Aatrox
In Season 4, Aatrox, along with Sejuani, is one of the strongest Vanguard champions with incredibly powerful crowd control abilities. Right from level 1 star, Aatrox can pull two key enemy units out of their safe positions. Thus, this champion has a significant impact on the strength of the team composition and the outcome of the rounds right from the moment you purchase Aatrox. Thanks to Aatrox’s dominance, team compositions like Vanguard – Legend and Cultists are currently ruling the meta.
However, when we move to Season 5, Riot made a drastic “nerf” to Aatrox by turning this champion into a 1-cost unit. Not only that, but Aatrox’s ability to deal significant damage or provide strong crowd control has completely vanished. In Season 5, this champion only has the ability to deal damage to a single target and self-heal. This means that Aatrox in Season 5 only plays the role of a decent frontline champion in the early game, lacking the previous overwhelming power.
Sett
Since the update of Season 4, Sett has consistently been among the strongest 5-cost champions. With an enormous amount of damage from his ultimate, Arena Demolition, Sett can literally wipe out the entire enemy team. Additionally, the effect from the Brawler trait also provides Sett with significant true damage. Therefore, this “true thug” can completely help players turn the tide in rounds that seem guaranteed to lose.
However, moving to Season 5, Sett is now only priced at 2 gold with a not-so-impressive skill. Essentially, the new skill that Sett possesses in Season 5 is a worse version compared to Vi’s skill in Season 4. At least Vi’s attacks reduce armor by a percentage and are effective in the late game. However, Sett’s new skill, Beastly Strike, only reduces armor by a fixed amount. Clearly, Sett in Season 5 only plays the role of a tank in the early game and cannot “carry the team” anymore.
Lee Sin
To be fair, Lee Sin in Season 5 is not weak, but the unpredictability of this champion is significantly lower compared to the Season 4 version. Currently, Lee Sin is a 5-cost champion with incredible strength in the late game. Lee Sin’s strength lies in his ability to take down overly tanky units by kicking enemy champions off the battlefield. In fact, Guardian Angel cannot save units that are hit by Lee Sin’s skill.
In Season 5, Lee Sin is now priced at 3 gold with the skill Earthquake. This skill simply deals magic damage and reduces the attack speed of opponents. Therefore, Lee Sin in Season 5 will play a supportive role for Warrior and Mage compositions. With such a simplistic skill, it is evident that Lee Sin in Teamfight Tactics Season 5 no longer has the game-changing ability like the current Season 4 version.
