The Fool's Adventures In Scrubdom

[quote=Foolamancer][img=http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u65/Maestro134/ScreenShot2013-10-28at63557PM_zpsf80a85ff.png] Today just isn't my day, it seems. Bans were [[Jinx]], [[Nasus]], [[Jax]], [[Amumu]], [[Blitzcrank]], and [[Thresh]]. What this comes down to is that they had a top laner and an AD carry while we did not. [[Lux]], [[Alistar]] and I were all doing very well, but [[Vayne]] was 0/5/0 at the end of the laning phase ([[Alistar]] got assists from when I came in to gank after [[Vayne]] died again), while [[Gangplank]] was 0/4/1. They contributed nothing, and [[Vayne]] was constantly off farming wraiths while teamfights happened.[/quote]

[quote=C4 Lasty]Noticing you like to play Jarvan. I'm pretty good at Jarvan and I'm going to make some recommendations. You shouldn't build expensive damage items on J4 unless you go like 4-0 before 6-7 minutes. You're job is to initiate team fights, lock down targets, and soak a lot of damage. To accomplish these goals you have to be really tanky. You should replace the Black Cleaver with 1-2 Dorans blades or just leave it at the Brutalizer. Once again though I'd only build Bruta if you snowball really hard early. Ninja Tabi every game my man, even vs 4 AP champions. One game you built Merc Treads AND Ancient Golem. The Tenacity passives don't stack so you just spent 825 gold for 25MR. 720 buys you a Negatron Cloak worth 45MR. I saw a game where you built Zeke's Herald...no...just no. Easily one of the 5 worst items in the game. I haven't had a game go to 6 items in ranked in ages but if I built Jarvan full tank and I was looking to grab a late game damage item I'd snag a Last Whisper. Randuins, Locket, and Spirit Visage are all strong on J4. Banshees Veil and Thornmail are also strong in certain situations. If you have one of those crazy games where you're like 8-0 by 10 minutes try getting a Hydra over a Black Cleaver. Its a bit more expensive but overall its a much better item. If you're curious about skills/runes/masteries etc. you can watch episode 2 of my podcast. GL in ranked! -Lasty[/quote]

