Make Aatrox Great (Again?)
There really isn't much argument that Aatrox needs some sort of rework right now. Not just because he sees almost no play at any rank and has become as much of a meme as Galio (who?), but also because he just doesn't fit his lore theme well. I'd like to propose a smallish-sized rework for him that would bring more of that lore theme into his gameplay.
From his lore, Aatrox has two really prominent themes: his battle prowess and his ability to inspire others to ferocity in battle. Aatrox is portrayed kind of as the Kled of team fighting - encouraging near-defeated armies to charge into the fray, regardless of their own safety. Basically, this: https://i.imgflip.com/1f6yx2.jpg
Currently, he fits the first theme pretty well - he's a dang good fighter. However, he doesn't fit the inspiring theme at all. Nothing he does is especially oriented towards team fighting, and - as far as I've seen in game - he is usually played as more of a split-pusher, avoiding team fights much of the time.
However, I don't think Aatrox needs a ton of changes to fulfill that theme. No, I'm not going to say something dumb like "Give him auras" or "Make him a support". Those don't fit with the first theme. Aatrox needs some way to help his team while also wrecking face. Something that came to mind was Shen's old Q - the target was marked and would restore health to allies who attacked them. Well, that seems like an interesting mechanic, doesn't it? Doing something to actively damage enemies which also encourages allies to fight and attack someone.
Here's what I came up with for Aatrox:
Passive: Remove his "resurrection" passive (I could be completely wrong on taking it out, but something needs to go for this idea to work and not leave him completely overloaded). Aatrox fills his Blood Well based on a % of the damage taken by nearby enemies from ally champions, up to 100 points in the Blood Well. Blood decays slowly while in combat and more quickly once out of combat for a certain amount of time. Aatrox gains 1% attack speed for every 2 points in Blood Well (same as current passive).
Q: Unchanged.
W: This is the biggest change. While toggled off, every ability and every third auto attack marks enemies (champions, minions, monsters) with "Thirst" (generic mark name) for 3 seconds. Ally champions gain 10% omnivamp against these targets (33% effect for AOE, 1/2 effect vs non-champions). While toggled on, every ability and every third auto attack marks enemies with "Price" for 3 seconds. Ally champions deal 5% bonus damage against these targets (1/2 effect vs non-champions). Enemies can be marked by both Thirst and Price at the same time.
Omnivamp and bonus damage are increased for each point in Aatrox's Blood Well, up to a 20/40/60/80/100% increase (Up to 20% omnivamp and 10% bonus damage).
E: Unchanged.
R: Same ability, but, instead of filling his Blood Well by 20% for each champion hit, his Blood Well is expanded by 10/15/20 points for each champion hit for a short time (Giving his Blood Well a maximum capacity of 150/175/200). This allows Aatrox to get even more attack speed and further increase the W Blood Well bonuses (Up to 30% omnivamp and 15% bonus damage at max rank, if he hits 5 enemy champions).
With these changes, Aatrox would better fit his lore theme of inspiring his allies through his battle prowess - he dives into the battle, starts dishing out damage, and opens up a way for his allies to jump in with him.
Is your team trying to run away from a losing fight? Dive the enemy team, slap Thirst on everyone, and your team is now healing for up to 30% omnivamp. Do you want your team to engage right now? Dive the enemy team, slap Price on everyone, and your team is now dealing up to 15% bonus damage. Are you in the middle of a close fight? Dive the enemy team, slap both marks on everyone and your team is dealing damage and healing all at once!
Just like in his lore, the right choice for Aatrox and his team would now be to always go in. No retreating, no sieging and poking - go in. Kill everyone. Fight and win, or die.
Aatrox will still do plenty on his own, but his team fighting capabilities will be what make him shine. By engaging and fighting, he will be "buffing" his allies. No stupid auras, nothing to change his image as a deadly warrior.
