The Mid Lane River Wrap: Baiting Flash with Lane Priority

This route starts after your second buff, around level three, and works best when your mid laner has pushed the wave under the enemy tower. Instead of walking straight through the river—where the enemy’s Control Ward likely sits—you approach from the raptor pit side. Sweeping the small bush next to mid lane is critical; if it's warded, reset your path and wait for your laner to bait the enemy's key ability. You should not appear on the map until your mid laner commits to a trade. A common mistake is walking directly into vision early, which gives the enemy mid time to retreat. Instead, hover behind the wall, wait for your laner to all-in, then use your gap closer or crowd control right as the enemy burns Flash. This route is deadly because the enemy expects ganks from the river, not from the small side lane bushes. Time your arrival with the cannon wave—enemies often step up to farm it, and their support can't rotate fast enough. Always ping your mid laner beforehand so they hold their cooldowns. A successful gank here doesn't always need to kill; forcing Flash sets up a free follow-up gank within the next 90 seconds.

The Bot Lane Tri-Brush Dive: Warding the River Entrance

The tri-brush dive is one of the most powerful, but risky, ganks in the game. From your red side, clear the Krugs, then walk toward the enemy bot lane's tri-brush—the small brush that connects their tower to the river. This path works best when your bot lane has pushed the wave under the enemy tower. First, use a Control Ward in the river brush that leads toward dragon pit to guarantee no enemy mid or jungler collapses on you. Then, position yourself behind the enemy tower. The element of surprise is your greatest weapon: most bot laners only watch the river entrance and the lane bushes, not the tri-brush behind them. Coordinate with your support to initiate as soon as you're in place. Your tank support should tank tower shots first; you follow with damage and crowd control. If the enemy has a support like Thresh or Blitzcrank, be careful—they can hook you into the tower. Dive only when your bot laners have a full wave crashing to juggle tower aggro. After the kill, immediately help push the wave and reset. This route also sets up uncontested dragon control, as the enemy bot lane is dead and the river is cleared. Remember to leave before the enemy jungler’s buff respawns, or you’ll trade your life for the dive.

The Top Lane Counter-Gank: Shadowing the Enemy Jungler

Not every gank needs to be proactive—some of the best routes are reactive. The top lane counter-gank route begins in the river bush just above the Baron pit, but the key is to track the enemy jungler’s starting side and clear speed. If the enemy jungler starts at their red buff, they will likely reach top lane around 3:30. Instead of ganking top yourself, position in the river bush on the scuttle crab side, just below the enemy top laner’s tower range. Use Oracle Lens to clear the dot wards. As the enemy jungler walks into the lane to gank your top laner, you collapse from behind them, cutting off their escape. This route is brutal because you effectively turn a 2v1 into a 2v2 where the enemy is sandwiched between you and your top laner. The timing window is small—only 15 seconds—so you must predict the gank based on the matchup. For example, if your top is playing a weak early champion like Kassadin or Veigar (unlikely top, but pick a weak early duelist), the enemy jungler will surely target them. Communicate with your top laner to intentionally overextend just enough to bait the enemy jungler. When the enemy commits their gap closer, you enter from the river flank. Your goal is to kill the enemy jungler first, because they are squishier and have already used their abilities. This counter-gank route often yields double kills and instantly releases all pressure from the top side of the map.

The Mid-to-Bot Rotation Through the Enemy Blue Buff

This advanced route is a vertical jungling play that attacks two lanes at once. After a successful or failed gank mid, you do not recall—you instead walk through the enemy’s jungle, specifically through their blue buff, to reach bot lane. This route only works when you know the enemy jungler is on the opposite side of the map, usually because they just ganked top or are farming their red side. Enter the enemy jungle from the mid lane river entrance, sweep the small brush near the blue buff, and take their Blue Sentinel or Gromp if they are still up. This does two things: you gain gold and experience, and you place the enemy jungler behind. Then, continue walking down through the enemy’s bot side jungle, exiting through the tri-brush directly behind the enemy bot lane. This is a blind spot that few players expect because it requires the jungler to give up their own tempo. By the time the enemy bot lane sees you, you are already in range of their tower. With your mid laner’s priority ensuring the enemy mid cannot rotate, the gank becomes a 3v2 or even 4v2 if your support roams. This route also guarantees a deep ward at the enemy blue buff, which will reveal the enemy jungler’s pathing for the next two minutes. Even if the gank fails, you have successfully stolen camps and vision, effectively starving the enemy jungler of resources. Remember to use the blast cone near the enemy’s Krugs to escape quickly after the skirmish—this keeps your route unpredictable and throws off the enemy jungler’s entire early game plan.