Vel'Koz DOES bring something unique to a team comp @Meddler

So yeah, this is yet another thread, but I wanted to address something directly to the reason you said he is being reworked.

"Vel'Koz is healthy, fun to play as and against, balanced, and has unique counterplay. But he doesn't bring enough uniqueness to his own team composition so he needs to be changed." -paraphrasing

You said that he and Brand are very similar. That is very wrong in my opinion. -Brand's kit relies on either poking down his opponent with his W, a delayed aoe damage burst, or trying to 100-0 his opponent. His main strength lies in his ability to punish clustered positioning in teamfights with aggressive plays with his R+W+E. -Vel'Koz's kit relies poking his opponent down over time, using his unique skillshots and passive to whittle down them over an extended period of time, and punishing hard engages with his kit. It's very rare that you will see a Vel'Koz get so far ahead he is able to 1-shot combo someone without them having a chance to react. Brand can catch people out, Vel'Koz cannot in any of the same fashion.

Back to my main point, Vel'Koz does bring unique power to his team. He is able, when played properly, to cause heavy damage to the back line of an enemy team WITHOUT EVER LEAVING HIS BACKLINE. His Q allows him to take pinpoint shots at squishies around minion waves and beefy front-liners. Not other champion can DECIDE to focus champions at a long range like that. Other long-range mages rely on simple-linear skillshots or spells that pass through enemies to do the same, which are more predictable, more boring, and some can even be blocked without much effort.

Not only does his Q give him a unique pattern of control over an enemies backline, but his whole kit creates an interesting dynamic of zone control. The delays on both the cast times and detonations on his W+E means that while he does not have direct zone control like Azir or the Donger, his ability to control his opponents grows the closer he is to them. Most champions ability for control is a simple true or false statement, in range or out. With Vel'Koz, the closer you get to him the easier it becomes for him to peel you off of him. It just feels great to play as and against, and no other champion gives quite that same feeling of dynamic control based on range.

If you are determined to go against everything the community is asking for, and I haven't seen anything directly supporting changes to him, then I have one change that wouldn't ruin everything he has going for him. Just make the speed on his ult-ticks ramp up over the duration. Make it deal less damage each tick individually, but increase the damage, or maybe the width of the ult over its duration. That would make it feel like more of a teamfight tool than a "ooo he's at 100 health I'm just gonna save my ult to snipe him lazers lul".

But honestly, he is both balanced AND unique. I don't play him much, but I love playing as him, and especially against him, because it just feels fun and fair.

What do you guys think? I'm interested to see if I missed anything or if you guys disagree!