He's got a couple things going for him: -Mana buffs to his kit -Buffs to Athene's -Sustained AoE highly effective in the meta now -Assassins falling out of favor
So yeah, he used to be one of my bread and butter champions who I put down after Ahri/Fizz/LeBlanc/Zed started to permeate every game. But now with the subtle meta shifts it seems like he could be sneakily stronger than people think.
Opinions?
Drakzul the Dark2 votesSeige mages in this meta are a lot more effective than assassins and burst mages, I'd say go for it.
Zarxis1 votesI'm not sure if he's worth playing when you could be playing Xerath or Vel'Koz. He does have an escape, but the nerf to his mines' damage to minions makes him much less efficient at waveclearing, plus there was that Q hitbox nerf. I don't think he's bad— he's good for burning down tanks with Liandry's— but he seems outclassed, in my opinion.
shalec1 votesZiggs is much better at zone control than Xerath is. His ultimate is also much more reliable and practical in teamfights. Vel'Koz isn't as safe as Ziggs is, as he's immobile and you have to be more mindful of your positioning so you can fully utilize his ultimate. Ziggs also has the best waveclear in the game, which is something Xerath can come close to matching, but Vel'Koz really can't.
Killstrado1 votesVel's wave clear is off the charts lol do you even W? You got some valid points but comparing ziggs to xerath and Vel isn't what I'd compare, those too are really powerful and usually better at picking off single targets where ziggs is all AOE and more team fight oriented
Sirsir1 votesVel is really good at clearing one wave. When it comes to overall base defense a well played Ziggs can cover both, and sometimes ult the third.
Killstrado1 votesYou've never really seen a good spaghetti monster than
Zarxis2 votesZiggs is much better at zone control than Xerath is. His ultimate is also much more reliable and practical in teamfights. Vel'Koz isn't as safe as Ziggs is, as he's immobile and you have to be more mindful of your positioning so you can fully utilize his ultimate. Ziggs also has the best waveclear in the game, which is something Xerath can come close to matching, but Vel'Koz really can't.
It's very easy to completely wipe out waves with Vel'Koz's W+E combo (or double W; even support Vel'Koz doesn't need much AP in order to do this because of his passive), and Xerath has his W+Q. Ziggs has to use at least two Qs because his W simply doesn't do enough damage (plus it spreads out the minions), and his E barely does damage after the first mine touches a minion. Ziggs does have the luxury of being able to waveclear a side lane from mid with his ultimate, I'll grant you that.
Xerath's ultimate can be extremely useful during teamfights— after he blows his Q and W for damage, he can ult during the cooldowns and utilize his allies' CC to ensure that his ult doesn't miss. It does more damage than Ziggs' if he lands all three shots against any one target; he also gets more chances to hit if he misses any one shot (Ziggs doesn't have that luxury). If you have a Sejuani or Amumu on your team to hold the entire enemy team still, Ziggs' ultimate is superior (unless they're so close together that Xerath can hit multiple targets with all three shots... At least 6 hits total?).
Both Xerath and Vel'Koz have to mind their positioning during their ultimates, but they are potentially rewarded with more damage. Vel'Koz's passive allows him to do a ridiculous amount compared to either of the others, plus his ultimate has a slow.
I already admitted that Ziggs has the best survivability tool (W mobility), and you are correct in saying he has the best zone control (W and E remaining on the ground). He has his perks, but Xerath and Vel are both extremely close, if not superior, competitors for being the best waveclear/siege mage.
shalec1 votesZiggs can clear the back wave at with a Q-E fairly early on (around level 4/5), and Q-W with some more levels in Q. It's also not that difficult to get 2 Bouncing Bombs out with their low cooldown. I agree that Vel'Koz and Xerath have amazing waveclear, but all of Ziggs abilities are AOE and having the ability to clear waves from halfway across the map is also a huge advantage.
I think that the Ziggs ultimate is better than Xerath's for teamfights, it's good, but it's not as reliable and it is harder to find the time to channel it, unless you're basically out of the fight entirely. It's actually not that difficult to land Mega Inferno Bomb on at least 3 targets, since teams tend to clump together during fights.
As far as Vel'Koz goes, if he can get into a favorable position to channel his ultimate, it's definitely better. I just think that the vulnerability and the fact that it requires a long channel to gain the full effectiveness of the ability makes it inferior in most cases.
Overall, these champions all have different strengths and weaknesses. Xerath's poke is the most reliable, and he has he ability to snipe a target because of his high damage ultimate. Vel'Koz has the best damage due to his passive, and he has the most utility with two slows and a knock up. Ziggs has zone control and an extremely versatile utility move, plus the best AOE and semi-global waveclear.
Leti the Yeti1 votesThe other laner has to be a total idiot to die to you in lane so theres that you're probably never gonna give the jungler a decent opportunity to gank, thats another
Stonington1 votesYeah, he's alright right now. The thing that really neutered him in s4 was how they reduced the size of his Q hitbox. But if you can land those Qs he's a really good champ.
kcStranger1 votesI'll echo the people who say he's fine now. The Athene's changes were (sneakily?) really good for him.
djjomon1 votesI don't think he's so bad. It's a good meta for mages, especially those with escapes
Zirzon1 votesHe's pretty decent currently. The main reason I don't play him much any more personally is that his Q isn't nearly as reliable as it used to be due to the hitbox nerf, and reliabile damage is something I value greatly.
Serevas1 votesI don't actually see any reason not to play Ziggs.
Like you said assassins are falling out of favor and wave clearing siege mages are in higher demand.
I'd actually argue that it's a delayed response due to the mana regeneration changes at the beginning of the season. The Athene's buff has brought my favorite mage item back into relevance, additionally allowing my favorite mages Orianna, Ziggs, and Xerath, to come right back in where they left off last season, maybe even in a stronger position due to the meta favoring tanks over bruisers and assassins.
In short, I say go for it.
GundayMonday1 votesHe's pretty strong right now. Especially since he can build a 
to poke and burn down all the 
players with 6k hp. Also pretty hilarious with 
. Just need to land skillshots. He won't be able to instaburst anyone (unless you're SUPER fed), so team needs to realize that you'll need to poke a little before you force team fights.
Renaille1 votesHis ratios are kind of bad.
