Maokai support is a thing. Or at least, OMG ran it in three out of four of their games last week, and those were the three games that OMG won. The team that brought you Braum jungle last year, Yorick jungle the year before, and Veigar support at the Season 3 World Championships is at it again.

OMG uses Maokai support as a fix to Rumble’s Equalizer without putting Gogoing on a second tier top lane pick and as a source of skillshot-free lockdown. Though OMG ran it in three games, it didn’t shine nearly as well as it did in its breakout appearance on one of the most interesting compositions the LPL has seen all season. OMG chose a high mobility team that allowed them to decimate Team King in under 24 minutes.

OMG selects Nidalee, Sivir, Maokai, Hecarim, and Leblanc

OMG banned Lee Sin, Kassadin, and Rek’Sai — three picks that could keep up with the speed of their intended composition. Kalista has been a common ban against Uzi, and King historically has preferred to ban Janna on red side, so these were two bans that OMG could more or less rely upon to supplement their own.

In all four of OMG’s games last week, they played against Rumble. In all four of those games, they chose Maokai (once as a top lane champion). Each time Rumble lays down an Equalizer, the intention is to mitigate the damage with Vengeful Maelstrom. Thresh also lends itself to the heavy armor, large hitbox Maokai choice. OMG would actively seek the 2v2 in this game.

Gogoing's face during draft phase

King’s Draven pick also signaled they were seeking to opt into the 2v2, while Vi seemed an appropriate pick against Sivir. OMG would complete their draft with Hecarim and Leblanc to get to the immobile Draven, and King answered with Zed. The Zed could have unraveled OMG as a counter to Leblanc against almost any mid laner except Cool.

It’s important to look at OMG’s composition as a whole: it isn't just about the Maokai support, but about the unique interactions between each of the champions. The core of the composition is about getting to the back line with the speed from Sivir and Hecarim and scattering King to create picks for Luo to lock down and Cool and Loveling to assassinate.

Maokai Support

The headline choice here is the Maokai support. Maokai support isn’t the next big thing, but it works extremely well for OMG’s circumstances.

Overall, Luo has not had a lot of success on Champions outside Annie. He struggles with skillshots and has engage-based instincts as opposed to a player who might excel with Nami or Janna. OMG historically likes to run engage on their support, so finding targetable crowd control is essential.

Luo caught after leaping atop the Equalizer

They also seemingly set up the Maokai support in response to the matches they had that week. Acorn and Skye have both had impressive Rumble games, and with King and LGD as OMG’s opponents, the team could ban Rumble like most logical LoL players might, or they could answer it.

Since OMG has had a large focus on dragons and getting earlier towers, mitigating Equalizer damage is important; Vengeful Maelstrom does just that. Luo jumped atop every Equalizer laid down by Skye throughout this Best of 2.

Against Thresh, Maokai has almost a Braum-like interaction. A massive hitbox and 70 armor from runes, masteries, and base stats kept Sivir safe, and early pressure from Gogoing’s Teleport prevented Draven from gaining momentum.

The team fight asset of the single target lockdown from Maokai is huge. Maokai synergyizes quite well with Hecarim, as Onslaught of Shadows should propel an enemy team in opposing directions. Maokai can easily pin one down for a Boomerang Blade, Javelin Toss, or Ethereal Chains. Almost every member of OMG’s team benefited from the interaction.

Leblanc and Nidalee

There’s a reason people have started taking Leblanc away from Cool, and it seems to be that it’s impossible to counter. In reality, the Leblanc pick in this game against Team King had a lot more fragility to it.

Luo Twisted Advances, Loveling lands a Javelin, and Cool destroys

OMG likes to run threats in both the mid lane and jungle; so far this year, Leblanc and Rengar has been a popular combination. Loveling favored Kha’Zix at the World Championship. Last Summer was all about the Lee Sin. The crux of a lot of these selections is Loveling’s ability to get in and out of the enemy jungle. Cool pushing out in lane without placing down his own ward coverage so he can invest gold in items relies heavily on the pressure Loveling exerts.

Sometimes it’s about the wards. Sometimes it’s just about Loveling smashing the enemy jungler. This time, it was about ganking. While Gogoing teleported top to give Uzi and Luo the advantage and turn Mlxg’s gank, Loveling busied himself grabbing Cool the advantage. The Zed matchup became much less threatening with an early kill on Cool's stats line.

OMG’s vision control leaves a great deal to be desired, but applying the mark of the Hunted reveals targets for pursuit into fog of war. Nidalee’s high mobility allowed Loveling to have an uncharacteristic amount of vision control in this game against King. Cool capitalized on it to get picks. Landing a Javelin also meant it was time for the all-in, and Cool’s follow-up combination ensured a dead target.

The Collapse

Uzi and Gogoing descend upon a target behind his turret with Luo along for the ride

There’s nothing quite so devastating as Onslaught of Shadows powered by On the Hunt. The stacking movement speed bonus and ignorance of unit collision all but ensures Hecarim will get to the back line to descend upon an unsuspecting target.

Gogoing and Uzi operated as a duo in a similar vein to Cool and Gogoing. Triggering these two ultimates meant anyone huddled under a tower wasn't long for this world, and the turret acquisition was all but assured.

The Main Event

OMG only managed to get to this to work once, not because they kept failing the execution, but because after collecting so many side lane picks, the game ended too quickly.

Triggering On the Hunt, then Onslaught of Shadows scattered King’s team. Wuxx was sent back into OMG’s waiting arms where Luo’s Twisted Advance locked him down, and Cool’s Leblanc eliminated him from the map.

This setup proves invaluable to an OMG team that loves to run pick compositions but fights too often in the open. It’s a round-about way of avoiding picking fights in the jungle while running assassins either bred through stubbornness or brilliance.

Upon taking a look at this game, OMG’s composition didn’t appear serious, but I’d go so far as to say it was as seriously as they have played all year. OMG knew how each of their picks interacted, how to execute their plan, and how to crush King in under 24 minutes. The Maokai support addresses a serious limitation on their roster for how they like to play, and the top lane Hecarim lets Cool shine on one of his best champions in open terrain.

Final builds for OMG's 24 minute game

If they could play like that every game, they might have a chance against Edward Gaming this weekend.

Kelsey Moser is a staff writer for theScore eSports and watches way too much Chinese League of Legends. Follow her on Twitter.