BRING THE REAL AZIR BACK
"Azir got a pity nerf courtesy of the LCS, solo queue players will likely be a bit upset."
It was enough for me to actually take 5 minutes to look up the numbers and post. Here is what makes it so aggravating:
Riot specifically mentions that the nerf was because he was so "oppressive" in professional play. Azir's NA LCS record is 16-16 (50% WR) and his EU LCS record is 11-13 (46% WR). If he was so OP as a champion, why is this not reflected in his win rate? In contrast, when Lissandra was nerfed last split she had a crazy start (11-0 in NA I think) and Kalista's recent nerfs were brought about by a ~70% win rate. Simply put, the numbers do not support Riot's narrative. All I can reason is that a few high-profile outplays are the reason for this happening, as they created the perception of being OP. If you actually look at the gameplay and facts, you see that while he is strong when mastered but certainly not OP.
This doesn't even take into account the 99.9% of players who aren't professional. In solo queue, Azir's winrate hovers around 45% consistently in the bottom 5 or 10 of champions. He also has a relatively middling/low popularity, so you can't really make the argument that it is a bunch of novice players dragging the average down. Unless you have near mastery of the champion, you usually get wrecked in solo queue - and even masters like the LCS players don't even consistently dominate with the champion! That seems like a sign of health for a high skill cap champion, not a reason to nerf. The main reason he is so strong right now is that the assassins that give him so much trouble are outside of the LCS meta for the most part, and once the meta shifts or pros realize the counterplay it will make life even more difficult for him.
Setting the precedent that nerfs should be made based on a few LCS incidents risks alienating normal players.
Riot, just because 4 scrubs from CLG decided that tower diving at 100 health apiece was a brilliant idea, doesn't mean the people who play Azir for fun (not professionally) should pay :)
May the sands of Shurima always be under our feet.
