[Comp] Sniper Elite V3 (aka Poke)

This comp focuses on pushing away enemy champions with high damage, long-ranged skillshots. This allows free bushchecking and taking of turrets, inhibs and objectives. Great sieging. Bad vs hard engages.

TL;DR:
Champions:Aatrox Anivia Ashe Cassio Cait Cho Corki Draven Elise Ez Galio Grag Janna Jayce Karma Karth Kennen KZ Kog LB Lux Mao Mundo Nida Orianna Sivir Syndra TF Urgot Varus Viktor Xerath Zed Ziggs Zyra

Summoners Spells: CV x2, Flash x5, rest whatever

Special Notes: Support must be Janna, or at some point, someone will init so hard it will delay the game until poking no longer kills tanks, then the game will last an hour. True Story.

Champions with skillshots

For purposes of this list, "skillshot" will be understood as any ability:
-that you can't directly target the enemy with;
-that you need to target something else and then it hits the enemy indirectly ("collateral");
-that you can't simply cast and it affects an AoE around you like Alistar's stun;
-with which you target the ground, or nothing, and it will automatically go on the enemy ("auto-target");
-that is attached to / casted on an ally or some kind of object like Orianna's ball ("attached").

Below are various lists including the skillshots of all champions, for science.You could use them to analyze pokes in general, but i have selected the most relevant pokes based on certain criteria later in this article.

To pick a champ for an actual poke comp, skip this and go to the "Legit" list.

Spoiler:

LEGIT LIST, pick from here:

List for copy-paste:
Aatrox Anivia Ashe Cassio Cait Cho Corki Draven Elise Ez Galio Grag Janna Jayce Karma Karth Kennen KZ Kog LB Lux Mao Mundo Nida Orianna Sivir Syndra TF Urgot Varus Viktor Xerath Zed Ziggs Zyra

Details:
Aatrox : AP or AD-casting poker; must not towerdive/chase
Anivia
Ashe : AD-casting poker version preferably
Cassiopeia
Caitlyn : AD-casting poker version preferably
Cho'Gath
Corki : care weak scaling
Draven : AD-casting poker version preferably
Elise : must not towerdive/chase
Ezreal : AP or AD-casting poker
Galio
Gragas : AP
Janna : AP or supp-AP
Jayce : must not towerdive/chase
Karma : AP or supp-AP
Karthus : must not towerdive/chase
Kennen : must not towerdive/chase
Kha'Zix : evolved W at 6; must not towerdive/chase
Kog'Maw : requires mana/manaregen
Leblanc : must not towerdive/chase
Lux
Maokai
Mundo
Nidalee : must not towerdive/chase
Nocturne : must not towerdive/chase
Orianna
Sivir : AD-casting poker version preferably
Syndra
Twisted Fate : AP
Urgot : must not towerdive/chase (R)
Varus : AD-casting poker version preferably
Viktor
Xerath
Zed : AD-casting poker version, not BoRK version
Ziggs
Zyra


Strategy

Enemies will build resistances to survive the poking, thus it is best to pick a mix of magical and physical damage pokes instead of all magical for example.

Your team can have a jungler like Mundo, Noc or Maokai, who all have some kind of poke in addition of being able to go tank.

Alternatively you can shut down the top laner by going double top and zoning him to death. Be extremely careful about ganks from the enemy jungler, and watchout when the mid laner is missing. For that reason you should have river and tribush warded at all times. If you successfully shut down the top laner, it will be well worth the investment.
Note that a Sighstone will suffice to do this, so one of your 2 laners may rush it to save money (start Ruby crystal, then spend 475g on first recall) while your other laner buys the first couple wards.

Once mid-game kicks in, your bot lane support and your top laner should have a Sightstone (or better yet, Ruby Sightstone), so they can deploy a belt of wards over the whole river area to make sure no enemy can sneak in and engage your team from the side or behind. TF, Pantheon and invisible champions will be able to sneak in regardless, watch out for these guys.
With such mapcontrol, you can start sieging turrets and poking the enemies away from them, without fear that some Amumu-like champion will bandage into your team from the side bushes.

Avoid diving as much as possible. Forcing enemies to go heal is already a victory because they cannot fight for objectives and turrets, offering them to your team.

It's very important to not get engaged on. Make sure you save good disengage tools like Flash and Janna's ultimate, to avoid disaster if the enemy manages to hard engage on your team.


