I recently played in some pretty good Normal matches on Summoner's Rift. Yesterday, I had one of my favorites. I was quad-queuing with Scott (IMLRG), Justin (Schweizerhof), and Scott's friend Clint (UnboundTitan). Scott took Braum as a support, something he's been having success with lately. Justin decided to try Orianna mid. Clint picked Pantheon as a top. Our random had Vayne for an ADC. I was one of the later picks and we needed a jungler. I didn't feel like playing any of my usual junglers, so I went back to a champion that I hardly ever play: Skarner. My plan from the beginning was to play him similarly to how I've been playing Udyr: focusing on jungle camps heavily and rushing Wriggle's Lantern and Tear of the Goddess in order to stack them. Our opponents consisted of Twisted Fate (mid), Aatrox (top), Shaco (top), Ashe (ADC), and Blitzcrank (support).
I start at blue buff with a leash from Orianna and Pantheon. Our opponents take the unorthodox approach of having Shaco and Aatrox team up to get red buff for Aatrox (easy with boxes) while Vayne and Blitzcrank help Twisted Fate take blue buff. This makes all of the enemy team members late to lane, but they have buffs to compensate for that. I finish my first clear at 3:48 and keep going with my jungling, as there aren't really any gank opportunities anyway. Twisted Fate gets first blood with a flash kill on Orianna in the middle of the lane. At that point, Pantheon is still holding his own soloing against two enemy champions. Bot is largely a stalemate, but Vayne is outfarming Ashe.
I help Pantheon a little by showing up to harass Shaco and clear his boxes. By this point, Vayne has more than twice Ashe's CS. Pantheon is still doing fine and has been able to farm despite the enemy duo top. But mid is still not going well. I keep jungling, but I'm looking to gank Twisted Fate if I can. As I rush down the lane to help mid, Twisted Fate ults and ganks Pantheon. Aatrox finishes Pantheon off in the 3 vs. 1, but Pantheon takes Shaco with him. I go back to my jungle. Vayne and Braum get too aggressive while sieging bot lane, and Ashe picks up a double kill on them. The other team is starting to pull ahead, but we're still not far behind.
Twisted Fate gets another flash kill on Orianna. Vayne is still way ahead on CS, but Ashe gets a second kill on her and Blitzcrank is able to chase Braum down to finish him off. Scott, playing Braum, is a very nice guy and is apologizing to Vayne for the lost fights, but Vayne seems cool about it. I go top to help Pantheon, who is finally falling behind against his opponents, but they back off. I realize Shaco hasn't been in their jungle often enough to stop me from counterjungling, so I go for the enemy double golems. They see me with a ward and Twisted Fate ults at that time anyway, so I am ganked by Aatrox, Shaco, and Twisted Fate. At a little over ten minutes in, the team score is 1 to 8. But our whole team is maintaining a pretty positive attitude, despite the rough start.
Twisted Fate bullies Orianna and kills her again. Justin explains that he still hasn't gotten used to Orianna yet. I keep working on stacking my Wriggle's Lantern, going back to the enemy jungle because I figure I probably won't get caught like that again so soon. Twisted Fate can't always be ulting. Since Twisted Fate is pushing hard after having killed Orianna again, I go mid to stop him. So does Pantheon. We can't gank him, though, and he gets back behind his turret. I go back to taking camps in both halves of the jungle. Pantheon is struggling, but still managing to hold top. Twisted Fate heads down the river toward bot, then ults to gank Vayne, and the three of them attack Braum, with Ashe finishing him off. Orianna gets some breathing room, but it's 1 to 11 in the enemy team's favor now. They're also ahead on gold, of course, but we're somehow still ahead on CS. Individually, Vayne and Twisted Fate are tied for the highest CS. I go up the river to help Pantheon, but don't accomplish anything other than clearing boxes. I go back and take our blue buff then try again. I run into another box in enemy brush, so Aatrox and Shaco go after me, but they're low and can't risk going for the kill because I'd probably kill one of them and Pantheon might finish the other one off anyway, so they retreat, but too late to stop Pantheon from killing Shaco anyway, for our team's second kill of the entire match.
At fifteen minutes in, I build my Tear of the Goddess and Berserker's Greaves, then head back out to finish stacking Wriggle's Lantern. Twisted Fate comes in with a flash lane gank as Ashe arrives bot, followed by an Ashe ult, and Blitzcrank kills Vayne, then Twisted Fate kills Braum. Twisted Fate tries to chase Orianna down for another kill, but he goes into our jungle and I go after him. He thinks that being fed will let him kill me once I start chasing him, so he turns around in the mid lane, but I get the better of him. Pantheon kills Aatrox in his relentless 1 vs. 2 stand top lane, and I finish Twisted Fate with a little help from an Orianna shield, so we pick up our third and fourth kills of the match. At 16 minutes in, the score is 4 to 14.
