Why do the top laners never buy a 
to start with?
I always wonder why they don't because they could get a lot of CS shared with the ADC when they are quick pushing those towers for the first part of the game. It grants gold per second and shares CS gold and after the time it takes to bust those towers down in a tower trading swap they could have a pretty good chunk of gold in excess of the 350 it cost to buy this item.
It wouldn't pay itself off in a meaningful amount of time. Each charge regens once every 40 seconds. At about 25-30g per hit, it would take like 10+ minutes assuming you never let it hit 2 stacks. This would also set back the top laner building this item, and as it's been shown this season, you don't want to give any advantage to either top laner or top because a one sided wrecking ball. Better off grabbing a dorans or potion, because it's never guaranteed to switch lanes. Those are typically situational calls, there just happen to be many situations.
I thought similar thoughts X_X We are to alike.
Because a top laner starting isn't in the script the lcs follows.
Please don't give lane swappers even more cancerous ideas
that doesnt sound too bad really. there probably a reason they dont though
It can't be utilised to it's fullest unless there is a nearby ally. unless the jungler camps top lane then , you can't use it's healing passive which is a major part of it's use (part of why it is an item made specifically for support). Otherwise it would be a great option for top lane. Not to mention quite a few top lane champs could use more AD rather than health at the start, so they would rather get something like 
that can give them extra damage. Top lane Tanks on the other hand could benefit from taking since it's not much worse than 
and it upgrades, but it does offer more health regen and a bit of resistance early on.
Honestly Riot could think about making it more of a tank rather than a support item during preseason, might prove helpful for both support and top lane tanks.
It doesn't really give combat stats, which is the major issue. Buying this means you would have to buy biscuits and rely heavily on your jg. Beyond this, for your first back, you either have to sell it or upgrade it fully to Face of the Mountain, which only will provide a shield if activated. Unless your playing an uber-tanky champion up top, maybe malphite or rammus, it wouldn't add any benefit to your lane other than that passive bonus gold and once your jungler ganks you, some free easy health. That said, I haven't tried relic shield up top, so I might give it a try. Thanks for the idea!
They usually get solo gold from the turrets. Also, it's a commonly practiced thing, but lane swaps somewhat represent teamwork. You can clearly see it by comparing the lane swap of a team like TSM to a team like FOX.
Probably because they soon end up in solo lanes, and have to 1v1 the other top laner.
