07-03-2023, 06:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-09-2023, 05:08 PM by xenosthelegend. Edited 1 time in total.)
Some caveats: I'm not an ISFL historian, I joined in S15 and missed a few seasons between S22-S35, so most of what I'm looking at historically is from the wiki if I didn't experience it myself. Also these comps are basically cases where you're not first timing the champ, and I tried not to make it thematic like AZ being Jhin just because they're both western themed, but snuck a few in where appropriate.
Arizona Outlaws
Starting us off is a team that is strong both offensively and defensively, always a threat in the conference, and able to win at the highest level on a consistent basis. A terror for high elo and low elo alike. The Arizona Outlaws would be Zed. They're the team that you expect to get fed off your midlaner before the game even starts, but 4 minutes in he's 6/0/2 and you can't believe your mid is still trying to fight him 1v1. You know how he's going to beat you, you know his weaknesses since he's been around forever and everyone knows his playstyle, but he still manages to win consistently without his style changing over the years. Even the item changes (sim change) didn't phase him.
Austin Copperheads
A team that's been hot in recent seasons, but has historically had stretches of bad performance. They've had success at the highest level, but not much, and have an average win/loss record all-time. The Copperheads would be Malphite. He's a champ that has the solo-carry potential, but has largely been ineffective over past seasons. In his current state he is a terror, and provides both a strong defensive presence in his passive and game-changing offense in his combo. Much like the Copperheads, Malphite sits near the top in win rate across all elos, and can confidently be picked and relied on to perform regardless of skill level (read: I'm silver and can play well with him).
Baltimore Hawks
One of the OG teams who consistently were able to maintain success late in the season, they fell off for a few years but have recently been playing at a high level, and look poised to continue their upward trajectory. The Hawks would be Kayle. Kayle was once a feared late-game carry, then wasn't seen very much except by one-tricks. There was a rework, then some item changes, and now Kayle is once again a carry threat across all elos. Kayle also kind of fits the flying bird profile.
Berlin Firesalamanders
Berlin have not won an Ultimus title in their nearly twenty years of existence, but they're upper echelon when it comes to their season record. The Firesalamanders would be Teemo. Teemo is historically a pretty annoying champ to play against, and can have a decent to significant impact in solo queue games. But in the history of Worlds tournament play, he has only ever been played once and lost. Teemo being locked in is basically a coinflip whether he's going to be able to decently kite and apply vision or if he'll be 0/3 at 5 min to the enemy melee toplaner. He's not a significant threat in high level play, mostly a comfort pick for people who like yordles.
Cape Town Crash
Defending Ultimus champions, and recently rebranded, Cape Town feels like the shiny reworked champ that's broken until the next patch, and even then they're surprisingly still overpowered. With a visual overhaul and gameplay update last year, the Crash would by Udyr. The S42 Crash is passing at a slightly higher clip than a season prior, but stylistically both the team and the champ still seem like they just want to run you down. Much like the old Liberty, the old Udyr wasn't seeing much success and was a rather mediocre pick regardless of elo. It wasn't until the update that both the champ and the team started seeing their performance improve.
Chicago Butchers
Chicago is an older expansion team, with a middling overall record, and only a single Ultimus title to their name. It took a few seasons before they were competitive, but after some changes have consistently made appearances at the top of the conference, despite their S42 record. The Butchers would be Dr. Mundo. Okay, I'll admit I chose this one mainly because Dr. Mundo throws a cleaver. But the similarities are there. Mundo's win rate drops the higher elo you go, and has been a generally consistent good pick since his kit was changed a few seasons ago. But mostly cleaver.
Colorado Yeti
Coloquially known as the Yeeti, the team out of Colorado boast neither a largely successful season nor Ultimus record, their nickname derived from their propensity to mercilessly yeet the ball downfield. The Yeti would be Kalista. She yeets spears into her opponents, and does more damage for each spear she yeeted when she pulls them out. Her ultimate is even like her yeeting her teammate. She's not in a very good state play wise, and has largely been an average to low tier adc, much like the Yeti as a team.
Honolulu Hahalua
Sighs deeply. What to do with you. A team that was on the brink of a dynasty, but has seen 0-16 as well. Honolulu feels like the champ that was broken on release, then nerfed into oblivion, then slowly has been balanced back to a somewhat playable state but still doesn't feel great despite a relatively normal win rate and the kit being largely unchanged. Honolulu would be Yuumi. In her current state, Yuumi feels like a champ that is both pretty great if you're winning, and dog water if you're losing. Kind of like how winning/losing to walk-offs feels.
New Orleans Secondline
In the midst of a tank that would rival the S38 Hahalua, New Orleans is an otherwise storied franchise that has achieved playoff glory and titles to boot. In true run-it-down fashion, the Secondline would be Nunu. Specifically Disco Nunu. Something happened last game that made the Nunu angry, and unfortunately your midlane gets to suffer (bonus points if that's you). Somehow, he still manages to get a kill because he popped his ult before he died once.
