Thoughts on Yorick, the Shepherd of Lost Souls

So, with his rework having been out a while, I think it's time to open up discussion on the Shadow Isle's resident risen monk. That being said, know that a large amount of what I'll be saying is subjective, coming both from someone who doesn't yet play him often in PVP but has a keen familiarity with Juggernauts. The largest purpose of this discussion is to point out his strengths and weaknesses - such that people who just blurt out "OP" can potentially find ways to counteract him, while also giving people who think he's underpowered (which I'd think are few) some points to see.

So, to begin, let's start the obvious way, with early game.

His survival is curbed heavily by his Last Rites' flat healing per level, and, much like other tanks, proves to be unreliable in the first few levels and items due to Grasp of the Undying's %health scaling. However, this doesn't mean that he straight out can't survive. Where he lacks in raw healing power of some champions (like Darius, Kayle, etc.), he makes up for it with lane pressure. Initially, his Awakening does little more than add more to his wave, giving his opponent more gold to spend, but at around levels 2-3 is when he can turn it into something more.

The largest amount of his early game pressure comes from placement and aim; Dark Procession is a formidable lockdown ability that could potentially be negated before you close on the enemy, and Mourning Mist is an arc'ed damage spread that slows and provides Yorick and his Mist Walkers movement towards the marked enemy. Mourning Mist also has the benefit of directing your Mist Walker's attention to targets you want to see dead. Though, the largest problem is, again; aim. Mourning Mist is an arc skillshot that provides damage in a cone a distance away from Yorick, and requires a fair bit of pattern-predicting and aim against most champions, making it difficult to land. Albeit this can be somewhat mitigated with Dark Procession, you sacrifice some of the lockdown in exchange for better odds on your shot.

Then, of course, there's a glaring thing that people will say is undoubtedly overpowered on Yorick, and I'm half-way inclined to agree. Eulogy of the Isles provides Yorick with a miniboss-type minion (a-la Tibbers) that whittles away health, gives Yorick a hefty damage boost against target's they're attacking, and also summons Mist Walkers on minion kills. Although, I have a feeling people are more inclined to call it OP for its skirmish value than for the fact that the Maiden of the Mists is autonomous of Yorick's Shepherd of Souls passive, being able to freely push lanes Yorick isn't even on.

That being said, Eulogy of the Isles is definitely a bit too strong, being able to both give Yorick the ability to tear apart tanks and softer targets alike, as well as being able to serve as a majorly beefed up Zz'Rot portal, bringing a ruinous wave of minions down a lane and near-constantly replacing their Mist Walker group should they find another minion wave to deal with. But, keep in mind I've noticed that Turrets often actually favor targeting the Maiden of the Mists over minions and Mist Walkers - so if a minion enters the turret range before the Maiden, it may well be targeted next.

In summation; Strengths; -Excels in wave reinforcement and lane/split pushing -Powerful small-group skirmishes at lvl6 -Hefty lockdown and gap-closing strength Weaknesses; -Fares poorly against high-mobility/high-poke -Lacks early-game survivability -His window of power is oriented around locking enemies with W and landing his E -Dual-lane pushes can be cut down if Yorick dies in a teamfight

All being said, Yorick is a really stable juggernaut, he could use some touch-ups (weaker Q with slightly stronger heal, smaller damage boost from R, as personal thoughts), but in the right hands he could certainly be a ruinous force, and in the wrong hands, he clearly wouldn't do well. Thank you for reading, and feel free to discuss!