Frontline and backline
The core of positioning is separating your durable units from your fragile ones. Tanks and bruisers go on the front row to soak damage and hold the enemy in place; carries and casters sit on the back row where they can deal damage without being the first thing the enemy reaches. Melee assassins and divers exist specifically to break this rule and reach your backline — which is why the next few ideas matter.
Corners and spread
Placing your main carry in a back corner buys it the most time before melee threats arrive, which is the default for most comps. Against assassins that leap to the farthest or lowest- health target, you may instead pull your carry toward the middle or opposite corner to bait the jump onto a tankier unit. Spreading your board also mitigates area-of-effect abilities that punish clumped units.
Scout every round
The best positioning habit in the game is scouting: before combat, click across your opponents' boards to see who you'll fight and how they're set up. If the next opponent runs an assassin, adjust your carry. If they stacked their board to one side, shift yours to focus-fire their carry or avoid their tanks. Scouting turns positioning from a static setup into a per-round decision, and it's free value every single game.
Match your comp's plan
Positioning isn't one-size-fits-all — it follows your comp. Reroll comps with a melee carry position very differently from backline-caster comps. Each comp page shows the typical board so you know which units are your carries to protect. Combine that with scouting and you'll win the close fights that decide top-four.