Rift Herald changes will likely bring back the lane swapping meta

Don't get me wrong, I think the concept of the new Rift Herald is super cool and impactful (potentially too impactful, but I've only seen the "best case scenario, stupid broken, OP" videos, not it being used in actual games). The changes make her an actually meaningful objective that teams will want most games and will want to contest.

However, a side effect of these changes is that they will almost certainly bring back the lane swapping meta due to how impactful Herald is as an objective. Around 10 minutes, when she spawns, teams will switch bot and top lane to try and control the Herald pit. As impactful as drakes are, Herald will have a much bigger immediate impact for the team that takes it, which will force the other team almost completely on the defensive.

Now, if Herald's numbers get toned down before going live, she may not be as mandatory, and taking a tower and/or dragon bot could be worth giving her up, but in most cases she will still be the objective to focus on. Teams will need the support's vision control and the ADC's damage in order to ensure the enemy doesn't sneak it and to taking it themselves when the opportunity arises. In most cases, swapping lanes will be basically required.

A lane swap meta isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just remember how Riot cracked down on it last season with the tower fortification changes.