Top Team Comps #1: Balanced AOE Comp

Archive post, January 2012. The counter this post tells you to fear isn't the same champion any more. Maokai's old ultimate, Vengeful Maelstrom, drained damage out of everything cast inside it and handed the stored total back as an explosion, which is exactly why a comp stacked with area damage had to respect him. It's Nature's Grasp [R] now, a wall of brambles that rolls forward and roots, so he beats this lineup by catching it rather than by defusing it. The engine still runs, though: On The Hunt [R] still hands the whole team movement speed for one simultaneous engage, and Soul Shackles [R] still asks Morgana to live through the channel before it stuns anyone.

Hmm...on paper it seems good, but I want to play!

GOOD evening summoners! I'd like to start a new series of blog posts dedicated to team compositions for you to stomp those blind picks with. (Or a lucky solo queue draft). We'll start off with some very viable team comps, and then move towards some more fun team comps that you might want to try out with your friends.

Today's first group is dedicated to a tanky AOE composition with a good balance for 1v1 battles.

Mid: Morgana
Top: Gangplank
Bot: Sivir/Sona
Jungler: Malphite

STRENGTHS
This team comp gives you multiple methods to initiate including using Sivir's ult (which allows your entire team to initiate simultaneously). While it's still beatable, it's a very safe combination of champions with a very nice margin of error. Almost all of the champions here have multiple escape mechanisms and are innately tanky. Catching someone out of position won't guarantee a death, and each of them have incredible sustain in lane.

Having excessive AOE CCs make it difficult for your team to avoid stacking them and reducing their effectiveness. However, this team comp gives Morgana just enough CC to get her stun off from her ult, even without using Zhonya's.

WEAKNESSES
One big thing you'll have to watch out for is Maokai, for he'll reduce the effectiveness of your team composition heavily with his ultimate.

Also, be careful of early game kill comps, since Morgana and Malphite are much more effective mid-game than they are early game.

Browse the full League of Legends team comps archive.