Let's discuss Galio (Long read)

Galio is a fun champion to play, but he's outdated. His style of kit long ago fell away, what with more mobility added to the game and easier ways to counter what he does. That isn't to say he's bad at what he does - Like champions like Varus, he was good in days past and he still good at it, but new champs or champ updates have made better ways to do what he does. There have been indirect nerfs, like Braum and Skarner's passives that interrupt his ultimate. There have been added ways to escape from CC. There have been new champions and kits with dashes and blinks that leave Galio in the dust as he desperately tries to use Righteous Gust to keep up. I think Galio is due for some QoL updates and maybe a few buffs, similar to what they did to great success with Maokai.

So, what is Galio? How should it feel to play him? In my opinion, he should feel like a guardian. Gargoyles are said to keep demons and specters out of churches, which helps Galio fit into the 'anti-magic tank' niche nicely. This is done pretty well, with his current passive giving him AP for MR. His kit, as it stands, feels very much like a gargoyle should feel. So, what's his playstyle like? Should be be like Alistar and Braum, sticking to the backline and protecting squishies? Or should be be like Leona and Jarvan, leaping into the team to force teamfights? Personally, I feel his kit fits the latter best. There's only one problem - His engagement tool, his ultimate, relies on a summoner spell for use. Now, a long time ago, before mobility creep set in, this wasn't the case. Before, he could easily just Righteous Gust into the enemy team to cast his ultimate. But now, with the advent of dashes and blinks, Righteous Gust doesn't cut it. This is the very definition of an outdated kit. So, what can be done to bring Galio back into the fold? I have a few changes to suggest.

New passive - Eternal Guardian. Like some recent champions, this is actually two passives in one. The first is Runic Skin, which is effectively his current passive, giving him ability power for building magic resistance. The part I'm adding is called Gargoyle Claws - Galio's basic attacks scale with ability power, and not attack damage. This should come with a nerf to his base attack speed so people are discouraged from building Nashor's Tooth, but I feel Galio needs something to do when he's not taunting or tossing out Resolute Smites. His heavy engage playstyle doesn't lend himself to use Bulwark on carries - He uses it on himself before using his ultimate. Making his basic attacks scale with AP, or maybe making otherwise deal scaling magic damage, will give him something to do after the initial taunt without feeling useless. If not extra damage, then maybe adding a brief slow to his basic attacks that can only effect a target once for a certain amount of time, similar to Nautilus' passive. Something to make it so he can't be ignored.

Resolute Smite - No changes. Doesn't need any. As a note, one thing that must be avoided is making Galio's damage abilities scale with his resistances. Such a thing would end up getting out of control, considering he gains bonus ability power from resistances, effectively making ALL of his abilities scale with magic resistance.

Bulwark - Also doesn't really need changes. One thing maybe is to make it usable on Galio himself while he's under a stun or other CC effect. But even then, it doesn't really need anything. It's a reliable heal, especially towards dots, and gives more resistances than a Guardian Angel at max rank.

Righteous Gust - Galio's most outdated ability, and yet very iconic and neat. I do think this ability should be changed, but the spirit of the ability should remain. My opinion - Upon cast, Galio gains a big movement speed boost. For the next 5 or so seconds, Galio leaves a trail behind him similar to Nocturne's Q trail. When allies run across it in the direction Galio traveled, they gain bonus movement speed that scales with Galio's ability power. Since the damage from this ability is removed, it is slightly made up by Gargoyle Claws in his new passive. This is an effective buff. Righteous Gust was hardly used for it's peanut damage, only really for waveclear, and escaping. But only in a straight line. This new iteration would allow it to be a better escape mechanism, since it can go in curves and turns. One more thing - It follows Galio when he flashes or otherwise dashes, like with a Thresh Lantern. This makes it difficult for Galio to juke while it's active since it'll give away the direction he flashed in, adding some counterplay to the escape, but it's also for another reason I'll explain just below.

Idol of Durand - Galio's iconic ultimate. Not much is needed changing - I simply offer three QoL changes. One, if Bulwark is off cooldown when Idol of Durand is cast, Galio automatically casts it on himself before casting, and it goes on cooldown as normal. Two, add a flash-esque engagement tool to it, so Galio isn't required to flash to use it. Not a true blink - I'm thinking something like Aatrox's Q, where Galio rises into the air, casting Bulwark on himself if he can, before slamming down on the ground at the target location and activating the taunt. The dash range would be similar to the range of Aatrox's similar ability, making it able to go over walls and terrain. Maybe a little longer, but we need to be careful with range since the effective range is longer than the initial dash. Also following behind Galio's ultimate would be RIghteous Gust, if he has it active, giving his allies a way into the fight after he engages, like a soft Sivir ult. Lastly, make it so it's impossible for the ult to be canceled before half of it's duration is complete. This offers counterplay in the form of on-hit stuns, without making the ultimate completely useless. With a two second channel, this means the ultimate would have to go for a full second before being able to be interrupted. For effect, this means that things like Bear stance wouldn't be consumed, and Braum's passive wouldn't be able to detonate, until after the first second, to allow that counterplay to exist.

So, any thoughts or comments? Let's discuss Galio! Let's see what other people think his niche should be - Do you think he fits more as an APC, or a magic damage bruiser, rather than a true tank? Do you think my suggested kit is OP? UP? And why? What would you suggest? Let's discuss!