I like the new aatrox

yeah. i do. know why? he's not just a pure basic attacker now. his abilities add utility in a more meaningful way than what was before just ways to apply more basic attacks.

yes i realize his new kit is similar to riven. is that so bad? i argue that it's not. the biggest complaint i have about champions like tryndamere and old aatrox is that you literally can press the A key left click and walk away.

when you get back you'd probably have reached the same conclusion that you would have reached had you stayed and facerolled qwe (with the exception of R)

the option to double dash is something that is not getting enough attention. now you can chase down your opponent and force them to fight you. one of aatrox's biggest weaknesses was that when his stats were nerfed he couldn't force an enemy to fight him. any amount of disengage would be enough to retreat from aatrox's range. especially if you caused his blood well to activate.

aatrox's new Q does not work the same way as rivens Q because unlike with riven who has to worry about timing aatrox has to worry about range. that's a subtle but meaningful enough difference to make them feel unique.

aatrox's reel that he casts on the ground is one that will be tricky to land. you cant honestly compare it to anything because it's a single target AOE with a delayed effect. it's a skill shot and an aoe all in one with delayed crowd control. this makes the move something that will be super difficult to master.

aatrox's passive literally grants you free grievous wounds. what better skill to have on a drain tank than to have grievous wounds? and if you land your Q's correctly by dancing around on the battlefield you get to apply it even more.

no more worrying about whether to toggle your blood well on or off because it literally is part of your ultimate as it should have been all along. and the movement speed, dashes on your E and fear will keep you from getting minion blocked if you decide to retreat.

if we think about how everyone played aatrox before :

• bait out your enemy
• land your knockup
• auto attack until you die
• change from blood well
• knock up your enemy
• auto attack until they run
• land a slow and hope you kill them.

now you have a number of options that dont include afk auto attacking. you can engage or you can bait. you can flank or maybe even jungle. there are lots of options now.

• dash in land a Q dash out

• dash basic attack chain Q dash Q basic attack flash Q

• ignite dash Q chain dash Q

• Q Q Q chain dash dash R

• R + anything you can think of - die then do it again.

i would have preferred a different voice, but gameplay wise im sold.