In this 10th season, Riot Games has a tradition of buffing certain items to become overwhelmingly powerful, completely altering the meta of specific champion classes. Previously, we saw the Fire Cloak meta that made tank champions excessively strong, followed by the return of Fighters with the Sword of the Unknown. Now, in patch 10.11, the global servers are reporting that the Phantom Blade is becoming extremely dominant.
On the Korean server, a plethora of movement-speed-dependent Fighters like Darius, Jax, Sett, Tryndamere, Yasuo… as well as traditional Marksmen are abusing this item. The reason is quite clear: the 2% additional movement speed in patch 10.11 seems small, but it is incredibly significant for champions that require agile and continuous movement in combat.
So why is only the Phantom Blade so dominant when the entire critical item line received buffs? Let’s do a simple calculation: most champions in League of Legends have a base movement speed of 300. With the 7% increase from the Phantom Blade, you gain an additional 21 movement speed. When attacking enemies, you receive an extra 7%, or another 21 movement speed, totaling 42 movement speed during fights.
Thus, with just one critical item, you gain movement speed equivalent to two pairs of boots. Meanwhile, other items, while also increasing movement speed, provide damage capabilities rather than pushing champion speed to such high levels as the Phantom Blade. An item that increases both attack power and movement speed significantly, what more could we ask for from the Phantom Blade?
Coincidentally, such champions are monsters in solo queue, most notably Darius and Tryndamere, who can chase down opponents until they are defeated. This strength means that Marksmen, who rely heavily on basic attacks, become significantly stronger. A prime example is Lucian, whose build incorporating the Phantom Blade has a much higher win rate compared to conventional builds.
Of course, the core nature of items from the Blade line doesn’t directly increase attack stats; instead, you need core damage items to fully unleash the power of the Phantom Blade. If you are playing as a Marksman, after acquiring 1-2 core damage items, you should immediately consider getting the Phantom Blade. For Fighters, it can be the second item since these champions deal significant damage early on.
Currently, the Vietnamese server has not updated to patch 10.11, but with other servers, especially Korea, gradually becoming the League of Phantom Blades, players can look forward to utilizing this inexpensive yet extremely powerful item in the near future.