It should be mentioned that a Light 6 comp is also ridiculously strong, with the right items and augmenting synergies. I know it is strong, because I have seen it wreck me. It recently got a change to the way the health restore works, which I'm not sure if it's a buff or a nerf, but I have to admit:
Light is a fifth generically strong comp, it's just not one I'll ever run because I don't know how to run it. Like, I know it's strong, I've been wrecked by it when running countless different comps and seen it wreck people and place first or close to, repeatedly.
I just don't know how to consistently pull it off. It's strong, I just don't know how to make it strong. This is the same reason I tend to avoid Summoner 6; I have an idea for what might make that comp strong, but I generally tend to mess up on the execution of it. Same problem with Light 6. I don't really know what to do, I have an idea of what I think is the right thing to do but no clue if it is actually the right thing to do and a high failure rate.
So basically, in the meta, there's five strong comps to run, and I only run three of them, but I can run one of those three comps basically every single game.
Worth mentioning: Woodland/Druids still work as a fairly strong comp, but in my experience, tend to fall off in the lategame unless you really really luck out. In ranked, I might play them just because they are a good way to ensure you don't finish near the bottom, but most of the time you're not going to win with them. The only Woodland unit which doesn't build into Woodland/Druid itself (since Neeko, Ivern, and Maokai are all Druid/Woodland exclusively) is LeBlanc--which means the most obvious comps to build off of Woodland/Druid are Mage 3/6 (I've yet to achieve Mage 6 when starting Woodland/Druid and Mage 3 was largely ineffectual), or more likely, Assassin 3/6.
Assassin 6 is ridiculously hard to achieve by the way, but in my opinion, probably worth it especially with the tanky frontline of Woodland/Druid, so that's probably your best bet. It's a fairly fun comp that works well enough, but it won't win you the game against one of the generic strong comps when they come online.
There's probably less obvious comps that use Woodland/Druid but I don't know them. Assassin 6 just seems like the obvious to try for as the augment for it, and like I said. It's safe. It works well. It'll get you about top four, most of the time, unless you're running into competition.
And most of the time, you are.
Which is, mind you, one of the main reasons I tend to shy away from it as a comp.
You might get 3+ people in any given game trying to run predators, but I still run predators because those other people won't successfully out-predator me because they focus on leveling up whereas I focus on rerolling to max my predators. (Rerolling to max predators is the correct play; using all four predators, not just three, is the correct play. Most people think just getting three for the synergy is good, and that leveling up for extra synergies is better. It is not.)
You might get 3+ people in any given game trying to run ocean and/or mages, but usually if they're focusing on one half, you can focus on the other half. (Basically, while you have some units to fight over, you can have an invisible handshake of, "okay, you're focusing on this half, I'll focus on the OTHER half" and it'll still work.)
You might get 3+ people in any given game trying to run Berserker/Glacial, but like Ocean/Mage, you can usually run whichever half they do not. They want to aim for Glacial 6, you aim for Berserker 6; they want to aim for Berserker 6, you can get Glacial 4 and maybe Glacial 6.
You probably won't get 3+ people in any given game running summoner 6 but it's a bit hard to tell there because you can't tell someone's running summoner 6 until they're at like, summoner 4/5 and their competition's probably already dead by that point.
And you probably might encounter 1-3 people in any given game running Light, though that's not nearly as much a staple as the others; I have seen it tho so I know it crops up on every rare occasion or so.
But when it comes to Woodland/Druid.
You WILL, not might, WILL, get 3+ people in any given game, trying to run it. And unlike predators where people seem to focus on leveling up rather than rerolling. For whatever reason. People who run Woodland/Druid DO focus on rerolling--meaning, that I have trouble out-Druid/Woodlanding, someone who is trying to run Druid/Woodland.
Basically, it's a safe comp to run...but everyone KNOWS that it's a safe comp to run, so everyone runs it, and if everyone runs it, nobody wins using it. Which is why I tend to avoid it. My preferred strategy is to focus on comps that do well early, but which I know also have incredible lategame scaling that allow me to have a good chance at winning.
Woodland/Druid does well early, but if multiple people are running it, you're royally screwed lategame and even IF you have no competition, the comp falls off in said lategame.
So I'd run it, but most of the time just prefer other comps. (One problem for the comp, too: its only real damage source is Neeko. Maokai is a tank; Ivern is a support who shields; LeBlanc's ult is useful for stunning but deals very little damage. Neeko's aoe ult is your best damage source, but it can be difficult to get the right build on her. She could use an extra healing item to augment the druid healing that doesn't scale, she could use ap items, and she could use mana replenishment items, yet she only has three item slots so it's hard to get everything ideal for her, on her.)
