There's roughly 20 different tier list threads discussing which champions to take, but I haven't seen any discussing which combination of champs is best. You wouldn't take 3 AD carries and 2 AP carries into a SR game, or 5 melee champs, but I see this all the time in Dominion and it never works out well unless the other team is terrible.

Personally, the best team comps to me seem to be 1 bot champ, 1-2 ranged and/or assassin, and 2-3 tanky melee types. If you have only 2 tanky champs, having one of them going full tank, at least for the initial windmill fight, is valuable. One of the 4 going top should also be a good bot champion mid-late game with the opposite damage type from the starting bot champ. So, you could start with Cass or Heimer bot, then swap Urgot or Riven in later after their bot has built a lot of MR. Having your assassin specifically have the opposite damage type of your initial laner is also valuable for if you ever need to gank.

So, I would consider Heimerdinger, Riven, Alistar, Ryze, Talon a good, reasonably-uncommonly-banned team comp. Urgot, Shyvana, Kassadin, Blitzcrank, Lee Sin would be another on the other side.

Awesome post! Here is how I see Dominion roles:

Defender

Poker-Interrupter

Someone who can interrupt from a safe distance or travel extremely fast.

Cassiopeia, Sona, Ezreal, Gangplank, Pantheon, Maokai, Xerath, Kog'maw, Heimerdinger

Tank

He may not have miles-away poke, but that's because he can defend a point forever. Often has crowd control that can hold the enemy under point fire longer.

Nunu, Galio, Rammus, Maokai, Singed

Brawler

The brawler can stray from points a bit. He chases enemies off the point while his friends cap; or he runs around the inside of the map to stop enemies from traveling safely. Some supports who do not fit other roles can be most helpful tagging along with a fighter brawler.

Fighter Brawlers

Jax, Akali, Tryndamere, Olaf

Brawler Support

Karma, Alistar, Soraka, Shen

Runner

Can backdoor, scout the map, "ward," or interrupt-outta-nowhere.

Teemo, Twitch, Shaco, Rammus, Pantheon, Twisted Fate, Shen (with another runner)

Pusher

Kills minions so fast he can use them to yoink your spawn points fast. Popular in bottom lane, but if protected, he can snowball to cap enemy mid after a successful top lane. Just know when to retreat.

Singed, Heimerdinger, Sivir

^Agreed with your list, except I'd consider Warwick somewhat of a defender/runner? He can't shut down pushes, but he can basically make it impossible for you to camp your point because of his massive sustainability and tankiness.

I'd wait til ranked is out for a bit to really see a meta evolve.

Of all those champs, the only one I see being worth the time to backdoor is Pantheon. The rest aren't good enough duelists to really force 2 champs to go deal with you, which is the point of backdooring. Backdooring should be done by the ones in your brawler category.

You also gave more of a list of ways that characters can be valuable on Dominion, without really getting into which ones work well together or are required. I'd say that a poker/interrupter, tank (depending on how much tankiness is otherwise on your team), brawler support, and runner aren't required, it's just some additional value that someone brings to the team. Your pusher category is extremely large, as well, since it basically is "anyone with a reasonably low CD AoE," which makes filling that role trivial.

So, until then we shouldn't try to win?

I don't completely disagree with your ideas (other than Urgot who I think sucks on Dominion) but I would like to offer a separate idea..

1- Pusher or pusher-killer (Bottom): Someone who pushes minion waves, somewhat good sustain, or alternatively: someone who can wreck the standard pushers sent bottom.
Pushers: Easily push minion waves and not instantly killed 2v1. Yorick and Heimer work well as bottom pushers, of course.

Pusher Killer: The pusher killer needs to be someone who can easily kill a yorick or a heimerdinger and at least fend off minion waves in the first 6 levels
If you cannot go vs a heimer or a yorick and win then, in blind pick, don't go bottom.
Kassadin (Unsure how patch nerfs changes this though).
Malzahar (could also count as the pusher class although lacks gank escape)
Kayle

1- Strong defender(Top): Needs strong sustain and is capable of 2v1 people under a tower to their death or for a very long time. Some range desired as well as some strong cc. Maokai is the strongest example. Shaco lacks sustain but can also do this job.

3- Roamers: These need to be people good at 1v1 in the jungle and smart enough to reinforce when and where necessary. Guards speed shrines near mid. Ability to 1v1 and the intelligence on how to roam are the only true requirements.



Generalities: I don't consider tanky melee vs ranged to be very important in blind if you go with the above. People with the ability to close gaps OR are ranged, yes.

My preferred team would be:

Maokai (Top), Rammus (playstyle roamer tank/not ninja capper), Yorick (bottom), Kog Maw, Talon

Alternate: Heimerdinger (top), Sion, Shaco, Kassadin, Singed (bottom)
-Once Singed is farmed unleash him upon your enemies and let heimerdinger go bottom with shaco hanging around top. Can switch heimer and Singed's initial placings.

In draft you should be picking based on what they have, so if they go strong ranged then counterpick appropriately.

Just logged in to post that I friggen love this. Need to try this strategy out next time.