ultimate for even more power, put mana on him, put health on him, or screw it, just equip AP items and kill everything even harder.
He’s the best standalone champion in the game that also happens to synergize with the best comp in the game.
Very cool Riot; thank you.
Also, why the hell is his attack speed 1.0?
