Malzahar now basically has an automatic Fizz E for his passive, and Annie becomes tankier than a bruiser with max ranked E. They feel decent in terms of how they do their damage--their DPS is pretty stupid strong, but it's better than a rotation of spells while you're locked down by CC. I just don't get why supposedly squishy high priority targets should get massive damage reduction and CC immunity. I don't think I ever will.
Šeraρh2 votesMalzahar and Annie are low range battle mage / burst mage hybrids. They need the tankiness in order to do their job, or they'd just get melted at the very moment they dare to step foot in a fight and wouldn't be able to get more than one ore two spells off. They've been rebalanced around staying in fights longer, so they were given tools to stay in fights longer. Vlad, Swain and Ryze have sustain, Ryze has his shields on top of it, they have their damage reduction. Think of them as ranged squishier juggernauts as long as their damage mitigation spells are on. I'll argue that Malz keeping the cc immunity for a whole second after he's been dealt damage feels a bit too long of a window, especially when his passive comes back so fast late game, but well, even if it's to be weakened some bit, he needs it.
And even if it feels kinda odd at times, they're only tanky for a few seconds at best.
Steel Blossom1 votesI honestly feel like "battle mage" should be a separate class altogether. When I think of mages, I really think of champions like 
, and not 
, because they were seriously just mid-range bruisers. I think of mages as people who pop like balloons, not someone who can soak tons of damage, even if it's only for a brief time.
ChaddyFantome1 votesAnnie is literally the same except for some minor number changes and the like. Malzahar plays effectively the same.
If by "they dont play like mages" you mean "they can't click on people and kill them under CC" then you might have to change your definition of Mage.
Steel Blossom1 votesI mean that they aren't countered by assassins, and a lot of fighters, anymore. I think of mages as easy prey that become insanely dangerous when they're allowed to keep their distance. Kinda cowardly little squishies who sling spells from a safe distance. Not someone who wants to get in your face.
Annie's 40% damage reduction for 3 seconds is honestly godlike compared to her old 40 armor and MR. Those gave you like 10-15% dmg reduction at most. With Zhonya's, her stun, and Tibbers guarding her, she's going to be harder to dive than Vayne...
Meanwhile, Malzahar honestly just discourage any form of aggression from a single player. I mean, yeah, you can still gang up on him, but which champion isn't countered by being outnumbered?
ChaddyFantome1 votes[{quoted}](name=Steel Blossom,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=3oGLEdVA,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2016-05-04T23:44:24.071+0000)
I mean that they aren't countered by assassins, and a lot of fighters, anymore. I think of mages as easy prey that become insanely dangerous when they're allowed to keep their distance. Kinda cowardly little squishies who sling spells from a safe distance. Not someone who wants to get in your face.
Annie's 40% damage reduction for 3 seconds is honestly godlike compared to her old 40 armor and MR. Those gave you like 10-15% dmg reduction at most. With Zhonya's, her stun, and Tibbers guarding her, she's going to be harder to dive than Vayne...
Meanwhile, Malzahar honestly just discourage any form of aggression from a single player. I mean, yeah, you can still gang up on him, but which champion isn't countered by being outnumbered?
Well first off, by that logic, they were never mages since they did this before the remakes. Secondly, there are many types of mages. They aren't relegated to just squishy backliners. That shows narrow minded ness and ignorance on your part.
Steel Blossom1 votesFirstly, I don't think classifying battle "mages" such as Ryze, new Annie, and new Malz as a different class from mages like Lux or Cassiopeia is being narrow-minded. I think they have a radically different playstyle, and simply labeling them as mages is like calling Xin an assassin. However, you do have a point in that Annie and Malz did more or less lean toward the mid-range AP bruiser kind of playstyle, but their high damage and CC just made them too much like Veigar or Vel'koz.