[Champion Concept] Polemos, The Standard of War

Some of you may have seen this post before; I'm reposting with ability changes and much more in-depth explanation of synergy, build and counters

Polemos (pronounced poe-leh-mohs) is rumored to be immortal. However, nobody has ever seen past the visor of his helm to confirm that it is the same man - or being, if that's more fitting. Some speculate that Polemos is simply a set of armor and a style of fighting passed down through some bloodline or tribe, though this belief is not held by any that have actually witnessed him. Appearing only in times of massive war, and with no clear allegiance, Polemos fights with a level of focus, passion and skill that legends say could never be taught, could only belong to a being as old and practiced as war itself. Though his weapons have been replaced to keep with the times, his armor has only been adapted. No dent or scratch ever seems to permanently disfigure it; some assert that it has never taken damage in the first place. As firearms have become more and more reliable, Polemos discarded close-ranged weapons and returned to archery, with a power and consistency that gunsmiths hope one day to replicate.

Polemos is a long-ranged marksman with a knack for shredding healthy targets and punishing predictable engages. (Polemos' auto range is similar to or )

Abilities

Passive: Intimidate

Polemos can not critically strike.

All enemy champions damaged by Polemos are Intimidated for 2 seconds. While Intimidated, enemies take a percentage of their current health as physical damage over time when facing Polemos. The percentage scales with Polemos' critical strike chance, starting at 0% (plus a small flat base damage).

Q: Gromp Extract/Foresight

Gromp Extract: Polemos channels for a second, poisoning an arrow. Polemos' next auto-attack has increased range and damage, and applies a slow.

Foresight: Q can be pressed again on the ground to instead fire the arrow into the air. In 1.5 seconds, the arrow will land where Polemos targeted, rooting and dealing extra damage if it hits a target. This should have a very small hit box, requiring accurate prediction or a cc chain to be landed. Foresight has a larger range than Gromp Extract, and places a target (visible to allies) where it will land.

W: Scattershot Dispensary

Polemos throws a round device with a target painted on the top. For several seconds, Polemos can auto-attack the Scattershot Dispensary, causing it to disperse crossbow bolts, dealing a percentage of his AD as AoE damage to all enemies near it (I was thinking everything within about 400 units of the Scattershot Dispensary). Scattershot Dispensary can be attacked with Gromp Extract to apply the slow to the area as well (Scattershot Dispensary can also be attacked with Foresight, but only for the increased range and delayed landing; it will still only slow instead of rooting). Scattershot Dispensary can be reactivated to detonate it, dealing a small amount of magic damage to nearby enemies. Scattershot Dispensary is untargetable to anyone but Polemos.

E: Eye For Weakness

Passive: While Eye For Weakness is off cooldown, Polemos deals on-hit magic damage (scaling with AP).

Active: Polemos unsheathes a hidden blade and quickly sweeps it up, briefly stuning all enemies near melee range (I was thinking .5 seconds level 1, 1 second level 5). This should have a very long cooldown, making it a last resort.

R: The Fear In Their Step

For several seconds, Polemos recieves a large attack speed buff, and Intimidated enemies take percent maximum health damage instead of percent current health.

The Fear In Their Step uses stacks that are acquired over time. Two stacks can be stored at once, and a stack is gained on kill or assist. If Polemos already has two stacks and gets a kill or assist, Eye For Weakness' cooldown is partially reset. The Fear In Their Step can be activated with zero available stacks if Eye For Weakness is available; this puts Eye For Weakness on cooldown.

Strengths

• Long-ranged
• Percent current health damage to shred tanks
• Huge zoning potential from Intimidate, Gromp Extract/Foresight and Scattershot Dispensary
• Can punish weak engagers like , , and by slowing with Gromp Extract and kiting while Intimidate shreds health
• Scattershot Dispensary gives AoE, AD damage that can apply Intimidate
• Strong harass/trading in lane by poking your opponent with Gromp Extract/Foresight
• Good at setting up reset parties for , and
• Eye For Weakness can interupt channels, and help set up your support to hook/bind/knock-up the target
• Versatile build paths (see Build)

Weaknesses

• Immobile
• Poor burst, because critical strike damage is replaced by a DoT that is avoidable by facing away from Polemos
• Requires time to "set up" for fights (channeling Gromp Extract, placing Scattershot Dispensary, saving ult stacks)
• Somewhat reset dependent to keep The Fear In Their Step active, but poor at executing since he depends on percent current health damage, and his passive doesn't work on fleeing enemies
• Very short stun with a long cooldown, that sacrifices damage and a possible ult stack
• Very little answer to assassins (see counterplay) and less HP-dependent tanks like or .

Build

Because of his built-in attack speed steroid and crit/AD scaling, Polemos would likely benefit from a similar build to or , prioritizing AD and crit over attack speed. Like , building > when ahead early could be very strong, getting the most out of Intimidate. Intimidate also serves as a very easy way to apply stacks. Full build Polemos could be something like:

or

Alternatively, against squishier teams, Polemos could potentially benefit from a for better burst/flat damage, as well as increasing the damage of Eye For Weakness' on-hit from the AP scaling. In this case, Polemos may make use of a little more attack speed in his build to further increase his burst/Eye For Weakness' damage.

Synergy/Team Composition

Polemos is a strong addition to any siege comp. His long range and zoning potential allows him to whittle away turrets, and when alongside a , or , few would want to try to stop him.

Like all immobile ADC's, teamfighting with Polemos is dependent on a strong frontline/peel. Having a or to delay their bruiser or tank's approach is more time for Intimidate to wear them down, and coordinating Foresight with Howling Gale or Concussive Blows will make anyone think twice before trying to dive you again. Meanwhile, if you can get Scattershot Dispensary into an or ult, activating The Fear In Their Step will allow you to shred their frontline enough that nobody will be able to go for you in the first place (this combo becomes 1000x scarier if you have a or )

Counterplay

As previously stated, Polemos does not have much burst potential. This, combined with his immobility, makes him an obvious target for enemy assassins. Eye For Weakness, while valuable for setting up a hook or tornado, offers little protection when peel is not available, and will surely not stop or from killing you. Polemos also benefits greatly from being able to predict an enemies approach; being able to pre-emptively channel Gromp Extract is important, and landing Foresight on an assassin could be the end of them, but neither of these things provide any help if you get flanked or ambushed before they're prepared, or after they've been spent.

Being able to make Polemos burn Eye For Weakness early in a fight is also very valuable, since this causes him to lose his on-hit damage, and no longer have the stun or extra ult stack available.