Since Smolder was released on January 23, players snapped up the chance to try him out in every role. Riot originally dubbed him a Marksman, but he can always settle into another role as well. Considering Smolder’s champion abilities and his ADC win rate of 38.0%, some alternate roles measure up and others fall far behind, resulting in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Keep in mind that the Good, Bad and Ugly of this list are more of a framework for discussion than a moral judgment. Do not take any one idea too seriously. However, his kit feels smoother to play in some roles than others, and there are advantages and disadvantages to each. Read on to see how Smolder’s play has been going so far.
[See also: The Smolder Build Favored by Pros]
The Good: Smolder Mid
Current Win Rate (as of February 7): 36.4%
Smolder Mid is already nearly as victorious as his ADC counterparts, which is promising for an “off-meta” role. If Smolder mid continues to improve at the same rate as Smolder ADC, they may both be completely viable as one of Smolder’s default roles.
Due to his abilities, Smolder Mid has a lot of potential. For one, his W can easily push waves and secure lane priority. He is also free to farm Q stacks to his heart’s content, particularly in low elo. Rather than having to compete with problematic World Atlas procs Bot Lane or his slow clear times in Jungle, Smolder Mid can scale with minimal interruption.
Smolder Mid also fits with the recent trend of ADCs Mid. Lucian, Caitlyn, Miss Fortune and Ashe have all seen Mid lane play, to varying degrees of success:
Data from League of Graphs
In light of these numbers, Smolder Mid looks even more promising. When opting for Mid over ADC, his win rate diminishes the least out of any of these champions. And it’s sure to improve as players refine builds and learn matchups. For an “off-meta” pick that still feels surprisingly strong, try Smolder mid.
The Bad: Smolder Jungle
Current Win rate: 20.3%
Jungle is unfortunately the lowest win rate of any Smolder role. While the dream of Bruiser Smolder Jungle is alive and well, there are a few things about him that make Jungling difficult.
For one, Smolder’s early clear is simply demoralizing to watch. It is neither efficient nor healthy, and leaves him in a vulnerable place. This is not necessarily damning on its own – many Junglers are not strong early.
But although Smolder falls into the category of “Scaling Junglers,” (if one considers him a Jungler at all), he still seems distinctly weaker than most other champions in that category. For example, Karthus has a quick clear. Evelynn and Kha’Zix are swift assassins once they hit their power spike. Kayn has quality sustain. But Smolder? He might die to red buff, and at what cost?
Much of his power mid- and late-game requires last-hitting with Q early, which is anti-synergistic with Jungle pets, and requires extra time investment when clearing. While it is certainly still feasible in the right hands, Smolder Jungle clear simply feels inconvenient with little payoff, especially compared to playing him in lane.
But of course, clearing does not equal Jungling. His ganks are more promising. Smolder can fly in with his E, and the range of his Ultimate allows even further reach. A skilled player could create a lot of leverage here. Still though, compared to many Junglers it is nothing to write home about.
Additionally, for much of the game, he struggles to take objectives alone, which limits his options. A cooperative team is a necessity, even more than usual – which may be difficult especially if allies think that the Smolder Jungle pick is a troll. Why not go with a Jungler that excels, rather than one that is simply adequate (or perhaps not even)? At the end of the day, Smolder seems to be easily outclassed by most, if not all, traditional Jungle champions.
The Ugly: Smolder Support
Current Win rate: 25.9%
The first question that everyone has for Smolder Support players is why?
Jokes aside, Smolder’s kit is lacking many elements that seem essential to the support role.
First, his abilities. His E sends him forward alone, leaving the ADC in the dust behind him as he flies in. This might be okay for zoning, but Smolder is quite squishy early. And he does not have the CC upon engaging to make the interaction more worthwhile. He also has none of the shielding, healing, or other utility-related qualities of enchanters.
However, those may be unfair comparisons. Perhaps Smolder aligns more with ADC-type supports, like Ashe and Senna. How does Smolder compare to them? Well, Ashe assists through massive crowd control with her Q, W, and Ultimate, as well as providing vision with E. Senna has healing, a root, can make allies camouflage, and provides a cross-map shield as part of her Ultimate. Smolder has… a 35% slow for 1.5 seconds, and a 40% slow in the center of his Ultimate. And damage.
Another problem is that his scaling is reliant on stacking Q. Playing Support hinders his ability to farm this ability for a significant portion of the game. While he can still poke enemy champions to gain stacks, it will take him far longer to scale as Support than it would in any other role.
However, where Smolder does excel is poke. Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. For those simply wanting to gun down their lane, Smolder is an option. Even then, though, his early game isn’t the strongest. So, the advantage of Smolder Support does not arrive until later down the line, when the team has an extra marksman… who has little income and hasn’t had the opportunity to scale properly.
Once again, it is certainly possible to make this work with an adequately skilled player (and possibly unskilled opponent). Maybe Smolder becomes fed off of kills from his brilliant plays. Perhaps he pokes so efficiently that he gains all the stacks he needs and more. However, queuing up repeatedly as Smolder Support seems like an act of self-deprecation. But then again, so does playing League sometimes.
Final Thoughts
One consistently great feature of playing Smolder is creativity. Overall, win rate always pales in comparison to creating fun times and enjoying the experience of trying out a new champion. What the most “bad” or “ugly” Smolder game may lack in performance, it makes up for in player enjoyment and innovation. But some of these picks would be best saved for Normals.
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