Finding Solutions: The Top-Lane Dilemma

The current meta-game for the top-lane revolves around two potent champions: Dr. Mundo and Shyvana. Both offer sustain, a persistent split-push and bullying potential as well as contribute heavily to teamfights. These champions are so dominant right now they are picked and banned in almost all competitive games in Europe, with Mundo holding an 87% pick/ban rate (and a 69% win rate) and Shyvana having a 77% pick/ban. Shyvana is also one of the most popular champions globally, with an 84% pick/ban rate across all regions. (Note: these numbers are from the pre-season, as of patch 3.14, and infographics can be found here)

With these two champions being as dominant as they are, a creative solution was necessary – and has been found. Both Cloud 9 Europe’s Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and Fnatic’s Paul “sOAZ” Boyer used an unusual champion as a direct counter-pick to these dominant top lane bruisers: Trundle.

Not only did they pick Trundle against both Shyvana and Dr. Mundo, the two most popular and potent picks for the top-lane, but they won both matchups handily.

So let’s take a look and see why this unusual champion selection worked so well:

Trundle? Why Trundle?

According to LoLKing, Trundle only has an average 1% pick rate in all games this week, placing him in the bottom 10 of all champions in the game. And yet, he was successfully used as a counter-pick to two of the most dominant top-laners in the meta – what about Trundle makes him such an effective counter-bruiser?

Source: LolKing

There are several elements of Trundle which make him work so well against Shyvana and Dr. Mundo.

First and foremost, his kit and abilities all work together to make him into the ideal anti-bruiser. What he lacks in raw damage output and natural disables he bring in terms of utility and lane control:

For full ability details, a link to Trundle’s Wikia page can be found here.

Passive: Tribute

This passive is perfect in the sustain-heavy bruiser meta. It allows Trundle to sustain in lane even when he becomes tankier since it heals for a scaling % rather than a flat amount, which in turn helps him remain in lane as long as the mana-less champions. In the later stages of the game, the bursts of health provided when enemy champions fall can help Trundle stay alive in extended teamfights, or heal up quickly after the conclusion of a skirmish.

Q: Chomp

Trundle’s bread-and-butter skill, Chomp is effective at all stages of the game. While the slow is essentially negligible due to its duration, it does help him stick to targets, and all the other elements work to help Trundle win trades in lane, especially against Shyvana who relies on her early AD advantage. Taking away even a small amount of attack damage from the opponent and giving it to Trundle makes a massive difference in the early and mid-game, and both the cooldown and mana cost are low enough to allow Trundle to use this ability with impunity. Late game, it allows Trundle to deal strong burst damage to enemy carries, and steal a small amount of their AD to make them slightly less threatening.

E: Frozen Domain

The added regeneration is nice, but it is the attack speed and movement speed which really make this ability work. Especially for skirmishes in the jungle, Frozen Domain is perfect for closing the gap onto squishy targets and giving Trundle the added DPS needed to crush opposition carries. It also help when taking objectives, as 80% added attack speed is nothing to scoff at. Since Trundle has no natural dash or ranged skill-shot slow like Dr. Mundo’s Cleavers or Shyvana’s Dragon’s Descent, this ability is also useful for chasing down fleeing enemies or retreating from ganks or lost engages.

W: Pillar of Ice

The uses of this ability are almost too great to count, but needless to say it is an extremely powerful tool in Trundle’s arsenal. Preventing enemy ganks or securing kills for friends one, zoning out enemy carries or blocking them in, denying chases or objectives all are good uses for the Pillar of Ice. Needless to say the zone control and skirmish potential that proper use of this skill offers is extremely high, and it gives Trundle unparalleled utility as a bruiser.