Runes / Masteries

Skillshots, by nature, can be dodged. You may want the mana & mana regen masteries to make up for this fact, available in utility for 7 points.

Depending on your range and how comfortable you are in lane, you might be able to swap armor seals (yellows) for something like mana or energy regeneration.


Summoner Spells

Flash: For when you get caught.

Teleport: Because your team should have wards all over the map at all times, and because you're supposed to have the range to make plays out of it, this can be a great choice.

Clarity: This huge team-wide mana refill can help your team siege a turret much longer. It should be possible to run a couple of these in your team for mana-hungry pokers, or to spend less gold on mana items and more gold on poke damage directly.

Clairvoyance: Regardless of how hard the enemy is counterwarding, this will give you sight of anywhere instantly, which is priceless for stealing buffs, objectives, preventing enemies from juking you in bushes, and invades. It also allows you to make sure an area is safe before warding it. With the mastery (which is the same as Flash/Teleport/Clarity) it even keeps sight of revealed champions for the rest of the CV's duration, allowing you to aim precisely at them for a little longer.
I strongly recommend having at least one of these in each poke comp.



Items

It's very important that each member of the team maximizes his poke damage for this comp!
This can easily be done via the AP or AD ratios on the poking skills (except Mundo, but if not support he can get Liandry's or SotEL as his only poke damage increasing item).

However, it also demands some sacrifices if you aim for maximum sniping efficiency, both in items and in champion roles:
-You shouldn't buy your usual items, else you poke will also be of usual power. You want strong poke, even though that means getting a BT instead of PD on Varus for example. Lower DPS, but much stronger Q's and E's.
-The support should be a poker too. Janna and Mundo are the ones i've found the most efficient.


AD pokers

Bloodthirster: the safe item with the highest potential AD.
Last Whisper: without this, bruisers and tanks will eventually ignore your poke completely (Garen, Malphite etc.)
Sword of the Occult: if you're doing really well and/or the enemy cannot get to you, this is the highest AD item.
-
Black Cleaver: if you went for a Brutalizer early, you can get this, but the armor shred won't be very useful for poking.
Youmuu's: the other Brutalizer item can give you a useful MS boost to disengage or finish off an enemy.
Spirit of the Elder Lizard: The Machete-based item with the most AD. The true damage can be useful.
Sword of the Divine: This can be your only AS item, and synergizes greatly with BTs.


AP pokers

Rabadon's Deathcap: A must to maximize your poking power if you have good AP ratios.
Void Staff: without this, bruisers and tanks will eventually ignore your poke completely (Galio, Bulwark etc.)
Mejai's SoulStealer: if you're doing really well and/or the enemy cannot get to you, this is the highest flat AP item. It can also give a poking support a good AP boost if the poking is well coordinated.
-
Rylai's Crystal Scepter: Helps you and your team land more pokes by slowing the enemy, and may make disengaging easier. Synergy with:[/b] Nidalee Q, Ezreal E etc.
Liandry's Torment: Burn HP stackers down with this. Synergy with: Rylai's; Mundo Q etc.


Supportive roles

Shard of True Ice: more mana for everyone around you = longer poking. The active can help disengaging.
Sighstone/Ruby Sightstone!!!: these allow you to maintain a vision belt around your team, which is crucial as a poke comp to not get engaged on by surprise.
Will of the Ancients: an extra 30 AP for all your AP pokers, and bonus sutain for your team via 20% Spellvamp.
Zeke's Herald: an extra 20 AD for all your AD pokers, and bonus sustain for your team via 10% lifesteal.
Aegis of the Legion/Runic Bulwark: make it harder for enemies to burst down your teammates, which will often be the only way enemies can deal with your poke comp. Best on non-scaling pokers, like Mundo.
Banner of Command: If enemy inhibitors are not down yet, this will provide either a good tanking minion to help with pushing, or a free split-pusher that will force enemies to fight 4v5 or lose turrets. From the 35th minute on, there will be a promotable siege minion every other wave. This item also makes super minions 15% more dangerous (damage aura), even though you cannot promote them.


