Post Nerf Tahm Kench in-depth discussion about his kit and where to go from here.

Posted on reddit thought I would post here too:

Ok so the stats are out and the Kench got benched in 6.2 and is sitting at an average of 46% winrate. Whats that I hear? A chorus of raucous cheering? To some this is a day long in coming as 'The Kench' has been the subject of many continuous threads about his toxic and unfun kit even as he maintained a winrate that was usually under the 50% mark.

Well as a stalwart diamond kench player that rode that freelo train in the jungle for the better half of season 5 (before he started getting perma'd) amassing 230K mastery points on him, I am here to give my thoughts on what could possibly be done with his kit as at this point it isn't just about the numbers.

So first I think that Riot has been moving in the right direction, the removal of speed when running away with a devoured ally was correct and I think even though they tried to keep his damage as a juggernaught-like champion the toning down of his ult passive lessens a pain point of him building full tank and still being able to solo out anyone once he got a lick on you, I think this opens him up to being able to provide some more utility/different dmg application.

I'm going to go backwards from R-E-W-Q and give my thoughts on what could be tweaked with his skillset to make him healthier for both The Kench and his opponents.

R: As I stated I think the toning down of the bonus health ult passive is a good move and allows him room to add bonus utility/dmg application elsewhere in his kit. If anything further was to be changed in his Ult I think the arrival/time it takes to take action after arriving could be lowered by .5 sec. Some compare his ult to TF's however it really isn't. When Tahm appears he sort of bobs up in the air and then plops down and sits there for a week or two contemplating his next meal before he finally realises his lunch is getting away from him. This is the least needed change.

E: I also think even though people go on about his E being a 'second health bar' it really isn't as its a rapidly decaying shield that has a downside to using it as he will never regain that health back. I don't think his E is a major problem. Perhaps if anything was to be changed here they could make it so that damage is automatically converted to health after a certain period say 3-5 seconds so rather than continually stacking up during a teamfight damage that was received earlier is already being converted into health and is not available as the 'second health bar'.

W: Ok now on to his W. I think that this skill is what makes Tahm Kench. I knew this champ would mean something special to me ever since I swallowed an enemy and sat there spamming laugh, throwing out his fat arms and vigorously jiggling on the spot with my mastery flashing above my head, knowing that in their final moments they can only see me as I hit joke and convulse only to throw them up as their death knell sounds. But I digress.

I think his W when used on allies and opponents should stay the same providing that 'big moment' that this spell gives. What could be changed is the cooldown and mana cost halving when used on a minion/monster.

Currently in support Tahm will hardly ever have W on cooldown as the opportunity cost of using it to harass is currently way too high as the CD and mana costs are prohibitive. If you want to reduce your mana costs you can Q-W combo a minion and spit it back out but this has the problem of being more telegraphed and putting both Q and W on cooldown.

If Tahm is changed so that W instead of Q is the more prominent source of poke it will make his support playstyle more healthy as it allows him to do more than just be a giant annoying meatsack while also opening up opportunities for his opponents to counter-engage on his carry as his W will actually be on cooldown rather than always available to save his ally. This means that there is a healthier decision to be made as there is an aggressive vs defensive cost.

This change will also help Kench in the jungle where he has fallen very hard from grace such that his stats aren't even recorded on champion.gg as everyone has stopped playing him there (myself included) due to his abysmal first clear.

Ok so those are the changes I think are fairly simple that may help his healthiness as a champion. I am going to go into some more radical stuff below that isn't as clearly thought out but am gonna put it out there anyway for others to riff on.

I propose that W should be able to slow for 50% of the current Q slow and for Q to have more interactions with his passive 'An Acquired Taste' such that if an opponent has no stacks it only applies a half slow, then if they have a stack it applies the full slow, and obviously if they get too 3 stacks it still stuns. I'll follow up further in..

Q: I think another pain point for opponents is the massive slow on his Q if you get hit by one and Tahm has a few points in it its easy for him to just waddle up get an auto or two down and swallow you, followed by another lick.

If Tahm only applies half slow on an unstacked opponent this allows them more leeway for counterplay and also telegraphs Kenchs intentions if he gets a stack on you.

I think Q dmg can even be nerfed a bit relative to W poke dmg so there is a clear delineation between leveling Q for the additional utility in slow vs leveling W for the damage increase.

A W maxed Tahm will bring more poke but only a 15% slow on W and unstacked Q with 30% for a stacked Q. If you max Q you will get up to a 35% slow with W and unstacked Q then the full 70% for a stacked Q but in doing so you will sacrifice dmg.

This allows Tahm more options in playstyle as well as allowing his opponents more opportunity to not end up in his belly just for getting hit by one lick. I feel like this change would also tie into the ethos of the character. As tahm applies more licks/saliva covered minions he gloms up the opponent more slowing them further until they finally cant move (stunned) or gets them perfectly ready to be consumed (lunch).

Yes it will mean Kench can combo his ablities W slow to set up for a stacked lick, but it will also put both Q and W on cooldown so that to get eaten it will take some time.

It also adds 'Clarity' to his passive as the more stacks you have the more danger you are in.

Anyway let me know what you think.