R: Subjugate

And here is the ability which makes Trundle a viable counter-pick, his ultimate, Subjugation. At first this ability seems rather inconspicuous, but when given some thought is perfect for dealing with Shyvana and Dr. Mundo. The most important aspect is the fact that is deal % HP damage and reduces armor and magic resistance by 40% - no matter how tanky they get, Trundle is still able to deal significant damage to his opponent’s bruisers and greatly reduce their ability to fight. Most importantly, the added stats give Trundle excellent dive potential, as stealing even a portion of his enemies armor and resistance makes him significantly tankier. Correct use of this ability is what allows Trundle to not only go toe-to-toe with Shyvana and Mundo, but helps him ignore their tankyness and bring them down.

It is important to note that this ability is not for initiation purposes, but should be used as a burst heal when Trundle is low or as a magic resistance/armor debuff when going into a fighting scenario. Subjugation is perfect for turning the tides of a dual/fight, so waiting until Trundle has taken some damage and the enemy tank is drawn in before unleashing it, giving Trundle a surge of tankyness which can catch enemies off guard. Taking advantage of all aspects will get the full effectiveness out of this powerful ultimate.

The second aspect is how well his kit synergises with not only the current style of play, but the preferred item set for top-laners in the current meta:

Blade of the Ruined King: This item is a must buy on Trundle, even more so when going up against Shyvana or Mundo. The % HP damage and added sustain it offers is too good to pass up and the active combined with his Frozen Domain and Pillar of Ice allows Trundle to kite extremely well for a melee champion. Also since Chomp resets Trundle’s attack timer, Blade of the Ruined King is a perfect item when laning to deal consistent damage to your opponents when used correctly, and works together with his passive regeneration to give him tremendous staying-power in lane. Also, a quick combo of Subjugation and the BotRK active deals 25% of their maximum HP in the blink of an eye, which can turn around any fight. Overall this item is perfect for the Troll King: the % damage, added attack speed, lifesteal and active all work perfectly with his kit and make Trundle into a fearsome duelist and laner. With Blade and Subjugation active, Trundle can smash down even tanky foes quickly. While it is not recommended as a first item, consider it early and build it often.

Sunfire Cape: The current standard first-build item for top-laners, Sunfire Cape offers everything Trundle needs. The bonus HP and armor allow him to dive into teamfights without fear and match-up well against Shyvana and Mundo, while the AOE burn gives Trundle the split-pushing power he lacks. Also, since Trundle is so good at sticking to his target, the added damage over time Sunfire offers should not be dismissed. However, with the nerfs incoming in the 4.1 patch, Sunfire Cape may no longer be as strong a starting item since the damage it deals scales with level. It is still an option for heavy split-pushing or when playing against AD compositions, but Randuin's Omen may be the new go-to armor item. 

Spirit Visage: A perfect complement to Trundle’s passive, the bonus regeneration from Spirit Visage given him nearly endless sustain and life-steal. The added HP and magic resistance a perfect for diving into the enemy back-line, and the cooldown reduction makes Trundle’s utility spells of Pillar of Ice and Frozen Domain more available. Spirit Visage is another item which will be nerfed in 4.1 with a lowering of the cooldown reduction it provides. The other aspects of Spirit Visage still work well for Trundle though, and cooldown reduction isn't as vital to have sucess when playing the Troll King. Another go-to magic resistance item could be Banshee's Veil, which offers similar health and magic resistance plus the spell shield.  

Mercury Treads: Trundle’s main goal in fights is to zone carries and eliminate their tanks before diving them, and the Tenacity offered by Merc Treads is perfect in that scenario. Once Trundle gets to his target, the reduced disable duration makes him nearly impossible to peel off. Other options include Ninja Tabi or Boots of Swiftness.

These core items work so well with Trundle’s kit and abilities it’s impossible to pass any of them up. Blade of the Ruined King in particular is vital when facing off against Shyvana or Mundo for its synergy with Subjugate.

