Why Swain no longer being crippled makes League as a whole worse
Old Swain was a very unique character within the context of Runeterra. He was a crippled old man who needed a cane to walk, yet he managed to regularly beat up able-bodied champions in the Rift with his magic, which is frankly badass. He rose to the top of the Noxian empire through sheer wits and cunning alone. His mere existance elevated Noxus from that place where everyone is a brute and the guy with the bigger sword wins, to a place where all forms of strength are respected: not just brute strength, but magic and smarts too.
And can I talk for a bit about how his demon arm isn't a real disability? It feels like what I like to call "BS disabilities," or disabilities that are actually a power fantasy. Sure, he lost an arm, but he replaced it with another, more powerful arm that's still perfectly functional for everyday tasks such as feeding birds (as opposed to something like Urgot's machinegun arm that can only ever be used as a weapon). Old Swain beating you up despite his limp was badass because it showed he could overcome a physical disadvantage with his magic and still be as effective in combat as anyone. New Swain beating you up with his demon arm is another display of Noxians beating you up with superior brute force (brute magic?) and is a lot less interesting.
In conclusion, Swain no longer being crippled makes him a less interesting character because rather than overcome adversity to reach his current position, he straight up got a power upgrade in the form of a demon arm he uses to beat up people with Palpatine rays. It makes Noxus more one-dimensional by removing a respected figure with a physical disability that proved they valued more than just raw physical strength, which makes them look like dumb brutes once more. And it makes League of Legends as a whole less varied by removing a unique character that could hold his own against more physically powerful opponents despite his disadvantage with a generic Machiavellian anti-villain with a super hand.
