Set 6.5 is not it. It hasn't even been a full week since release and nearly every complaint the set deserves has been said.
Rehashing Said Complaints
- 3 Trait units, their abundance in general, especially at lower costs (Sejuani, Rek'sai)
- Augment Power level, True Two's and Rich Get Richer are both gold augments. What.
- Bad designs. Silco. The Colossus trait, which is exactly what should be removed during mid-set.
- Awful balance. Syndicate units are awful across the board, Hextech units are broken across the board.
If you're trying to win, the bad aspects of the set are really important to know. It's easy to say "unit X is broken" hyperbolically, meaning it's a good unit. Here, "Silco is broken" is not hyperbolic at all, there's no other way to describe him. Hextech is broken. Once again, zero hyperbole.
The Early Game
Never buy Darius. Do not buy Brand. Do not buy Caitlyn. If it's not an Innovator or Hextech, don't buy it. Yordles are alright if you're in a good spot to play Corki, Illaoi for Mercs, and I've found Kassadin to be extremely strong now that he has Protector built in and gained the Scholar tag. Twitch? A good itemholder at 2 star and good for the reroll comp. Camille? Only if you're playing Innovators.
- Ezreal, Singed, Twitch --> Innovators, Twitch Reroll, Renata
- Nocturne, Jarvan IV --> Hextech Sivir
- Ziggs, Poppy --> Corki Reroll
- Kassadin --> Strong as a random unit, Mutants has the potential to be strong in some games
This covers every playable comp right now. Notably absent are Syndicate, 5 costs, Debonair, Assassins. With the augment system, everything has its moments, so don't ignore that VIP Draven just because generally Debonair comps are bad.
The most important item is Statik Shiv. I blame this item for most of the sets problems. How oppressive would Hextech be if it didn't effectively give true damage on hit? How dangerous is Silco's attack speed buff without an item that procs every 3rd attack? Item priority in the early game is heavily warped by Shiv.
From Top to Bottom:
Tear
Bow
Rod
Glove
Sword?
Belt
Chain
Cloak
I'm not confident in Sword's placement, I think it might actually be dead last but it feels weird to put it there. Everything else is solid.
Tear is number one because of Shiv, but also because of Blue Buff, which multiple comps want, and Redemption, which is the best defensive item this patch. The only bad item is Frozen Heart, which is still strong on Ekko and Nocturne, units you'll often be playing without trying too hard. Every comp wants multiple Tears.
The Mid Game
There's a substantial amount less to say about the midgame, as it's largely about fleshing out your early game, and will change dependent on everything that happened then.
Leveling/Rolling at 3-2 is pretty common, I suggest doing it so that you don't take 40 damage on stage 3. If you have 0 pairs and don't have a clear, likely unit you can hit (for example, a Gnar to enable 4 Striker, not a specific 4 cost), don't roll, save your money/HP the best you can, and assume you'll have to roll deep on 4-1 or 4-2 if you need to level to 8.
Econ Augments suck at 3-3, so don't be taking Rich Get Richer, ever. Sivir is so broken that if you have a Shiv it's worth holding at a substantial cost to you, but it's probably even better on your board.
I'll reiterate: Silco is broken. If you spike a Silco on 7, it is going on your board. Twitch Reroll/Vertical Hextech might not want him based on your spot, but you'll probably want to put him in as soon as you hit 8 anyway. If you catch yourself thinking "Silco doesn't seem that good here", or "I don't think I can fit Silco", this is a good indication that you're doing something wrong.
The Late Game
Sivir 2 is better than Jayce 2. Don't expect to spike a 2 star 5 cost at 8, Renata/Sivir are better than everything you could even hit, anyways. Viktor 2 is good but only with a good supporting cast. Galio is nearly useless, as is Kai'sa. Zeri is very strong even without VIP, but is only going to better than Sivir at 2 star with Sniper turned on. Zeri/Jayce/Cait/Vi and then 5 other upgraded expensive units.
In terms of win conditions, a lot of the usual suspects don't work this patch. You can't expect to make a 3 star 4 cost most of the time because the units are all so contested; this goes for Vi, Sivir, Irelia, and Renata. I haven't experimented with making a random Orianna/Seraphine 3 Double Up style, but it's REALLY hard to have enough money to put a 2 star 4 cost on your bench, and then hit 6 more copies.
Going 9 is pretty pointless because everything you want is available at level 8, and there's generally nothing special you can fit at 9 aside from 4 Enforcer or a random Jayce 2. Tahm Kench is also not the greatest wincon because of all his nerfs during Set 6, but will carry the game once in a while. My "go 9" process generally involves a long win streak, and I'll flesh out and upgrade my board heavily at 8 before I go 9. There's no reason to go fast 9 unless you have the Level-Up augment.
A Quick Note on Augments
Augment power level is all over the place this set, and Hextech is broken on this patch.
- Take Hextech Augments. The Silver and Gold +1 Hextech augments are insanely strong, and Stored Power is strong as well as long as you have some Hextech units early on. Note that it doesn't work during the creep round, no clue if it's a bug or intended.
- Knife's Edge is substantially less good in this set. Striker's already have 30/65 flat AD, more AD isn't an efficient way to get more damage. Challengers want Draven this time around, who really doesn't want to be in the front two rows.
- Second Wind is awful. I'm not sure if they were too conservative with the numbers, or if it's a metagame thing, but every time I see this augment it doesn't do anything.
Combat augments seem to be so strong, that if you take an econ augment you can never make up the difference and you're forced to sacrifice the short term. Junkyard/Thieving Rascalls are exceptions, as it's very easy to turn extra items into something as strong as an augment.
I've been doing pretty well this set so far, so hopefully this won't be my one article of the set and I'll have more to say this time.
Kevin
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