Blitzcrank and Ashe gank Orianna at mid. Ashe is now 4/0. She and Blitzcrank return to bot and try to bully Vayne, but Braum comes in with an ult, kills, Ashe, and lets Vayne kill Blitzcrank. It finally looks like we might have a comeback in the making. Twisted Fate ults in on bot and gets a double kill against Vayne and Braum. Oh. So he's still a problem. After that, I finally get my Feral Flare. Ashe and Blitzcrank go mid and kill Orianna again. Pantheon is still holding top against two opponents. I counterjungle, but get intercepted in my own jungle and Twisted Fate attempts to chase me down. He can't finish me off and I escape to the mid inner turret, where I hold off his minions while Orianna returns. Twisted Fate and Shaco go in at two different points to counterjungle me. Twisted Fate is successful, but Shaco is caught by Orianna at blue buff and forced to flee. I try to catch him, but it's not even close. Orianna goes top to help Pantheon. Twisted Fate ults. I fall back to the top inner turret and recall. Pantheon and Orianna escape the attempted gank. Ashe tries to assist her team with an ult, but both of my teammates make it out. Orianna stays top and farms some. I get back into the jungle to continue stacking Feral Flare and Tear of the Goddess. Vayne and Braum push bot and Vayne tries to dive Blitzcrank through his passive, but she gets nuked by a gold card by the unseen Twisted Fate, and now he's 9/1, with easily the highest CS around. Pantheon and Orianna chase Shaco off and take the top outer turret. I try to coordinate with Braum for a gank on Twisted Fate in the bot lane, but Twisted Fate blows Braum up as soon as I show up, and I have to run away. At 22 minutes in, the total score is 7 to 22.
Orianna and Vayne go bot to push out minion waves. Blitzcrank charges in for a gank, with Twisted Fate ulting in and Ashe coming in behind them with her own ult. Pantheon, followed closely by me and Braum, has circled around through the river, and comes in to flank the three enemies. I destroy Blitzcrank, then Vayne picks off Ashe. I ult Twisted Fate and kill him too. Then Braum, Vayne, and Orianna push and take the bot outer turret. I return to the jungle and build up some more stacks. You can't spell "comeback" without "come." Orianna even helps me get the dragon.
I go to the enemy blue buff, but Shaco and Blitzcrank are waiting to gank me. Both teams converge on me. I flash out after taking some damage. Braum kills Blitzcrank. Pantheon kills Ashe. But then Twisted Fate kills Orianna. I go back to my own jungle. Pantheon, seeming to have driven the enemies off, takes their blue buff, but they come back around and Twisted Fate kills him. At just over 24 minutes in, the score is 12 to 25. We're actually ahead on gold now, though. Having a jungler is starting to pay off. Everyone respawns, but neither team initiates fights for a bit. I keep clearing jungle camps. Orianna gets caught mid, but is saved by Braum in the skirmish. Twisted Fate activates Zhonya's after eating some CC, but Vayne tumbles in and picks him off. She chases Ashe with silver bolts and goes for the kill, but Blitzcrank grabs her. Ashe isn't safe yet, though: a wild Skarner has made his way over there and is now in pursuit. Pantheon jumps in and kills Blitzcrank. I chase Ashe down, ult her before she can reach the mid inner turret, and kill her. With three enemies down, we push mid aggressively. Aatrox tries to defend, procs his passive, and it's the formerly 0/7 Orianna that gets the last hit. We take the turret too.
I go back to jungling, but Twisted Fate's ult gives the enemy team vision of me at their wraiths, and they chase me down. I almost make it to our mid inner turret, but Shaco keeps me from escaping and Ashe picks up the kill. Orianna, who tried to save me with a shield, is attacked under the turret by Blitzcrank and killed by Ashe. Vayne shoves the bot lane out in the meantime. We regroup mid, and by this point, I have Berserker's Greaves, Trinity Force, Tear of the Goddess, Wit's End, and Feral Flare with 24 stacks. There's a fight mid, but by the time the engagement happens due to Blitzcrank's initiation, I'm in the enemy jungle and too far away to help. Shaco kills Orianna, but Pantheon gets revenge and takes down Shaco. The enemies keep pushing Ashe kills Braum and Blitzcrank kills Vayne. Only Pantheon is escaping this mess. I arrive at our mid inner turret to defend it, but I'm up against four opponents. As they go in on me, Pantheon ults. They take the turret and Blitzcrank picks up the kill on me, but while they're doing so, Pantheon scores a triple kill on Twisted Fate, Ashe, and Blitzcrank. At the 30-minute mark, both sides are regrouping. The team score is 21 to 33. But we're still up by one turret and we're ahead on team gold.