[quote=Foolamancer][quote=C4 Lasty]You shouldn't build expensive damage items on J4 unless you go like 4-0 before 6-7 minutes. You're job is to initiate team fights, lock down targets, and soak a lot of damage. To accomplish these goals you have to be really tanky. You should replace the Black Cleaver with 1-2 Dorans blades or just leave it at the Brutalizer. Once again though I'd only build Bruta if you snowball really hard early.[/quote] The thing about it is that I almost always [i]do[/i] snowball hard early. Picking up [[The Brutalizer]] and [[Boots of Mobility]] is generally what I do if my first two ganks resulted in kills, and, at this level, they almost always do because no one wards and no one plays safely. I only bother upgrading it to [[The Black Cleaver]] in two very specific circumstances: either I am fed out of my mind or our carries are useless and I at least have more gold than they do, so I need to do Tons Of Damage (tm) to make up for all the damage they fail to do on top of being very tanky. I wonder what your opinion on [[Trinity Force]] [[Jarvan IV]] is, though. I've been told by a lot of people that I should do it instead of [[The Black Cleaver]], but in my experience it isn't as consistent and requires a [i]lot[/i] more snowballing to get to in any decent amount of time. Thoughts? [quote=C4 Lasty]Ninja Tabi every game my man, even vs 4 AP champions. One game you built Merc Treads AND Ancient Golem. The Tenacity passives don't stack so you just spent 825 gold for 25MR. 720 buys you a Negatron Cloak worth 45MR.[/quote] Yes, I realized post-game that I had screwed that up. I normally don't even consider [[Mercury's Treads]], and I may have just purchased them via misclick. Not really sure. It's been a while since that game. The only situation I don't get [[Ninja Tabi]] is when, as above, I get a couple of early kills and think I can take advantage of my global presence, so I pick up [[Boots of Mobility]] instead. Even then, if the game goes on long enough, I'll end up selling the Mobis for Tabi. [quote=C4 Lasty]I saw a game where you built Zeke's Herald...no...just no.[/quote] I actually completely agree with you. [[Zeke's Herald]] was a complete desperation buy that game. I literally picked it up as the enemy team was pushing into our base for the win, because I had a [[Kindlegem]] in my inventory and knew I needed [i]something[/i] to turn this fight around, as our team had lost all the previous ones quite handily. [[Spirit Visage]] was the other thing I considered, but in the end I grabbed [[Zeke's Herald]] just because we had a couple autoattackers on the team who, while awful, would do a lot of damage if they could just [i]not die[/i] (e.g. [[Vayne]]), and getting [[Spirit Visage]] wouldn't let me carry the fight on my own. I only picked it up because it was the last, desperate, this-is-our-only-shot option. I have never considered it in any other situation. [quote=C4 Lasty]I haven't had a game go to 6 items in ranked in ages but if I built Jarvan full tank and I was looking to grab a late game damage item I'd snag a Last Whisper.[/quote] I would, but I actually play J4 pretty much as straight tank aside from the early [[Brutalizer]] if I get the lead I mentioned. I'll upgrade it to [[The Black Cleaver]] if I get the opportunity, but other than that, I just want to tank everyone down. I've yet to get fed enough that [[The Black Cleaver]] and [[Last Whisper]] are both options, except one game where I got fed enough to pick up [[Trinity Force]], though I can't remember if that was a ranked game. [quote=C4 Lasty]Randuins, Locket, and Spirit Visage are all strong on J4.[/quote] All core. My standard build is, excluding the possibility (READ: almost certainty due to how bad people are) of an early [[Boots of Mobility]] or me getting fed enough to upgrade to [[The Black Cleaver]] early: [[Spirit of the Ancient Golem]] -> [[Ninja Tabi]] -> [[The Brutalizer]] -> [[Locket of the Iron Solari]] (unless the support is planning on it; I always ask) -> [[Spirit Visage]] -> [[Randuin's Omen]] -> [[The Black Cleaver]] [quote=C4 Lasty]If you have one of those crazy games where you're like 8-0 by 10 minutes try getting a Hydra over a Black Cleaver. Its a bit more expensive but overall its a much better item.[/quote] I'd never actually thought of that before. What would you say makes it a better option? I generally pick up [[The Brutalizer]] because it offers cooldown reduction in addition to attack damage and armor pen, all of which are awesome on J4. What makes [[Ravenous Hydra]] a viable alternative? Better dueling? [quote=C4 Lasty]If you're curious about skills/runes/masteries etc. you can watch episode 2 of my podcast.[/quote] For those who are curious, I run 9/21/0 Masteries, AD quints, 6x AD reds, 3x APen reds, 9x armor yellows and 9x scaling magic resist blues. I believe this is pretty standard for J4, but do correct me if I'm wrong. [quote=C4 Lasty]GL in ranked![/quote] Much appreciated.[/quote]

[quote=C4 Lasty]So Jarvan is all about his early game damage. He snowballs lanes and then he transitions into a tank late game. I run 21-9-0 on Jarvan and Apen Reds, AD Quints. You should try replacing Brutalizer with a couple of Dorans blades. Hydra is just a beast of an item. The splash damage is amazing in teamfights and its an AA reset. The wave clear is great and if you can build it by 10-12 minutes you can easily end a game with 200+ CS even as a jungler. Once again though 9/10 the only damage item I get on J4 is a dorans blade or 2.[/quote]

[quote=BDUHBOB1]I have been following this thread for awhile now, I must say it is really interesting to watch you move through the ranks, the challenges your push through and the defeats you take. I must say, every time I see you defeated I feel bad, but when I see you get on a streak and progress through the ranks I feel as if league in general is getting an awesome new gold ranked player soon. -Keep going, BDUHBOB1[/quote]