After these items are complete, consider other bruiser items such as:

Trinity Force (Added damage/dualing potential)

Randuin’s Omen (Increased tankyness/armor and AOE utility)

Ravenous Hydra (For split-pushing)

Warmog’s Armor (Increased tankyness)

Frozen Mallet (Helps to stick to targets)

Guardian Angel (Added resistances)

Banshee's Veil (Magic resistance and shield)

Teach Me How to Troll: Examining the Games

Now that we understand why Trundle’s kit and synergy with the current item set makes him such an ideal anti-bruiser, let’s take a look at some games where he was used as such to great effect. The first one was a part of the Scan EU West Invitational and features Cloud 9 Europe’s Odoamne. 

C9.EU vs Meet Your Makers (Trundle vs Shyvana)

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Despite falling early to a gank from Mokatte, Odoamne does an excellent job of never falling behind his lane opponent, Kubon. In fact by 10 minutes he not only recovers, but is able to secure a farming lead against Shyvanna. He shows how patient play is the best way to come back into a game, and he slowly but surely claws out an advantage despite being down to start the game.


In order to match Shyvana’s natural split pushing ability, Odoamne picks up a Sunfire Cape as his first item, which helps make up for the lack of AOE wave clear that Trundle has. However he slowly begins to lose trades as Shyvana harasses him, and at 14 minutes Kubon goes all in with his ultimate.

This skirmish shows just how clever use of Trundle’s Subjugation can totally suprise opponents. Despite starting at a massive health deficit, Odoamne uses the % HP and armor steal from his ultimate to quickly turn the tables on Kubon, forcing him to Flash away. The surprise factor that the health and stats steal Subjugate provides helped Odoamne draw Kubon in, and he won the dual without fear of death.

A gank from k0u at 19 minutes secures a kill on Kubon and the top-tower, and they a perfectly placed Pillar of Ice by Odoamne pins CHOUYOU in between the wall and the tower, securing yet another kill.

From there Odoamne continues to press forward, farming and split-pushing against Kubon, who can no longer touch him.

At 27 minutes, Odoamne shows his strength, coming in to fight Kubon and Mokatte as they catch Voidle in the jungle. His ultimate and BotRK active crush Kubons health, and depite his attempted retreat over the wall a quick Flash from Odoamne secures the kill. After picking up Mokatte as well, a Pillar of Ice once again proves its utility as Makler and CHOUYOU’s chase is cut off, allowing for a smooth retreat by Cloud 9.

After securing Baron and pushing the wave top, Odoamne rotates to join his team in pushing the MYM base. Diving the tower alongside Febiven, Odoamne once again demonstrates the power of Subjugation as he fights Kubon without losing any health, using Frozen Domain to chase him down for the kill.

This game is a perfect demonstration of how to play Trundle when behind. Despite his early death, Odoamne bides his time and continues to farm and split-push, and takes fights in which he can use his Pillar of Ice and ultimate to zone out the carries and crush the tanks. The skirmishes which he sought heavily favoured Cloud 9, and with the tanks out of the equation it was only a matter of time before victory was secured.

Fnatic vs Gambit (Trundle vs Dr. Mundo)

Here is the second game, the very first match of the Season 4 EU LCS where sOAZ used the Troll King to smash Darien’s Dr. Mundo.

After helping to secure the first blood on Genja, sOAZ plays the early game quietly, biding his time and slowly but surely coming out ahead through use of Chomp and his high early damage.

Fnatic recognizes the advantage that Trundle has and capitalizes when Cyanide ganks the bottom lane early; a great use of Pillar of Ice forces Darien’s Flash, and a quick skirmish nets sOAZ the kill. Constant pressure is applied by Cyanide ontro Darien to leverage the strong utility and early damage which Trundle brings to the table, which is crucial when playing against a snow-ball type champion such as Dr. Mundo.

Once Rekkles and YellowStar take the top tower, Fnatic opts out of a three man push on bottom lane and instead sends sOAZ to the top lane – they are confident that he can continue to not only match-up favourably against Darien’s Mundo, but possibly win the lane if allowed to continue in a 1v1. Fnatic knows that Trundle is a much better dualist early, and wants to let sOAZ to continue to apply pressure onto Darien.

