Hypothetical Malphite "Vanguard" Rework
This is admittedly something that I just sorta came up with on the fly, due to a moment of inspiration. Malphite is one of what Riot considers the "Vanguard" class, initiator tanks. Riot is currently deciding on whether to do a class update for Divers, Assassins, or Vanguards. While I would personally prefer to see Assassins get some love, I... ended up having this idea.
Passive: Granite Shield If Malphite hasn't taken damage from an enemy in the last 10/8/6 seconds, Malphite will generate a shield equal to up to 5% + (1% per 75 armor) of his bonus health while moving. Malphite generates more Granite Shield the faster he moves.
Q: Seismic Shard First Cast: Malphite begins gathering up earth from around him to form a boulder. Moving while charging this ability will cause it to charge up faster, but Malphite cannot cast abilities or attack while charging. Second Cast: Malphite throws the gathered earth as a boulder, its size and impact radius being determined by how much earth Malphite gathered before throwing. All damaged enemies are inflicted with a 20/25/30/35/40% slow that decays over 2 seconds. If Seismic Shard is fully charged, the slow effect is increased by 50%
W: Brutal Strikes Passive: Malphite gains 10/12.5/15/17.5/20% bonus Armor Active: Malphite's basic attacks deal bonus damage equal to 2/4/6/8% (+1% per 125 armor) of the target's current health as bonus damage in an area. For every enemy champion struck, Malphite generates 2% of Granite Shield.
E: Ground Slam Malphite slams the ground, sending a shockwave in the target direction that damages enemies. If Ground Slam strikes terrain it causes a landslide in the opposite direction, dealing additional damage and Grounding all enemies in the targeted area.
R: Unstoppable Force Malphite charges in the targeted direction. Upon reaching his destination Malphite deals magic damage to all enemies in the vicinity and knocks them up for 1.5 seconds. Unstoppable Force gains bonus damage equal to 70/85/100% of Malphite's current Granite Shield amount.
The idea with this is that well, currently Malphite is only really known for his ult and not much else. Aside from that iconic ult the rest of his kit is rather boring and not worth remembering unless you fight it, in which case you realize just how frustrating it can sometimes be, since Malphite doesn't have to aim any of his abilities and at times can just stay latched onto you forever. Or nuke you with AP Malphite shenanigans.
The idea with this hypothetical kit is that Malphite is the armor-scaling Vanguard. While lacking in immediate burst and upfront damage, Malphite thrives in initiating fights for his allies, be it through Seismic Shard, Ground Slam, or his ultimate Unstoppable Force, and then powering through them by battering the enemy tanks and bruisers (and anyone clumped up with them) via the sustained damage and shield generation from Brutal Strikes. But while Malphite's greatest offense is his defense, that strength is also his weakness. Malphite has all the tools to start a fight, but if he can't commit to one early on then enemy poke will eat through Granite Shield, causing Unstoppable Force to lose a significant amount of its damage. And if his team can't follow through, then Malphite will quickly succumb to any follow-up CC and damage that results from the counter attack of his enemies. Magic damage also hurts like the dickens, as being forced to build MR causes Malphite to have to suffer significant sacrifices in order to survive arcane assaults.
TL;DR more means of initiation than just ultimate, sustained magic damage and kiting ruins Malphite's day.
So.... yeah. Thoughts?
