So I just tried out Vayne...

... and on toplane with zero crit because I'm an asshole who loves abusing range, cc, and self peel (the same reason I pick Lissandra top). However, there was something I noticed:

I had tried playing Vayne before and found her so incredibly boring, mostly because her kit lacked any kind of relevance when you build classical crit adc. Apart from your Q and the occasional E your kit is either completly uninteractive or just "hit and forget". However, on toplane I tried a build like this:

(+ 6th item for whatever you need, I took a Steraks, but would have taken an Maw either if the enemy was heavy ap).

And holy shit suddenly tumbling became fun!

I even managed to make the one or the other "outplay" which felt amazing btw... Not really used to that kind of stuff as usually my "outplaying" means drowning my enemy in cc and damage as Lissandra and finding the perfect spot to ult as MF.

But as quick as the fun came it vanished again when I noticed something: this champ is so much wasted potential! Sure, tumbling through the rift like a weed on roids is sure fun, but if it's the only thing you can do that is kind of lame. Well, after all Vayne is an rather old champ. Heck, she was already in the game when I started and that was several years ago, so it is only logical her kit is kind of lacking in variety and interaction.

Thematically Vayne's solid: She's Batman. No seriously, just replace "criminal" with "evil black magics witch" in the iconic prologue that includes dead parents and you have Vayne. Not that it's bad. Being Batman is awesome after all.

But you know what would be awesome? Seeing more of that ingame.

Ok, so let's stay with the Batman theme for a while. What does Batman have that makes him so awesome?

Well, for one he has a cool ride. Vayne sure has an cool ride too with being a super-rich demacian after all, but getting that thing up the rift might prove a bit difficult (not to mention that the river might cause problematic).

Then, he also has some cool gadgets. While an utility belt might seem weird and a grappling hook a little forced, it wouldn't be weird for her to use the one or other tool in combat. Let's keep that in mind for now.

Then, point three: Material Artist skills. He can beat people up completly without super-powers or magic - even if those people have this advantage. And that fits perfectly with Vayne, the non-magician (more commonly known as "muggle") fighing black magics. Considering backstory and personality Vayne would be a terrifying opponent in a bare handed brawl. And this is what should most of all translate into gameplay: That she is more than just her weaponary.

Keeping that in mind I tried to come up with a (very experimental) rework for her kit.

> > Passive: Silver Bolts: This is almost left as we know it, with one change I would propose: normal basic attacks deal PHYSICAL % Max hp damage, however when hitting the 3rd hit with an ability it becomes true damage. (This takes some of the power budget that was stuck in this move and allows allocating it somewhere else). > > Q: Tumble: Also as we know it. Would recommand moving night hunter here: After tumbling +movespeed when moving towards enemy champions. > > W: Silver Bladekick: Next basic attack becomes melee - slashing the enemy with a silver blade. Hitting an enemy from behind deals extra damage. Sucessful hit grants "Flow" that reduces the channel time of E. This can be cast right after tumble, combining the bonus damage of the two in one attack. > > E: Condem: Uses the giant crossbow to fire a massive bolt. Terrain collision as usual. Initial damage higher the closer the target is hit. (Point Blanc = Max Dmg). Small cast time (you need to get that thing of your back first after all. Talking about 0,5-0,7 sec here.) > > R: Final Hour: Throws a smoke bomb at the taget location close to Vayne that reduces vision of enemy champions in that area. (Not a total block like graves W, but it is very limited.) Also, tumbling in the area grants stealth for as long as the smoke perists (or until it is broken by attacking).

The idea behind this would be to have some neat but risky combo going: tumble IN/behind them -> Slash with W -> Blast the enemy away with E (preferably into your own tower/hungry teammates). Of course using tumble purely defensively for kiting is surely still possible, but no longer the only possibility. All that goes ofc easier when you use your ult first. As an area size I thought of something from the Size of Trundle's area, but for specifics like that you need to ask the balance team what actually works and what not.

With this kit there would be nothing removed (apart from the boring Ult steroid that gets replaced by more utility) and a lot more interesting new stuff gained. Vayne is supposed to be an adc that stays closer to an enemy than most of the others (apart from Graves. Seriously, someone teach that guy what personal space means), so why not give her a chance work with that thematic of hers?

I'm curious what you think about it, so tell me how you like my ideas or if you have one that works even better!

tumbles away

[slayer-jinx-catface]

(Seriously we need a vayne sticker...)