Light is a fifth generically strong comp, it's just not one I'll ever run because I don't know how to run it. Like, I know it's strong, I've been wrecked by it when running countless different comps and seen it wreck people and place first or close to, repeatedly.
I just don't know how to consistently pull it off. It's strong, I just don't know how to make it strong. This is the same reason I tend to avoid Summoner 6; I have an idea for what might make that comp strong, but I generally tend to mess up on the execution of it. Same problem with Light 6. I don't really know what to do, I have an idea of what I think is the right thing to do but no clue if it is actually the right thing to do and a high failure rate.
So basically, in the meta, there's five strong comps to run, and I only run three of them, but I can run one of those three comps basically every single game.
Worth mentioning: Woodland/Druids still work as a fairly strong comp, but in my experience, tend to fall off in the lategame unless you really really luck out. In ranked, I might play them just because they are a good way to ensure you don't finish near the bottom, but most of the time you're not going to win with them. The only Woodland unit which doesn't build into Woodland/Druid itself (since Neeko, Ivern, and Maokai are all Druid/Woodland exclusively) is LeBlanc--which means the most obvious comps to build off of Woodland/Druid are Mage 3/6 (I've yet to achieve Mage 6 when starting Woodland/Druid and Mage 3 was largely ineffectual), or more likely, Assassin 3/6.
Assassin 6 is ridiculously hard to achieve by the way, but in my opinion, probably worth it especially with the tanky frontline of Woodland/Druid, so that's probably your best bet. It's a fairly fun comp that works well enough, but it won't win you the game against one of the generic strong comps when they come online.
There's probably less obvious comps that use Woodland/Druid but I don't know them. Assassin 6 just seems like the obvious to try for as the augment for it, and like I said. It's safe. It works well. It'll get you about top four, most of the time, unless you're running into competition.
And most of the time, you are.
Which is, mind you, one of the main reasons I tend to shy away from it as a comp.
You might get 3+ people in any given game trying to run predators, but I still run predators because those other people won't successfully out-predator me because they focus on leveling up whereas I focus on rerolling to max my predators. (Rerolling to max predators is the correct play; using all four predators, not just three, is the correct play. Most people think just getting three for the synergy is good, and that leveling up for extra synergies is better. It is not.)
You might get 3+ people in any given game trying to run ocean and/or mages, but usually if they're focusing on one half, you can focus on the other half. (Basically, while you have some units to fight over, you can have an invisible handshake of, "okay, you're focusing on this half, I'll focus on the OTHER half" and it'll still work.)
You might get 3+ people in any given game trying to run Berserker/Glacial, but like Ocean/Mage, you can usually run whichever half they do not. They want to aim for Glacial 6, you aim for Berserker 6; they want to aim for Berserker 6, you can get Glacial 4 and maybe Glacial 6.
You probably won't get 3+ people in any given game running summoner 6 but it's a bit hard to tell there because you can't tell someone's running summoner 6 until they're at like, summoner 4/5 and their competition's probably already dead by that point.
And you probably might encounter 1-3 people in any given game running Light, though that's not nearly as much a staple as the others; I have seen it tho so I know it crops up on every rare occasion or so.
But when it comes to Woodland/Druid.
You WILL, not might, WILL, get 3+ people in any given game, trying to run it. And unlike predators where people seem to focus on leveling up rather than rerolling. For whatever reason. People who run Woodland/Druid DO focus on rerolling--meaning, that I have trouble out-Druid/Woodlanding, someone who is trying to run Druid/Woodland.
Basically, it's a safe comp to run...but everyone KNOWS that it's a safe comp to run, so everyone runs it, and if everyone runs it, nobody wins using it. Which is why I tend to avoid it. My preferred strategy is to focus on comps that do well early, but which I know also have incredible lategame scaling that allow me to have a good chance at winning.
Woodland/Druid does well early, but if multiple people are running it, you're royally screwed lategame and even IF you have no competition, the comp falls off in said lategame.
So I'd run it, but most of the time just prefer other comps. (One problem for the comp, too: its only real damage source is Neeko. Maokai is a tank; Ivern is a support who shields; LeBlanc's ult is useful for stunning but deals very little damage. Neeko's aoe ult is your best damage source, but it can be difficult to get the right build on her. She could use an extra healing item to augment the druid healing that doesn't scale, she could use ap items, and she could use mana replenishment items, yet she only has three item slots so it's hard to get everything ideal for her, on her.)
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