What if Garen's Silence was buffed to OVER 2.5seconds, but changed into a cripple?

A type of CC that prevents the target from using mobility spells.

The same way that a root prevents them, except for cripples wouldn't stop standard walking.

Say it lasts for up to 4 seconds at max rank. (NOTE: Down from 5. I hear you guys - 5s is a bit too long against some champions. but going from a 2.5s silence to a 4 second cripple is a decent trade-off. It prevents way less spells, but gets 1.5s more duration at rank 5.)

EDIT: It would also interrupt channels at the start, like his current silence.

So - for example - Riven wouldn't be able to Q or E still. ADCs wouldn't be able to dash away. No one could flash.

Because it opens up more counterplay than a silence, it would allow him to still stick to targets while also opening up his kit for even more buffs. Aside from aiding him in sticking to targets, it'd give him a more solid identity of not letting targets escape, who are usually way too slippery. I.E. Nidalee, Riven, etc.

A funny effect of this is that it COULD essentially act as a Blind on Kalista as well, preventing her hopping, if Riot wanted her passive to function as a 'mobility spell'. (But she'd have new options, such as using her Ulti still, whereas before she would be silenced out of it.)

Another idea - it could possibly function as a silence (like before) when used on the 'Villain'. (The enemy that gets marked with the new function in his rework.) But that would be way too much with the 5s duration, so there would need to be more tuning.

This is just a thought. What are your opinions?

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In regards to the cripple possibly being too long:

[{quoted}](name=Lil Soybean,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=FAvpbgq5,comment-id=000d0001,timestamp=2015-08-10T04:19:49.047+0000)

I've lowered it to 4.

Imagine if it was a 4 second cripple before, and they lowered it to 2.5s, but made it a silence.

Some people would be calling it a huge nerf, from the duration down.

Some people would probably call it a ridiculous buff, because now it doesn't just stop mobile champions from escaping, it stops EVERYONE from casting ANYTHING AT ALL.

Changing it from a Silence to a Cripple is a massive nerf. A significant duration increase would need to follow.

Also, he still has to get into melee range. Following the rework, he'll almost certainly max the spin first. So the cripple would remain at 1-2 seconds for most of the early-into-mid game.

The results are as follows:

If it's late-game, Garen would be able to prevent one target from using mobility spells for 5 seconds, IF he can get into melee range of them. And many champions would be able to turn around and fight him now, since it's not a silence. Even champions like Malzahar, who would, beforehand, have been completely neutralized by his silence.

Does that seriously sound that strong? You don't think 5 seconds is fair, even though it doesn't slow the enemy, lets them walk freely, and allows WAY more counterplay than the current silence?