Since the arrival of Season 5.5, the Undead composition, which seemed very strong and was expected to be buffed or at least maintain its power with the introduction of Fiddlestick and other champions that weren’t nerfed too much, has turned out to be completely the opposite. In this season, the Undead has many ways to operate but can leave players in despair since just one mistake can lead to a drop from the top ranks to the bottom.
The Struggles of Kalista
The fact is that in the two Undead compositions ranked at tier S and tier A with win rates of 29.6% and 11.7%, respectively, and top 4 placement rates of 70.3% and 52.2%, there is no presence of the Undead champion – the Legionnaire named Kalista. The damage from Piercing Thrust is no longer a concern in the late game, as many sturdy champions can serve as shields, while damage dealers like Lucian, Vel’Koz, or even Senna and Nocturne can easily “blow away” Kalista in an instant.
However, many players want to maximize the health of the Undead Sion as much as possible, so they still keep Kalista in their composition, inadvertently wasting a champion slot that proves to be very ineffective. Essentially, just three champions – Brand, Nunu, and Fiddlestick – are sufficient, and champions like Heimerdinger, Volibear, or Teemo are the real useful damage dealers.
The Disappearance of Ryze
It is a fact that in Season 5, Kalista and Sion the Undead had their moments largely thanks to two main champions: Nunu and Ryze. The ability to deal burst damage and control, as well as quickly eliminate targets, of this duo is undeniable. Moreover, Ryze was even stronger thanks to the Dark Blue Buff, which allowed this champion to cast spells continuously.
In Season 5, the addition of Fiddlestick with the Undead – the Fallen God – brought this composition magic resistance and good healing, but inadvertently, the loss of Ryze diminished the crowd control ability of the Undead. With Sion’s rampage now easily countered, the absence of Ryze makes players nostalgic for a composition that had previously been “unstoppable” in Season 5.
Mistakes from the Strategy of Focusing on Zyra
The Mage class is quite powerful with tremendous magic damage, crowd control, and area damage from names like Brand, Zyra, Ziggs, or Vel’Koz. However, if Zyra is incorporated into an Undead composition and becomes the main source of damage, she is the top reason why this playstyle fails miserably.
Zyra has crowd control, but her damage is insufficient to finish off any target from the mid-game onwards. Therefore, investing items into Zyra is extremely detrimental as it wastes equipment while yielding low effectiveness. Additionally, focusing on two Mages in a 4 Undead composition requires players to spend at least 18 gold for 3-star Brand and 27 gold for 3-star Zyra. Such an economic investment makes it difficult for players to upgrade their composition late in the game, resulting in a waste of resources.
The 4 Undead composition focusing on Brand and Zyra is ranked at tier C with a 3.5% win rate and approximately 35% chance to reach the top 4. Meanwhile, those high-tier Undead compositions even lack the presence of the Dragon Mother.
