Hey guys this is my Ranked 3s guide. I played 3s right up until level 30 when I started on 5s however lately I've been getting back into them and thought I'd share my ideas with you all =). My favourite 3s champion atm is Blitzcrank he is amazingly strong in 3s.
PS: In that game I was vsing a Morde and used QSS to bait his ult!

So I know many people don't play/enjoy 3s, but Ranked 3s is probably my favourite Ranked queue to play in. Why?
1. It's easier to get a team together
2. There is a much higher level of cooperation
3. The games are shorter
4. The map seems much more tactical, teams with three smites can have advantages over teams with one smite and one CV(refer to point 2.)

Have a read through this guide for explanations on how to play Blitz, Twisted Treeline and build explanations. =)

Green are top picks in 3s, they consistently dominate and you don't need to be skilled to win as them lol.

Blue are champs you would pick if your top picks are gone, or you want to add something different to your line up. (For example, Amumu to hold them in Nunu Ult)

Red champs have the potential to dominate on 3s but are limited in some way (for example, Nasus needs massive farm) or they need a team built around them.

Gray means don't play them on this map.

Now I'll explain why each of those champs are in certain spots(the smite means they can jungle);

Green

He still does damage even after his nerf and he destroys champs susceptible to CC (Nunu, Xin Zhao).
3 kinds of CC, large amount of damage and great team fight potential.
Farms exceptionally well, 2 kinds of AoE CC and large true damage nuke (secures dragon/red/buffs).
This hoe is OP, build Trinity then Tank and troll to victory.
Great tank, good damage and team buff.
I personally don't think he's that bad but paired with Nunu it's just ******ed fighting him.
I've had so much fun play testing this guy on 3s, after a couple successful ganks you basically OWN the map.
Updated to Tier 1 thanks to input from a Malphite player, check user opinions section lower down.
4v2? Morde es #1.
Best jungler on 3s, secures buffs like a ***** and only susceptible to champs like Blitz, Cho and Alistair.
Huge early game advantage over other champs and due to the fact that games on 3s are short you will be strong all game.
Huge map control, can get dragon stupidly early and ganks like a baus.
One of the Gods of 3s, his recent buff made him nuts aswell.
Fantastic brawler and jungler, Pillar isolates very well in the jungle.
Once he gets slightly farmed or hits level 9 he's freakin' unstoppable.
Clears the jungle really fast and has a strong ultimate (especially on blinking champs).
Did someone say Win Nao? This guy is nuts at ganking (level 2 ganks!!!!) and has great CC to add to the mix.

Blue


One of the best anti-carries in the game, drops off when the enemy starts building MR however. Which is why she is Blue.
Strong pick but mana problems and a weak early game prevents him from being Tier 1.
Fantastic AoE but like Amumu has huge mana problems preventing her from being Tier 1.
Annie is probably one of the best casters to use in 3s, her recent buff+AoE stun is a force to reckon with.
This poor guy used to be Tier 1, until Riot slapped him in the face, stomped him into the ground, shat on him... Vomited on him, made him eat the mixture of vomit and ****... Then tore off his ballsack. So yeah, Mundo's Tier 2 now.
The only reason this guy is on my tier list is because I've seen him dominate, if he gets a few early kills you'll never stop him.
ONLY if you are building an AoE team comp!
HUGE early game damage, if you don't get kills in your lane you're playing him wrong.
Mobility, strong magic damage, the barrel kinda sucks on this map when he knocks people over walls though =(.
AoE ult ftw! Too bad he's not that great after his ult.
Sucks balls in team fights but is probably one of the only Champs that can solo push in 3s.
Pretty cool pick, decent jungler and strong nuke. Only problem is he's too squishy to be Green.
This hoe would be Tier 1... IF there were carries she could anti carry but nobody picks squishies on 3s so she's kinda obsolete.
This guy can still jungle ok. His AoE ult and roll/taunt ganks make him a somewhat viable choice.
This guy has a strong early game but does tend to fall off quite harshly.
Kinda meh, needs to get a few items before good, if he does though you'll bloody regret it.
Poor Sion, refer to Mundo's reasoning.
****ing shrooms, ****ing kiting, ****ing blinds, ****ing global taunt.
Great skirmisher, only reason he isn't Tier 1 is because he gets anti carried by most Tier 1s.
This guy is so frustrating to play against, bring Morde back to life >=(.