At this point in the game, around 11 minutes, it is interesting to note sOAZ item build – he started with an early Giant’s Belt before immediately starting on his Blade of the Ruined King. This gives him both the raw health to provide a tank for Fnatic in the early skirmishes, but also provides strong lane presence and sustain. Delaying the BotRK by a few minutes isn’t too big a loss if it means that sOAZ can provide both some tankyness and damage to the fights.

This decision pays off around the 16 minute mark when Gambit challenges Fnatic in the middle lane after taking Dragon – sOAZ rotates down and not only zones out AlexIch with a perfect Pillar of Ice, but has the damage necessary to snag a kill on EdWard and the health pool to survive.

After this fight, sOAZ continues to push top lane and farm, and after finishing his BotRK purchases a Specter’s Cowl on the way to a Spirit Visage. This is an excellent example of itemizing for the game – despite the fact that he has been sitting on a naked Giant’s Belt since the early stages of the game, sOAZ recognises that the two greatest threats to him are AlexIch’s Leblanc and Darien’s Dr. Mundo, both champions which deal magic damage. Genja, on the other hand, is barely a threat at 0-3 and so the Sunfire Cape isn’t necessary at this stage in the game. When playing a split-push/skirmish role as sOAZ does in this game, it’s very important to recognise and react to the potential damage sources on the enemy team, and sOAZ does so excellently.

In a fight around Dragon at 22 minutes, sOAZ demonstrates the power and utility that a well played Trundle can offer a team. Sitting in the river bush, sOAZ completely zones out Diamond, Genja and EdWard while the rest of Fnatic crushes Darien, who bravely charged into the fight. A Pillar of Ice keeps Genja too far away to help his tank, and by the time Diamond Shyvana ultimates past sOAZ Darien has been forced to Flash away at low health. With Diamond now the center of attention, sOAZ uses his ultimate to greatly reduce Shyvana’s natural tankyness, and Fnatic eliminates Diamond before he has time to deal too much damage.

sOAZ leads the charge against Gambit Gaming in Game 1 of the EU LCS

With the back-line now safe from the dive of Shyvana and Mundo, sOAZ turns his attention to Genja and Edward, charging forward and using his Frozen Domain and BotRK active to quickly close the gap. Despite getting hooked, the bonus armor and magic resistance provided when he used Subjugation on Diamond keep sOAZ alive, and with all of their cooldowns wasted on trying to take down Trundle, Genja and EdWard look to retreat. However, a brilliant Pillar of Ice pins them against the wall and allows Rekkles and xPeke to clean house and pick up three more kills.

The utility and zoning potential of Trundle was crucial for Fnatic winning this fight, with the Pillars of Ice keeping Genja out of the fight and blocking his exit and the patient use of his ultimate allowing Fnatic to cut through Gambit’s tanks.

From there sOAZ continues to seek out fights with Darien, who he can now 1v1 handily. Even when Diamond shows up, sOAZ is tanky enough and delays with his high mobility and zone control, which buys the time for Fnatic to come in and secure two more kills.

The fight at 29 minutes is another excellent demonstration of the power of Trundle’s anti-tank. After xPeke catches Diamond with his Orianna Shockwave, sOAZ immediately Subjugates him and his health drops too rapidly for him to be able to fight – Diamond is forced to flash away. With one of the Gambit tanks completely out of the equation, Fnatic easily kites Darien around kills him, securing the inhibitor.

?The final fight comes at 30 minutes as Gambit tries a last ditch effort near the Baron pit. The key to this fight is another perfect Pillar of Ice laid down by sOAZ: as Diamond attempts to charge Rekkles on the high-ground, a Pillar forces him away and back into sOAZ’s waiting arms. Rekkles is totally untouched throughout the entire fight and he is able to rip through Darien and Diamond from total safety.

This game shows just how strong Trundle can be when ahead. sOAZ and Fnatic took their advantage and drove it home, using Trundle’s ability to weaken tank and utility to their fullest and smashing Gambit to pieces.

