In Patch 7.2E of League of Legends: Wild Rift, draft Malphite in Baron Lane to capitalize on his elevated frontline trading power, while adjusting your engagement timing and positioning when piloting Vi, Nautilus, Janna, or Swain. The update shifts Malphite from a passive, ultimate-reliant counter-pick into an active lane bully and extended teamfight anchor. Meanwhile, adjustments across the jungle, mid, and support rosters reward calculated initiation and punish poorly coordinated crowd control.
Malphite in Baron Lane: Capitalizing on Frontline Buffs
Malphite commands stronger early lane presence in Patch 7.2E, allowing him to contest minion waves and trade directly against physical bruisers rather than merely farming passively under his turret.
To maximize Malphite's enhanced kit in Baron Lane, apply these laning and teamfight rules:
- Manage Mana on Poke: Use Seismic Shard (Q) selectively to secure minion priority or disengage bad trades rather than spamming it on cooldown.
- Trade Around Passive Resets: Initiate short trades only when Granite Shield is fully refreshed to absorb enemy burst damage without losing permanent health.
- Counter Physical Carries: Maximize Ground Slam (E) against attack-damage duelists to reduce their attack speed during short trades.
- Build Sustained Armor: Rush Sunfire Aegis and Iceborn Gauntlet to convert defensive armor stats into persistent area-of-effect damage and target slows.
- Hold Unstoppable Force: Reserve Unstoppable Force (R) for clustered enemy carries or critical objective collapses rather than solo picks that your team cannot immediately follow up.
Jungle and Vanguard Initiators: Vi and Nautilus
Both Vi and Nautilus serve as primary disruption tools, but Patch 7.2E penalizes uncoordinated engages. Without vision security and immediate allied follow-up, diving forward leaves both champions exposed to counter-burst.
Vi Jungle Execution
Vi requires precise ability sequencing when ganking and contesting objectives:
- Track Enemy Mobility: Check flash timers and dash availability before committing Vault Breaker (Q) as a gap-closer.
- Angle Your Lockdown: Use Vault Breaker from fog of war to guarantee knock-ups, saving Assault and Battery (R) to suppress targets that attempt to flash away.
- Shred Frontlines: Trigger Denting Blows to strip armor from enemy tanks if the backline is inaccessible, enabling allied marksmen to burn down the opposing frontline.
Nautilus Frontline Control
Nautilus relies on calculated spacing and brush control to lock down priority targets:
- Anchor Discipline: Hold Dredge Line (Q) until targets are slowed or trapped against terrain. Whiffing an anchor leaves Nautilus without an escape route.
- Point-and-Click Disruption: Cast Depth Charge (R) on high-mobility marksmen or assassins to force defensive spell usage before committing to a full team brawl.
- Zone Objective Entrances: Position Nautilus inside river brushes around Dragon and Baron pits to deny enemy scouts safe entry paths.
Reactive Peel and Area Control: Janna and Swain
Janna and Swain provide opposing answers to dive compositions, creating clear choices between reactive disengage and proactive zone control.
Janna
As aggressive initiators rise in priority, Janna acts as the primary counter-engage enchanter.
- Interrupt Dashes with Howling Gale (Q): Charge tornados down narrow choke points to intercept incoming engages from champions like Malphite or Vi before they reach allied marksmen.
- Reset Skirmishes with Monsoon (R): Hold Monsoon until the enemy commits heavy engage tools, using the knockback to reset the fight and heal damaged allies.
- Protect Priority Carries: Keep Eye of the Storm shields on your highest-damage dealer to provide defensive health and bonus attack damage.
Swain
Operating in mid lane or solo lanes, Swain punishes enemies who clump together around neutral objectives.
- Sustained Drain Tanking: Activate Demonic Ascension (R) once a fight collapses into a close-range skirmish, absorbing incoming frontline pressure while draining health from nearby foes.
- Scouting and Zone Control: Cast Vision of Empire (W) into river bushes to check for flanking threats, and use Nevermove (E) to pull immobilized targets into allied burst range.
Patch 7.2E Champion Role Comparison
| Champion | Primary Role | Tactical Function | Core Ability Focus | Ideal Draft Pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malphite | Baron Lane / Tank | Hard engage and backline disruption | Unstoppable Force (R) | High-burst AoE mages and aggressive ADCs |
| Vi | Jungle / Bruiser | Single-target suppression and pick creation | Vault Breaker (Q) & Assault and Battery (R) | Mobile assassins and burst mid laners |
| Nautilus | Support / Vanguard | Target displacement and crowd-control chains | Dredge Line (Q) & Depth Charge (R) | Scaling hypercarries needing lane safety |
| Janna | Support / Enchanter | Hard disengage and dive negation | Howling Gale (Q) & Monsoon (R) | Immobile backline marksmen |
| Swain | Mid / Solo Lane | Frontline drain tanking and area denial | Demonic Ascension (R) & Nevermove (E) | Clustered choke-point teamfights |
Objective and Teamfight Macro Sequence
Winning teamfights around Baron Nashor and Dragon in Patch 7.2E depends on vision setup and ability layering. Follow this sequence when contesting neutral objectives:
- Clear River Vision: Sweep and ward the objective river thirty seconds prior to spawn to spot flankers and identify approaching tanks.
- Anchor the River Choke Points: Stand Malphite or Nautilus at narrow terrain entrances to deter scouts and threaten instant ultimate engagements.
- Scout Fog of War: Cast Swain's Vision of Empire or Janna's Howling Gale into unwarded bushes to check enemy positioning without face-checking.
- Bait Opposing Spells: Force enemy carries to expend defensive tools or flash before committing hard crowd control.
- Layer Crowd Control: Initiate with primary knock-ups (Malphite or Nautilus), followed immediately by secondary lockdown from Vi or sustained zone damage from Swain, while keeping Janna in reserve to peel counter-flanks.
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Player Comments
102 players commented on this guide.
I wish I had read this before upgrading the wrong thing.
This saved me time in the early game.
Can you add more details about strategy in a future update?
Nice guide. I am checking the other League of Legends: Wild Rift articles next.