In the current patch 10.4, over half a dozen Fighters and Assassins have been given the ability to jungle by Riot Games. The effectiveness is yet to be seen, but at least it adds more options for this role. However, new faces like Zed and Talon seem insufficient for Riot, as they continue to grant jungle capabilities to Poppy and Brand in the upcoming patch 10.5.
Alongside expanding the jungle champion pool, the two top lane titans Ornn and Sett are set to be nerfed in the next version. The Goat God and the “Chad” are so strong that they, along with Mordekaiser, dominate the top lane tier lists. The champions to be adjusted were revealed by Riot’s Gameplay Design Lead Mark Yetter a few hours ago.
System Changes
The Tiamat and the Titanic Hydra have been buffed.
The Blade of the Ruined King has been buffed but only for melee champions.
Turret shields will now take more damage from melee champions.
The Spellthief’s Edge and the Spectral Scythe: Effects only activate when allies are nearby.
Boots of Mobility have been nerfed.
Boots of Silver have been buffed.
Nerfs
Ornn and Sett will be nerfed.
Rammus and Amumu will revert some of their previous stats (buffed in patch 10.4).
Blitzcrank, Bard.
Buffs
Kayn, Graves, Lissandra, Neeko, Twisted Fate, Sivir, Kalista, Alistar, Sona (restoring stats nerfed in patch 10.4).
Jungle Pool
Darius, Poppy, Mordekaiser, Brand.
Updates on the Tiamat, Titanic Hydra, and Blade of the Ruined King can be found HERE. As for the two items, Spellthief’s Edge and Spectral Scythe, this nerf directly targets the Support playstyle in the solo lane (specifically Sona) which has been dominating in ranked. Another reason is that weak lane champions exploit the money and stats from these two items to surpass the laning phase.
In the nerf section, Ornn and Sett are two names that are very understandable, as they are both dominating the top lane and even strong when going mid, from patch 10.3 to 10.4. Although designed as tanky champions, their good damage output makes them stand out from the rest. Perhaps a nerf to the damage of these two champions is necessary.
In the buff section, we can see that most of the names that are getting buffs are either too weak compared to the average (Twisted Fate, Lissandra) or can’t compete with champions in the same position (Kayn, Graves in the jungle, Lissandra, Neeko mid, or Alistar support). Kalista is the only surprising name as this champion is making a strong comeback in most tournaments and is not weak at all.
The most interesting part is definitely the jungle position, as Darius and Mordekaiser after being buffed in patch 10.4 still do not show much effectiveness, so they continue to be strengthened. The biggest surprise is Poppy and Brand being added to the jungle capability, potentially including features that deal damage to jungle monsters. Poppy in the jungle is not too unfamiliar with her strong gank ability and good team fight presence; however, Brand in the jungle is a completely different story.
The only reason for a Mage to jungle is to safely scale up when their laning ability is no longer strong, Karthus is a prime example. Meanwhile, Brand has not gone mid for a long time, so there’s no reason to bring him into the jungle. Moreover, Brand’s skill cooldowns are relatively high, and his energy cost is significant, making it quite difficult to farm jungle with skills. If Riot wants to buff him in the jungle position, they must lower stats above, or it might lead to Brand returning to the mid lane instead of jungling as Riot intends.
