Annie
The champion Annie can be seen as a rather unfortunate name in League of Legends. This girl possesses a skill set that can be considered somewhat… outdated due to its passivity. Countering Annie and her teddy bear is quite easy. In current metas that favor continuous team fights, champions with high damage output make it so that even if Annie manages to summon Tibbers, it won’t have much impact. Even when Annie is fed, she still lacks the mobility of other popular mid-laners like LeBlanc, Azir, or Ryze.
However, it must be said that Annie’s “disappearance” has been the shortest in this list. In the 2021 season, she was also tested in several professional matches, in the hands of players like Flandre and Cryin. But after those not-so-successful experiments, Annie went back to being “off the radar”. Riot has shown favoritism by reworking her skills and splash art. But perhaps this is just to make players further… remember the days when Annie was still roaming freely in Summoner’s Rift.
Warwick
For a player who just created a new account and plays in normal or low-ranked matches, Warwick is a name that often appears. However, the truth is, as players start to have access to more jungle champions, like Lee Sin, Vi, Ekko, etc., Warwick is immediately put aside. In fact, in the current Summoner’s Rift, it is quite difficult to see Warwick, even for new account players. Warwick has only a 1.84% pick rate in Korean ranks, higher than some outdated champions and some that are not meant for jungle.
The reason for this is similar to Annie; Warwick’s skill set is too passive, relying on opponents to be effective. Careful players or those with high skill can completely counter his Blood Scent. If Warwick’s “prey” is well-protected, his engage spells can easily turn into a “double-edged sword” that brings this champion to the death screen faster than usual.
Skarner
The last name is Skarner – a champion originally meant for the jungle but currently just waiting to be “sacrificed”. New players in League of Legends surely have little concept of this Brackern champion beyond dark jokes related to Seraphine. For long-time League players, it’s simply understood that if Skarner is not properly reworked, this name will continue to fade into oblivion.
In an era where jungle champions have an increasingly profound impact on gameplay and match dynamics, Skarner’s disappearance is understandable. In fact, this champion has not appeared for so long that it is very hard to recall the last time Skarner was in a professional match.
But fortunately for this Brackern champion, Skarner has been included in Riot’s rework list coming up soon. And the League community certainly hopes for a strong and effective return for Skarner, unlike some names that have been reworked but still faded away, like Fiddlesticks, for example.