PSA: CC is actually NOT equally effective against different champions.

This essay is listed in my "Master List of Essay Threads" under the title "On CC Effects Different Champions Differently"

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I see this dumb argument come up so often when literally any effort to think about it reveals the truth: No, actually, different champions have different levels of weakness to cc. In general, there's a sliding scale of effectiveness of cc:

If you cc a squishy short ranged mage/assassin like katarina when she jumps into a team fight she dies and contributes nothing to the fight.

If you cc a 'light fighter' like riven, fiora, or pantheon, they will probably either die outright or be so low that they have to disengage from the team fight they might buy merc treads if they are being cautious of your cc and that could be the difference between them escaping alive from the fight or dying from the first cc.

If you cc a tanky mage like ryze, ekko, or diana you'll probably disrupt their attack patterns and force them to fall back, but they probbably will just hang out behind their backline until their important cooldowns are up and look for a chance to go back in. Their shields, durability, and ability to drop massive damage in under a second is enough reason for them to risk going back in unlike a low hp light fighter who risks just dying before doing anything if they try to reengage.

If you cc a fighter (or 'juggernaught') in a teamfight, you've probably forced them to switch targets but they'll probably not die in the duration of the cc. They also probably have merc treads if your team has a lot of cc so you don't even get the full duration.

If you cc a full tank like nautelous or leona in a team fight, you only delay them for a second or two and then they go back to locking your team down. They probably took no real damage at all during the cc duration. They almost certaintly have merc treads if your team has a lot of cc so you don't even get the full duration.

This is ofc not even considering exceptions such as those with innate tenacity/cc immunity such as irelia, olaf, poppy or those with invulnerability durations such as kayle, tryndamere which make them more or less susceptible to cc. CC olaf at a key moment and force his ult out which makes him squishier, cc trynd or kayle during their ults and they'll die soon after since they build glass and rely on that invulnerability to teamfight.

TLDR: Actually, 'just cc them' IS in fact a viable counterplay option since cc really does impact champions differently. CC an ulting kat to win a teamfight, cc the enemy leona and waste your cooldown (especially if she's already blown her full combo).