[2022] LS - A Brief Look at Cookies and Scorch

I think this is a cool video and thanks to LS for making it.

However I have a different stance. I’ll agree to one premise, which is that eventually people will get better at laning than now and matchups can feel more solved.

However I diverge from LS in that these lanes are indeed not solved. There is an array of possible ways the lane can go. Even long-term with matchups “solved” there is inbuilt variability via ganks and roams.

So because there is variability, that means optimal play dictates making choices with all of those eventualities in mind. LS, if I understand correctly, suggests that this variability means all early game choices are bad. I take a more moderate stance that any matchups sufficiently likely to have meaningful early game interaction should probably have early game runes.

It doesn’t matter if the matchup is clearly LeBlanc favored in four years. What matters is that LeBlanc vs. Ahri is scrappy right now and so players should rune accordingly.

If I recall correctly, he suggested that if you don’t know you need it, just don’t take it. I think that’s a flawed premise.