Unfortunately I have no time this evening. Tomorrow or any other day this week would work for me, though.

PS: I don't use vent, but I don't mind getting it, ofc you just need to give me a short explanation on how to join the lagwars vent server.

That's the downside of ranked games... you often get a mixed bag of folks.  Here's my perpetual suggestion on ranked games.  I've heard people doing it differently, but I strongly recommend choosing your character based on where you are in the list.  By that i mean, the top slot is the highest elo in the group.  The bottom is the lowest.  Ideally, the lowest should be the support - regardless of their preference.  I've lost my fair share of games because I take support and can't make enough of an impact if one of the carries is clown shoes.  So, unless you are the bottom, call whatever you want immediately.  I've seen other folks choose to just support their way to higher elo as well, but I think my way is better and gives me more of an opportunity to make a real difference.  People will disagree, but I'd always prefer to have a strong carry/weak support instead of a weak carry/strong support. 

I do the same thing in draft games as well (though from top to bottom might be just based on games won (eg top = most games won).  I just call whatever I want if I'm in the top 1 or 2 spots and then take it.  If I'm towards the bottom of the list, then I'll ask for what I want or offer to do whatever we need. 

Random thoughts re: jungling - consider the common jungle routes based on the side of the map you are on.  If their jungler starts at their blue, then that jungler will likely go for an early gank closest to that blue.  If you don't see the jungler by around 2 minutes 10 seconds, odds are he's just continuing on the normal jungle route.  Which puts him near his red and able to gank mid or whatever lane is near red based on the side of the map you are on.  Anyway, you can generally predict when a gank is going to come bot or top based on the timing and when you last spotted the jungler.  Around 7 min in, the jungler is almost always on his way to blue or red based on what he started with... that also means a gank is most probable based on that location. 

Other random crap - I want to work on posting the timing of dragon, baron, red/blue (tb ob) in chat.  I always forget.  Should be pretty easy as a jungler to do that if the support is not. 

ok we'll hook up sometime soon then.  Vent is really easy to use if all you are wanting to do is listen in.  Just download the client and one of us can get you the info you'd need to log in, etc.  Probably about 3 minutes to setup and be able to hear.

@Pacov:

Was watching your stream and I'd suggest you get rid of that bar that blocks the screen between your minimap and UI stuff.  Its not a huge deal, but it just seems like every little bit helps and giving yourself a little more sight by removing that wall and minimizing the UI a little is helpful, at least for me.

I'm not sure I agree with your picking philosophy cause there's nothing I hate more than getting in a game and watching our number one pick grab an easily hard countered Solotop champ.  Support IMO what should be picked very early as it seems much harder to get a hard counter pick against opposing supports and AD carries.  Also, I feel its a more important role than a lot of people think it is who assume you're just going to be hanging out in the bushes the whole laning phase.  You have to know the capabilities and tendencies of the three champions in your lane and when to save your CC for peels and when to harass, when to ward the side bushes, when to double ward, when to pink ward, when you're playing for the late game or going for early zoning, etc etc.  Don't get me wrong, it might very well be the easiest and the least important role but it can't be automatically relegated to the worst player since the lane itself is so crucial because of dragon control and the importance of your AD carry late game.  Haven't you ever been in a game where things were going pretty well everywhere else but bottom lane and you thought things were in the bag... and then the other teams farmed/fed Kog/Vayne/Tris just take over?

tl;dr Champs with multiple roles/lanes, supports, and AD carries seem to make the hardest to counter early picks.

I'm not sure I know what you mean, thunder.  Happy to make the change if you can explain it a bit more.  Also not sure how to minimize the ui (I can only assume we are talking about the lol ui, right?).  Help meh and I'll fix it up tonight.

re: my picking philosophy - well that's just downright tricky if you really want to dive into the nuts and bolts of it.  You also very much need to consider the elo level we are talking about here (1200-1500).  "What's a counter pick" is the sort of concept you are very likely to encounter here.  So, that's probably the most important thing to factor in, imo. 

