About Taric and the other Fighter/Tank supports

So, I’m not very good at these, but I figured I’d try anyway. Since Braum is coming out (and I like him already) as a tank support, It kind of reminded me of Taric and where he belongs as a support. I’ve been playing him since Season One (I suppose most of my games have been with him, though I’m not sure if I can really consider him my “main” since I rotate through so many champions at this point), and have stuck with him through all of his changes, embracing him being able to just wade into the fray and just not give two fucks about the enemy team.

Though, playing with other supports (which I can say is my main role at this point), he does seem to be lacking nowadays. He has healing, auras, defense AND crowd control , though he only seems good at two of those, which I feel are Defense and Auras. AoE Armor and Armor shred is damn good, especially with the right ADC (Corki/Taric lanes, Corki/Taric lanes EVERYWHERE). And the current Radiance is a great boost to help with just about anything (Teamfights? Radiance. Taking Towers? Radiance. Baron/Dragon? Radiance.) I do enjoy his heal (Healing an Ally and myself? Why not?) And guaranteed CC is good, but in comparison to other supports, it doesn’t really match up, especially to other supports.

I’m specifically focusing on fighter/tank supports here (Braum, Thresh, Blitz, Leo, Ali, and Nunu(Maybe?) Taric: Click Stun Leona: Auto Attack Stun, Skillshot Root, AoE Skillshot stun Braum: Skillshot Slow, Skillshot Knockup Alistar: Click Knockback, Auto Attack (or close enough) Knockup -Keep in mind, I’m not fond of Ali’s click-knockback, but that’s for another thread Thresh: Skillshot Knockback, Pull/Stun, AoE Slow Nunu: Click Slow, AoE Slow + Damage Blitz: Pull/Stun, Knockup, AoE Silence Though you can’t disregard the rest of their kits and their roles: Leona is a lockdown tank, Braum is a defender, Alistar Disrupts, Blitz and Thresh are opportunistic, Though I’m not sure what to define Nunu, especially since he’s fallen out of favor as a support (at least in my Silver games, anyway).

So, I suppose the question is, among the fighter/tank supports, what should Taric be focused on, and how can he be better/more appealing? Is there still room for a jack-of-all trades tank support, or should his entire kit be redone? I personally don’t think that he has to be entirely reworked (hell, his ult has been reworked what, 4 or 5 times now since he was brought into the game? And his passive has been reworked 3 times).

I personally see him (At least thematically) as a Paladin, at the forefront leading his teammates with his gem-focused light, and being able to defend his allies with either healing or defenses. I see Shatter, at the very least, his core ability, with Radiance close behind that. I’d be more willing to let Dazzle go and become a skillshot stun of some kind to allow him to be able to use crowd control more often, at least so I could either peel or start fights. I’m not sure about the heal; It feels core to me, but would it have to go, too?

Sorry for all the rambling. What say you, Riot, and other Taric players? How can we help our fabulous gem knight be fabulous again?