Back in December I wrote about how Smite Warwick in the top lane – using Skirmisher’s Sabre – was broken, applying an ungodly amount of true damage per swipe of Warwick’s ultimate. Pro players weren’t too fussed or affected but the mere mortals in solo queue were under threat. The result was to adjust the way the damage was dealt and how much was done, with Riot Games explaining how they had fixed the problem and that they were keen to keep Smite as a Summoner’s spell for junglers-only. We fast forward 4-5 months and we’re back in a similar situation…

The Idea & Benefits:

The idea behind top lane tanks using Teleport/Smite as a combination of Summoner’s Spells is to sacrifice personal mobility for map presence - utilising the very cost-efficient and duelling-efficient jungle item Skirmisher’s Sabre and the enchantment Cinderhulk.

Jungle items grant increased gold earned for clearing jungle camps, so a few camps taken here and there and your item is already earning more than you would if you built a traditional setup. Beyond this, your smite gives you a higher likelihood of taking the scuttle crabs and acquiring the massively important objective vision they give, not to mention the fact they’re basically a ward that pays you to take them rather than one you have to invest in.

Top lane Smite shall be henceforth known as the "showtime" build. I have spoken.

— erik lonnquist (@ggDoA) April 8, 2015

The damage output of these items is negligible early on because you should start Ruby Crystal with a view to building Bami’s Cinder/Skirmisher’s Sabre – Cinderhulk, but taking a jungle buff to hit an early level 2 means you can take a good lead on your lane opponent, survive comfortably in a lane swap, or just prep yourself to become a late game behemoth and split pushing fiend – a tactic that wins practically all solo queue games given their lack of orchestrated team cohesion/coordination/communication.

Your increased survivability eases pressure on your jungler and allows them to farm more or gank other lanes more regularly, but a smart gank top for a kill could see you both get some gold and be free for a jaunt into the enemy jungle to deny gold during the enemy’s downtime. There is the issue of not having Flash but champions like Hecarim and Shyvana (and if you’re Fnatic’s Huni then Lee Sin) are popular for this reason – they’re highly mobile.

In case you're still struggling with the concept of Smite/TP top though, here's a video of former Team Dignitas jungler Crumbzz aka Alberto Rengifo explaining what to do and how to do it on his YouTube channel.

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How do I counter and who with?

Countering depends on your opponent. The likelihood is you will see either the Hecarim or the Shyvana because they have the best pushing power and thus can split push like a Tryndamere on steroids mid to late game. Hecarim has mana costs, whereas Shyvana doesn’t, so picking someone without these costs could be really good, but at the same time his kit keeps him hard to pin down so slows, taunts, and obstructions are all welcome.

Shen/ Mundo:

Former CLG jungler ‘Dexter’ was duoing with Alliance midlaner ‘Froggen’ recently on EU West and on his Twitch stream they discussed the current smite/top meta. Dexter proposed alternate champions to suit the patch and pointed out Shen. As he put it, Shen’s tank nature with his shield cast and the Gromp buff ‘Gift of the Toadstool’ means that Shen could – particularly in the professional scene – take the early monster/buff and teleport into a lane swap situation and farm perfectly well and safely under tower in a 1v2 scenario. Shen’s Ki Strike gives health back, and a larger percentage should it kill a unit. This safe buff/shield/HP regen combo would protect the health of Shen thus pulling him ahead of the opposing top lane because he would be in a losing matchup versus ADC and support. In a solo 1v1 situation it’s hard to imagine a buffed Shen losing out to anyone really, bar ranged poke, but it’s also hard to imagine him beating anyone. This is literally a stall option.

Dr Mundo again follows this vein of sustain and can be infuriatingly tanky as the game progresses but despite his passive regen (similar to Garen’s) and his ability to regain HP from his cleaver throws (similar to Shen) his ultimate lacks a real impact: Shen’s is a shield and teleport in one, Mundo has to linger. This is not to deny that Mundo’s ability to massively regenerate health isn’t impressive or useful but in terms of securing objectives and kills it’s more for biding time and getting a jungler to gank and thus set you both ahead and become unkillable and an infuriation to the enemy. Perhaps a team like TSM would consider trying it given Dyrus is a big fan of the champ and that the Gromp buff, like Cinderhulk, scales off maximum HP. A Thornmail in the mix there would perhaps be too brutal…

Garen:

Garen is a similarly tanky champion to Shen and again here is a champion with strong health regen, big HP, and no energy costs, not to mention possessing a silence (a rarity in LoL now). One downside to Garen compared to Shen is that Shen is far more basic attack useful for generating his energy, as opposed to Garen who is more cast-orientated, but then you don’t have to take Garen with Smite/TP and perhaps even shouldn’t. Garen doesn’t benefit particularly from the true damage bonus of the smite, but he is big and brave enough to get away with counter jungling on his own, and with a silence/speed boost he could do it safely enough.