Red

Huge mobility yet mana hungry and his burst isn't that great against tanks.
Great AoE ultimate yet her susceptibility to CC puts her in Tier 3.
Needs a team built around him tbh, if he didn't he would be Tier 2.
Needs WAY too much farm to become on par with other off-tanks, only take him to counter Xin Zhao or Warwick.
If she was stronger against tanky DPS she would be higher, as it is she kinda blows against them.
Gets kited WAY too easily, can still jungle well however.
He used to be strong but he's been nerfed like a ***** lately, see Mundo reasoning.
Godly when fed, otherwise meh.
Building an AD team comp? Chose Taric!
Only reason she's on the list is because she can own most other solo champs.
See Olaf reasoning.
So. Many. WALLS.

If the champion doesn't have a coloured square it means they aren't very good picks on 3s. Namely Supports and Ranged carries have the hardest time on 3s. Also many casters cannot deal enough burst to keep up with the off-tank meta still VERY strong in 3s matches.

PS: This is all just an opinion, I know many people may have owned with champs in the grey but I call it as I see it and right now those gray champs blow.

I'm getting kinda sick of explaining why Tryndamere is not that great a pick so I'll make a section and explain why he's green/blue.

Tryndamere is one of those champs that absolutely ROFLSTOMP at low elos but get ROFLSTOMP'd at high elos. It's even worse in Draft Mode, the enemy SEES you take Tryn that's like an insta 3 ignites/exhausts GG Tryn enjoy cleaning up the mess after we rape you. What's that? He can spin away? Ok let's kill his team mates. Oh wait he's spinning back? Let's kill him because it's 1v3 LOL.

NO he can't lane top solo any decent player will force him out of the lane.
YES he can jungle but any other jungling champ like Nunu will DESTROY him in the jungle.

It's ALL about picking and counter-picking in Ranked 3s which is why Tryndamere is terrible unless you get FED. That uncertainty is why he doesn't have a set colour. You CAN play him and do well with him but there are more viable choices.

So he's blue if you do Ok but green if you dominate a lane/get successful ganks.

Bans are different in 3s. Where a champ is OP in 5s (Vayne or Noct for example) they might be piss poor in 3s. Common bans I like to do are;

Singed
Morde
Irelia
Alistar
Nunu

All of these champs dominate in this compact map so banning any of those is preferable to banning Vayne, for example.

Now, for 3s you don't need these types;
Support
Tank
Ranged carry

The best types to have are;
Off-tank AD
Off-tank AP
So as long as you have a dedicated AD champ and a dedicated AP champ it doesn't matter so much what your last pick is (However you still want a jungler!).

So an example of a good team comp (what I use) is Vladimir (Top solo), Blitzcrank (Bot solo), Xin Zhao/Olaf/Irelia/Warwick (Jungle).

A massive change from 5s to 3s is the fact that you can't safely solo push a turret, being 3-man ganked isn't a dumb move on Twisted Treeline (whereas in 5s you could drag or push a turret from that). The most effective way to win is to win teamfights OR get a pick then grab some key objectives. Huh? Key objectives? What are those?

THESE are key objectives;

Top priority

Dragon is the highest priority target if you cannot push towers/inhibs/nexus. If you don't have this bad boy warded after 5 mins you are doing something wrong.

Medium priority

People often underestimate the power red buff brings to your team when you're team fighting. Red buff is actually the highest priority WARD sight as you will be ganked through here most often then not (Unless you're top solo).

Low Priority

These buffs are good but generally your jungler will have control of them, if not, you're gonna be in trouble when you get ganked.

HOWEVER, if you CAN push towers/inhibs/nexus then DO THAT instead of jungling as the buffs will still be there after you have scored the tower kill =).

