@Riot/Meddler/Repertoir: A suggestion for Thunderlords and the upcoming Mage update
Currently, Thunderlords Decree is a bit of a problem. EVERYONE BUILDS IT!!! Even people who aren't supposed to build it build it (like Thresh and Tahm). However, it does seem like there are a few champs in the game that simply cannot take advantage of Thunderlords: the control mages.
Who I am talking about? I'm talking about the mages that aren't well known for their burst, or damage, but instead, their innate ability to make teamfights flow the way they want them too. For example:
Anivia is considered to be one of the most difficult champions in the game. Her Q is incredibly unreliable, her E relies on her other abilities to be effective, and her W and Ult are effectively just zoning tools. Despite being able to proc Thunderlords easily with her ult, the rest of her kit makes it extremely difficult to do so, having to have precise timing, and the guts to make some risky plays. Im sure every Anivia player out there would love to have something else besides Thunderlords or Deathfire touch, considering neither of them really do appeal to her.
Azir could have the easiest time out of any of the control mages at proccing Thunderlords. However, Azir isn't meant to be damage only. His soldiers and abilities are specifically designed to create zones of control, to where the battlefield moves as he commands. Although Thunderlords is still good on him, its really the only option available to him, since all of the other Keystones don't appeal to him at all.
Despite being more considered a tank/support, Galio can still fall under the control mage category. Being able to lock down an entire team for several seconds is simply amazing. However, Galio's kit offers no real way to proc Thunderlords. For starters, he's melee, which doesn't help at all, and he only has 2 abilties that he can spam to some degree. Yes, Galio is due for a rework, and yes, he might want to look more towards tanky stats in his masteries, but I do believe he still applies to this.
Somewhat similar to Azir, Heimerdinger is not designed for damage only. He is meant to establish zones of control, and essentially build an impassable fortress of turrets. Once established, he can really only proc Thunderlords if someone makes the stupid decision of stepping inside his zone of control. Sure, Deathfire Touch may be more appealing to him, but he still falls well into this discussion.
You may think this is strange, since Thunderlords does seem to fit well with Lissandra's kit. However, once again, she is not meant for damage. Sure, she has burst, and come late game, can easily take out any squishy she so chooses. That said, she is actually somewhat similar to Galio, in that she wants to get into the middle of the enemy team, and cause as much chaos as possible, while also locking down the entire enemy team. Unfortunately, Thunderlords only procs on one champion once procced, whereas Lissandra could proc it on the entire enemy team at once if she could.
Screw what everyone thinks about Morg being a support. She is a control mage at heart (if she has one). Like Liss and Galio, she too is meant to get into the enemy team and lock them all down. This is why she makes such a great support (that and Black shield...... and her Q). Although proccing Thunderlords may be easy with her W, it isn't all too appealing to her, and neither is Deathfire's touch, considering her potential for burst damage.
Orianna is the same as Heimer and Azir. She is meant to create a zone of control around her ball, which can devastate an entire enemy team, especially if she has someone to throw her ball onto. Yes, her auto attacks give her an incentive to get Thunderlords, but it still isn't too appealing to her.
This too may seem strange. Vel'koz's passive is a three ability hit passive, so every time Thunderlords is up, proccing both his passive and Thunderlords makes his passive even more threatening. And, unlike the other control mages, he is actually known for his consistent damage output. So why add him in? Because he still falls under the control mage category. I don't know about you, but that giant fricken laser sure as hell doesn't make me want to stick with my team. Unlike the other control mages, where they use CC or zones of control to manage the battlefield, Vel'koz manages it with damage. Splitting the enemy team up into easy to pick off groups, then melting their faces in the process.
Vlad is similar to Liss and Morg. His innate tankiness, the ability to heal every amount of damage thrown at him, and his decent amount of AoE makes quite a reasonable champion to see in the middle of the enemy team, causing as much chaos as possible. Neither Thunderlords, nor Deathfire Touch is very appealing to him, however, he still wants to stay within those trees, and out the Resolve tree, since he still needs some damage in order to be more than just a meat shield.
Very similar to Vel'koz, Xerath is meant to keep the teamfights from happening in the first place, or making sure that the enemy back line has WAY too much to think about in order to be a reliable source of help for their team. Again, he uses damage in order to control the field, but unlike Vel'koz, where Thunderlords works amazingly with his passive, Xerath doesn't really have the means to quickly proc Thunderlords unless he is able to stun someone. Even if he gets all 3 hits of his ultimate onto someone, it still isn't easy.
Ziggs is kind of a combination of Xerath and Heimer, in that he doesn't create zones of control, but instead is mainly used to stall out the game, and keep sieging towers out of the picture. Having some of the best AOE in the game, not too many minion waves can stand against him, unless they have Baron buff, or a Super Minion with them.
Now, with all of that said, I am by no means saying that Thunderlords is overpowered, and desperately needs nerfing. No, quite the contrary actually. In fact, I think Thunderlords was a great idea, and is well designed. Unfortunately, it just so happens to be the one choice everyone tends to lean towards since its really the only option available to them.
Now, there have been complaints on the lack of choices for mages in general in the mastery tree, but I'm not here to do that. I am here to give a possible suggestion to Riot to not only make Thunderlords better, but also give an option to all of the champions listed above that they will actually enjoy using.
First off, don't change Thunderlords at all. Seriously. Don't alter any numbers, don't buff it, don't nerf it, just leave as is. However, move it to the ferocity tree. I've never really understood why it is in the cunning tree, which tends to be more utility than anything else, when Thunderlords is meant for damage. This gives control mages that like not only damage, but Thunderlords as well (see Vel'koz, Xerath, and Ziggs), an option to stay in the ferocity tree, AND build Thunderlords, while also keeping those who really shouldn't be building it away from it.
However, we need something to fill in Thunderlords' old position now. We want to put something there that is very appealing to both the CC orientated control mages, but also the zoning control mages. So how about something that helps with their most defining feature: AoE abilties.
Perhaps it could go something like this:
Area of Effect spells have their width increased by 7.5%. Any crowd control effects from these abilities are 2% stronger for every enemy champion affected.
Now, obviously, I'm no Rioter, and this is simply an idea. I have no idea if some champs cough_Annie_cough would like this far more than others would, so it will need quite a bit of testing. However, this would make it a bit easier for those control mages to do what their best at: manage the battlefield. However, it also gives them a significant reward if they tend to pull off that perfect ultimate.
Although, even some support champs would really enjoy something like that as well. Nami and Sona mains would be rejoicing and jumping out of their seats in order to use that. Even Alistar and Leona may find a use for it.
So, what do you guys think?
