League of Legends news » Global ganking with Twisted Fate and Shen

Twisted Fate and Shen enjoy the good life. They can freely push lanes and beam to their team whenever they're needed -- walking is for suckers, they say. The tower’s weak and the pressure’s heavy? As long as the initiations are ready, that uneven fight across the map can turn into a surprise attack!

Two Teleports Top

Shen brings everything a tank needs these days. He's got a shield in Feint (W), sustain in Vorpal Blades (Q), and tops it all off with some solid crowd control. Get on the wrong side of this ninja and you’re bound to get taunted by his Shadow Dash (E).

But Shen’s defining moments involve shielding an ally anywhere on the map with his ultimate Stand United (R), appearing right beside them to deliver his CC. And because top laners often take Teleport, Gambit Gaming’s Lucas "Cabochard" Simon-Meslet enjoys having not one, but two ways, to get where he needs to go.

“Having two Teleports brings way more pressure than having only one,” he tells Lolesports. “If you make a play around bot lane but need to save top tower in the next second, you can always join your team bot lane then Teleport back.”

And it’s not just about moving from lane to lane for pressure; it’s about saving lives. When the opposition spots a less globally present top laner across the map, they’re more inclined to use that advantage to score a kill. But with Shen on the team, that 4v5 is more than meets the eye. “Your team will obviously play more aggressively knowing there’s a second Teleport available,” Cabochard says. “You can set up some baits easily. Even if you don’t ultimate, the pressure is there, and enemies will back off in situations where they would have normally fought.”

Shen isn’t the only champion this side of the Rift to provide global presence, though. There’s another lucky varmint changing the fate of his team, and he's likely to occupy the mid lane.

Changing Destiny

Twisted Fate's got lady luck on his side, but good fortune isn't needed when you can control the outcome with an ultimate that takes you across the map. According to Team SoloMid's mid laner Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg TF can single-handedly turn a bad draw from Champion Select into a favorable one by being two places at once.

"Twisted Fate is picked for either split pushing in the mid/late game or to nullify a counterpick on top lane. His [global teleport] changes some volatile matchups completely," says Bjergsen.

With his Wild Cards (Q), TF can easily shove the mid lane to buy him some play-making time elsewhere. And time is money. The moment an enemy over-extends, Twisted Fate won't hesitate to pop up in their lane to collect the bounty before they even knew what hit em'.

"Global presence in the mid lane allows constant pressure on side lanes and forces the enemy to try to control TF," Bjergsen tells us. "If you look for ganks in any other lane, TF is always ready to help. It also means the enemy plays safer because if he ever gets low on health or take a risky path through the jungle, TF can instantly get the jump on him."

Fnatic’s mid laner Fabian "Febiven" Diepstraten finds the added map pressure TF brings to be incredibly useful in coordinated team play. "Twisted Fate has a near global ultimate at Level 6," he says. "It's useful because you can back-up your teammates any time or use it as an extra Teleport so you can split push against mid laners."

Simply having the option to poof from one side of the map to the other is a huge advantage, especially if your opponent doesn’t have that same luxury. “If the other mid laner doesn’t have Teleport, it’s incredibly easy to out-rotate them and force objectives because you have the option to go for towers or Teleport back to lane.”

Unless you keep Twisted Fate under control, he's just going to keep smashing your towers and foiling your jungler's plans, particularly when he picks up his trusty Lich Bane to help him shove. “You always have to send someone to the Twisted Fate lane. Since top laners play with Teleport, you can [set up] a 1/3/1 [split-push]. It’s really hard for the enemy to get control," Febiven says.

While the positive effects of global presence are evident, there are a lot of neat tricks to pull out of your sleeve when you can appear anywhere you want.

The effects of global ganking

When you thought having one global ultimate was awesome, imagine having both Shen and Twisted Fate on the roster. The presence is unbelievable.

"Having Twisted Fate and Shen on the same team always allows you to have global pressure,” Febiven tells us. "Let’s say your top lane gets ganked. You can Shen and TF Teleport, which creates trouble for the enemy team. [The opponent] has to keep in mind that TF and Shen can always come."

Bjergsen shares the same sentiments, except he doesn't wait around for ganks -- he likes to do the ganking. "TF and Shen can be used for a ton of pressure on bottom lane especially, and at times allows for the Shen ult with TF using Destiny to assassinate someone," he says. "They compliment each other well with global pressure as well as CC lockdown for later in the game. Your main goal is to be making five-man global plays on bottom lane and snowballing from that point onward."

And if you’re creative enough, you can really use the global ultimates to synergize with other champions -- particularly those with stealth. “Let’s not forget the funny uses that Shen ult can have, just like the submarine with a Twitch or a Rengar,” Cabochard reminds us.

However, there are some caveats to leveraging your team with global presence. According to Cabochard, " [Teleport] is a tool that you can abuse, and with proper communication is very helpful. However, if you fail, enemies can disengage and you'll lose a lot on the other side of the map. So it requires some teamwork."

With innate global presence becoming more popular, it's exciting to see the spontaneous team fights that break at as a result of teleporting. Having global presence ensures there's more engages, and disengages, to happen. Oh, dragon's almost up? It's go time!

Global presence is still a luxury, but with Tahm Kench looking to taste test everyone on the Rift soon, it's likely we'll see more teams pick up Shen and Twisted Fate to stop (or join) him on that adventure.