Would reducing poppy's mana costs make her more viable?

Poppy is non-arguably the hardest carry in the entire game, I think it's fitting to have her so weak early-mid game when she can 1 v 5 late game.

As a regular Poppy player and self-styled "Poppy fan", I have to say the only thing that keeps her out of high-level play is the all-powerful Meta. While an art update is sorely needed, there's not much room for change in her kit without a giant rework (I'm talking gutting and starting over). A mana-taxcut would mean she could snowball earlier, allowing her to hyper-carry as early as the 25-minute mark, and that's just no fun.

Speaking of "no fun", her two unfairly-powerful abilities (her passive and her ult) are enough to have RIOT on-edge about even mentioning Poppy's name, let alone changing her kit. Last I checked, I read somewhere (don't ask me where, probably on Reddit) that RIOT's position on the matter was that she's due for a rework, but they're afraid to drastically change something that works as of now. Not to say that she sees a ton of play, but that those who know how to play her get the advantage of an ult with no method of counter-play, and a passive that more-or-less keeps you safe from any and all assassination-attempts.

If you're having early-game trouble, try playing with health-regen quints and taking Summoner Heal and Summoner Barrier. You be surprised how often your lane-opponent will misjudge your survivability under your tower and give up easy kills. As for laning/last-hitting, I like starting W and making sure to keep hitting things to keep the 10 stacks up. Yes, her W has a crazy-high mana-cost, but it does pay for itself if you can just keep on hitting things (and trust me, those runes/spells will keep you alive until your jungler shows up).

Keep trying, and remember there's always room to think outside the meta!

I'll be honest 's kit is just fine, it's mostly because what people decide is the meta, becomes the meta. I have a friend who can wreck as poppy she's actually quite viable for singling any target out of a team fight. She's also capable of taking out tanks with her % damage abilities and the sort. I've personally seen a build that one shots the adc (trinity force smash into wall q = dead haha). I personally think it's just because everyone plays what everyone else plays doesn't have to do with the kit. Personal opinion though.

If riot would just make her W not cost half her mana pool (slight csarcasm) I would be fine with that.