Meta Report - Sona & Taric Bot Lane

Welcome to the Meta Report, where we go over some of the latest picks, builds, and trends of the LEC. In this episode, we look at the Sona Taric bot lane, a pairing that took the LEC Spring Playoffs by storm and has been popular ever since.

[@cjdadibalos7683]

I love this concept pls do more of this and release them on time next time

[@Solobuddy]

stfup plz

[@cjdadibalos7683]

@@Solobuddy OK

[@lolesports]

Hey guys! this is a new product we’re piloting right now and we’re looking to improve this for future episodes. This was initially intended as an internal pilot but we decided to release it as it was relevant since Sona + Taric (and even other supports now) are still quite present in the pro meta. Would love to hear your feedback, good or bad.

[@matteogatti1542]

Lovely product, would like to see more of this but not as late (since SonaTaric is kinda less relevant now), great job!

[@xf1ghter900]

I like this format and this episode as a "pilot" episode. If the Stuff you will be adressing is more up to date to the meta, what i believe you guys are planning to do, this format could be helpful to understand different types of Compositions and strats with their strengths and weaknesses. Keep up the good work ^-^

[@happalula]

who does the reviews? whats the guys name? that really needed to be included, so we know whom we are listening to

[@lolesports]

@@xf1ghter900 Yes, for future episodes we'll definitely be more on top of things now that the pilot is done

[@Cool_Calm_Cam]

I definitely like this! While I agree it's a bit overdue in this current meta, I think this very succinctly explains why Sona/Taric has become popular and how it works, but also why it is not unstoppable and how it may be countered. I'd happily look forward to more content like this!

[@BaronSalocin]

Oh man, u re like month late with this XD

[@Shakarez]

To give context, this was a video we were making as an internal pilot during MSI to test out a new video series. Since the topic is still relevant as Sona+Taric is still meta (and now even with Sona+Tahm and others) we decided to release this

[@egcurioso2921]

slowpoke meme is back bois invest now.

[@AkaSwayze]

It's back in the meta tho

[@LicoriceRawr]

A month is generous, this is a tactic that has been played in early spring split by minor regions, so it is safe to say that it is several months old. However as @shakarez said, it is still relevant.

[@danielkruger7589]

More like 3

[@latlak]

I love this, please regular meta reports! I wanted to try Sona + Taric too, but I didn't understand what makes them such a good couple. Now I do, thanks!

[@Zutraxi]

Release earlier and it might be relevant enough for people to care. The casters have already talked it to death during MSI

[@nejcdebenak1193]

Saharez is an awesome guy with lots of knowledge

[@imptwins]

There's so many interesting interactions with this combo, and it opens up more interesting combos too. I hope Riot don't just ham-fist nerf it.

[@ac8598]

I read somewhere that Sona nerfs is coming soon. Don't know how bad, but its happening.

[@London_Tipton]

Really sad riot hates botlane diversity so much :(

[@mattphoenix8279]

The two best chests in the League.

[@HuesingProductions]

big chest ahead

[@Smolefacee]

Actually a very good video. Explaining exactly why its so strong now. I think a lot of people getting trashed early as Sona/Taric and dont know what to do after the laning. (A comon problem in lower elos.) The only Point missing in this video is how to react to this combo after the laning phase is over. You explained how to counter it early, but not how to play it against in mid and endgame. I think this is a very important aspect, considering, that a blitzcrank for example is a bad pick later on... you dont wanna hook a tank taric in your team...

[@latlak]

He actually did when he said that their teamfight potential is huge. So you basically just wanna avoid teamfights against Sona + Taric I assume.

[@papuchochoe]

Can we get Star Guardian Taric and Sona now?

[@Waterrd]

Oddesey Sona tho

[@ovs4744]

you let sona taric dominate the pro scene for months but nerf pyke top after 2 weeks because na teams can't play it

[@cannae920]

E VO I never fully understood the point of making relic shield not slow generation on minion farm like spell thief does. That would prevent taric sona from working, so it’s probably about time to make that part of the support items consistent

[@WoodenPlatform]

@@cannae920 Because it would be unfair on the support. I have had it tonnes of times where the adc JSUT walks out of range of the minion as I kill it so it doesn't donate the gold... If I then got punished for that with slower gold regeneration that would suck. It is an item designed for killing minions, giving a punishment for killing minions wouldn't make much sense.

