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The 6 newest champs are all picked frequently in competitive, time to admit powercreep?

Ice Cold Waz·6/17/2015, 5:57:23 AM·32 votes·5,296 views

To anyone has been watching the LCS, now or ever there is always the top tier picks. They champions that are contested and seen as much more powerful than anyone else. This normally rotates as the buff and nerf cycle continues.

I was watching the Fnatic vs. Elements game(the link above) and well watching I was like oh wow all these new(er) champs and then I thought wait those are like the five newest champs and sure enough.

In the match above picks include , , , , and . Half of the champions played in a pro game were the five most recently released champs.

The 6 newest champs are in order from newest, Ekko, Bard, Rek'Sai, Kalista, Azir, and Gnar. The exact same as above.

So all 5 of those champions see play and so does Gnar, and some of them are even top tier, Rek'Sai, Azir, and Kalista among them. Bard is more of a specialty pick who his top tier for teams who've mastered him like CLG. And Ekko and Gnar are definitely second tier if not the top one.

So are these picks only strong because of the Meta we're currently in? One that revolves around a double tank line and Mid lane mages that are more sustained? Or will they all be so powerful because as many people complain they all have four passives? What do you think? Vote below.

89 Comments

Divewing6/17/2015, 7:16:52 AM17 votes

It's not power, it's what they bring, Azir, Bard, Rek Sai, these are all champions with unique abilities that no one can simulate, wall, portals/stasis, tunnelling/tremor sense. This is in fact the answer TO the stagnant meta, create champions that even after nerds will STILL have something to bring to the table

Manwalrus6/17/2015, 12:27:30 PM5 votes

You forget about other strong picks right now like Gragas, Sej, arguably Fizz in Asia, Cassio, Leblanc, sivir, alistar, thresh, people have even made the likes of zed and Diana work in the lcs. There are plenty of other older champions that see play in competitive. It's not that new champions are STRONGER, it's more that they introduce new mechanics we've never seen before, Kalista with her ultimate and infinite kiting, Azir with his turrets and soldiers, Bard's stasis and magical journey, rek'sai tunnels and tremor sense among other things, and ekko's ability to turn back time.

Stars Shaper6/17/2015, 12:33:51 PM5 votes

Bard is so OP am I right?

They just released champions worth to play and we all should be happy about instead of seiing Zed/LB/Cait/Thresh/etc in every god damn game.

ElJanitorFrank6/17/2015, 5:26:22 PM3 votes

Bard is so overpowered omg please nerf.

There is a big difference between LCS and solo queue. Saying Bard has any amount of power is sort of insulting to any champion that actually does.

What he brings is a lot of utility if used correctly. In fact, most of his utility is double-edged, it CAN be good, it CAN cost you the game.

straight4free6/17/2015, 5:37:34 PM3 votes

They're too versatile. They fit into (almost) any team composition because regardless of what the team needs, they can provide it.

At any single role they are not too overbearing, but because they can perform multiple roles extremely well they are imbalanced.

It's like Thresh. No matter who your team is, no matter who their team is, Thresh is a top tier pick.

OyddAWqJ5r6/17/2015, 1:37:41 PM3 votes

Don't forget Gragas rework.

But honestly they were designed to fit into any meta. Versatility is a good thing. But it's not like they are the superior picks as there are plenty cases where other champions do things better.

Variks the Loyal6/17/2015, 6:30:45 AM3 votes

And you also see oldies, like Alistar, Vayne, and Gragas. Not to mention Ashe's triumphant return.

Dreadlocks6/17/2015, 2:47:34 PM3 votes

Isn't it crazy how Lee Sin isn't a top tier pick anymore? I'm honestly quite surprised..

PyroAmos6/17/2015, 6:19:36 AM2 votes

why did lissandra fall out of meta, she was one of the top power pick of the first half of spring split, I don't remember a nerf to her, still seems ridiculously strong, but mid last season ppl just stopped playing her.

Sohleks6/17/2015, 1:42:34 PM2 votes

Yeah...

Ask any professional ADC streamer which ADC is the best in solo queue? It'll be " Kalista"

Her early and mid powerspikes... and the kind of kit you cannot afford to feed. Massive team utility as well. The way she scales with raw AD/AS allows her to utilize her own build path that gives her a serious mid game advantage (lifesteal)

She is looking like Lucian 2.0 in her snowbally pubstomp nature, disgusting safety, and the fact she is looking like she'll go a year too without really being fixed

Best Darius KR6/17/2015, 3:58:34 PM2 votes

Bard? Powercreep? Wtf?

Raptamei6/17/2015, 4:44:53 PM2 votes

Now you're complaining about Bard being OP?

After 3 months of people getting trolled and reported because he's supposedly useless?

Are you serious?

Glitter Spitter6/17/2015, 4:13:40 PM1 votes

i can say that none of these champs are broken/op. Reksai fits into the current meta for sure, her strong early game and powerful early ganks are whats needed in competitive play, ie gragas, etc. Kalista is strong in tank meta, relatively weak in assassin meta, you can kite a tank but if you get one shot there is no kiting. azir is strong in any meta, even more so at high level play, his damage output is unmatched and he has good pealing tools at his disposal. ekko is a hard one. personally i dont think hes op or weak. i think he is strong but that isnt a bad thing. i dont have enough knowledge of ekko to say if he will be good or bad in a specific meta. LOL oh bard... went from being weakest champ in the game to contested pick. The way i see it Bard will only be strong in competitive play, you rely to much on team follow up for solo queue. Gnar is, and will always be strong. his kit gives him so many options at the cost of not being able to use or chose those options any time you want. his ult is team fight winning, his dmg is great, his cc makes him a perfect initiator.

tbh the lcs has never been so diverse since i started watching it. i remember when it was just leona thresh lucian cait bot. only options no exceptions. i also remember where you picked kha, elise, or lee sin(then kha got nerfed so you picked elise or lee sin) or lost the game. i remember when top lane was mundo vs shyvana no exceptions (i think moakai just got changes then so he started seeing play). i remember zed vs lb every single game (sometimes fizz), or how bout after zed nerfs where it was pick or ban lb

people often forget the past, just be thankful we live in a world were urgot is a viable pick :P

Learnding6/18/2015, 10:50:05 AM1 votes

Remember when the Nidalee nerf made her worse? Yeah.....me either.

Onimus Terlain6/18/2015, 11:15:56 AM1 votes

I think their new releases are very unique. They've changed the gameplay of their champions with each new release, which I think it pretty cool.

They're straying away from the format "Take an existing champion, give them a better gap closer, CC and more damage." They've entered into new play styles, like Azir and his little soldiers. Or Reksai and her tunnels, Bard and his journeys, Kalista and her ultimate (most people don't think about kalista for her ultimate, but it is a really interesting change to how an ultimate is used).

For the longest time, new champions were just guys that you played the same as other champions, but with more stats, CC, damage etc.

Now they're actually creating new playstyles with their new releases.

Granted, this makes balancing them much harder, but at least they are generating interest in their new champions.

For a long time, I didn't even care who the new champions were because they were pretty boring week in and week out.

Now, it's fun to read the new playstyle each champion creates and theorize on how best to use it.

cvIddXsQkO6/18/2015, 1:03:01 PM1 votes

Riot puts out OP champs so people can feel good about themselves when they rek a game with that OP champion. This will make a user play the game more with that champion.

Tldr: Riot is using psychological warfare. item 3078