Meta Watch: Dealing with Renekton, Rell and Kai’Sa

A wise man once said that the Meta is what counters the Meta, and once again we’re here to explore what that’s all about.

More champions are popping up in Solo Queue to terrorize our LP gains, so let’s take a look at some more frustrating picks and how to deal with them.

Renekton – Your childhood bully

I don’t think there are many toplaners around who aren’t tired of this champion. His enormous bullying power and lane presence can make your mains feel unplayable, and recently it seems like the laning phase isn’t his only strength anymore. Goredrinker, Sterak’s Gage and other bruiser items have made him absolutely unstoppable once he gets slicing and dicing.

Even after the laning phase he absolutely decimates teams left and right when ahead. This means you are going to need a matchup that lets you neutralize him in lane. Already known counters are Illaoi and the one and only Quinn with cleanse, as demonstrated by G2’s Wunder in the LEC. These are very niche picks though, so players went looking for something new looking to deal with this new threat.

Volibear and Gragas have taken the stage as more prominent Renekton counters. Volibear is able to take on extended fights, healing and shielding through Renekton’s damage, and Gragas can disengage whenever he pleases with a nasty body slam. Both champions can also opt into an early Bramble Vest, which keeps them safe from damage while also stopping Renekton from healing up during trades. With Renekton unable to drink gore, you’ll know the croc will be sure to stay underwater.

Rell – Pull me baby, one more time

Codenamed “The Int Horse” by Riot during development, Rell is the second most recent champion to join the fray. Only recently have people figured out what they’re supposed to do with her. What hasn’t been entirely figured out is what we’re supposed to do against it though, so let’s take a good look at the mounted Iron Maiden. While everyone is still figuring out what her abilities do, one thing is certain: Her mounted W ability, Crash Down, looks like a glorified mini Sion slam. What a lot of players don’t know, is that this ability can be interrupted with certain crowd control effects.

Knockups and displacements like Alistar’s knockups and Janna’s tornado are key abilities when laning against Rell, as her slow and telegraphed engage can quickly be interrupted by attentive supports. This theme goes a long way when playing against Rell. Anything that stops her from going on your backline will make her player wish they never learned Rell in the first place.

Staying away from each other by spreading out will also help prevent huge magnet pulls from Rell’s ultimate. Teams should look to poke her down from long range while avoiding her engages to neutralize her throughout the entire game. Also, remember our drunken lad Gragas? Yeah, he’s body slammed his way into the support role to once again counter a strong meta pick, and perhaps there are more counters waiting to show Rell that “Int Horse” was indeed an accurate title for her. Good job, Riot.

Kai’Sa – Endlessly kiting the nerf hammer

I think it’s very difficult to find a point in time where Kai’Sa was not meta. Sure, there have been short periods, but they were short-lived, just like her prey. Even to this day players are baffled by the good old question: What exactly counters Kai’Sa? The answer has come in the form of a botlane combination that abuses the Void Seeker’s requirement to head into close quarters when feeding on prey. Aphelios has risen up as the number one carry to stop Kai’Sa from becoming uncontrollable. Using the Chakram weapon, the white one for those unaware, he can match or even overpower Kai’Sa in the short range shootout.

To facilitate this plan, Thresh often stands as a way to keep the immobile Aphelios safe, while putting his own short range crowd control options ready to disrupt Kai’Sa once she jumps in. These 2 are only examples of possible ways to deal with her, and their rise has inspired players to try more options. AD carries have also started to pivot into short range early game champions like Lucian and Samira to shut her down before she ever becomes a problem. After all, guns are the best counter to evolution.

That’s it for this week’s Meta Watch. Now we no longer need to kneel and pray for the nerf hammer playing against these champions. Deep inside however, everyone knows we want the nerfs regardless. Until then, we simply have to keep countering.

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Image Credit: Riot Games