Who do you all think is stronger right now? both seem fun to me for different reasons, both can be very tanky and neither use mana ( which is always good in my eyes) Also, if you could, give a reason or two why you chose the one you did. Thanks!
I love both of them. They both have roles in the jungle and top lane. However Shen can also be a type of support. Aatrox could try support but it would not be very effective. Shen is great when scaling with hp so a smite top for cinderhulk does wonders for him. He has a built in teleport and a taunt to help protect carries. Late game, he is a monster to try to fight past to get to their squishies. Aatrox on the other hand, has more dps built in. He is great for dueling given his w and passive. He falls off late game a bit due to his squishiness. There has to be a balance between dps and tank for him. you really don't want to choose between the two. Go damage and you die quickly. Go tank and you deal literally no damage. All you can do is stand there.
Both have different playstyles and both are very fun to play. Personally I love Shen more just because I love being a frontline tank and he is one of the best. However, most people in ranked do not understand Shen, and as a consequence, fail to engage when Shen ults one of them. Solo Q....you are better off with aatrox.
I'm not a huge fan of either right now, but they're both pretty fun. Since I don't have a personal favorite, I'll list my pros and cons for each of them.
Aatrox:
Pros:
Can build damage easily
Excellent tower diver
Very strong early game
great level 6 all-in kill potential
great in long, drawn out, low burst fights (favorable in the current meta)
excellent split pusher with Hydra
looks completely badass
Cons:
falls off late game unless he has a substantial lead
unreliable escape
an "all or nothing" champion (once he's into a fight, he is usually not getting out unless the enemies die)
when built durable, deals low damage
when built damage heavy, has a tendency to get CC chained and bursted.
Shen:
Pros:
strong lane sustain
high utility
game changing ultimate
a good taunt can win a fight
can deal moderate damage while quite tanky
supreme map presence with R and teleport
Cons:
Awful mix of scalings (most are AP and nearly worthless on him)
kit screams split pusher, but he actually sucks at it.
missing taunt leaves you vulnerable and as good as silenced for the rest of a fight
doesn't have great synergy with most items
looks super derpy when he walks
Stand United /endthread - i'm a huge Shen fanboy though, and I find Aatrox great at things that someone else doesn't do better.
I like aatrox, but she has to be one of my favorite tanks. He is the old kind of meat-sponge tank that can still deal our some damage over time. She requires some communication though, especially with that ultimate. I've played shen as a tanky top, a bruiser jungle, and utilitank support. Heck I've even played AP shen mid and it was awesome. if you want someone with huge map presence and global pressure then go shen, if you want a dude that slices faster than a sushi chef go aatrox.