The answer to this requires experience. Champs like Vlad are extremely weak level 1, whereas a Nunu could eat you up and then some. Also, if you see them take 3 smites then you know they are going to grab Red buff right off the bat. If you feel you have a stronger team then them find a place where you can attack with the first burst, instead of reacting to a burst. The best spots are attacking from brushes with a stun/silence/knock up. However if you are slow out of the fountain I don't recommend fighting level 1, just go to you lane towers and wait until you can see the enemies on the map before commencing to lane.

Most time yes, you will. The only time you won't is if they have a CV in which case you have to tread carefully in the jungle.

The BEST gank spot IMO is this one;

Get there ASAP, the red dots are where the three of you should stand in order to have a 360 degree line of sight. Normally the solo top will walk through this area to lane top after separating from his team.

NOTE: This gank will not always work, but when it does you have a great advantage early game.

Summoner Spells work a bit differently in 3s, instead of grabbing those Ghost/Flashes you want your Exhaust/Ignites because having a team fight advantage will help your team 10times more then having positional advantages.

The BEST Summoners for 3s;

Reducing the enemies damage output by a % will give your team a MASSIVE advantage.
Winning your lane is a top priority in 3s. If you can secure some early kills then you will most likely snowball to victory.
Buffs play a huge role in deciding victory or defeat in 3s, if you can't secure dragon, or red, then you are going to be behind from level 1.

The GOOD Summoners for 3s;

Map hax!
Superior to Ghost on this map because of the numerous walls to Flash over.
Only if you're vsing a team with 4 or more crowd control effects.
Kinda meh but can help secure some kills.

Anything else is just subpar on 3s, maybe due to large cooldowns (revive), bad spells (clarity), or just outclassed (heal).

Pretty basic section actually. Kill the small camp next to red, head straight up, kill the small camp, get the buff next to that one, then gank.

Honestly it doesn't matter if you can't jungle well it's the ganks that really matter. If you only kill 3 camps in the jungle yet gank 4 times then you're putting your team much further ahead then someone who kills 10 camps in the jungle yet ganks 1 time.

The only time jungling becomes more important then ganking is when teams start grouping for team fights around red and dragon. In which case you want to save your smite for stealing/securing these two key objectives.

REMEMBER: The first dragon spawn is at 4:40, and he respawns 5 minutes after being killed.

Here is a video made by SinDelta who said I was free to use it in here.
Play Video
You can find his 3v3 Warwick guide here.

Time to start explaining my builds that you can see.

Marks: Armour Penetration because Blitz is an AD-offtank, quite simply actually.
Seals: I choice armour because it helps so much if you want to level 1 fight, or even in the lane when you want to harass yet take minimal damage from creeps.
Glyphs: MR/lvl because they are such a great rune set tbh, not much else you need.
Quints: GP/10 I know right? Weird. However Blitz is a poor farmer so why not? The extra gold could be enough for more wards/pots/elixers so they aren't a bad choice.

I grab Strength of Spirit because Blitz is a mana-based champ and this will increase his overall survivability and sustainability. The rest I chuck in Utility because I LOVE that tree =D.


Take Rocket Grab level 1 for team fights ganks then follow this pattern;
Remember that in 3s matches that SURVIVABILITY is king! You grab the Manamune for start building damage and mana then grab your Frozen Heart to really mess with those AD offtanks/carries. A Veil afterwards is the logical choice. After these you can grab whatever you like.

PS: Yeah I know Trinity isn't there but you can put it in anyplace you like. This is just the build I use and have success with.

Another of my Twisted Treeline favourites =).

Marks: Armour Penetration to lower jungle creeps armour for jungling, also, combined with Black Cleaver will lower enemies armour by a HUGE amount!
Seals: Armour for jungling.
Glyphs: Flat magic resist because you need to survive a casters early game boost when you come roaring out of the jungle.
Quints: Health Quints to give Xin some early game survivability. Fantastic for team fights AND jungling.

One of the reason I use the Utility tree so much is because Summoner Spells are a huge advantage in 3s aswell as increased Buff Duration.


