tbf Skarner IS damage dealer with venom and debuffs, people just tend to build him on the tankier side for a few reasons.
1.) his dmg is all close range so he has to survive getting to his target 1st, especially if they are ranged or if they have ranged allies near
2.) theres a lot of dmg in the game so anyone not building a bit tanky gets blown up really fast, and skarner hasn't been buffed to compete
3.) he's more consistent dps than burst
Also his main role is diving into a team and dragging out a squishy for his team to collapse on, so although his dmg build is really gud if he gets on a target alone, it just makes more sense to build tanky unless u want to be a liability.
I get that you feel like the idea of a crystal scorpian is wasted design space when the two themes of "crystal" and "scorpion" are combined. But i think it just more to do with the current state of Skarner and the game rn than Skarner himself. Sure Skarner mainly builds defensively rn, and sure the idea of "crystals" and and his current meta defense build makes more sense when combined on the theme of a less aggressive creature like a beetle compared to scorpion,
but if u ask me, it can work both ways. Scorpions DO have really good armor in the insect kingdom especially the bulkier ones with the bigger claws, which Skarner's design is obviously inspired from, this isn't to say they are any less vicious predators it just means they rely on close combat with their claws for things like crushing, or keeping enemies at bay, a lot more than they do their venom. Having tougher skin in a fight is always going to help, and that works with the crystal theme, bc crystals are hard and can be sharp.
His playstyle just isn't fun for u, maybe bc he's not for u, but also bc in this meta he's forced to build tanky and not play as aggressively as when he COULD bc straight dmg.
https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/skin-champion-concepts/Y2Bu5udu-skarner-rework-give-the-scorpion-poison-and-let-him-dive
