If Azir were to undergo a mini-rework, here's what I think it should look like

So, I have a friend who mains Azir, and we were talking recently about what kind of a champion he is, and what the nerfs have done to him. Basically we agreed that he's in a rough spot right now. Why? It's due to the kind of champion he is.

TL;DR of next section: Azir is strong in too many areas at once. (Look for the place where you can start reading again if you want to skip this part. It's in parentheses.)

I came up with 4 categories that most carries fall into: Burst, AOE, Tankbuster, and Playmaker. However, it's not unusual for carries to fall into multiple categories. Here's an explanation of each:

Burst carries can combo together a string of abilities very quickly to do a lot of damage. Usually these carries need to access the backline to be effective in teamfights, as burst on a tank will not mean too much, assuming you are doing about average in this game. Assassins, Burst mages, Corki, etc. need backline access to be completely effective. Sometimes this just means waiting for the right moment to strike, sometimes it means going full ham and forcing your way to the backline. These carries usually peak mid game, but have early game strengths too.

AOE carries can do a decent amount of damage to multiple targets. Stuff like Ashe, Kalista, Viktor, etc. They are usually very effective; it's hard for them not to be. These carries specialize in mid to late game damage.

Tankbuster carries specialize in destroying tanks more quickly than other carries. Vayne, Kog'maw, AP Varus, (personally I think Lucian can be here if built right), etc. These are most effective late game.

Playmakers are carries that have CC, mobility, or oftentimes global abilities that change the tides of the fight, or initiate one. Ashe, Sivir, Jhin, etc. These carries don't specialize in any stage of the game, but are usually useful at every stage of the game.

Like I said, some carries fall into more than one category. Ashe is a playmaker and an AOE carry, as is Sivir; Jhin is a playmaker and a tankbuster; Graves is playmaker and burst. These are all ADCs, but you get the idea.

Now let's get back to what we actually came here to talk about: Azir.

Here's the problem with Azir: He fits rather nicely into all four categories. Burst: Soldier basic attacks, Q, soldier basic attack x2 and a carry is dead. AOE: All soldiers can hit multiple enemies in a line. Tankbuster: Azir can easily target tanks from a safe distance, and his itemization (Void staff, Rabadons deathcap, sometimes Liandry's torment) allows him to take down tanks fast as well. Playmaker: Azir's Shurima Shuffle (W-E-Q to dash far into enemy team, R backwards)

He's strong in all four categories. He also has poke, mobility, and zone control, and his soldiers can't be stopped unless you walk away from them. Even that is tough, because another core item on him is Rylai's Crystal Scepter. He's too strong in too many areas all at once.

You're attacking with a soldier, enemy jungler ganks. Summon another soldier to get out. You're attacking the front line on a teamfight and spot a flanker. Summon another soldier to zone him out. You're Shurima Shuffling in. You throw down your ult, knocking the enemy team backwards. Then you summon another soldier on the other side to start dealing damage again.

(Hey! if you read the TL;DR instead of all this text, you can start reading again!)

Because he's strong in all these areas, he's incredibly hard to nerf. No matter what part of him you nerf, he's always going to be strong in some category that empowers his other aspects, unless you nerf him far enough to not be strong in any of them. And that's what's happening now.

So here's my proposal. What if he was only strong in a couple categories at a time (meaning he has to choose what he wants to do at any given point in time)?

Here's the mini-rework that came out of that. I only changed Azir's W: Arise!

Currently, Azir's W, Arise! Runs on a stock system that can hold up to two soldiers at a time that recharges over 12/11/10/9/8 seconds. This is what is empowering him right now: the fact that he can summon two soldiers to do two different sets of instructions. So let's change that.

Proposed changes:

W: Arise! Cost: 40 mana + 1 sand soldier (No stock system anymore!) 450 cast range, 800 command range. No cooldown, but cannot be recast until Azir's sand soldiers expire. Passive: Azir permanently has bonus attack speed (unchanged from previous W) ... Active: Azir summons an untargetable sand soldier at the target location which stays on the field for 9 seconds, expiring twice as fast when within range of an enemy turret, and expires instantly if Azir moves too far away (1100 units). (Previously, Azir could move VERY far away from a sand soldier before it expired. I'll explain this change at the end.) NEW: Every 5 attacks with a soldier, a new soldier will appear next to the last one to be commanded, towards the direction it was commanded to attack in. When any sand soldier expires, any remaining sand soldiers will expire at the same time.

So what will these changes do? Mainly, they'll prevent Azir from doing multiple things at once, like the examples I gave. (Right above the end of the TL;DR) However, Azir will still get increased damage from summoning more soldiers. Also, whenever a sand soldier expires, Azir will have to start over from 1 soldier again. This leaves bigger windows of opportunity for enemy players to counterplay against Azir. Also, let's take another look at those examples.

You're attacking the front line on a teamfight and spot a flanker. Now you have to choose whether to move your soldier(s) there to zone him, continue attacking in the hopes your team gets him, or use your ult to prevent the flank. You're Shurima Shuffling in. You throw down your ult, knocking the enemy team backwards. Now you must wait for your soldier to expire or for your Q to come back up before you can start dealing damage again. You're attacking with one soldier, enemy jungler ganks. Now you have to wait for the soldier to expire or walk out of range in order to summon an escape route. (This is why I decreased the expiration range on the soldiers, to allow for an escape if you give yourself enough time to walk away so the soldier expires.)

Also, keep in mind that when a champ gets a rework, even just a mini-rework, numbers are re-balanced. This rework, by itself, is a nerf, so imagine Azir was re-buffed to compensate for the rework.

I'd like to hear feedback on this. What are your thoughts? Also, thanks for reading!