Hey Summoners, Lane Swaps have happened time and time again in and out of multiple seasons of League of Legends. We see the pros do it and we occasionally see it come out in ranked play. If you haven’t read my last two articles on lane swaps you will definitely want to if you desire to know more about lane swaps. Here we are going to briefly talk about some key points to consider when faced against a lane swap and some tips on how to react to them.

Lane swap yourself for safety measure
While it may seem silly and it is indeed, you can always execute a lane swap of your own and it will be easy to counter other lane swaps because if the other team lane swaps then the map is just flip flopped. This is by far my favorite counter measure to lane swapping, but a little too cautious for my taste of victory.

Focusing on CS
The idea of a lane swap is to better cater to their lane's Creep Score. If you are able to match or beat out your opposing original lane then you have made their effort worthless. This might be hard to gauge because you would want to account for your top lane player and your ADC. To even better see who is winning looking at the level difference between players will also show how much effective pressure you were able to put on.

Focus attention on mid and gank frequently, push lane
A big hole in a lane swap is that the switch up of lanes affects the placement of the jungler and which lanes he ganks. Often the jungler will help the ADC push his lane even harder making a 3 versus 1. Unless they have picked a safe and passive mid laner you should be able to put a lot of pressure on that mid lane and that can harm them more than 3 man pushing a lane can help them. This may not always be an option, but if executed can be a great counter to a lane swap.

Take an early dragon
One down side to lane swapping is that a key damage player is away from dragon. Many lane swap styles will just put the ADC in a solo lane so they are not down two players on a dragon fight. It will be unlikely that their ADC has teleport so you should still be able to out play them at a dragon fight and push some lane, invade, or aggressively ward.

Zone out their solo tower
This is surely something your opponent will try to do so you have to react with the same action. If you let their solo lane champion get more CS and experience than your own then they are winning the lane swap in that aspect.

Don’t panic
League of Legends is largely a mental game. Knowing this you must not let your game be thrown off by a lane swap. It won't snowball a game unless your team falls apart mentally. So don't panic because it won't help you. Work with your team, communicate, and play your best. Worst case scenario is that you lose, which only provides the opportunity to learn.

Realize it usually does not occur in solo queue
Yes it is true that lane swaps are more of a ranked or pre-made strategy but some duo groups will attempt it. Even then it is rare, when faced with a strategy you are unfamiliar with it is good to have some understanding and some ideas on how to counter it.

All in all lane swaps aren’t necessarily game changers but if not dealt with can tilt the game in the opposing team’s favor. There are probably a lot more ways to combat a lane swap and even each lane swap performed by a team is different depending on champions and the style of lane swap. Hopefully these tips and topics will aid you in your next encounter with a lane swap. If you don’t win hopefully you can at least learn.