Skarner's Rework
I've been following Skarner's rework on the PBE boards for the last few days now, and it's just terrible. Skarner's no longer a sticky tank with utility in team fights, but rather is becoming a character who's entire kit, for it to work, relies on a skill shot to hit. His map crystals, fine I don't mind. It's an okay idea that really has no real effect on 90% of the game besides his clear speed. Teamfights will most likely not take place inside his zone, and if Skarner and his team are down, he'll have little to no control over his zones anyway. His utility in teamfights is not being a utility tank, managing priority targets and being able to switch and stun targets at will, but rather if he can hit his E or not after his ultimate. He becomes outclassed by almost any other jungler (or top) in terms of viability. Live skarner, you gank a lane, you miss an E (which chunks your mana bar), but you still have a chance for Q for that all important one second stun. With the rework, you miss an E, back to the jungle. There is a high chance Skarners will afk farm until level 6 and be more like Warwick, where mostly his ult really matters for anything during the laning phase.
The more I follow the changes on the PBE boards, the more irked I get. RiotRepertoir is trying his best to make the rework go through and be well implemented, but it feels as if Repertoir is not listening to the skarner community outcry. Skarner was gutted relatively recently and he does not need a new rework. I'm not saying the new idea is terrible and should never see the light of day, I'm just saying that current live skarner is his own character, unique and balanced, and that implementing this idea will put him where Urgot was before his current buffs. The changes are most likely going to go through, which irks me the most, and he'll become unusable by the few skarner mains who do play him well. Check the PBE boards, read their comments, see how almost all of the comments involve the hate on the skarner changes, and for once, please listen to the community about this.
There are a lot of people mad about the juggernaut update, but none more so then the Skarner base (and then the morde). I'll go along for the ride for buffs and nerfs and watching my favorite champs have skills added and removed, but when you take away the identity of an already underrated character, then that's insulting and infuriating the players. There's a lot of things wrong with the new skarner, and there would probably be so much more applaud if you stopped the update from happening over letting it pass through.