[@jasonterry1959]

@@cannae920 Or make it so you can only get gold from one gold gen item == relic shield cant give sona gold until frostfang complete

[@jasonterry1959]

i mean tbh, that's how it's already pretty much intended to be

[@Akram-b3m]

they're not nerfing it since they know it can be countered easily if the players in the opposite team are a bit skilled and in certain situations or matchups but can still be strong

[@alvinluk9724]

sona & taric bot: meta* meanwhile teemo support going mid is bannable Rito: play the way you want*

[@xaelae787]

Wow really we didnt knew this already , thx for sharing.

[@AyusoEnjoyer]

Amazing, i had not though about the double sightstone potential. Good video.

[@duchi882]

*This is what happens* when the power of elegance and beauty combines

[@somefellow2]

Great video.

[@Angel-ij4bk]

Perfect format guys

[@mrhades113]

I kinda hope this is the begining of a new era for bot lane, the current meta is so stagnated, a lane where the CARRY plays shouldn't have such a limited way to play.

[@neilbertmillar9960]

mrhades113 - true, league has been boring lately since its the same meta over and over again, i prefer to let players do their thing on how to counter the current meta rather than nerfing it

[@daxconnell7661]

and I thought they were paired up because they both had long dreamy hair

[@smsom5187]

please do more of those beacuase in low elo pople don't know how to deal with this kinda of things it should help so much

[@ac8598]

it would help low elo much because this strategy needs to be more aware of position, wave manipulations, farming, etc in order to be effective.

[@Cypherior88]

It's funny that this meta originated from TSM academy(the team that created it) against Echo Fox academy in the academy playoffs. It's also inspired from the old Ardent Censer meta that gives insane healing. Then it became booming in the LCS playoffs and eventually across all other regions.

[@Shakarez]

Nah, this meta originated from a Challenger Sona main in Europe actually

[@Cypherior88]

@@Shakarez Could you send me the link to it? Even if it's true, maybe it's not the right word to say "originated" but it was first brought up "again" in LCS academy stage.

[@arendeeckhout]

This was a great video! It was put together very well. Clear and to the point, nuanced, educational, well edited and with a good narrator. I hope you make more of these!

[@inbreds]

so this is allowed but not roaming teemo?

[@CyriZockt]

love the concept!

[@Veroveren]

thanks was thinking of this lately

[@kostasKazama]

exactly , you said it, teamfighting gods, there is no communication of that kind of teamfighting in solo qeueu, this bot lane duo doesnt work unless you play with your premade friends

[@xHSBunny]

true. I mean we saw how it played out in SoloQ.. absolute disaster. For a few weeks I've probably proven still trying hard to win the game but announcing to my botlane that we're still gonna lose the game. Boii was I right... even lategame we wished we had a lategame vayne on our team right now... even a bad vayne would be strong by then

[@SaigaTenshi]

its funny because ive been using Kleptomancy on Sona for many years. also once you got Athene's Holy Grail, the healing is one heck of an OP. thats why i call Sona an ambulance in teamfights

[@theleafsbloodyflash]

A wild shakarez appears

[@srgfkct3544]

Great idea, keep it up

[@joelsimoes4974]

"Latest trends" in this episode is kind of a stretch for this pilot...

[@ArcaneTricksterRS]

I'm still not really sold into this. It seems that bot lane is almost always lost if you do this, and the mid game needs careful and calculated planning to take advantage of what it offers. Also, if you fall behind with this comp, game is basically over.

[@Shnecko]

great editing

[@georgekourie4031]

Only reason i wouldn't mind this being nerfed is because it's boring af to watch on LEC and LCS. Thankfully we didn't have to suffer through it on LEC last weekend, and i hope it keeps being benched because i'm seeing way more interesting duos. That pyke yuumi lane was hella fun to watch, consider making a video on that next.

