Sett
In the last two patches, 11.16 and 11.17, Riot Games has continuously increased Sett’s durability. Specifically, this champion has received buffs to his base health, armor, and magic resistance, making him an exceptionally good frontline unit early in the game. However, these changes are still not enough as Sett currently has abysmal statistics with a 3% purchase rate and an average position of 5.93 (according to Metatft.com). This unit seems incompatible with the current meta, which focuses on saving gold and playing around super strong late-game carries.
We need to remember that champions dealing damage over time, such as Lucian, Kayle, Jax, and Aphelios, are still dominating the current meta. If your frontline champion only has a large amount of health, that is not enough to effectively withstand the damage from these types of carries. It’s unfortunate that Sett falls into this unfortunate category, so even with basic stat buffs, our “cool gangster” still can’t break into the meta.
Ziggs
Even when the damage from this unit’s ability was buffed in patch 11.17, Ziggs still couldn’t make a return to the Teamfight Tactics meta, with a mere 1.7% purchase rate (according to Metatft.com). To be fair, Ziggs’ “cold shoulder” has nothing to do with the hyper-roll playstyle. This playstyle still exists in the meta, exemplified by the Vayne – Requiem team, which allows you to possess strong true damage to counter armor and magic resistance traits.
Meanwhile, Ziggs is a pure magic damage dealer and is easily countered by the Mystic trait in the mid and late game. The fact that Ziggs’ ability deals damage to a single target is also a major drawback that keeps this unit from being utilized in the current meta. Perhaps Ziggs only shines in a meta focused on reroll compositions and speeding up the pace of the game from levels 5-6. Currently, the chance for Ziggs to shine is extremely low.
Vladimir
If you didn’t know, since the beginning of Season 5, Vladimir has only received buffs from Riot. This champion hasn’t been nerfed but has an extremely low purchase rate of 1.7% and an average position of 4.71 (according to Metatft.com). At the start of Season 5, Vladimir did become a hot champion when he synergized too well with the Rylai’s Crystal Scepter. However, when Season 5.5 arrived and the Dark Items were removed, Vladimir also vanished from the meta.
In terms of champion quality, Vladimir is perhaps even worse than Ziggs, as this character has a very short attack range and struggles to maintain a safe position to deal damage. Therefore, to “rescue” Vladimir, Riot only has one way: to rework this character entirely. It seems that Vladimir should be adjusted to become a tank champion (after using his ability, he would gain armor and magic resistance, reducing his lifesteal potential) to make this unit more useful for the Spirit or Rebirth compositions.
