[{quoted}](name=The Ecdysiast,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=eskyvEgd,comment-id=000000000001000000000000000000000000,timestamp=2019-03-23T03:08:52.985+0000)
Lemme stop you right there. YOU may want to use the term in a way that includes things other than mechanical difficulty, but that is not what it means. You're just using it wrong.
I do know what you mean. You've yet to word it properly, but what you're saying is:
A mechanically simple champion doesn't have the versatility that a more difficult champion has, and as a result they're actually harder. Which is what I was trying to explain back to you. Yes, they're more difficult to play if they don't have overpowered stats. But that doesn't mean it takes more skill to play them. It actually means it takes more luck since it then requires you have allies who will coordinate more and enemies who coordinate less.
Though Illaoi, no, is not the opposite of similar champions. She too is best against sloppy enemies. The problem you have is that you're so in love with champions that are the enemy's to lose against, not yours to win with. It's usually up to them not knowing how to fight you, because you don't have to know much to know how to fight them.
A note on Aurelion Sol and Tahm, though, is that they aren't simple in the same way. In fact, they're actual examples of the nuances you like to pretend Illaoi and other juggernauts have to pay close attention to. There's far more room for error with juggernauts, but Sol has essentially the same weaknesses with none of the defensive strengths and even more telegraphed weakness to his damage, in exchange for higher damage and range.
The concept of a champion with high defense and high damage is itself not healthy--- that is, unless they have an equally high weakness to coordination because they lack mobility, which juggernauts do. But what you're asking for is for juggernauts to be strong at the level where coordination is supposed to beat them them. And that's paradoxical. For a juggernaut to be healthy for the game at high levels of play, they'd need to no longer be a juggernaut. Because having high enough damage and defense to overcome the weakness that's exploited there would simply mean they'd lack counterplay. Exactly what we saw back in 2015 with Mordekaiser.
The only way to make a juggernaut a reliable pick at the level where teams have the coordination to beat them is to give them stats so high that they can just body even the enemies who properly counterplay them. Which isn't fair.
I don't agree with your end assessment. The last two juggernauts we saw who were competitive viable (Urgot and Aatrox) had high value on their kits rather than their numbers. Some, like Olaf, are mainly direct counter picks than general power houses.
What juggernauts fundamentally need is to be less extreme in their design; being "all damage, no range, low utility" makes for a useless champion because the damage role has already been filled by bottom lane at minimum and usually middle too. Comparing this to another MOBA, Dota 2, the champions who are most "like" juggernauts are quite different in that while they don't have (situationally) bullshit damage they will usually have crowd control, most always single target and respectably ranged which gives them immense more usability than a dumpster heap like Garen has. I don't know if you play it yourself but some examples if you would like to look at are Mars, Bristleback, Ursa, Wraith King, and a few others who's names I can't quite recall right now -- still fairly new to it myself.
These champions have a MUCH better grasp on the juggernaut design I think should be manifested in League; they have their clear uses and niches, more than potent damage but not too much as to be unreasonable, and heaps more usability than the average juggernaut in LOL. Obviously there are important differences like the items and the fact that turn rate balanced out the ranged advantage there, but the general idea can certainly translate between games.
I have no delusions about my class. I think most of them need a rework from at minimum in par with what Xin Zhao got. What makes me disagree on this is that juggernauts have some "inherent" issue that means the class could never be fine or fair. I think Riot has just yet to find the mark on it
now
is a dog champ