Relay — the deepest meta on the desk
MOBA, 5v5, three-lane. The deepest meta of any title on the desk. Coverage focuses on the macro story — rotations, jungle priority and the late-game team-fight read.
Relay is the deepest meta on the desk. MOBA, 5v5, three-lane. The title with the longest competitive history and the one the desk reads for the macro story. Relay coverage runs four articles a day during the active season and two a day during the off-season.
The active map pool is three maps — all three-lane, all scaling. The map veto is read at the macro level rather than the team-composition level. The desk tracks the rotation data for every series and aggregates the data over the season. Map pool data is updated weekly during the active season.
The champion pool is one hundred and forty-two champions across five roles — top, jungle, mid, attack carry and support. The pick-rate and win-rate data is published weekly and the patch delta is the cleanest single number for a meta shift. The desk's standing note is that the Relay meta shifts in two-week cycles because the macro story takes longer to settle.
The Relay macro story is the structural read on the title. Rotations, jungle priority, vision control and the late-game team-fight read are the four pieces the desk watches. The standing rule is that any change to the Relay macro story is reflected on the title page within an hour of the official announcement.
The Relay broadcast is the smallest. One play-by-play caster, one colour caster, no analyst desk — the colour caster does all of the analytical work. The Relay broadcast is the most conversational of the three and the one the desk recommends to first-time readers who want a single voice to follow.
The Relay patch cycle is eight weeks — the longest on the circuit. The desk reads every patch and writes the meta story before the cast does. The analyst section of every patch notes page is the desk's read on the change — what the cast will be talking about on the next broadcast, which teams will adjust first, which maps the change will move.
Relay is the title the desk reads most patiently. The standing rule is that any change to the Relay meta is reflected on the patch notes page and on the title page within an hour of the official announcement. The desk's read on Relay is the structural read on the macro meta.
The deepest meta on the desk.
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