Early Game: Levels 1–6

Play the first wave like a scavenger. Do not walk up and contest the brush against poke heavy comps. You lose the trade before it starts. Instead, hang near your melee minions and look for last hits with Bouncing Blades. If the enemy oversteps for a poke shot, Q them, catch the dagger bounce, and back off. Your early damage is deceptive, but your durability is paper thin.

Positioning: Stay on the back half of the wave. Use the side edges to dodge linear skill shots. If you see their key crowd control ability go on cooldown, you gain a small window to step forward.

Snowball Use: Save Snowball for a guaranteed reset or a dodge. Do not throw it out for minor poke damage. If you Snowball in and get stunned, you die. Use it to gap close only when you see a low-health target or when you need to dodge a critical skill shot like a Morgana binding or Lux snare.

Augment Use: If you grabbed an early combat augment, look for a quick all-in at level three. If you have a scaling or utility augment, play even safer and focus on reaching level six without falling too far in gold.

Push or Stall: Stall the wave near your tower if possible. This forces the enemy to overextend, giving you a longer engage distance with Snowball. If your team has strong wave clear, let them thin the wave while you look for angles.

Ahead Plan: If you secured an early kill or forced a back, shove the wave immediately. Reset and buy a component. Your item spike matters more than theirs.

Behind Plan: Give up the brush. Farm what you can under tower. Do not force bad fights trying to catch up. Wait for level six.

Next Move: Hit level six with enough health to fight. Look for a target around half health to test your burst.

Mid Game: Levels 7–11

This is your hunting phase. You have Death Lotus and likely your first major item component. Your job shifts from survival to finding resets. Look for fights where the enemy team has already blown their knock-ups or stuns. You are a cleanup crew, not the front line.

Positioning: Hover just outside the enemy's vision range. Wait in the side brush or behind your tank. You want to be close enough to engage within two seconds, but far enough that they cannot poke you down for free.

Trading/Poke Rhythm: Poke with Q more aggressively now. If you land a dagger on a squishy target, look for the E–W–Q reset combo. Get your damage out and retreat. Do not commit to the full ultimate unless you see a kill opportunity.

Snowball Use: Snowball becomes your primary setup tool. Mark a target, wait for them to use their escape or peel, then fly in. If they have a dash, try to Snowball to a minion behind them, cutting off their retreat path.

Augment Use: If you picked up a reset-based augment or damage multiplier, force fights more often. Your cooldowns are low, and your threat range is high. If you have a defensive augment, you can play slightly more aggressive with your engage timing.

Push or Stall: Push with your team. You need the enemy tower dead so you can invade their side brush. Vision control in the side lanes of ARAM creates the pressure you need to flank.

Ahead Plan: Camp the enemy squishies. If you kill the carry once, look for them again immediately upon respawn. Snowball your gold lead into a second item spike.

Behind Plan: Stop trying to 1v5. Wait for your team to engage or get engaged on. Counter-engage after the enemy dumps their crowd control. A well-timed ultimate on three enemies who just used their knock-ups can turn a losing fight into a double kill.

Next Move: Secure your second item. Identify which enemy has the most reliable peel and play around their cooldowns.

Late Game: Levels 12+

One mistake ends the game. Your margin for error shrinks to zero. The enemy team has items that kill you instantly and crowd control that lasts forever. You must play with extreme patience. You are no longer an assassin who forces plays; you are a punisher who waits for mistakes.

Positioning: Stay completely out of sight. If the enemy sees you, they will save their CC for you. Stand behind a tank or hide in a side brush. Wait for the fight to break out before you show yourself.

Trading/Poke Rhythm: Stop poking. Your health pool is too valuable. Save your cooldowns for the all-in. If you poke with Q and get caught by a hook or binding, you lose the game for your team.

Snowball Use: Snowball is your execution tool. Do not use it to start a fight unless you see a target below 30% health. Ideally, you Snowball in after the initial burst from your team, trigger your combo, and reset off the kill.

Augment Use: Late-game augments often define your role. If you have a massive damage augment, you might one-shot a carry. If you have a survival augment, you can afford to ult slightly earlier. Trust the augment power, but do not get arrogant.

Push or Stall: Push as a unit. Do not get caught out alone. If your team gets aced, the game ends. Stall only if you are defending your inhibitor tower and need to wave clear.

Ahead Plan: End the game. Do not farm kills. Dive the tower if you have a reset and finish the core. Your damage shreds structures if you have Nashor's Tooth or attack speed, but your main job is clearing the defenders.

Behind Plan: Look for the miracle play. This is the only stage where desperation is acceptable. Wait for the enemy team to clump up. If they dive your tower, ult on top of them. You might get a triple kill under the tower and save the game. If you die without using your ultimate, you threw the chance.

Next Move: Check the death timers. If you ace them, end. If you lose a fight, type "defend" and buy immediately.