Top lane management

Top lane is decided by small decisions that compound. A bad recall or a greedy push turns into a two-wave freeze, a tower dive, and a game you cannot play.

Wave control is lane control

If the enemy has more minions, the wave pushes toward you. If you have more, it pushes toward them. The player who controls where the wave sits controls when trades happen, when you can recall, and how vulnerable you are to ganks.

Recall on cannon waves

A cannon minion takes tower shots for a long time. Backing during a cannon wave means you miss the least farm and the enemy has the hardest time freezing. If you back on a melee-only wave, you often return to a lost minion wave under your tower.

Give up CS to avoid death

One death costs more farm than three missed creeps. When the enemy jungler is pathing top, when your flash is down, or when you are behind, it is better to lose a few CS than give a kill and lose the wave. inflect.gg flags overextensions so you can see exactly which deaths started from a greedy position.