New York Silverbacks
New York is one of the youngest teams, and made noise in the playoffs immediately after joining the league, winning the Ultimus in just their fifth season and again three years later. But since then, they have been bad to average at best, though have a ray of hope in S42 sitting just one game out of first in the standings. The Silverbacks would be Sett. Sett was an absolute menace on release, and saw all manner of play from professional teams during his hayday. But since then, he was hit with a few nerfs and was not seen in pro play much even in a bruiser meta. He seems to be trending upward with some recent changes, but has yet to show he is top tier once again.
Orange County Otters
Orange County is another of the OG teams and also one of the (if not the) most successful playoff teams of all time. They're another team that has been known for both explosive offense and stifling defense, but has been through quite a few transformations over the years regarding their team identity. The Orange County Otters would be Gragas. Since S1, Gragas has been a champ where the most skilled players have been able to squeeze the most out of him, and is even a threat in pro play to carry the game. There was a small stretch where Gragas wasn't a very playable character, but since a little update, he remains a viable choice in any pre-game lobby regardless of elo. He has one of the highest win rates in Worlds amongst champs with high pick/ban rates, much like the Otters in the playoffs.
San Jose SaberCats
San Jose is yet another of the original six teams, but does not have as successful and storied a history as the OC. They were a pretty competitive early in their history but haven't made any noise in a few seasons. The SaberCats would be Nidalee. Nidalee saw success when league was in its intermediate years, but has not been a significant threat at any elo for a few seasons. And I'll admit again I was influenced by Nidalee's ability to transform into a cougar.
Sarasota Sailfish
Sarasota has always given me the impression of an offensive powerhouse, with a susceptible defense even in their championship years. They're the type of team to keep firing shot after shot and never stop firing. The Sailfish would be Miss Fortune. MF is currently one of the best adc's in the game and has been a stable pick pretty much her entire existence. The Sailfish have the (wiki) best win/loss record of all time, matching MF's stability as a pick.
Yellowknife Wraiths
The last of the founding teams, Yellowknife has the most Ultimus appearances of any team (since the wiki was last updated, so AZ might be tied or above them right now). It seems only fitting that their comp be a champ with one the most Worlds appearances of all time. The Wraiths would be Leona. Leona has historically been a very reliable support, has great peel, and is all about defense. The Wraiths' most recent Ultimus run was propelled by stifling defense, and like Leona have been reliably near the top in win rate all-time.
That's it! Feel free to comment if you agree with the comps, or if there's one you think fits better
Arizona Outlaws
Starting us off is a team that is strong both offensively and defensively, always a threat in the conference, and able to win at the highest level on a consistent basis. A terror for high elo and low elo alike. The Arizona Outlaws would be Zed. They're the team that you expect to get fed off your midlaner before the game even starts, but 4 minutes in he's 6/0/2 and you can't believe your mid is still trying to fight him 1v1. You know how he's going to beat you, you know his weaknesses since he's been around forever and everyone knows his playstyle, but he still manages to win consistently without his style changing over the years. Even the item changes (sim change) didn't phase him.
Austin Copperheads
A team that's been hot in recent seasons, but has historically had stretches of bad performance. They've had success at the highest level, but not much, and have an average win/loss record all-time. The Copperheads would be Malphite. He's a champ that has the solo-carry potential, but has largely been ineffective over past seasons. In his current state he is a terror, and provides both a strong defensive presence in his passive and game-changing offense in his combo. Much like the Copperheads, Malphite sits near the top in win rate across all elos, and can confidently be picked and relied on to perform regardless of skill level (read: I'm silver and can play well with him).
Baltimore Hawks
One of the OG teams who consistently were able to maintain success late in the season, they fell off for a few years but have recently been playing at a high level, and look poised to continue their upward trajectory. The Hawks would be Kayle. Kayle was once a feared late-game carry, then wasn't seen very much except by one-tricks. There was a rework, then some item changes, and now Kayle is once again a carry threat across all elos. Kayle also kind of fits the flying bird profile.
Berlin Firesalamanders
Berlin have not won an Ultimus title in their nearly twenty years of existence, but they're upper echelon when it comes to their season record. The Firesalamanders would be Teemo. Teemo is historically a pretty annoying champ to play against, and can have a decent to significant impact in solo queue games. But in the history of Worlds tournament play, he has only ever been played once and lost. Teemo being locked in is basically a coinflip whether he's going to be able to decently kite and apply vision or if he'll be 0/3 at 5 min to the enemy melee toplaner. He's not a significant threat in high level play, mostly a comfort pick for people who like yordles.