Then consider the placement in picking.  If I'm in the top 1 or 2 slot, I can still call and, more or less, demand what role I will play.  There's still some flexibility in counter picking for me unless I'm the 1st pick.  Anyway, the bottom line is that I'm dogmatically, based on my location in the elo standings, making a decision.  Obviously its not foolproof (as the number 1 guy could be utter crap that just was carried by his team multiple times), but this gives the highest ranked folks the most flexibility to do their thing - and forces those with lower elo into the support position.  Which, quite probably is better than me being the number 1 pick and opting to go support.  So, I just apply that logic based on where I fall in ranked games.  I'm flexible if I'm in the bottom 2 slots because those above me are higher elo.  If I'm in the top 1 or 2 slots, we'll, I can pretty much tell you I'm not going support.

And, of course, if I'm in the number 1 or 2 slot and I have a teammate that needs or wants a specific player that is likely to be picked (eg think morgana if she isn't banned), then I'll pick that for them and have them pick whatever I need. 

Anyway, I'm just saying, if you are higher elo, then your preference should be more important than the lowest level elo fellow on your team that wants to run solo top.   For all you know, he's just awful and will lose you the game.  Better to trust yourself to a more important role than to relegate it to someone else and hope they aren't awful.  Eg - going support in a pug means you are boned if your lane mate is rubbish.  And you don't know if you lane mate is rubbish unless you're duo queued with them.  So, its best to take a carry or jungle role imo.  Then you rely on your skills at least for your lane.

Counter-picking at this ELO is fail...

Olaf counters Nasus, bad, so second pick Nasus thinking he's up against the first pick Wu sees Olaf appear.  Oh crap, we're doomed!  The rest of the team tells him to tower hug and don't worry about farm.  I just go Trundle and solve the problem by eating the bastard every time he pushes the lane.  Four deaths later, top is a done deal and Olaf no longer counters Nasus.  The poor guy didn't start catching back up till most of their towers were down, and by then Nasus was farmed to around 300 minions.  I see it all the time.  Some noob counter picks, pushes like there's no tomorrow, and gets his ass ganked over and over.

Any moron can jungle against those conditions, and once they get repeatedly trashed right off the start of the game, you've got three easy lanes thanks to fed as fuck jungle boy smoking everyone with his shiny new toys and a two(three if it was bot) level advantage.

There's a lot of dumb ideas too, like Veigar being terrible against Ryze.  I get counter-picked practically every time I take the little shit.  I have a 100% lane victory rate with the little guy to show for it.  You just have to be smart enough to let the minions eat the tower a bit till level 6, take the offered free kill if Ryze is dumb enough to get inside tower range himself, and then three shot the poor bastard every time your R comes off cd.  If they'd just take someone with a longer reach, Veigar wouldn't be so scary.  Blow a stun to burn BV's shield before your R is ready, and you somehow convince your idiot team mates that you're a pro by killing one of the easiest lane opponents you can get, a short range caster with no stun, less burst, and an entirely useless ultimate to have with a maximum lifespan of two seconds.

Then again, I main support Kayle, so I typically first pick a support when the situation arises.

I figured it out and made the changes.  Good call - much nicer for even regular play.  Also found a setting that makes smart casting a little nice that shows the path of it if you hold the button down.

Just going to update the other thread any time I'm streaming - keep an eye on it over here if you care:

http://forums.demigodthegame.com/421975

Yes, early picks going top is generally heavily frowned upon.  There are some exceptions - WW, for example, is desirable enough that he won't last to 4th or 5th pick, so people will grab him early.  Plus there is always some confusion about whether he will jungle or top, and if they counter him hard, you can always change the gameplan.

But yeah, most tops should be picked late so they don't get countered.  Its very difficult for the jungler to babysit top, so a counterpick up there hurts the worst.  Its relatively difficult to counterpick bot, and mid can always be ganked a lot (plus short lane helps if you are losing).  But top is tough if they feed.

same goes for some other normal junglers - udyr, lee sin... olaf. 

The ELO difference between first and last pick is so minimal that it really doesn't matter.  The higher up you go, the more you see a Janna or ad carry first pick.  Sometimes they pick a champ that can go top / mid, or top / jungle.  

Check this out if you have not seen it yet.  It's a bot that runs in PvP.net.  You can use it to VERY quickly check player stats (just tried - returned info in about 1 sec) and set timers if you like.

