Rework Concept: Elise, the Spider Queen

So currently I feel as though Elise has lost her identity in terms of being able to focus on a specialized role in game and then perform that role well throughout the game.

If she builds tanky, all she really is used for is her cocoon and Q-R-Q combo or Liandry's poke. If she builds assassin or bruiser, she has the potential to dominate lane, but will inevitably get caught out in a teamfight and blow up. In either case, late game sees her role terribly diminish thanks to her lack of a cohesive kit. The combination of abilities that she has doesn't really give much in terms of cohesion, aside from the general "Spider mage" feel. hQ/sQ is a ranged poke/melee execute that scales with enemy life. This works for either bruiser or assassin...except the raw damage doesn't scale, only the %life. hW is an AoE poke or point blank spell that does a fair amount of damage and is dodgeable. Average nuke skillshot, slow on the travel time sW is an AS steroid for her and spiderlings that also heals Elise...and doesn't really fit the theme of her kit much in my opinion. hE is her sole hard CC, cocoon. Very thematic, very effective. Arguably the best skill she has for team play and it doesn't even do damage. sE is rappel, and is used for chasing, escaping, and disengaging from trades.

She has lots of utility, but the kit doesn't really allow for her to do any one thing particularly well because of that. And so, I propose a potential rework.

First thing's first: Elise is no longer ranged. Both her human and spider forms are melee in this iteration. Obviously this would take some re-rigging of her model to make use of that feature, but I feel that for this role, ranged attacks just don't fit it. Second: Elise would now be set as a Magic Damage fighter that excels at fighting in her own dictated areas and keeping opponents there OR an assassin that can entrap enemies with her webs and spiderlings for quick disposal.

Passive: Fast Twitch Every 12 seconds, Elise's next attack deals X(+40% AP) bonus magic damage and stuns her target for .5 seconds. Reasoning: Elise, having lost ranged poke, needs a bit of oomph to add to her trading. Additionally, this helps her in setting up combos or carrying them out while disrupting enemies.

Q: Envenomed Fangs (60/70/80/90/100 mana, 12 second CD) Passive: Elise's basic attacks and Fast Twitch apply a poison DoT to her targets, dealing 5/10/15/20/25 (+15% AP) over 5 seconds. This DoT can be stacked up to 5 times for a total DoT of 25/50/75/100/125 (+75% AP), after which the duration is refreshed upon additional attacks. Active: Elise sprays her venom in aerosol form, poisoning enemies in a small cone (max range 350) in front of her, dealing 20/30/40/50/60 (+20% AP) magic damage per second for 3 seconds. Elise's basic attacks extend the duration of this poison by 1 second (max 4 times, total of 7 seconds).

Reasoning: Elise's bread and butter skill for bullying. Allow her to stack up a few attacks and you'll shortly be feeling the hurt. In order to deal with Elise in lane you'll have to burst her and retreat, rather than engage in extended trades with her or risk her poison dealing a hefty amount of damage. I've given Elise this ability for both thematic reasons (venomous spider), as well as to establish her identity as a fighter.

W: Spiderling Swarm (80/95/110/125/140 mana, 5 second CD) Passive: Elise gains a Spiderling charge every time she kills an enemy. Elise can hold a maximum of 2/4/6/8/10 charges (Minion, monster, or champion) Active: Elise consumes all Spiderling charges and summons up a spiderling for each. Spiderlings have Y health and deal 15(+10% Elise's AP) in physical damage on attack. Spiderlings last up to 6/7/8/9/10 seconds and grant 5 gold if killed.

Reasoning: Spiderlings are very thematic for The Spider Queen, and I wouldn't feel right taking them entirely out. This ability can be used for a quick kill as Assassin Elise, or to path block enemies if a tankier route is taken. Additionally, Spiderling Swarm increases Elise's pushing power, giving her an option of split-pushing if left alone that she doesn't really have at the moment.

E: Spider's Silk (70 mana, 22/19/16/13/10 second CD) Elise flings a strand of spider's silk out (700 range, 65 width). If it strikes an enemy they are slowed by 15/20/25/30/35% for up to 2 seconds. During this time, Elise can tug on the string causing one of two possible outcomes. If the enemy has more maximum life than Elise: Elise is pulled to the enemy's location. If Elise has more maximum life than the enemy: The enemy is pulled to Elise.

Reasoning: Cocoon was very thematic, and rappel was much needed mobility. While the new Elise already has a stun, she needs to get within melee range to use it. Spider's Silk grants her two unique ways to do so. As a tanky build, Elise can keep enemies in melee range, prolonging a doomed fight for a foe. As an Assassin, she can quickly catch a fleeing enemy and deal a death blow. In either case, Spider's silk retains Elise's ability to quickly flee into the jungle by snagging Gromp or another large monster should she need to escape an enemy's grasp.

R: Queen's Domain (100 mana, X second CD) Elise shapeshifts into her Spider Form and extends a large web from her current position. While on her web, Elise gains movement speed and her abilities are empowered. Duration: 10/12/14 seconds Movement Boost: 30/45/60 Spider Form Bonus: Open to ideas Ability Empowering: Q: The active portion of Envenomed Fangs now deals True Damage and its maximum length is extended by 3 seconds W: Increases the number of Spiderlings summoned by 2/4/6 and increases their movement and attack speed. E: Spider's Silk now extends in a cone from Elise, snaring all enemies hit for 2 seconds. Elise cannot tug the thread. Spider's Silk also extends the web.

Reasoning: We have Elise as Queen of the Spiders...but no real "Queen-like" abilities. This changes that, granting her a zone to fight in similar to Trundle's Frozen Domain and empowering her abilities so that she can reliably fight against other Fighter class enemies.

For tanky Elise builds you would, as before, focus on some forms of magic penetration in order to empower your trading potential. In the Jungle you'd have freedom to choose the AP/health/AS empowerments based on your playstyle, and to kit yourself accordingly. Tanky Elise would specialize in keeping enemies in range of attacks in order to bully them out of lane or finish them in a jungle fight. Assassin Elise can initiate with Spider's Silk and deal appalling damage with a Lich Bane empowered Fast Twitch in late game. Additionally, her poison would allow for you to pull back when the enemy is low of life and simply let the DoT kill them.

Countering Elise in lane is fairly straightforward, as a Specter's Cowl can seriously mitigate her early damage and any form of burst and retreat leaves Elise scrambling to make up the difference due to a lack of any sustain.

I feel as though this rework might better improve on Elise's ability to be balanced as well as solidifying her identity and giving both her and her opponents counterplay potential.