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Which champions have never been competitive?

Nightseraph·5/16/2015, 2:43:53 PM·1 votes·4,351 views

Started thinking about it. Which champions have never been dominant on the competitive scene? I've been playing since Akali came out, and theres a few that I can think of. (By dominant I mean widely played by more then one pro players, being picked in solo queue, and not just a single, flash in the pan because of one patch) Eg- AP Yi was a thing for about an afternoon but Yi is definetly on this list.

Akali, Bard, Darius, Fiora, Garen, Lux, Pantheon, Poppy, Quinn, Swain, Talon, Trundle, Velkoz, Viktor, Yi. At best these champions were all played by a single dedicated player, and not become widely popular.

Bard is just too new for people to understand, Lee Sin was widely considered bad on release too. Then he got overbuffed and then nerfed to below his release strength.

Most of them are flat out outclassed by another champion that does the exact same job. Akali- Fizz is the superior hybrid assassin Lux- Ziggs or Xerath for long range poke, Orianna or Lulu for shields Pantheon- Nocturne or Reksai for glolbal presence, Riven for lane aggression. Talon- Like Zedd with Mana. Velkoz- See Ziggs Viktor- Back to Orianna Yi- Most jungle clear speed champions also get tanky.

Some are just Riot mistakes where they either have to be unplayable weak or would be gamebreakers. Darius, Garen, Fiora, Poppy, Swain.

Trundle maybe shouldn't be on this list, he's been a niche counterpick for a long time but lacks a clear space of his own.

15 Comments

goldensilver095/16/2015, 2:46:14 PM1 votes

Mordekaiser either and i think he will never see competitive for he's Lack of CC or Mobility (And i'm glad, make's sure that he will never have a Nerf (Unless it's a "rework"))

Brotha5/16/2015, 2:46:47 PM1 votes

Vel'koz is a god compared to that stupid little rat.

The champion you're thinking of that is basically Velkoz 2.0 is Xerath, superior poke while longer range.

Nightseraph5/16/2015, 2:54:11 PM1 votes

I definetly Forgot Mordekaiser. In the same category as Darius and Poppy

Old Man Teeto5/16/2015, 2:58:27 PM1 votes

Bard - Pretty sure pro's can't pick him yet but we'll see first week upon returning to the LCS Fiora - A few sketchy picks but nothing substantial Heimerdinger - Had one week as a top lane pick post rework, was nerfed heavily. Shaco - Only remember two appearances, known as a pubstomper with a dedicated following. Poppy - Few appearances, Riot threatens instant sweeping nerfs if she's played. Quinn - Some appearances, but few and typically used for fast rotations with ultimate.

Everyone else I can remember a time in which they were either consistently picked or at the least picked enough that the casters knew their abilities without hesitation.

Critmaster Garen5/16/2015, 3:01:13 PM1 votes

{quoted}

Akali, Bard, Darius, Fiora, Garen, Lux, Pantheon, Poppy, Quinn, Swain, Talon, Trundle, Velkoz, Viktor, Yi.

pretty sure some of those champions were picked in competitive play at some point. velkoz as support, poppy had appearances, trundle did, so did talon and swain.

and i definitely remember pantheon. at least when he still had a global ult.

as far as the champions that are "mistakes".

darius and garen. thats a little bit harsh. they are very nieche, but calling them mistakes goes a bit too far. and with some fine tuning they could very well be competitive. point is, i dont think their kits are broken or problematic.

actually if riot would stick to their own design rules for a change, darius and garen are a huge success, as they have very clear strengths and very clear weaknesses. something they repeatedly tell us they want to achieve with every champion, and then just throw the idea out the window for the next big release. the problem is, that they repeatedly ignore their own design goals and create champions with overloaded kits that have clear stregths, but no glaring weaknesses.

fiora is not technically a failure as a champion, but she doesnt live up to the duellist fantasy of an agile fencer. she plays more like an ad assassin without escape than a mechanically intensive melee carry. and she actually sucks at duelling most champions for extended durations. so while her kit is functional, it doesnt do what they tried to achieve.

poppy isnt a failure, just an old champion with an outdated, and incredibly powerful kit. she just didnt get enough attention over the years and has been phased out with nerfs on her numbers instead of updating her properly.

swain isnt a failure either. hes a perfectly fine champion imo. not sure why they would say that.

if those champions are a failure, then bard is an absolute disaster. the only one i could agree with the ones you listed would be fiora, as they missed the goal theyve set themselves for the champion, and she turned out different and plays different than expected.

MLDzXnRRR5/16/2015, 3:17:18 PM1 votes

All of the champions listed from the original poster were played competitively. The most rarely seen are Fiora (played only twice) and Heimerdinger (who can work only as surprise pick)... I guess that you don't even watch e-sports often, why do you make such a thread? In competitive they play fotm safe or op picks and this varies from patch to patch...

Nightseraph5/16/2015, 3:18:05 PM1 votes

There was a point way back in the day where heimer and his million turrets were op and WW was god tier . Like near release? Back when Ezreal had a heal.

lightdragoon885/16/2015, 3:19:06 PM1 votes

When I remember back when I started this game, the top lane was nothing but Darius cause his Ult reset at rank 1.

Marthian5/16/2015, 6:07:38 PM1 votes

In my experience, there has never been a champion that wasn't competitive. Some just are better than others. Still some characters can work with the right build.

Sightless665/16/2015, 7:42:44 PM1 votes

Some of the champions you mention did see competitive play. Akali was played a lot over Fizz in season 3. Lux was used a lot in season 2 competitive play and saw significant usage in season 3. Pantheon was one of the number 1 junglers for a large portion of season 4. He was good until the season 5 jungle changes cam out. It wasn't even that long ago that he was really good, and he saw a lot more play than Nocturne did (Rek'sai may compete for his role now, but she didn't exist back then). Talon saw plenty of play in the season 4 worlds across multiple teams, and continued to see play until his silence was removed in 4.17. Trundle saw play in season 3 following his rework, where he was used as a situational counterpick for some of the melee bruisers that were doing well at the time. Viktor is seeing play right now, or was before a bug of his impacted a competitive game and got him banned until further notice. Yi was used a lot for a couple patches when Feral Flare and Devourer were overpowered items, and he was used a good deal back in season 1, but he hasn't seen any play outside of that.

All of those champions had patches where they were major influences in competitive play. I'm not aware of any major competitive usages for the other champions you mentioned. I'd add Shaco to your list.

BluePolarizer5/16/2015, 7:51:27 PM1 votes

Swain Talon Pantheon Velkoz MasterYi Lux Akali all saw pro level gameplay. Also have multiple diamond 1/challenger mains.