[@lifesucksofficialchannelbi4802]

Now just give us more Sona skins, thanks.

[@MisaeShimamura]

That would destroy my wallet

[@Waterrd]

Or just update her art/model

[@MehmetAli-md9qt]

My favorite bot lane ❤️. Im watching pro games just because of them

[@aqilazraeized]

It would be nice to see the full build and runes of the champions

[@claudiodyus211]

Can we do one with Vedius or Medic or Ender next time, instead of the corner desk guy? Just asking ... P.S.: It's a joke (I'll try disclaimer next time maybe), got no issues with the "corner desk guy". After all the video is decent dispite being KIND OF late to the party xD

[@Shakarez]

Bem, vou mudar de nome para corner desk guy FeelsBadMan

[@claudiodyus211]

@@Shakarez I found the video to be quite enlightening though, gj xD

[@stinglerder7845]

i like that alot. thank you.

[@icezik]

Nice

[@hasagishiro]

Next video: Pyke Yunmi (G2 Esports) xD

[@krisptea]

It's not really meta yet

[@ojojnolicom6709]

This is super cool guys, more pls ! =] Also, can we can get the name or a link to the music in the background ?? Thanks a lot !

[@CronoTime]

Raise your hand if you were maining Sona before Sona taric became a thing

[@Hechyyy]

dont see any hands bruh

[@kiikrosperk3512]

If I see this in my games I will call my riot friend and get them banned for doing something different.

[@Waterrd]

Too funny, too soon

[@kiikrosperk3512]

Can you do the Mid support teemo tactic next?

[@nikinikola3023]

Thank u Solo Q

[@tamasvarga4867]

We ate every Sona-Taric combo enemies so far. Might be because I'm only plat 4, might work in high elo, but down here it's useless to say the least.

[@BAITHOVEN_]

Wow! Double support bot lane?! Ban everyone who does that because it doesn't conform to Riot's idea of a meta!!!

[@sky_light5404]

Need more

[@sleepycat7718]

3:20 - it's called Tormented Shadow now, silly >.

[@dagorjaegaren3739]

Ezreal : am I a joke to you?

[@hxcyns2191]

sona/taric is old news. now we got pyke/yuumi to deal with, thanks to G2* ;) *who stole it from rekkles and hyli xd

[@hxcyns2191]

Liandris ohh i didn't know that

[@Katakatato]

The only thing I understand from this video is why every support pyke in my team roams top after their first recall and keep on left my ad carry alone in lane 1v2

[@TheBanned0ne]

Who is doing the voiceover?

[@esbalele]

Riot Shakarez

[@whilliamblamet187]

I like this video. Gimme moar.

[@oRizho]

Nightblue wouldve called his riot friend and he wouldve gotten the pyke banned for roaming

[@JanLovesBmx]

hahaha yea and would flame him on stream being extremly toxic and afk meanwhile

[@ntzt2150]

Sona doesn't scale into a "hyper carry".

[@IAMDESEN]

Yeah she does one of the best scaling champions in the game

[@St4rking]

so why you ban teemo mid metaguy?

[@wtf_university]

To bad medic didn't make this video it could be the metic report

[@TheSergio7514]

So you telling me that I lose or win vs sona/taric in the champion select? DX

[@digal321]

what about sona tahm kench

[@gxgx55]

Generally speaking Sona works with any support that can use Relic. Details differ for each one, but Sona becomes a lategame monster regardless if she has Taric or not.

[@IsgrisLoLGaming]

Kayle-main (i cant spell)- voice?? Cool

[@IsgrisLoLGaming]

Shakarez 😎

[@zidstarz]

Truth

[@hollowzangetsu]

As a main bot lane (both AD AP carry and supp) I've tried this many games and it needs to be nerfed for sure

[@andrenylander2708]

More please

[@saltier1976]

Finally, we can report meta abusers.

[@qu3757]

Taric or tahm now

[@oxxltrvkr5770]

and ban nubrac for playing teemo supp in mid

[@BoudewijnfromHolland]

Isnt it a little bit late to make a video about this xD?