Alternatively, a Flash/TP Garen or for solo queue even a Flash/Ignite Garen rushing Brutaliser and HP could be far more impactful in terms of winning lane, taking tower, and opening up the top side of the map. Garen does very well to hold his own against Hecarim, and can outlast his mana pool so it’s a sensible pick up regardless of smite or not.

Darius/Wukong/Renekton:

Darius and Wukong have armour reduction abilities, which is great against Hecarim/Shyvana who are building tanky but not so massive early on. Coupled with Brutaliser and later the upgraded Black Cleaver they can turn the beefcake top lane into mince meat. It’s an option to use both of these champions with TP/Smite themselves but realistically a Wukong wants to be ‘hit and run’, whereas Darius often runs Sunfire Cape and likes to be in the thick of a fight. In place of Wukong I’d suggest Renekton for another brawler. He works off a rage bar, can lifesteal well, and has solid engage/disengage with the Slice & Dice move, as well as a stun ability AND a supersize-me ultimate.

Rengar/Irelia:

Rengar and Irelia are all-in dive picks. These are the champions you take to snowball, so long as you know how to play them, and the idea is to go in on calculated bursts of aggression. These are all-or-nothing picks in the “go big or go home” category.

Azir/Heimerdinger:

Both of these AP champions are obnoxious poke/stall champions. Azir is more mobile with his sand soldiers and more defensive with the ‘Emperor’s Divide’ but Heimerdinger is more irritating DPS wise and can explode someone with his ultimate cannon. Both would force the enemy top laner to play safer or build to combat their damage first which, on paper, should deter them from the jungle item. This is unlikely so you should punish their disrespect, though do it with wards up to avoid being ganked and put behind in lane or freeze the lane deep for your own gank benefits.

Gnar/Jayce/Lulu:

More poke champions. Skillshots require aim so pick these if you’re comfortable with landing regular casts, but also bear in mind the farming. Hecarim and Shyvana, as well as a few other Smite top champions, are generally really easy to farm with. You might be poking away at their HP but they could easily be storming ahead in C.S. and leave you trailing in their wake with a gold lead.

Who should I avoid?

Some champions just don’t work, unfortunately. On the face of it the likes of Fiora, Riven, and Warwick would all benefit from being able to throw out true damage and diminishing their opponent’s output but the Cinderhulk isn’t really in keep with their build paths or fighting styles so would be poor in terms of champion-item synergy.

Maokai is a big name that falls into this category too. Pro players and those at top end ELO have used Maokai to solo the Raptor camp with saplings and move to lane. The issue here isn’t taking a lead but losing out on the Flash/Twisted Advance combo to launchpad onto a specific opponent and catch them out. This is why most have reverted to standard TP/Flash and many teams aren’t even bothering with the Hecarim/Shyvana top lanes at all.

Other quirky picks have included Trundle, Yorick, Jax, Lee Sin, Rek’Sai, Mordekaiser, and Lissandra. Of those, Rek’Sai is the most legitimate given she has solid burst, but the rest either lack mobility, a way to keep you engaged, or the immediate damage needed – especially when a lot of it relies on auto attacks rather than casts.

What does all this mean for the jungle + cinderhulk?

In all honesty we’re likely to see a nerf to Cinderhulk. It’s disappointing, but this is the way it goes. Hopefully it’s not too major and we don’t lose interesting picks like Zac in the jungle that keep things varied and fresh, but fortunately, with not many teams taking the risk and not too regularly, it’s likely to be minor. It could be a reduction in damage to minions, which is what Riot Games have been hinting at, but we’ll have to wait and see. Gromp’s poison buff has already seen a damage reduction but the balance is not to hurt the junglers just because top/support are abusing their power items for their own goal.

Other changes are likely for Hecarim and Shyvana, presumably in the way of increased costs. I doubt this will be too much for Shyvana given she’s less played but an increased mana cost for Hecarim is likely on his Q/Cleave ability.

For more information on the Smite/TP - so you can form your own ideas on how to play into or against the meta - check out this Soundcloud segment from Team Dignitas EU analyst & Chinese League of Legends expert Devin "Froskurinn" Ryanne Mohr.

Was asked for an explaination of a Smite/TP top - this is a simplified explaination of the theory behind it: https://t.co/vMHdmcRR0d

— 猫猫 Froskurinn (@lolFroskurinn) April 10, 2015