Some changes Pyke absolutely needs
The recent changes to Pyke are bar none the most heavy-handed changes to force a champion to build as intended that Riot has ever done, compared to the usual case of buffing scaling while lowering base so damage dealers can't just build pure tank (such as with Ekko, Fizz, and now Viktor). These changes hit his early game really hard, since as a support he isn't going to be getting the lethality he needs until later than most other assassins, while his stun was nerfed to force its total duration into lethality instead of ability rank.
However, the changes also leave room to buff him where he actually needs it without worrying he'll just stack pure defense. Not in his damage, but in his mechanics. Namely how his Q functions overall.
He should be allowed to charge his Q while remaining cloaked, only being revealed when the throw animation begins. The enemies already have plenty of warning from his W that they need to watch for him in this situation, and to use it from cloak he'd have to be far enough to do the lower-damage pull instead of the stab. So this would only serve to balance out the disadvantages presented by his W and Q.
and/or
The pull length should be set at the max distance as soon as it registers that you're holding for the pull instead of the stab, instead of requiring you to hold it longer for the full distance. As it is, it gives any enemy you didn't already stun far too long to prepare if you attempt a max-range pull.
Granted, with any suggestion regarding mechanics comes the possibility that it ends up being far and above compensating for recent nerfs. But if that happens... they could simply nerf his damage back down.