By the Numbers:

Masteries: A standard rune page works best on Trundle, complementing the major Defense tree ones with a few in Offense for added attack damage and attack speed. This setup given Trundle better laning with early combat stats while also providing him tankyness in the late-game with reduced crowd-control, high regeneration and bonus armor.

Runes: Much like the Masteries, a mix off offense and defense gives Trundle a nice blend of early laning presence and tankyness. Attack damage Quintessences and Mark really bolster Trundle’s early trading, while armor Seals and magic resistance Glyphs help focus on gaining an early advantage and sticking with it into the mid and late-game.  This is the page sOAZ was using in the game versus Gambit.

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Skill Build: With Chomp (Q) as Trundle’s main source of DPS and lane-advantage, both sOAZ and Odoamne maxed it first, taking early points in Frozen Field (E) at level 2 and Pillar of Ice (W) at level 4. Next, maxing Frozen Field should be a priority, as the added movement speed and attack speed really help Trundle out in close fights. Subjugation (R) should be scaled when available at 6, 11, and 16 while Pillar of Ice can be left until the last few ranks.

Lessons Learned:

Trundle is a fun and unusual counter to the current stagnant Mundo-Shyvana meta, and could catch your opponents off guard if they are unprepared. However, it is important to keep these things in mind when playing Trundle or theory-crafting counters to the top picks.

1) The Underrated: Just because a champion isn’t played, doesn’t mean they don’t have value. Odoamne and sOAZ came up with a clever solution to the top-lane meta game using Trundle, a champion with a 1% pick rate. Looking for creative champion picks can not only give you the element of surprise, but can sometimes be effective to counter popular champions. Thinking outside the box can lead to great results – don’t be afraid to deviate from “the meta”.

2) Embrace Utility: Although his skills initially lack in raw damage, do not dismiss Trundle on that basis. Trundle offers something that few other top laners offer – zone control. A well placed Pillar of Ice can not only totally shut down gank attempts by the opposition, but can be an effective tool for securing kills or preventing the escape of high priority targets. Practice with this unique ability can make or break a good Trundle player. Don’t underestimate utility, it can win games.

3) Decision Making: Trundle’s ultimate Subjugation requires some careful thought, but Odoamne and sOAZ showed how effective it can be. Using it on the enemy’s front line in a teamfight not only cuts through their tankiness, but gives Trundle the added armor and magic resistance needed to successfully dive the enemy damage dealers. On the other hand using it on a squishy opponent makes them even more vulnerable to Trundle’s damage – using it wisely is vital to coming out on top in skirmishes. 

4) The Percentage: As an anti-bruiser, Trundle has a distinct advantage in that his ultimate deals % HP damage. Cutting through tanks is easy when a large chunk of their health, armor and magic resistance is removed. This fact also offers Trundle excellent late-game scaling, as no matter how tanky his opponents get he will still be able to cut through them thanks to the perfect synergy between Subjugation and Blade of the Ruined King. As caster Rivington the 3rd once famously said “percentage damage deals damage in percentages” – too true Riv, too true.

5) Skirmishes Over Teamfights: Unlike Shyvana or Dr. Mundo, Trundle does not offer any AOE damage or gap closer which are perfect in teamfighting scenarios. However, hit kit is suited to small engagements in closed-off areas where his Frozen Domain and Pillar of Ice can be used to maximum effectiveness. Have your team move aggressively into the enemy jungle and take 2v2 or 3v2 fights in the early and mid-stages of the game – Trundle is an excellent duelist but only when ahead, so shutting down the opposition top and jungle is crucial to victory. The Dragon and Baron Pits are also spots where Trundle can excel. Take your fights wisely and crush your enemies.

I hope you enjoyed this analysis and learned something about the unusual top-lane pick of Trundle. Do you agree with my analysis? Disagree? Leave us a comment.

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I’m Nicholas “Endspark” Doucet. Follow me on Twitter @GGEndspark, on reddit or right here on GosuGamers.net