Riot broke Pantheon

Pantheon was already a pretty decent Top and Jungle since his rework but playtime on him has taught me that he is a very viable, if not stronger, Mid Laner. He has a lot of decent matchups in what is currently Meta for Mid Lane (Malzahar might be the one champion he struggles against due to Malz's Point and Click CC and Passive) and is very much the anti-burst bruiser, which directly counters Assassins like Talon and Zed but also Bruisers such as Yasuo, who can be bursted by his Empowered W -- AA -- Q stab combo before popping E shield to negate Yasuo's initial counter attack, and mages such as Syndra, Ahri and others who focus on using all their cooldowns quickly to burst down a target.

I realize I'm in the minority here when I say that Pantheon isn't good in the Top Lane but if you look at what's Meta, it's bruisers who like to take long fights and can utilize Conquerer efficiently. That's not to say he's countered by them, but they can give him a hard time in lane and nullify his mid game presence unless he just perma-roams after level 6 and gives up his lane to secure leads elsewhere.

The Q stab execute damage on empowered Q made him more ridiculous now. His Level 2 threat in Mid went up DRAMATICALLY. Mid Lane is known for being extremely volatile already and Pantheon thrives in this lane, where he has more agency as a champion, more opportunities to roam, and more chances to win taking Ignite than in Top Lane. Riot seriously needs to consider what they've created and if it's worth reassessing his place in the Meta. I think he should be classified as an Assassin/Bruiser Mid Laner as his playstyle thrives when he gets leads more easily and dominates his lane versus the Meta opponents.

No one to date that I follow has picked up on this and I think it's a point that shouldn't be overlooked.