Take Three Talon Strike for the utility of it (level 1 fights and can jungle with it) after that you want to follow this order; I say max W because you're jungling but if you stop jungling after a few levels then start maxing E and Q.
If you are going to be laning as Xin Zhao take this skill order; However you want one point in W early so you can proc Q faster.

In 5s I normally go for a Yoyos AND Black Cleaver combo but remember that survivability is KING in 3s so grab your damage item then grab bulk!

I don't play this bastard but TheXcalibur (who I was playing with in 3s) does and this is how he builds him (he's 1700 5s Solo Q and 1579 in 3s).

Marks: Magic Penetration for early game dominance.
Seals: Flat Health for early game dominance.
Glyphs: Cooldown reduction because it's one of the strongest Stats to get on Vlad.
Quints: Health Quints for early game dominance.

9/0/21 because Utility tree is OP!

Grab Troll-pool at level 2 then follow this order; Very standard order for Vladimir.

Grab boots first because solo top will be ganked very often and you need mobility more then bot lane will. When you can grab the Revolver to win your lane then Rabadons, WoTA and Void Staff to start dishing out epic damage.

I play this hoe when Blitz is banned/picked or the enemy team has the Cow.

Marks: Armour Penetration now works with your ult!
Seals: Armour for to tank some creeps aswell as have a stronger early game (can also jungle)
Glyphs: MR/lvl because it's a great Stat to have.
Quints: Move speed quints for that mobility that is so very strong on Irelia.

9/0/21 FTW. Can also go 21 in defense but it's personal preference.


Grab Q first for the last hitting aspect then follow this sequence; I like to max E for the epic burst it gives =).

Grab Irelia's staple item (Trinity) then go two tank items then grab a Wits End for the great proc effect.

This guy is pretty easy to play but also very easy to counter (QSS).

Marks: Magic Penetration for early game dominance.
Seals: Dodge seals because we go down the defense tree and grab improved dodge.
Glyphs: Cooldown reduction because it's one of the strongest Stats to get on Morde.
Quints: Health Quints for early game dominance.

9/21/0 for massive bulkiness.
Standard order yet again.


Doran's Shield for it's early game stats, Ionian boots because CDR is hard to come by on Twisted Treeline, Rylais for Damage, health and utility, Sunfire for AoE damage, health and armour, FoN for MR, Movespeed and health regen, Abyssal for Pen, AP and MR and finally GA to be an absolute **** (MORDE NEVA DIES!).

So GOOD! Word's cannot explain how much I LOVE this champ.

Marks: Armour Penetration for your Q and ult aswell as jungling.
Seals: Armour for jungling.
Glyphs: CDR to spam more skills early game.
Quints: Health so we don't die in 1 hit at level 1 =(

9/0/21 FTW. Can also go 21 in defense but it's personal preference.


You still want one in W for mobility (Can also max W over Q but it's personal preference)

Wriggles for jungling, black cleaver is my favourite AD item to get on Sin, then we want to go the standard "Atmog's" item route.

So freakin' OP if you feed him any kills *shudder*

Marks: Attack damage for early game burst.
Seals: Dodge to proc your stun.
Glyphs: AP for burst.
Quints: Attack damage for for early game burst.

0/9/21 You need the 9 in defense for dodge speed and the rest I put in Utility because it's a VERY strong tree.


You still want one in E for stuns (Can also max W over Q but I like 3 second jumps)

This is my favourite Jax build, the reason I get Wits End is so you can proc Guinsoos and your Ult MUCH faster then you would otherwise.

If you have some opinion on my list then I'll post it here for people to see =)

Submitted by Blydden (responded by changing the Tier list a bit);



Submitted by Nighthawk (response page 3);





Here's Malphite Tier 1 reasoning from the user Prinnceszs;

Well there you have it! My Ranked 3s resource. If you have any chapters you want me to add drop a comment and I'll chuck it in!



Thanks to theXcalibur and Considereth for being awesome teammates!

PS: MOBAFIRE REPRESENT!