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Predictions on Xayah and Rakan

MisterLayzee·4/18/2017, 9:51:02 PM·2 votes·1,821 views

So now that everything is locked in for this patch, just for fun, I'm going to try to predict how the new champions are going to play out in terms of solo Q and LCS. Tldr at the bottom.

Xayah Xayah is kind of hard to gauge as I think she will be dependent on the mastery of the user. Can she get her roots off consistently? Can she use her ultimate properly to dodge getting dove on? Can she keep from pushing the lane too hard and getting caught out? That being said, I predict she's going to have the Caitlyn problem where she's going to be played A LOT not because she's particularly good but because she's safe. In a game where no matter what meta you're in you are going to be a priority target in team fights. So when you have an adc who has the ability to prevent getting dove on is going to be HUGE. This is not even taking to account for the BIGGEST problem I foresee, (at least on paper) her lane phase is going to be extremely uninteractive. From what I can tell all she has to do is naturally clear the wave super fast and then back off to let it crash into the enemy tower, rinse and repeat. Now this might be a good thing to for some ADCs if you can keep up with her push power or even control the wave enough to freeze it you'll have a pretty chill (if not boring) laning phase.

Rakan As a Support main I feel confident to say that on paper this guy is the most broken support since Thresh. Miss your knock-up? Use your shield dash to escape. Miss your knock up but still wanna go in? Use ultimate. Wanna chase an enemy super easily? Talisman + R. About to get ganged and need to gtfo? Press R. I think this guy is going to be the first support to get Azir'd as there's very little counterplay to 700+ ms aoe charm bullet of doom. And once the LCS gets a hold of him they are gonna have to utterly destroy his kneecaps if they haven't done it already. On top of EVERYTHING ELSE, he's going to suffer the Lucian problem in that if he's even remotely good he's going to have a ridiculously high pick/ban rate because he looks fun as hell. There's no other dedicated support in the game that can make the kinds of flashy, high mobile, LC$B1GD!CKPL4Y$ like Rakan can.

TL;DR: Xayah = uninteractive lane. (Sivir wave clear + Caitlyn safety) Almost impossible to be dove on in team fights if she's good.

Rakan = WAY too versatile. If even somewhat good will have high pick/ban rate like Lucian. Will probably get Azir'd.

So that's what I predict, what about you guys?

5 Comments

MysterQ4/18/2017, 10:04:40 PM3 votes

Meh, I think Rakan is getting overhyped. Now he will probably be super strong on release. People will be wanting to use him more, Riot will want to sell him more, etc. But I don't think his kit is particularly as exciting as you make it out to be. He is just an amalgam of other abilities put onto one guy.

Erockandroll4/18/2017, 10:12:50 PM2 votes

For Xayah, I think it is going to be more a skills match up. I would think the safety net is a bit over stated. (Compared to Cait who can have her entire trap line in ammo stacks) It takes time to set up, and she could be very well be caught out without the tools to handle a collapse. (If your ult's on CD, anyway) Especially since it seems like she doesn't have a dash.

I also think the Rakan train is a little over hyped. While he has a lot in his kit, it's pretty much close range. So you really can't use all that flashyness willy nilly, you would get killed unless you timed them right. If I can CC him in his attempted engage, he can forget getting away. I also don't necessarily think the ability to charm the enemy team, is any more OP than the ultimate engages from an Annie or Sona.

ChaddyFantome4/18/2017, 11:08:14 PM1 votes

Rakan only seems stupid at first glance but he has a fair amount of downsides. For instance, his Shielding forces him to jump on top of the endangered ally on every cast. he, unlike thresh is also squishy and blows up easily.

His Mobility is also gated by the positioning of his allies. He also lacks reliable healing and lane harass.

He will be strong and popular, don't be mistaken, but he isn't outright broken.