EHP vs. %Pen/%Damage

I've seen a few threads popping up regarding Tanks, HP, and %Pen/%Damage items and I thought I'd throw in my two-cents.

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First off, I'd like to remind everyone that Blade of the Ruined King and Liandry's Torment exist for one reason only: Warmog's.

During one of the crazier pre-seasons, became quite popular amongst a very WIDE variety of champions that really had no business purchasing such a huge HP boost, but instead of nerfing it like they did with everything else that got out of control back then, they decided to go a different route and created a couple items that countered it quite well. Thus & were born.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't remember that last time I saw a bought in a game, tank or otherwise. It's kind of silly how long it's been. So now here we are with two rather decently strong items that exist to counter an item that is no longer frequently used, and the game is somewhat balanced around their existence as well. That seems backwards to me.

The argument that those items work slowly is invalid in my eyes; no matter which way you slice it, %HP Damage is still %HP damage. + will shred through thousands of HP in no time. + causes the same effect, except it's more of a melting sensation.

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I read some threads with more information about EHP (Effective Hit Points, for those who are unaware) and what that means for Tanks and their current state in the game. I'll link those here and here.

I personally agree with a lot of the points the OP's bring up in those discussions. I also agree that a %Bonus HP item needs to return in order for Tanks to truly shine. Frankly, I'm baffled that it was overlooked (or just straight up dropped) as a desirable stat for Tank itemization coming into this pre-season. [See: Spirit of the Ancient Golem]