Rebels Guide – High Risk, High Reward

INTRODUCTION

With buffs to Jinx, Aurelion Sol, Gangplank, Ziggs, and Yasuo in patch 10.9 and 10.10, rebels have established themselves as a strong late game composition with Jinx being the main carry. It often places 1st or 2nd given the right circumstances. Rebel is a trait that gives 150 Shield & 10% Damage at 3 rebels and 210 Shield & 12% Damage at 6 rebels for every adjacent rebel.  The shield lasts for 8 seconds, which means that player wants to build circles around their main carry (usually Jinx) to give her extra damage and shield. 

Today, we are working with Pujsapepa, a Challenger Rebel expert to find out how to best play this comp!  His Reddit account is u/GbMATIC2

Video Version

https://youtu.be/sXBDN-9XUig

BUILD

First, let’s get into the build.  Your core build at level 8 is 6 rebels, the core being Ziggs, Sona, Yasuo, Yi, Jinx, and then Malphite or Aurelion Sol.  After that, add a blaster (preferably Miss Fortune) and Gankplank with guardian angel OR a blademaster to give you 3 blademaster (preferably kayle). One possible midgame combo is Ezreal and Blitz, giving you 2 Blaster, 2 Brawler and Chrono. For your endgame comp, you need to push level 9 to fit in 6 rebels and switching Malphite for Aurelian Sol (now being Ziggs, Sona, Yasuo, Yi, Jinx and Aurelion Sol), Miss Fortune, Kayle and Gangplank.

Rebels Guide - High Risk, High Reward
This is a possible mid game setup with Ezreal + Blitzcrank

As stated before, your main carry is Jinx which works extremely well with Last Whisper + Infinity Edge.  Deathblade was buffed in 10.10 and is another fantastic option which works well with the extra damage that Jinx gets from adjacent rebels. Other items like Giant Slayer or red buff are best in Brawler Blasters, another popular build containing Jinx, but is not ideal in Rebel Jinx because the damage does not scale as strongly. A 3rd item is preferably Runaan’s Hurricane for extra damage. In Rebels Jinx doesn’t need extra defensive items but Guardian Angel, Trapclaw or Quicksilver are all acceptable options. Red buff or Giant slayer, are still even though not perfect, acceptable options for jinx.  If you have extras of these items, they can be used on Miss Fortune.

Rebels Guide - High Risk, High Reward
Late Game Rebels

The next carry in this build is Gangplank. Most important item for him is Guardian Angel, so that he can get his ultimate off more consistently.  For positioning, it is a good idea to scout for any potential zephyrs on the frontline because you will need a Quicksilver to counter those.  Last item is preferably Ionic Spark which works for him perfectly, because he is in the frontline and has area stun ultimate. Other AP items like Deathcap also work. Frontline items like Bramble Vest or Frozen Heart work as well. Tear items go on Miss Fortune especially if she is 2-starred and has upgrades.  Do not itemize tears on Aurelion Sol because of his mana change in 10.9.


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While Aurelion was the primary carry in the first patch of the set, he is no longer viable as the primary carry.  Nevertheless, a Morellonomicon or Demolitionist Spatula still works well on him.  Put extra Ability Power items on him if Gangplank is full on items. 
If you are lucky enough to get yourself a Rebel Spatula, you should normally put it on Kayle.  Gangplank is another option. If you do this, you can remove Sona and get your comp to spike earlier and add in another gp 1 on level 9 or any strong level 2 champions like Lulu.  If you are in an AP heavy lobby and/or can’t find Aurelion Sol, you can replace him with Sona and get 2 mystic with Lulu at 9.
To conclude, here is the order of importance for items: Guardian Angel, IE, LW, Quicksilver (if there are Zephyrs), Ionic Spark, Runnan’s Hurricane, Demolition Spatula, and Morello. You can slam any of those items early game to preserve health.

WHEN TO GO THIS COMPOSITION

This composition is best in Treasure Trove, because it uses the extra money really well.  Rebels also make great use of spatulas, which are abundant in this galaxy. It is also good in the Medium Legends and Neekoverse galaxy because it shines in the late game.  It can work in the Lilac Nebula if you get a Jinx and on Superdance Galaxy because you can set up your comp on level 8 and spike harder than others. I would avoid this composition in Star Cluster and Trade Sector.  Newly added Galactic Armory is neutral, since it depends on items people got.

