Currently, the community of League of Legends is focused on the World Championship (Worlds) 2023 while counting down the days until the first match of the Play-in stage. In this Worlds, many predictions suggest that the playstyle revolving around Statikk Shiv will still be very popular. Despite Riot having implemented 6 nerfs to this item, it seems that Statikk Shiv is still “hot”. In fact, many players have discovered ways to combine Statikk Shiv with various champions beyond LeBlanc.
However, with Statikk Shiv wreaking havoc on Summoner’s Rift, many League of Legends players are also hoping that Riot can “intervene” with items that have almost disappeared alongside Statikk Shiv. Notably, in an era where “there are over a dozen mobile champions” as we see today, a hard counter item for agile champions that has been mentioned, despite being long gone, is the Frozen Mallet.
One player commented on Frozen Mallet: “With the addition of many mobile champions to League of Legends since Frozen Mallet was removed, it’s time for this item to have a place in the game again. The main issue is that ranged champions like Vayne and Gnar used this item too effectively. But then Riot removed it, leaving choices for these champions almost non-existent.”
However, players also noted that Frozen Mallet previously only slowed opponents by about 20% – 40%. Therefore, if this item returns to League of Legends, Riot needs to make significant adjustments. After all, only a few champions like Vayne, Gnar, or Urgot interacted best with Frozen Mallet.
This is, of course, just an idea. Statikk Shiv has certainly undergone many tests before being reintroduced to Summoner’s Rift. But the truth is that League of Legends currently needs more items to deal with the increasing number of mobile champions. In such a context, Frozen Mallet could be a good option.