Its Official: Skarner top lane is dead...

Shahamut·Jul 16, 2019·6 votes·1,892 views

Olaf was already THE hard counter to Skarner in ANY position. Now we have to add in:

Swain- He can now harass with his Q and health stack with souls. This guy is going to be a terror in top vs melee now.

Renekton- Already had the advantage against Skarner, but now I can't even predict and trade my Shield into his W.

I won't be able to pick this champion anymore unless I am 1000% sure they picked their top laner first.

So hey RIOT, when are we going to allow Skarner to actually be a champion again, and not just some pro-play ult bot in the jungle????

18 Comments

hoganftwJul 16, 20198 votes

Riot right now: who tf is skarner

Darkdemon653Jul 16, 20197 votes

Top Skarner was never alive.

Zeppelins circusJul 17, 20192 votes

{quoted}

Top Skarner was never alive.

It unironically sounds something near to the levels of mid attack speed Braum.

preternaturalJul 16, 20196 votes

didn't even know this was a thing. [sg-poppy]

Agent CorgiJul 16, 20194 votes

I don't think Toplaner Skarner has been a thing since roughly Season 5 (pre-juggernaut update). Those that can STILL find ways to play him as a Toplaner are probably really good with him & I commend them for playing him up there.

Skarner is currently listed as a Tier-1 VGU Candidate as of right now, so a Rework for League's Scorpion King is inevitable. However I fear that they'll most likely balance him around Jungling as his Primary role as there aren't a whole lot of Juggernauts who can Jungle reliably, where as Toplane has plenty of Juggernauts to choose from.

FrancisMuniJul 16, 20192 votes

Riot no longer sees him as a Juggernaut, they acknowledged their mistake and re-classified him as a diver. However, you are probably still right, Riot is probably going to focus on him as a jungler, which in my opinion is the healthiest thing for him. All in all, Skarner is such a crap nowadays that probably ANYTHING that we could get is going to be better in all lanes. Unlike most other jungle bruisers like Jarvan, Xin Zhao or Vi, his kit doesn't tend to be that one-dimensional (no offense meant here, I'm just saying that their hole kit is meant to get to the carry and lock him down; which is shit design for a toplaner), in all his itetations he has been seen more like a decent duelist who is able to either fight, flight or use teamwork depending on the situation. His kit tends to have everything a melee top laner should in order to make him interactive and playable:

A DPS ability (normally his spammable Q)
A burst ability (that would be his E)
A defensive ability (W)
A limited amount of mobility, but enough for a top lane scenario (once again, W)
CC (he usually has a slow, a stun and his ult)
A stat steroid that isn't too crazy or easy to obtain but gives him significant advantage if used correctly (now it's the spire buff, although it used to be the MS and AS that the Q gave)

ShahamutJul 16, 20192 votes

only reason Skarner doesnt work right now in top lane (optimally) is numbers. that and his passive.

As someone who wants to chase and fight single targets, he literally has nothing going for him. He isn't innately tanky. His damage is pathetic. Q: ZERO base damage (+45%AD) max rank. x2 when charged. WOW! W: ZERO base shield value (+14%HP) max rank. WOW! and a movement speed buff that has to RAMP UP?! to a whopping 32% at max rank!? WOW! E: If you can land the skill shot (that SLOWS DOWN AS IT PASSES THROUGH MINIONS) AND get in range to proc the stun, does a decent 250 dmg (20% AP) ... ... ... 140 base damage without the stun proc btw. R: 20/60/100 base damage?! With a 50% AP ratio and a 60% AD ratio on the first hit only? Sure its point and click. but its melee. come on.

I miss pre-juggernaut skarner.

ShahamutJul 17, 20192 votes

Where do you find this vgu tier list??

Agent CorgiJul 17, 20192 votes

This was Reav3's last comment regarding the VGU list back from the First Quarter of the year (January-March)

{quoted}

Sure, current Champions we talk a lot about internally for VGUS are

Pantheon, Fiddlesticks & Volibear are already confirmed to be "Under the Knife" & are undergoing extensive work as we speak. He also stated that Udyr & Shaco were among those that they talk about in meetings.

{quoted}

Hmm I forgot Shaco and Udyr, they are for sure on that list

The champions mentioned are currently Tier-1 candidates (meaning they're High Priority projects) & can be selected for a VGU sometime in the immediate future. Might not happen right away, but Skarner WILL get looked over by a VGU team at **somepoint **(could be as early as next year or as late as 2021).

ShahamutJul 17, 20192 votes

Pls not 2021... :-(

Agent CorgiJul 17, 20192 votes

I feel ya on that. Chances are Shaco wont be seeing anything until roughly that time either and that makes me uber sad. [zombie-nunu-bummed]

Not because he's a terrible champion (alot of people are split on that, I'm nuetral on the subject), but they can really do so much more with the whole "Evil Clown/Demonic Puppet" trope.

ShahamutJul 17, 20192 votes

The only thing that worries me here is that this list could be out dated...

1- he wasn't listed on the "vote for next vgu" list.

2- They have been doing experimental changes for Malphite (now live), Teemo (now canceled), and most recently Wukong (now under actual development, graphics etc).

Would be nice to get an updated list.

Agent CorgiJul 17, 20192 votes

Might be able to ask Reav3 during the Voli-Sticks Blog, which comes out later this month (hopefully). We're supposedly not going to be seeing any champion roadmaps for a while, so it's just as good of a time to ask about the Tier-1 VGU List.