In the history of League of Legends, there have been numerous “overhauls” that Riot has dedicated to various champions. Many instances only involved visual updates, but almost all included a complete rework of their skill sets. There are many notable names, after rework, that have become a source of pride for Riot, such as Soraka and Ryze… However, recently, several champions that were reworked have not changed much in appearance, yet continue to “disappear” in Summoner’s Rift.
Kayle (2019)
The first name and perhaps the most notable in this regard is Kayle. Reworked in 2019 alongside her sister Morgana, their fates turned out to be completely opposite. While Morgana has proven to be versatile, even being played frequently in a position no one thought she was capable of, the jungle, Kayle completely vanished just one year after her rework.
Initially, Kayle was extremely strong in the late game after her rework, being used quite frequently, leading many players to believe that her time had come. However, “joy was short-lived” and after a while, Kayle was nerfed and continued to be “forgotten”.
A small consolation for the Righteous One is that she is always a hot pick whenever she appears in the game mode Teamfight Tactics. Being almost always classified among the expensive champions, this might be considered a “compensatory action” for Kayle after she was “neglected” in Summoner’s Rift.
Fiddlestick (2020)
Reworked alongside Volibear, while the God of Frejlord became a hot pick in both the jungle and top lane in professional tournaments, Fiddlestick completely vanished. Players hardly remember that the Ancient Fear was also reworked, but is hardly used, especially in professional matches. In the most recent update in the Korean rank, Fiddlestick was picked only 1.44% of the time – a number that is far too low compared to the expectations of both players and Riot when reworking this champion. This number is even lower than that of Warwick and Taliyah, who have long been nearly forgotten.
The explanation for this can only be that Fiddlestick’s skill set is still not truly suitable in the professional arena and high-ranked matches. Fiddlestick’s Crowstorm has a cooldown of 140 seconds at level 6, while this can be seen as the champion’s “signature move”. At a time when fights occur continuously, a cooldown of 140 seconds for a skill intended to initiate combat is excessive.
Moreover, Fiddlestick also requires resources to be effective, while other jungle champions like Xin Zhao or Jarvan IV do not demand as much. The post-rework out of the meta is the most logical explanation for Fiddlestick’s disappearance. Some even noticed that Riot didn’t bother to change Fiddlestick’s splash art on the League of Legends homepage, even though the champion had been reworked for nearly a year.
Rammus (2021)
Almost a year since Rammus was revealed with his new skills after the rework, and the result is… nothing has changed. Armordillo still cannot return to Summoner’s Rift even though his revealed skill set indicated that he would become a formidable champion with wide area knock-ups, and “buffing Rammus a bit at high ranks,” as Riot shared.
As a result, Rammus currently is only picked 2.2% in Korean ranks from Platinum onwards. Armordillo, aside from rolling and rolling, has become a literal “mobile punching bag” with no other reason to be picked. However, throughout seasons 10 to 11, the majority of teams have been utilizing marksmen in the top lane or strong engage champions. Thus, it is no different from a “death sentence” for Rammus.
Nevertheless, if the tank top lane playstyle returns, Rammus might regain his usefulness, although in reality, champions like Gragas or even Malphite, if utilized again as tanks, would contribute significantly more than Rammus.