The Minion Wave#
Why do six minions determine what ten champions are allowed to do?
The wave belongs to neither of you#
Gold, experience, cooldowns — every other resource in this course belongs to a player and moves when they do.
The wave has its own rules for where it sits, and those rules decide what both laners are allowed to do while it’s between them.
Neutral / even#
BLUE TOWER |........ o o o|o o o ........| RED TOWER
(wave meets near the midpoint)Roughly matched kills on both sides. Neither laner is restricted — both can farm, roam, or fight without giving up ground.
Frozen#
BLUE TOWER | o o o|o o o ....................| RED TOWER
(wave held just outside blue's tower range)Held there deliberately by the side with priority. Blue farms safely under tower; red cannot extend forward without walking into the wave — and whatever’s behind it.
Slow push#
BLUE TOWER |.............. o o o o o o|o ..| RED TOWER
(blue stops last-hitting; the wave stacks and creeps)One side stops last-hitting. Minions stack up unmatched and the wave grows larger while it slowly moves toward the other tower.
Crashing#
BLUE TOWER |........................ o o o o o o o o| RED TOWER
(the stacked wave clears fast into red's tower)The stacked wave finally reaches a tower and clears into it quickly. For a few seconds, nobody needs to be standing in the lane at all.
What a state buys you#
| Wave state | Recall | Roam | Contest an objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | safe | safe | open |
| Frozen (behind it) | safe | risky | open |
| Frozen (in front of it) | risky | punished | closed |
| Slow push (yours, building) | risky | risky | open |
| Crashing | free window | free window | open |
A frozen lead is a lead that can’t leave#
Blue is two levels and 800 gold ahead in lane. The wave is frozen just outside blue’s own tower.
Blue’s jungler starts a Dragon fight two screens away. Blue cannot help — not because of anything on the scoreboard, but because leaving now hands red a wave crashing into blue’s tower, unanswered.
The gold lead is real. It is also, for the next ninety seconds, unspendable.
The exchange#
An advantage that hasn’t been converted is a number on a scoreboard.
The wave is one of the things that decides whether it can be.
Builds on Weeks 1–2#
The wave is a resource (Week 1) and a constraint on time and space that decides whether Week 2’s power can be spent this minute.
Next week: what a fight actually trades, once the wave has set its terms.