[quote=Foolamancer]Thanks much to both of you. For those wondering where in the hell I disappeared to all of a sudden, well, I've been sick, and when I finally stopped being sick I had surgery. I'm still recovering from the latter, and am slightly whacked out on painkillers, but I will be damned if I let this stop me from hitting Gold. If I don't start this again today, it's because the painkillers I'm about to take hit me harder than I expect they will. I'm going to have to marathon it if I'm going to make Gold, but I still think I can do it if I try.[/quote]

[quote=Foolamancer][img=http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u65/Maestro134/ScreenShot2013-11-02at11851PM_zpsbb73d52b.png] Bans were [[Jinx]], [[Kassadin]], [[Singed]], [[Fizz]], [[Shen]], and [[Blitzcrank]]. Took Lasty's advice and ran 21/9/0 Masteries instead of 9/21/0. Much easier to carry in teamfights, though I'm still not sure I'm as efficient with it yet as I am with the first build simply because I haven't used it as much. Definitely effective, though. I murdered the crap out of everyone. [[Zac]] got zoned heavily in lane, but I ganked successfully for him twice and he came back strong. I died once because, like an idiot, I tried to save [[Caitlyn]], and once because I tried to save [[Kayle]] - painkillers must still be affecting me, hah - but otherwise this was a pretty much perfect game that was honestly pretty easy. There weren't a lot of opportunities for early ganks due to heavy warding on both sides, but I managed to find openings here and there while [[Udyr]] did not. And [[Udyr]] just doesn't scale as well as J4.[/quote]

[quote=Foolamancer]Real life hates me at the moment, and is doing everything it can to keep me from getting to play. Gold is very much attainable, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to manage it by season's end. I'm going to try my hardest, though, because I want Victorious Elise [i]so bad[/i].[/quote]

[quote=Jovy]If it makes you feel any better the splash art is dog poo <: good luck though, you got this :3[/quote]

[quote=Foolamancer][img=http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u65/Maestro134/ScreenShot2013-11-04at80734PM_zpsfc1f0748.png] Bans were [[Kassadin]], [[Ahri]], [[Jax]], [[Amumu]], [[Blitzcrank]], and [[Thresh]]. I was fourth pick this game, and our first pick took my customary jungle [[Jarvan IV]]. He actually gave me the choice of whether or not I wanted it, but I figured eh, may as well let him, because I'm a somewhat competent [[Nami]], at least, and [[Tidal Wave]] + [[Cataclysm]] is awesome. Game started out somewhat rough. [[Vayne]] picked [i]into[/i] [[Caitlyn]], so she hard countered herself, and she (predictably) spent the laning phase getting completely kicked around. She fed several kills to boot, then claimed she was "outplayed". Which was technically true. The enemy [[Caitlyn]] did outplay her by not running forward into both enemy's zones without backup. And [[Vayne]] also had zero map awareness; [[Jarvan IV]] attempted to gank for us twice during the laning phase before he realized that [[Vayne]] never, ever attempted to back us up. Fortunately, though, you don't have to be good at [[Vayne]] to outscale [[Caitlyn]], and between me and [[Jarvan IV]] dropping our ults (and my auras) during teamfights, things were a breeze - particularly because they wanted to focus me, for some reason. I was also keeping the dragon and Baron timers throughout the entire game, so we had free global gold every time the dragon spawned (the Baron timer turned out to be irrelevant since we ended the game without taking it again). And I was warding heavily, while the enemy [[Zyra]]... wasn't. So we were able to catch them out repeatedly and take free objectives. THINGS I SCREWED UP: - I forget just how squishy and immobile [[Nami]] is. I got caught out three times when I really shouldn't have simply because I forgot that she's so damn [i]slow[/i].[/quote]