Initiators are the cornerstone of every teamfight in League of Legends. This is a huge aspect as initiating a team fight first gives your team the upper hand over the enemy team. The initiator’s large CC and AoE usually give your team time just enough to throw all their skills in unison to produce something spectacular, a wombo combo. There are lots of champions who can initiate a fight but there is one champion who tops everybody when initiating team fights. So read on to find out which champions are the best initiators in League of Legends Season 12!
1. Zac
Zac is a jungler tank champion who excels at ganking his teammates lanes during early to mid game. His E ability gives him so much initiation potential as it has a very long range. Zac can hide in the fog of war or a bush to surprise enemies with his gank.
During mid to late game, Zac can continue doing this with the addition of him having his ultimate ability that can knock enemies back after being knocked up by his E ability. This will be the perfect moment for your team to follow up with their AOE abilities and take down multiple enemies in one fell swoop.
Zac can also build many tank items to make him last long while in the middle of a team fight. Items like Gargoyle Stoneplate would be perfect for Zac during the late game and initiating a fight because if their team did not burst the enemy team down, Zac will have to find a way to survive long enough to provide even more CC assistance to his team. Plus we all know that seeing a giant Zac slapping enemies during teamfights is a delight.
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2. Nautilus
This champion has a lot to offer when it comes to initiation. He is a support tank champion that loves to get on his enemies faces locking them down and crowd controlling them for long periods of time. He has a hook ability that locks down a champion while he dashes towards them. He can follow this up with his passive that roots enemies that he hits for the first time along with his AOE E ability that damages and slows enemies around him.
You can start a team fight with Nautilus with his Q ability or his ultimate. When initiating a team fight, make sure that you cast your Q ability upon squishy carries of the opposing team, so that your team can easily burst that champion down making things easier for them to deal with the remaining enemy champions. Follow your simple initiation with your ultimate ability and cast it upon the farthest enemy. This will follow that enemy champion wherever they go knocking every enemy it passes by up.
Make sure if you want to be an initiator Nautilus that you pick the aftershock keystone. This gives you enough survivability to help your team after you initiate a team fight. Because if you survive long for your team, you will be able to provide more CC for them.
3. Jarvan IV
Now here is a champion that gets picked a lot in the Worlds championship and with good reason. Jarvan can lock down multiple enemies in one place for a long time. He can be synergized with the likes of Miss Fortune or Orianna to capitalize even more on his initiating abilities.
With Jarvan, you can open up a fight by securing a knock up with your E Q ability. This alone is good enough to burst down a champion after initiating a teamfight. Not only is Jarvan a great initiator, but he also has great burst potential if you choose to pursue a lethality build path. His abilities are great for initiation as it provides great crowd control and his ultimate ability literally puts terrain around the enemy he casts it on. If that champion has his flash down or doesn’t have a dash ability, that champion would basically spend the entire time inside the terrain.
Now here comes the part where you initiate a 5v5 team fight. Open up either with your E Q combo or flash to secure a multiple lockdown against the enemy team. With your flash, get in range to cast your ultimate and E Q combo out of the pit so only the enemies get trapped inside. When you have a Miss Fortune, she can ult the people inside the pit basically spelling doom for them. With an Orianna this will guarantee a multiple target shockwave, this is a great burst ability that will win your team the team fight.
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4. Orianna
The champion behind the “Faker’s shockwave, will bind them all!”, a truly historic moment in League of Legends, this happened during the time that SKT faced against EDG. But what is Orianna’s kit that made this play possible?
First is her Q ability that puts her ball at a certain location, the ball remains at that location provided that Orianna stays within its range. Orianna can cast her abilities on the ball and the ability will trigger on the location of the ball. Orianna also has her W ability that damages and slows her enemies caught in the balls range. But her premier ability to initiate a fight comes from her Ultimate ability which is the shockwave. This ability sucks all enemy champions towards the middle of the ball which is perfect to not only damage the enemy team but also knock them up.
Orianna can put her ball on her allied champions, this is great as she can put her ball on champions with gap-closing abilities to secure a 5-man shockwave ensuring a wombo combo therefore winning the team fight.
5. Kennen
Another champion that has a historic record at the Worlds stage. Kennen is perfect when initiating fights not only because of his huge AOE burst ability but his high-speed initiation. Kennen can use his E ability to quickly get close and personal with the enemy team to be followed by his passive that can stun his enemies multiple times.
With Kennen, it is required that you have your flash to guarantee a good initiation against the enemy team. Partner this with a Protobelt that gives you a dash and a burst in movement speed. When you have all of this up, ping your team that you will initiate a fight. They can either follow up on your CC on the enemy team or just watch you from a distance as you demolish the entire opposing team with your high damage output.
Another factor to be considered when initiating a fight is making it out of the enemy’s lines alive. So you can build a Zhonya’s Hourglass after casting your ultimate in the middle of the opposing team. This would ensure that you did a perfect initiation and your team can follow up and you won’t die.
Also read: How to Play Against Annie
6. Malphite
Malphite’s initiations are always great to watch. He can be partnered with different champions to even further his initiation, champions like Galio or Yasuo or even Orianna. There is a lot of versatility in Malphite’s Initiation which you can capitalize on during the picks and bans of the game.
Malphite’s initiation is pretty much straightforward. He simply casts his ultimate when he sees the enemy team grouped together, this would ensure a five-man knockup which can be followed on by his allied champions with abilities of their own. Malphite’s ult is great for initiation as it cannot be stopped and has a fast casting time. This would catch the enemy team for a surprise giving them little time to react. Malphite can follow his ultimate up with his E ability that slows everybody’s attack speed down and a Q ability that slows one enemy down along with a burst of damage.
7. Leona
Of course, the top spot goes to the champion with the most crowd control abilities. Leona can stun opponents with her Q ability, root, and dash on enemies using her E ability and a long-range AOE stun with her ultimate ability.
Leona is the initiation machine that is perfect for every team comp. She can initiate during the laning phase with her basic combo. This is when she uses her E ability to dash towards an enemy champion and stun them with her Q upon arrival. This is her basic initiation ability which she can use anytime even if her ultimate ability is down.
During the late game, she can now initiate with her ultimate, make sure you use it at the right moment where every champion in the opposing team is grouped together to stun the greatest number of people. With this follow up with your E Q ability on their carries and have your teammates rain fire upon them.
So that is pretty much it on the best initiator champions. Next time you play with your friends and have great comms with them, make sure to try and pick these champions as they are great with teams that have great comms. GLHF on your next game summoner, see you on the rift