Cape Town Crash
Defending Ultimus champions, and recently rebranded, Cape Town feels like the shiny reworked champ that's broken until the next patch, and even then they're surprisingly still overpowered. With a visual overhaul and gameplay update last year, the Crash would by Udyr. The S42 Crash is passing at a slightly higher clip than a season prior, but stylistically both the team and the champ still seem like they just want to run you down. Much like the old Liberty, the old Udyr wasn't seeing much success and was a rather mediocre pick regardless of elo. It wasn't until the update that both the champ and the team started seeing their performance improve.
Chicago Butchers
Chicago is an older expansion team, with a middling overall record, and only a single Ultimus title to their name. It took a few seasons before they were competitive, but after some changes have consistently made appearances at the top of the conference, despite their S42 record. The Butchers would be Dr. Mundo. Okay, I'll admit I chose this one mainly because Dr. Mundo throws a cleaver. But the similarities are there. Mundo's win rate drops the higher elo you go, and has been a generally consistent good pick since his kit was changed a few seasons ago. But mostly cleaver.
Colorado Yeti
Coloquially known as the Yeeti, the team out of Colorado boast neither a largely successful season nor Ultimus record, their nickname derived from their propensity to mercilessly yeet the ball downfield. The Yeti would be Kalista. She yeets spears into her opponents, and does more damage for each spear she yeeted when she pulls them out. Her ultimate is even like her yeeting her teammate. She's not in a very good state play wise, and has largely been an average to low tier adc, much like the Yeti as a team.
Honolulu Hahalua
Sighs deeply. What to do with you. A team that was on the brink of a dynasty, but has seen 0-16 as well. Honolulu feels like the champ that was broken on release, then nerfed into oblivion, then slowly has been balanced back to a somewhat playable state but still doesn't feel great despite a relatively normal win rate and the kit being largely unchanged. Honolulu would be Yuumi. In her current state, Yuumi feels like a champ that is both pretty great if you're winning, and dog water if you're losing. Kind of like how winning/losing to walk-offs feels.
New Orleans Secondline
In the midst of a tank that would rival the S38 Hahalua, New Orleans is an otherwise storied franchise that has achieved playoff glory and titles to boot. In true run-it-down fashion, the Secondline would be Nunu. Specifically Disco Nunu. Something happened last game that made the Nunu angry, and unfortunately your midlane gets to suffer (bonus points if that's you). Somehow, he still manages to get a kill because he popped his ult before he died once.
New York Silverbacks
New York is one of the youngest teams, and made noise in the playoffs immediately after joining the league, winning the Ultimus in just their fifth season and again three years later. But since then, they have been bad to average at best, though have a ray of hope in S42 sitting just one game out of first in the standings. The Silverbacks would be Sett. Sett was an absolute menace on release, and saw all manner of play from professional teams during his hayday. But since then, he was hit with a few nerfs and was not seen in pro play much even in a bruiser meta. He seems to be trending upward with some recent changes, but has yet to show he is top tier once again.
Orange County Otters
Orange County is another of the OG teams and also one of the (if not the) most successful playoff teams of all time. They're another team that has been known for both explosive offense and stifling defense, but has been through quite a few transformations over the years regarding their team identity. The Orange County Otters would be Gragas. Since S1, Gragas has been a champ where the most skilled players have been able to squeeze the most out of him, and is even a threat in pro play to carry the game. There was a small stretch where Gragas wasn't a very playable character, but since a little update, he remains a viable choice in any pre-game lobby regardless of elo. He has one of the highest win rates in Worlds amongst champs with high pick/ban rates, much like the Otters in the playoffs.
San Jose SaberCats
San Jose is yet another of the original six teams, but does not have as successful and storied a history as the OC. They were a pretty competitive early in their history but haven't made any noise in a few seasons. The SaberCats would be Nidalee. Nidalee saw success when league was in its intermediate years, but has not been a significant threat at any elo for a few seasons. And I'll admit again I was influenced by Nidalee's ability to transform into a cougar.
Sarasota Sailfish
Sarasota has always given me the impression of an offensive powerhouse, with a susceptible defense even in their championship years. They're the type of team to keep firing shot after shot and never stop firing. The Sailfish would be Miss Fortune. MF is currently one of the best adc's in the game and has been a stable pick pretty much her entire existence. The Sailfish have the (wiki) best win/loss record of all time, matching MF's stability as a pick.
Yellowknife Wraiths
The last of the founding teams, Yellowknife has the most Ultimus appearances of any team (since the wiki was last updated, so AZ might be tied or above them right now). It seems only fitting that their comp be a champ with one the most Worlds appearances of all time. The Wraiths would be Leona. Leona has historically been a very reliable support, has great peel, and is all about defense. The Wraiths' most recent Ultimus run was propelled by stifling defense, and like Leona have been reliably near the top in win rate all-time.
That's it! Feel free to comment if you agree with the comps, or if there's one you think fits better