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=1294429

edit - tried the timer function out - its crap for the new jungle re: wraiths/wolves anyway.

so... point... the following is utterly retarded... and yet - has me laughing quite a bit.  enjoy

Unless we are talking about "complete idiot" levels of "weak", a strong support can and will carry his bot AD through the laning phase. A player who is mechanically sound (understands last hitting, doesn't overextend), who is "weak" in that he misses a few kill opprotunities... well, with a good support he'll stay up with CS. A good support creates those kill opportunities in the first place. They aren't happening unless your opponents make a grave mistake or your jungler gets a gank. The AD carry simply isn't going to be doing many initiates at level 3. (initiates != poke). 

Good supports control the bush, waste junglers times, secures dragons by winning the lane, zones the enemy AD carry.

Think of it this way: 

A strong support, with a weak carry is 1.5 people, and ensures the enemy stays as 1.5 people. End game, they become like 1.25 people (initially carry is .5 person, later support = .5 people)

A weak support, with a strong carry is 1 person, and does nothing to keep the enemy down. End game, they become 1.25 people (initially, carry is .75 people support = .25 person).

A strong support will prevent their team from face-checking baron and getting aced in the first place, so that their carry can even get the chance to shine.

To be fair, you do that when we play in-house games too. 

i think that this only applies if you're playing someone who you are familiar with, you're good with, and you're "Tryharding". (i understand you're talking about ranked here - you probably tryhard more in ranked, but this is normals). 

If you're playing a role/person who you only have a handful of games with, following a guide and buying bad items (like rushing Ninja Tabi's and Madred's Razor (rather than Mecury + Vampiric)  against Rumble + Fiddle Jungle + AP mid), then, really, you're putting yourself at a high level there. Someone else could have played that role equally or better than you. 

Knowledge of the game != Good technical skills. 

It's true until you are higher ELO, playing someone you're more comfortable with (but a weak pick) is going to work out better for you than a natural hardcounter. But the fact of the matter is, if the person picks a counterpick, then pushes the lane, they would have pushed the lane with anyone else. 

isn't that why he is considered a counter? Nearly every other AP pick it'd be one-shot.

i do think that picking "safe" tops (such as GP / Warwick / Lee Sin) that can also jungle, first or second is hardly a big deal. Just like first-picking Kennen or Vlad. Hell, with Kennen you can even AD bot if you "must". Picking champions that really can only play in one lane first or second is putting your entire team at risk, and putting a lot of silly stress on your jungler.

A jungler can and should be able to help one counterpicked lane (afterall, it only makes sense that all three lanes would be even, or one team has a counterpick advantage in top, the other in mid). However, if both mid and top are counterpicked, then that lets the enemy jungler spend some time on bot instead (until you pressure a lane and force him elsewhere). That can spin your bot lane out of control and then you've got even more places to be. If bot is being safe, he can always just farm. 

"Pressuring" bot lane can be as simple as him farming a bit longer, and getting an early Oracles and forcing your support to burn a billion wards, plus keeps bot scared. 

My uncle would fly off into a rant over media personalities using the phrase without actual facts involved.

I would say observation states otherwise.  The player with the perceived advantage is typically far more adventurous, often to their own detriment.  More skilled and experienced, and thus higher ELO, players will be aware of how dumb it is to dive Nasus with Olaf at level 4, right when the enemy jungler should be finishing his run on the mini golems a little ways off.  The typical idiot in this range isn't really that observant though.  Even successive ganks often fail to discourage the gung ho counter pickers from trying to slaughter their opposition, they typically just complain to their own jungler for not ganking the over-extended lane.  Or complain about how lousy their support is, I get that one a lot...

I would say he's considered a counter because most players are retards, and have a knee-jerk reaction to the ability descriptions.  He's outranged, outgunned, and slower.  The only thing he really has is the same thing he has against any other AP carry, he can take BV after Tear without being a nerf shooter of a carry.

Veigar doesn't one shot people.  It's nice, but not that nice.  You need the heavily farmed Q and extra AP from champion kills to get that massive AP advantage going, and the extra scaling on R from the enemy AP isn't that scary when they only have 60 or so.  It's 80% of theirs, 120% of yours, and you'll have a hell of a lot more than they will.  Late game, against all or nothing AP carries, yeah.  Who ever sees one though?  You've got lots of options, including key items like ROA and Abyssal Scepter, that pretty much guarantee Veigar is going to need at least two hits on you.  The problem is going to be that your ass is stunned during those hits, a problem Ryze is going to be guaranteed to share.