How about give Azir back some well-needed power in exchange of removing the Shurima shuffle mechanic

To be clear, the shuffle is Azir's ability to move his soldier mid-dash and follow the soldier with his dash all the way.

I'm well aware that the shuffle is an iconic mechanic in Azir's kit. But if you think about it, it's pretty much the tool that allows Azir to lack weaknesses when he's played well, and hence gives him the power to always define the competitive meta for mid-lane when he's not unplayably weak like he is right now (and like he's been multiple times in the past). It makes him a lot safer to play, and gives him playmaking and pick potential.

I love the Shurima shuffle don't get me wrong, but I believe it's much better if this mechanic is removed from his kit in exchange for some power elsewhere. This is just so he can be strong enough to at least be playable without being too dominant in competitive play. Right now he's in a terrible spot; people with 125+ games with him have less that 45% winrate (according to champion.gg).

The way his abilities would interact after removing the shuffle would be like this: if he casts Q mid-E or E mid-Q, the second ability will only begin casting after the first ability finishes casting. Fun-fact: this is how his abilities interacted at release, and this interaction is explicitly mentioned in his champion spotlight.

Another suggestion to balance Azir is to lower his range for exchange of tankiness, which is to embrace the shuffle playmaking potential. I'm personally against this idea, mainly because I would argue that Azir's theme is him being the emperor, and the theme that should be embraced most of all about him is his ability to manipulate soldiers to do the work for him at range by outputting tons of damage. Why should the emperor get his hands dirty with shuffling into enemy champion's faces?

Anyway, thoughts?