[@EasyonlineID]

So you should probably ban everyone who dose this aswell? just like you banned a Grand Master player from playing roaming support teemo?

[@mikleman996]

This isnt anything new or special, was doing this when those items came out like a couple seasons back ¬.¬

[@peng7932]

yeah im having fun in solo q getting 1 shotted by sona 24/7

[@gnesix52]

is that just 24 hours 7 days or her kd

[@biltomohammad8921]

Is it meta?

[@allways28]

sanctioned off meta is it ? no bans this time?

[@JustMarty]

Thoughts on an alternate Sona/Lux combo?

[@Kawabunguh]

mccoulet doesn’t work. The secondary support needs to be tanky and offer more utility

[@perchebevicocazero]

lol the last part of the video makes no sense as u were explaining the tactic with pyke as support and not rakan

[@lesbazyra]

And your forgot to add that you need a balance of ap and ad, otherwise an enemy team is going to rush MR and you can say bye bye to this "troll" combo. The point is that. Never have full ap team. Ever.

[@stibski]

lol this vid releases. immediately after heavy sona nerfs get announced... wow riot xd

[@MadScientistSid]

Last topic "you can look to play away of sona taric", yeah maybe if you didn't ban people who does that because someone that you have contact with whine about it (check nightblue and nubrac drama) watch?v=aIy8JUxaW7I

[@johnkoutroubas754]

which runes do you use for this combo?

[@AlexanderAC9]

Really interesting, well done! Next time maybe release this early, anyway gj 😉

[@joker91499]

not sona or taric but mordekaiser should be reported coz it is is very op compairing to his blue escence ,,,,it is illogical to give power to the less be and making adcs with 6300 weak

[@bobbybob4141]

Champion's strenght is not about his cost in Blue essences, lol. It's about when they were created, and Mordekaiser is by far one of the oldest champ of the game.

[@turagaPL]

Like low mid yolo Q isn't filled with potatoes enough lets promote weird builds that don't work in low elo so its gonna become even biger dumpster coinflip of a matchmaking where even more ppl lose games for you what can go wrong.

[@ag-gk2bp]

Do a pyke meta analysis so people can beat EU!

[@colacio54]

a bit late this report

[@guilhermelopes9430]

Is this a kayle gameplay ???

[@bowelcramps]

Behind the times.

[@ac8598]

I am silver but I have not played against this duo once. I am sure the the are more prevalent on higher elo than me.

[@WoodenPlatform]

I have 2 friends in silver who play it, but they play it wrong, they still win lane with it though... it's more common in pro play tbh, very rarely happens in solo queue

[@MakenaMilani]

Yeah, the video is kinda late.

[@malphite8797]

Just pick Morde lol

[@weeyooRaven]

Next episode with support Teemo on mid? :^)

[@PixelAspen]

You are ok with this but not pyke mid... Wtf?

[@TheIceCraftWhysomad]

make draven meta pls :)

[@JayMPsi]

WTF... what is wrong with CC?

[@daianpeter5089]

Look, I personally don´t care abour this new section. What I just can´t understand, is why you let some meta live, and others you change a lot of objects and statistics in order taht meta is no longer viable?

[@veljkoilic6836]

yeah yeah sure ok

[@rdvanbilgic341]

"That took the LEC Playoffs by storm" yeah sure xD

[@ShacolateClown]

what about ahri and sona botlane both with glacial augment.

[@unheardstingray7048]

wouldnt the coin be a bit better for sona? completes the mission faster. stable and constant gold.

[@soapcnc]

It would be worse. Sona is not so distant from Large Minion stats this day´s, and Ancient coin tells u where she will go (in order to collect the coins). And if she get´s zoned, she wont be able to get closer, so she wont get the extra gold/mana... While Spellthief grants u bonus dmg and gold for poke, which Sona´s excel to :)

[@Wemdiculous]

Cass taric sounds better to me... no one stacks gold on spellthiefs faster than her and her q

[@janswierczok9304]

botlane report