Other

Eleisa's Miracle: Comfortable build path (400g, out of Philo Stone) for a good regeneration item. Combined with the mana from masteries, it can be the only mana item some champions like Varus need in a poke comp. Miracle reduces CV/Heal/Clarity cooldowns by 25%. Your team's CV user(s) should get it, taking CV's cooldown from 60 seconds to 45. It also does not consume an item slot if you gain 3 levels while wearing it.
With 2 CV & Miracles on their users, you get 10 seconds of sight every 45 seconds, or 5 seconds every 22.5 seconds.


Example good builds for this comp

Support Mundo:
Runes: Armor reds, %maxHP yellows, MR blues, Gp10 Quints
Masteries: 0-16-14, taking every HP and Gold mastery, armor, and reduced damage from champs.
Start: Bead + ward(s) + pots OR 2*Beads + ward
=> Rush Ruby Sightstone, then Boots, Aegis, Spirit Visage, Warmog's.
Max Q and poke hard while bodyblocking for your ADC.

Robin Hood Varus:
Runes: Armor pen reds, armor yellows, CDR blues, AD Quints
Masteries 23-0-7, taking mana, mana regen, CDR and all AD things.
CV & Flash.
=>
Max Q and poke hard even into brush thanks to CV sight.



[Combo] Missile Barrage

This one is pretty silly but it should be cool to watch:
Overwhelm your enemies with a short, massive delivery of deadly projectiles!

Team comp: MF + Lucian + Heimerdinger + Irelia ( + Syndra, or Corki/Ez, or a tank with an easy CC to land the whole combo).

When Xerath's rework is finally out he may qualify for this comp too, depending on what version of his ult makes it out of PBE.

And then you simply shoot all ults at the same time



Screenshots

Here are a few examples of good poke comps

No Jungler: CV AD caster Varus (before Q buff), Mantheon, ImmaFirinMahLazor, Xe, and supp Janna.
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Poke tank-support: Mundo
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More pics in the spoiler below.

Spoiler:

.

Ok I think of
Lux/Kog Maw/Nidalee/Gragas/Victor Mid
Ezreal/Corki/Urgot ADC
Zilean/Nidalee/Lux/(Sona?) Support
Olaf/Elise/Gangplank/Jayce! Top
Mundo/Cho Gath/Maokai Jungle

This could really work! This is even better than the whole Tower Party thing, because we dont have to tower dive with such harrass!

Explomate wrote:Ok I think of
Lux/Kog Maw/Nidalee/Gragas/Victor Mid
Ezreal/Corki/Urgot ADC
Zilean/Nidalee/Lux/(Sona?) Support
Olaf/Elise/Gangplank/Jayce! Top
Mundo/Cho Gath/Maokai Jungle

This could really work! This is even better than the whole Tower Party thing, because we dont have to tower dive with such harrass!

Looks like a nice comp (+repped),
the article is very far from complete btw. When i'm done listing all skillshotters, i'll select the best in regards to range, damage, aoe covered, cooldowns etc.
Then we'll have a solid basis

very nice post, lots of text.

only problem with Poke comps is they are mostly squishy and have bad teamfights if they go in a 5 v 5.
Saying this as Poke comps does not want to get hard engaged.

So u want Champs that(but have Poke abilities)
- can disengage for their team to avoid a hard engage (or block the engage) aka. dodge amumu bandage(Mao, Jayce, Anivia, Zyra, Cho etc.)
with their cc
- can disengage when engaged aka. knock them back or else (Alistar, Janna, Jayce etc.)
- can disengage by theirself aka. catch me if u can (nida, jayce, well everyone with a dash or a MS buff on their kit, ez, graves, corki, cait,
gragas, etc.)
- can turn the tides when engaged (sona, maokai, morg, karthus, kennen, etc.)

This is just for Counter play to get hard engaged

AND NEVER FORGET TO WARD

Wards win game but in this case u will want wards to not run into traps where u get hardengaged off guard!

my 2 cents in here

Update: screenshots!

Update: properly made the Items section (finally).
EDIT: Actually i also decided to give the whole thing a facelift. With all the required sections, a better layout and better organized champion lists, plus detailed items and strategy, this is now a stickied article.

Who needs an ADC when you got poke? (video tag doesnt work, so here's link. go abit back for start of the game.)
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was interesting to watch. wanna see more of it, played by pros.

Offtopic: thats why i saw a j4 mid against me. stupid feeder j4 who dive a malz...gg

i like pies

Massive update: much easier to read, optional champion lists now hidden in a huge spoiler, new tips, new pic, etc...