Vayne and Braum duo the dragon. Vayne and Orianna head bot to push. Braum and Pantheon catch Blitzcrank in the river, but Blitzcrank is able to escape. The enemy team catches Braum, but he ults and tries to escape. Pantheon and I pull back from the top of the enemy jungle and make our way mid to help. We separate. Orianna, Braum, and Pantheon group up mid, while Vayne is pushing top. I get caught in the jungle by Shaco and I'm forced to flash away in order to escape. Shaco goes after Vayne, and both leave top as the enemy team slowly pushes mid. Blitzcrank grabs Braum, but Braum ults. In the resulting Chaos, I grab Aatrox, pull him back, proc his passive, and kill him when he reemerges. That impels them to retreat, and we give chase. Blitzcrank pulls and kills Vayne. Pantheon ults in behind our opponents. They turn toward their jungle once they pass the river, attempting to avoid Pantheon, but he catches them. Blitzcrank kills Pantheon, but I catch up. Orianna takes Twisted Fate out. I kill Blitzcrank. Ashe kills Orianna. I kill Ashe. Braum has retreated into our base, so it's just me and Shaco. But he kills me. Shaco makes a show of going mid to push, but leaves when Braum shows up. Both teams wait to respawn and regroup. 34 minutes in, it's 25 to 37.
Vayne catches Aatrox in the enemy jungle and, with Orianna's help, kills him. Twisted Fate shows up, but she gets him too. Ashe's ult hits Vayne. We chase through their jungle, but I'm way behind everyone else. Ashe finishes Vayne off. I show up and dive into the fray. Pantheon finishes Ashe, then Blitzcrank. Shaco escapes into their base. My teammates fall back, injured. I keep clearing jungle camps. Now my Tear is fully stacked and I also have Blade of the Ruined King and 46 stacks on my Feral Flare. We push into the enemy base through the mid lane. Twisted Fate ults in as Orianna destroys their inhibitor turret. Pantheon kills Twisted Fate. I chase Shaco, but can't catch him, of course. Blitzcrank pulls Braum into their nexus turrets. Orianna picks Shaco off as I retreat, and Ashe finishes Braum. Ashe kills Orianna too. Pantheon chucks a spear and kills Ashe. Blitzcrank and Aatrox try to kill Pantheon at the inhibitor, but Vayne comes in as Pantheon's Guardian Angel procs, and Vayne kills Aatrox, allowing Pantheon to escape. Blitzcrank pulls Vayne into the nexus turrets and she dies, with Blitzcrank just barely surviving her continued attacks. By this point, I have Muramana. With the enemy inhibitor still being pushed, I grab blue buff and and solo Baron. No one notices until I'm done. That gives me 50 Feral Flare stacks. The enemy team takes the dragon, but that's not going to make up for Baron. We group mid for another push. Ashe tries to stop the minions pushing bot, but Pantheon ganks her. We push to the mid inhibitor. Pantheon ults in as I kill Aatrox. I destroy the inhibitor, but Pantheon gets pulled into the nexus turrets and Shaco kills him. I chase Blitzcrank with Orianna's help. Shaco kills Orianna, then I kill Blitzcrank. I flash away, but eat a turret shot and Shaco gets the kill on me too. Twisted Fate finishes Braum off, and they've gotten us out of their base, but Vayne is now pushing bot. She destroys the inner turret, then flashes over a wall to avoid an ult gank by Twisted Fate, and manages to Tumble away from Shaco for an excellent escape. At 40 minutes in, the team score is 36 to 45, but we're ahead by three turrets and an inhibitor.
As we begin looking to control more objectives, Blitzcrank initiates on Braum at mid with Rocket Grab. The enemies stick to Braum, but he ults them and gets away. I charge in, kill Blitzcrank, kill Twisted Fate, and charge onward to push mid. Shaco kills Orianna in the top lane and comes mid to stop me. Pantheon catches Aatrox and I proc his passive, with Vayne finishing him off. Ashe and Shaco run into the enemy base and clear super minions. Braum recalls, Vayne and Pantheon push bot, and I keep stacking Feral Flare. I get it to 60 before recalling. Shaco ganks Vayne and Pantheon, picking up a double kill and preserving the enemy bot lane. Braum and Orianna push mid and I come in behind them. Orianna shields me, and I charge into the enemy jungle to kill Aatrox. Shaco and I pass by each other. I kill Aatrox and Shaco caught Orianna and killed her. I went after Twisted Fate next, picked him off. I attacked Blitzcrank as Shaco and Ashe closed in on Braum, but Braum jumped to me and continued to draw Ashe attacks with his low health. Just before I could kill Blitzcrank, Braum got the last hit on him. Ashe finished off Braum and I finished off Shaco, then I took Ashe out too, giving me a quadra kill (which would have been, but for one stray Braum attack at just the wrong time, a penta). I then took out the mid inhibitor and brought minions into the base. I destroyed a nexus turret, then Pantheon ulted onto the enemy nexus and the two of us finished the match at 44:21. I had 66 Feral Flare stacks with a final score of 15/5/15.
