Hello, I’m Robbie ‘RobsterMonahan’ Monahan and I’m a Platinum support main on the EUW server and have been for many seasons. As a result, I have seen a variety of metas and with it a wide spectrum of champions that I have used in ranked. Now when it comes to my ranked I have a system regarding the champions I play or as others would call it my ‘champion pool.’

This system features a maximum of five potential picks each with a different style, which are are as follows; Primary Peeler (typically has been Sona), Semi Peeler (has always been Lulu/Nami), Engage (has seen a lot of variance but my first was Leona), Pick Support (Morgana, oh where would I be without you?) and AP (has been Vel’Koz 90% of the time). Now each one of these picks gets reviewed and potentially changed once a month, which means I am constantly expanding my pool to meet the 5-type quota.

Now, this system has been very effective (as my higher than average ELO shows) and shows the effectiveness of expanding your pool, but there are some other reasons why you should be trying to expand and adapt your champion pool in your endeavors to grab as much LP as you can. Some of these reasons as are as follows.

Meta Shifts

As much as may hate it at times, patches are a needed piece of LoL and so a champion's power can reach the heights of S tier and fall through the pits of C tier. This can result in your champion of choice no longer being viable for you whether it be excessive nerfs or your pick being so strong it ends up permabanned. To prevent this, you can expand your pool by adding a pick that has a decent level of power but isn’t banned meaning you can still do your job. By doing this regularly you can maintain a full pool and set yourself up to succeed in ranked.

A personal example of this for me happened very recently with my AP pick of Vel’Koz. Due to the mana regen nerfs on the AP support item, the Eye of the Void lost a lot of power as an AP support and so I couldn’t use it. So, I needed an AP pick who could use the AP support items. Enter Lux, who can use Athene’s very well. After practicing her in normal I have added her to my pool and kept my champ pool full.

Prevent Autopilot

One of the biggest reasons we lose games is that we get complacent, lose our focus, and try to coast by on autopilot. But when we autopilot we miss things: that extra ward, that last hit, or other small advantages that cost you games. However, it is impossible to autopilot when learning a new pick, as by nature you don’t know how to autopilot the new pick. So, by consistently adapting and expanding your champion pool you can help eliminate autopilot from your play which is most definitely a benefit.

Hidden OP

One of the great things about expanding your champion pool with new champion picks is the sheer fact that you need to try out, experiment with, and, as a result, test the LoL roster. This means that by the regular maintenance of your champion pool you can find the next hidden OP, add it to your pool, and then deploy it in ranked games to the misery of your opponents.

A great example of this for me is with Nami in Season 7. Since Lulu found herself on the permaban list, I had to find a new semi peeler in my pool. After some experimentation, enter Nami and oh boy is she undervalued, I currently have a >65% win rate on her and I feel she is highly underrated and so, a hidden OP. So here we have an example of pool maintenance revealing hidden power for solo queue.

Being Banned Out

Now I know this seems obvious but there is a reason for that. There is very little in LoL that feels worse than having to take a completely raw champion into a ranked game only to get put in a dumpster because you know nothing about abilities, playstyle, matchup, or even build. Now to sit and hope that your pool won’t get banned out is just foolish seeing as to how meta can drastically change with a single patch (remember the initial rune rework that single handily turned top lane into regen tanks with Mundo being the solo king of Summoner's Rift). This is why I suggest having at least 5 champions in your pool but again this is your pool and you should maintain it to your own system (provided it is effective). Nobody likes being banned out and maintaining and expanding your champion pool can prevent it.

Fun

The last reason is probably the brightest looking for us all, FUN! Some of my favorite times playing LoL has been with friends trying out new picks and expanding my pool. Since you should be trying these new picks out in normal games (non-ranked), you do not need to worry about losing LP and should focus on learning the pick while having fun (you are playing a game after all).

A great example of this for me is learning how to use Leona ultimate (in season 3) in a five-man premade with friends pulling off wombo combos before using her in the season 3 ranked season to much success, an example of how expanding your champion pool can not only be both beneficial to your quality of gameplay but enjoyable too.

Conclusion

To conclude, having a suitably large champion pool that you maintain can give you the optimal setup to not only keep your ranked gameplay to a higher standard but can also give you some nice additional benefits to you LoL experience via the ways mentioned prior. GL, HF, and GG!

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