One of the strongest returning metas after the 11.12 update is Vladimir 3 Archangels combined with a Rebirth composition. The damage potential of this champion, paired with Soraka, Lissandra, and later Ivern and Heimerdinger, can be considered an “immortal” combo. However, the downside of this composition is that Vladimir only deals single-target damage, which means it still hasn’t fully unleashed the power of the Archangels Staff and the Dark Archangels Staff.
The weakness of this composition is that by the late game, Vladimir will struggle against the power of other compositions and can easily be burst down and controlled to death. Not to mention, the inability of other champions like Soraka or Heimerdinger to perform optimally without items makes it challenging to harness the full potential of these champions. So, if we need to replace Heimerdinger, who would be the most viable option? The answer is Darius, the 5-cost champion from the Shadow Isles composition.
With Darius, this champion will ensure that he is sturdier than Vladimir since Darius also belongs to the Knight trait (providing damage block when the trait is activated). The second, and more important, aspect is Darius’s damage output. Although this champion has attack damage, the additional health and ability power proportional to healing allow Darius to stack these two stats continuously. Unless Darius is controlled to death, otherwise, this champion can turn defeat into victory at any moment. In fact, if he is too disadvantaged, it could even lead to a draw between both sides.
The weakness of this composition is that Darius is a 5-cost champion, so he will typically only appear at level 7, making this a composition that aims to reach level 8 as quickly as possible. However, Darius is very easy for players to pivot towards creating a sturdy composition to counter metas like Kayle and Karma. In fact, once Darius reaches about 2 stars and has enough 3 Archangels (at least 1 Dark Archangels), even if Kayle uses “Blade of the Exalted” continuously, it won’t do anything to this champion.
Of course, this will only be a meta for fun in case players are struggling to find a way to replace Vladimir when this champion proves too weak in the late game. But if you have Darius and the right items, don’t hesitate to use him immediately for the best results.