When deciding to go for Rebels, you need to make sure that you have a lot of gold and health at Stage 4-1.  You will also need most of the core items.  If you get an early GP, you need to decide whether you will fight for 1st or 2nd place. 

EARLY GAME

I like to start the game with a sword because it makes 2 core items –  Guardian Angel for Gangplank and Infinity Edge or Deathblade for Jinx.  If I can’t get a sword, take gloves then armor. In the early game, you should focus on getting econ and preserving health by slamming items. One good early start is Chrono/Brawlers with Blitz, Malphite and Caitlyn/TwistedFate. Malphite is a good holder for Ionic Spark or Bramble Vest, which you can transfer to Gangplank later. On level 5, you can put in another Rebel and Ziggs, which after a recent buff is a very good early game option.  If he is level 2, and you can even put items on him, but remember to keep an extra Ziggs on your bench to remake him. Good item holders for Jinx in early games are Xayah, Lucian with blaster and/or cyber, or any long range champion that you can 2 star early. Don’t hold too many rebels on your bench before stage 3 if you are losing econ.


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MIDDLE GAME

Generally, you will level to 6 on stage 3-2.  Note that you should always level If you are maintaining a win streak or if you are not going below 40 gold by leveling.  You should also level up if you are below 75 health. Otherwise level naturally on 3-4, this way you are getting more gold for your late game roll down and you can start getting your rebels on the bench. In the mid game, you should focus on playing your strongest board while staying above 50 gold and you shouldn’t roll before level 8. On 4-3, you level to 8 and roll to stabilize while looking for rebel units, GP, and MF.   Usually, stabilizing is having a level 2 jinx with 5 other rebels or hitting a GP.  If you can’t find a GP, ChoGath is a decent item holder for GP.  If you can’t find MF, use any other blaster instead.  You can also play blitz + ezreal for chrono. Ideally you should stop rolling and sit with 20 gold until raptors.

Rebels Guide - High Risk, High Reward

LATE GAME

After raptors on Stage 5-1, you have to either roll down or go for fast 9. Depending on how much econ and health you have, you should go on 9 at 5-2, 5-4. or 6-1. You want to have at least 40 gold for a roll down, but you shouldn’t go below 20 hp. If you rolled at 8 on stage 5.1, level to 9 on 6.1 or 6.2 and roll again.

Positioning for this comp is pretty straight forward. You want your Rebels to surround jinx in a corner to give her extra damage and shield. You should pick a corner away from enemy threats like Kayle or Velkoz. Gp should be in the frontline to get his ultimate as fast as possible and Miss Fortune should be in the other bottom corner. Kayle is the only unit that is really flexible in this comp. That’s why it is a good idea to have zephyr on her if you have one.  Be sure to dodge Mana Reavers and Shroud of Stillness with your Gangplank.


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Alternatives

Let’s get into some alternatives.  If you do not hit GP or Asol, you will need to transition into brawler blasters, which will usually secure you a top 4 place especially if your items are more blaster focused such as Giant Slayer and Red Buff.

Another endgame variation of this comp is 3 Rebel and 2 Blaster.  You can drop Yasuo, Yi, A Sol and Kayle to play Lulu, Kasadin, Thresh and Wukong. This way you are getting mystic, celestial, mana reaver, chrono better frontline, and those game changing Lulu ults.  Since you do not have 6 Rebels, your positioning is also a lot more flexible because you can dodge Shroud of Stillness and Zephyrs more easily. This comp is good when you find Lulu 2 or if your lobby has a lot of AP. This is without doubt a better variation than the ˇtraditionalˇ since rebels are only buffing Jinx.

Rebels Guide - High Risk, High Reward

One of the NEW builds of Rebels revolves around 3 star Ziggs.  This build only works if you get Double Seraph’s Embrace on Ziggs.  With the mana change, Ziggs will now ultimate every auto attack with two Seraphs, causing huge spikes in damage.  There are two ways to play this composition, first you can hyperoll for Ziggs at stage 3-1 OR you can slow roll for Ziggs at level 5.  The only requirement for this build is a lot of tears for Ziggs.  You will eventually transition into a 6 Rebel build with Gangplank and Jinx as your other carries.

Conclusion

Rebels are high risk high reward comp.  They are one of the strongest late game compositions, but you will need to pay strong attention to balancing your economy and your health.  It can be tempting to greed your gold an extra turn, but these mistakes can be costly.  You will need to know when to stabilize and what a stable state actually is.  Nevertheless, once all core units are on board with good items and some mercenary upgrades, Rebels can beat any other composition.