Syndra rework and Nasus buffs shake up the meta

Syndra received massive changes on patch 12,19 while Nasus was adjusted towards higher ranks. Jungle Blitzcrank might sound fun but its still very bad.

Syndra, Nasus, Shyvana, and Blitzcrank received the most changes on the latest patch, with mixed results a week after it they went live. Nasus is the clear winner, Blitzcrank and Shyvana are only good as tanks and everyone is playing Syndra but with relative success.

Syndra changes shift her identity

Her passive got changed so now she can gather up to 120 Splinters by damaging enemy champions and leveling up. She restores mana with those Splinters and gains 15% bonus ability power when she has collected 120. She gets five Splinters for every level up, one from cannon minions and up to three by damaging enemy champions with two abilities in four seconds.

Her Q ability now has a lower cooldown, does more damage, costs less mana, and can store two charges when evolved at 40 Splinters collected. Her W ability can now pick up and carry units further and does more damage when being dropped. Her E ability now has a flat cooldown of 15 seconds, does less damage and stuns for less time, but scatters a wider range and is upgraded at 80 Splinters collected. 

Upon upgrading, the scatter range is increased and the orbs will now slow after stunning enemy champions.  Her ultimate ability now gives her cooldown on her Q ability scaling with ranks, and once upgraded with 100 Splinters, it will execute enemies under 15 % health.

The numbers may not show it, but Syndra is a much better champion right now. Her play rate skyrocketed by 600%, making her one of the most-played champions in higher ranks. Only Kai’sa and Aatrox are picked more than her. And her win rate rose by 1% despite players still maxing her abilities in the wrong order. You should max QWE now since the E cooldown is fixed and her old E evolve is removed.

She is much weaker early on, until she gets her Q ability evolve at level seven. She is a very good late-game scaling champion now, moving away from the burst and long-range mage playstyle. Her Q ability becomes very strong with the Ultimate and passive changes, her stun is more reliable now and slows, and her ultimate now executes champions.

Nasus counters top lane meta

Nasus didn’t receive a lot of changes but they were very impactful. Increased range and size on his Q and ultimate abilities are game-breaking changes, and his W ability is now stronger as well. His win rate jumped by 3% with the play and ban rate jumping by 6,5%. Everything else stayed the same, but Nasus is ready to dominate the top lane meta. He is great against tanks due to Divine Sunderer and split pushing, while they prefer team fights and health items. 

Blitzcrank is the other champion having a great time since the last patch went live, but it’s not in the jungle. His win rate is 3,5% higher but that’s mostly in the support role. He is having a hard time finding success in the jungle, mostly due to the meta and players building damage on him. It might not be fun but tanks Blitzcrank is the best way to win.

Header: Riot Games