Viego
In patch 11.17 of Teamfight Tactics, Viego faced a significant nerf at 1-star level. Specifically, the increased damage per second after this unit used its ability was reduced from 100% to 50%. This greatly diminished Viego’s ability to take down enemy champions and snowball fights at 1-star level. Nevertheless, this champion remains one of the two pieces rated S (extremely strong) according to Metatft.com, with an exceptionally high pick rate and average placement.
The terrifying aspect of Viego is that this unit can disable the enemy’s main damage source for 5 seconds right at 1-star level. Even if Viego cannot take down an enemy champion, this piece still significantly reduces the amount of damage your team has to endure. Therefore, even when Riot nerfs Viego’s damage, this character remains too strong and is utilized by many players, even when not playing a Warrior or Assassin team.
Lulu
Even before patch 11.17, Lulu had already faced heavy nerfs starting from update 11.16b. The reduction of the duration of the Transform ability to 1.5 seconds at all levels has diminished this unit’s versatility compared to before. Combined with the heavy nerf to Tristana, the Demon team has lost a lot of power. However, the rise of teams dealing high magic damage has kept Lulu from being “forgotten” as this character possesses a highly valuable Mystic trait.
We need to remember that the Angel (Vel’Koz as the main damage dealer) and Sorcerer (centered around Heimerdinger, Teemo) compositions have become significantly stronger in patch 11.17. This is due to players having more time to accumulate gold and upgrade their compositions rather than having to roll early to counter opponents using strong 3-cost damage dealers. This makes a moderately priced Mystic unit, easy to upgrade, and with a highly versatile ability like Lulu very popular despite this champion being nerfed.
Miss Fortune
With the rise of the Miss Fortune – Reaper composition at the start of season 5.5, Riot Games has continuously nerfed this unit’s ability damage. However, with the new playstyle of the Reaper trait, Miss Fortune proves to be the perfect piece to snowball matches, even after being nerfed. This is because this champion’s ability already has built-in healing reduction, and players do not necessarily have to build a Warmog’s Cloak or Morello’s Evil Tome.
Moreover, this effect also helps other main damage dealers of the Reaper team deal effective damage and increase their chances of victory. With the new Reaper effect, winning also grants damage stats to the composition, giving players an advantage in strength during battles. Therefore, even if Riot nerfs Miss Fortune’s damage, this unit remains irreplaceable in the Reaper team.