Shaco · Matchup · Tale 015
Jumping the Flay
Jul 14, 2026
In this loop
Thresh's hook connects first, the poke a support flay is supposed to guarantee
Q fires anyway, straight past the flay and onto Lucian before he can capitalize on the hook
Sight breaks on landing; the backstab auto is there for the taking, but Lucian is already running
No speed left to close the gap for the auto, so a box drops and E chips instead
Lucian reacts to the box, eats an Arcane Comet proc trying to route around it, and walks back through it anyway
- 0:01Thresh's hook connects first, the poke a support flay is supposed to guarantee
- 0:03Q fires anyway, straight past the flay and onto Lucian before he can capitalize on the hook
- 0:04Sight breaks on landing; the backstab auto is there for the taking, but Lucian is already running
- 0:05No speed left to close the gap for the auto, so a box drops and E chips instead
- 0:06Lucian reacts to the box, eats an Arcane Comet proc trying to route around it, and walks back through it anyway
Losing sight of him wasn't the problem. Standing where he had to walk back through was the plan.
Thresh’s hook is supposed to be the poke that sets up his flay, not the opener to someone else’s trade. It still connects first here, but the flay only works if there’s nothing to answer it with, and Q clears that gap in one jump, landing on Lucian before he can use the leash he just bought. The sight break on arrival costs the backstab: by the time it matters, Lucian’s already turned and running, and there’s no speed in the kit to close what a hook-and-flay combo just opened up in the other direction. Box and E aren’t the backup plan, they’re the correct read for exactly this gap, dropped to zone the one lane home instead of chasing a lead that’s already gone. Lucian sees it, tries to walk around it, and an Arcane Comet proc finds him anyway before he gives up and walks straight through the thing he was avoiding. The flay was supposed to end the exchange. Instead it started one that ended somewhere else entirely.