It can be said that the “funnel” strategy with the two champions Master Yi and Taric is one of the most annoying playstyles in League of Legends. Although Riot Games has attempted to nerf this strategy, it still persists, even allowing many players to climb ranks extremely quickly. Even at high ranks (from Diamond II and above), this strategy remains too powerful and frustrates many players.
It seems that the League of Legends community is quite fed up with the Master Yi – Taric strategy and has called for changes to make this playstyle less powerful. Specifically, League of Legends players believe that Riot should remove the interaction between Master Yi’s Alpha Strike and Taric’s Dazzle. Another issue is that the amount of gold that Taric receives in the mid lane also needs to be nerfed.
Riot needs to address the “funnel” strategy issue
Honestly, the funnel strategy is still a major issue at Diamond rank and above. No one wants to face this strategy because the Master Yi – Taric duo has virtually no counters, at least in solo queue. It helps many players climb ranks too easily, which is unfair to others. Therefore, I believe Riot needs to take action to eliminate this playstyle; here are a few suggestions.
Remove the interaction between Alpha Strike and Dazzle. This is the easiest solution as it only affects the Master Yi and Taric combo. This strategy is so powerful because when these two abilities are used together, the opponent is guaranteed to be stunned, and that target will be taken down very quickly. Riot should make it so that when Master Yi uses Alpha Strike, it breaks the connection between these two champions.
Limit each team to purchasing only one support item. I think this would prevent Taric from easily buying support items to go mid and funnel gold to Master Yi. Another solution could be to halve the gold received from the support item if more than one person purchases this item.
The greatest strength of the “funnel” strategy is that it allows Master Yi to become powerful very early. In addition to farming the jungle, Master Yi will benefit from a large amount of gold from the mid lane minions thanks to Taric purchasing support items. This makes Master Yi’s snowballing speed in the game extremely rapid, leaving opponents with no way to counter.
Moreover, Taric’s excellent protection allows Master Yi to comfortably dive towers, eliminate enemy champions, and finish the game. With a simple combo of Dazzle and Alpha Strike, this duo can stun and take down targets very easily. Clearly, in solo queue, where players lack strong communication, countering this strategy is nearly impossible.
Perhaps it is time for Riot Games to take stronger actions in nerfing the Master Yi – Taric strategy. If not, many players will find ways to exploit this playstyle to climb ranks far too easily in the near future.