The League of Legends draft glossary
This glossary defines the words of the League of Legends draft, grouped by family rather than alphabetically. Each definition fits on one line and links to the guide that develops it.
The draft sequence
The vocabulary of the order of actions: who plays when, and what each position allows.
| Term | Definition | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | The pick and ban phase before the game: twenty actions, ten bans and ten picks, in four phases | The sequence |
| Blue side | The side that opens the draft: first ban, first pick | Blue side vs red side |
| Red side | The side that makes the last pick of the draft and the first ban of phase 2 | Blue side vs red side |
| Ban phase | There are two: six bans before any pick, then four bans after the first six picks | The sequence |
| Pick phase | There are two: six picks (blue, red, red, blue, blue, red), then four (red, blue, blue, red) | The sequence |
| B1 to B5, R1 to R5 | Picks numbered by side and rank; B1 is the first pick of the draft, R5 the last | The sequence |
| First pick | The first pick of the draft, on blue side: guaranteed access to the best available champion | The first pick |
| Last pick | R5, on red side: the last word, when the opposing composition is already complete | Blue side vs red side |
Pick and ban strategy
The vocabulary of decisions: what you take, what you remove, and what you show.
| Term | Definition | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| OP pick | A champion clearly above the rest; it cancels out every other first pick consideration | The first pick |
| Priority pick | An OP champion, or a champion contested by two players | The first pick |
| Contested pick | A champion several players want; securing it with the first pick is a matter of preference | The first pick |
| Flex pick | A champion playable in several positions; the opponent does not know where it will be played | The first pick |
| Fog | The uncertainty a flex pick creates: the opponent drafts without knowing which role it faces | The first pick |
| Versatility | A pick's ability not to become a target; an immobile, resource-hungry champion lacks it | The first pick |
| Counter | A pick chosen in response to what the opponent has already locked in; red side, which reacts, can line up more of them | Blue side vs red side |
| Pickaway | Taking a champion to deny it to the opposing team, without spending a ban | Side selection |
| Reaction draft | Red side's draft: it sees before it chooses | Blue side vs red side |
| Draft rhythm | Opening and forcing the opponent to position itself; blue side is the one with the chance to do it | Blue side vs red side |
| Phase 2 ban | A ban that closes an option made possible by the picks already on the board | The sequence |
Composition
The vocabulary of what the draft produces: how the team wins, fights and survives.
| Term | Definition | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Win condition | The way a composition wins the game: siege, teamfight or splitpush | Win conditions |
| Siege | Taking ground position by position up to the nexus | Win conditions |
| Teamfight | Winning grouped fights, then moving forward | Win conditions |
| Splitpush | Playing pressure across the whole map to gain ground | Win conditions |
| Map pressure | Creating imbalance on the map, a 2v1, or turning a 1v2 into a 3v2 | Win conditions |
| Front to back | The archetype that couples range, DPS and CC; poke and protect the carry belong to it | Front to back vs flank |
| Flank | The archetype that separates the enemy frontline from its backline; dive, pick and splitpush belong to it | Front to back vs flank |
| Frontline | Resilient champions whose job is to take the hits and the skillshots | Peel, frontline and backline |
| Backline | Fragile champions that have range | Peel, frontline and backline |
| Block | Frontline and backline together | Peel, frontline and backline |
| Peel | Everything that keeps you alive: shields, heals, CC | Peel, frontline and backline |
| CC (crowd control) | Spells that bring a target into range or keep it there; wasted if no damage follows | CC in draft |
| Zone control | Spells that block areas: a deterrent wall more than a physical one | Win conditions |
| DPS | The speed at which a composition deals its damage; it is what threatens an objective | AD and AP damage |
| Single damage type | A composition that deals only one type of damage; a weakness only if the opponent can itemise cheaply against it | AD and AP damage |
| Synergy | A pair whose spells complement each other, or a group sharing a game plan | Synergy in draft |
| Waveclear | The means to push waves back; mandatory for any composition that needs to slow the game down | The tempo of a composition |
| Depush | Delaying the enemy block in its push and its objective taking | Win conditions |
| Tempo | The rhythm a composition wants to impose: slow down if it scales, speed up if its power spike is early | The tempo of a composition |
Series format
The vocabulary of multi-game series, where the draft of one game weighs on the next.
| Term | Definition | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Bo (Bo3, Bo5) | A series played as best of three or best of five games | Side selection |
| Side selection | Between two games, the team that lost the previous one chooses its side; usually its preferred side | Side selection |
| Fearless | Picks from the previous games of a Bo are banned for the following games of the same Bo | Side selection |
| Open picks | The champions still available; in fearless, the fewer remain, the more blue side is preferred | Side selection |
| Champion pool | The champions a team can play; a restricted pool favours blue side, an adaptive one red side | Blue side vs red side |
FAQ
What does flex mean in a LoL draft?
A flex pick is a champion playable in several positions. Until it is played, the opponent does not know which role it faces: that is the fog effect.
What is the difference between a ban and a pickaway?
A ban removes a champion during a ban phase. A pickaway removes it by taking it yourself, during a pick phase, without spending a ban.
What is a counter in draft?
A pick chosen in response to what the opponent has already locked in. Red side, which drafts by reaction, has the chance to line up more of them.
What do B4-B5 and R5 mean?
They are pick numbers: B for blue side, R for red side, followed by the rank. B4 and B5 are blue side's last two picks, R5 the last pick of the draft.
Going further
- How a draft works — the full sequence, phase by phase.
- Blue side vs red side — what each side gives, and what the advantage depends on.
- Win conditions — the three ways a composition wins.
- Front to back vs flank — the two real composition archetypes.
- All our draft guides — the pillar page of the cluster.
Put the words into practice. Start a draft on uDrafter and spot the flex picks, the counters and the last pick live — it is free and no account is needed.