Braum is design vomit.

TO CLARIFY: This isn't about OP or UP or numbers, this is about fundamental design failures built into the champion from the get go which erase all skillful play, and windows of weakness.

Concussive Blows ( Passive ) "Braum adds stacks of Concussive Blows to enemies with basic attacks or Winter's Bite. He and his allies continue to add stacks with basic attacks, at 4 stacks their target will be stunned."

Winter's Bite ( Q ) Braum propels freezing ice from his shield dealing 80/125/170/215/260 (+ RATIO) [2.5% of Braum's Max Health] magic damage to the first target hit and slowing them by 70%, decaying over the next 2 seconds. Applies a stack of Concussive Blows Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6 Mana Cost: 50/55/60/65/70

Stand Behind Me ( W ) Braum leaps to a target allied champion or minion. On arrival, Braum and the ally gain Y Armor and X Magic Resist (20/22.5/25/27.5/30 plus 14/15.5/17/18.5/20% of Braum's bonus Armor/Magic Resist) for 3 seconds Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10 Mana Cost: 30/40/50/60/70 Unbreakable ( E ) Braum reduces incoming damage and blocks for allies behind him. Braum raises his shield in a direction for 3/3.25/3.5/3.75/4 seconds negating the damage of the next attack from this direction. Subsequent attacks deal 30/32.5/35/37.5/40%% reduced damage. Braum intercepts projectiles, causing them to hit him and be destroyed. Braum gains 10% Movement Speed for the duration. Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10 Mana Cost: 30/35/40/45/50

Glacial Fissure ( R ) Braum slams the ground, knocking up enemies nearby and in a line in front of him. A fissure is left along the line that slows enemies. Enemies hit take 150/250/350 (+0.6 AP) magic damage. The first champion hit is knocked up for 1.5 seconds, subsequent enemies are knocked up briefly. For the next 4 seconds enemies that enter the area are slowed by 60.000% for 1.5 seconds. Cooldown: 140/120/100 Mana Cost: 100 at all ranks This champion has a giant pile of terrible design flaws. In short, he allows no skilled play, and rather functions as a stop gap champion to overcome player failings.

This champion is the worst combination of Leona and Thresh. A pick oriented team based tank who lets players make mistakes with no consequence.

Before we get to the mechanics, seriously, yet another bloody ice champion from freljord?

Anyway, lets get to this passive. This passive lets Braun get in one hit, then if people pile on, the target gets stunned. Not so bad? This guy is meant to be a support, in lanes with AS scaling champions. This passive will be easy to trigger, and almost certain to go off multiple times on multiple enemies in a teamfight. Just slosh your hits around, like naut.

This passive makes all trades a completely impossible affair. One AA from Braum, then three follow ups from an adc, and it's stunned. It's not even like this has any cooldown / cost so it's one of the most potent zoning tools.

Of course, it's balanced by being melee only.

Unless he hits a Q. Yes, a slow + one inital stack, easy follow up for an adc to trigger the stun and a won trade. This entire skill is a bandaid for a champion which requires skillful positioning and harass mechanics to use. In short, it allows a defender archetype to go offensive. It's here the vomit hits the design.

See, from the passive, and archetype, this champion is the perfect defender. You can't engage on them without getting rekt, but they don't have any real method of engaging. This is a good, balanced design. Then wait, you give them an awesome pick tool at range. Oh well.

At least this champion has to be close to the enemy and angling for the skillshot pick.

Nope, the W is a brilliant skill which further reduces the skill needed to play this champion. It moves you from back in safety, out of harass range to your adc. This is powerful and casual in and of itself. Then it gives resistances to you and your ally, it's a get out of jail free card for your adc, and lets the defender ignore positioning instead of requiring high skill management.

At least you and the adc are both still in the danger zone, unlike after say, a Dark Passage.

Nope, because now you have a massive shield skill which blocks attacks, and redirects them to you, the tank with increased resistances. I really hope something this powerful has a low duty cycle like Wind wall. Oh nope, it's got a 40% duty cycle at max rank, has 40% damage reduction, and 50 mana cost.

Ok, so at least the champion who has stupid trade winning auto attacks, requires no positioning, can't be hurt if caught out of position, can rescue adc's out of position, and can just shut down trade damage has no real CC, it would be laughable if he had a massive teamfight CC pile.

Oh thats right, an AoE knockup, then persistent slow field.

I am just facepalming at this. This champion is as broken and overbearing as Thresh is. He just comes with so many things purely designed to deal with mistakes and to remove the cost from them.

See, having a defender style champion is cool. Having one with the E he has and passive he has is cool too. Now, you've built in a skill floor based around positioning and harass management. So you go and give him a ranged slow -> stun poke tool, and a skill which moves the player from wherever they were to the correct position.

And to top it all off, you change his teamfight role from great defender, someone who puts down passive stacks in a tactical manner to CC laden ult bot.

Thresh, Leona, meet Braum, yet another Tanky support champion who completely destroys, eclipses and removes all need for real support champions.

I'm going to abuse this OP and casual champion to the max. Oh, and before GD says QQing before he's out, he's live on PBE, people are streaming him, and he is pulling off plays with players who have literally just picked him up.