Just HOW VIABLE is Blitzcrank?

[quote=Keels]Sweet CC, Ghost, displacement, INSANE bait, disruption, good lane presence, aoe silence. I'm not so sure about his damage, however, as it's never been that noteworthy. I'll have to check where Blitz sits(heh) on the tier lists, but I think he should be pretty viable, even though his late game does fall off. My only problem with him is that he works best with a lane partner, but I can only see him as a solo top! I haven't seen much play of him, but then again, I don't watch many streams. Someone fill me in on how competitive he is.[/quote]

[quote=Wintermond]You should watch Doublelift playing him, he shreds teams with Blitzcrank. Blitzcrankis completely viable, but his skillset and playstyle are absolutely unique, and one missed Q can leave you crippled for seconds, putting the skill ceiling very high. http://www.solomid.net/blog.php?v=8368 This is a Blog entry by Doublelift concernign niche champions and he is focusing on Blitzcrank as an example there, I hope this helps you to understand Blitz better.[/quote]

[quote=Keels]Thank you. Niche champs certainly have their place, and there are obvious examples(Jax, Galio) that are viable as last picks, and do their jobs well. I am thinking about picking him(Blitzcrank) up at some point... Feeding my team is awesome, but I'm just thinking why would I? I already play Gragas, and in time, I will have him down completely(Need to brush up on build, ult placement, and clutch escapes), so why would I need Blitzcrank? On paper, they seem similar. Both have good initiation in the form of displacement, both have good CC(Blitz has the better CC though), good escapes(Gragas' are better though), and one has great sustain while the other has great baiting. Gragas just plain has better damage, while Blitz can kill stragglers without any trouble at all. If he grabs you when he's got friends around... you're dead. I don't think I need another solo top champion, I've already found good success in Gragas and Singed.[/quote]

[quote=DuffTime][quote] I'll have to check where Blitz sits(heh) on the tier lists" [/quote] I wouldn't do that. Tier lists generally just represent flavor of the month champions. High skill cap champions are thusly misrepresented on the ladder of tier lists. Blitz is a great champion for a few reasons. If you build him with a trinity force, his 1v1 damage is substantial. His Q's have a really nice burst, and his W's synergize excellently with Trinity Force. His kit has amazing application. You land a clutch pull, it's almost a guaranteed kill mid-late game. You need to protect a carry? You can pop up assassin types, -walk away- from your carry, and yank the assassin to you. Blitz is a great peel for that reason as well. He has a massive amount of CC. Pop up, pull, and giant AoE silence. His CC's are among the hardest in the game. Thusly his utility is also among the highest in the game. He does scale well with gear and with damage, but his kit can be used without farming and he won't be useless. Essentially you can fill the "support" role with him, if only in the sense that you don't -need- farm. He's a bit like Alistar in that regard. Blitz uses Clair better than a lot of champions as well, as he can Clair a buff or something and simply yank it over a wall before the other player can smite it. :P Anyway, yes, Blitz is viable. Blitz is best built (In my opinion) as a sort of tanky DPS type, with Trinity force, banshee's or FoN, and Frozen heart.[/quote]

[quote=Lugignaf][quote=DuffTime] [quote] I'll have to check where Blitz sits(heh) on the tier lists" [/quote] I wouldn't do that. Tier lists generally just represent flavor of the month champions. High skill cap champions are thusly misrepresented on the ladder of tier lists. [/quote] Agreed. Blitz is, [i]I think[/i] tier 3 for solo queue according to Elementz. When Doublelift asked him why Blitz was so low, he replied, roughly "nobody can play a tier 3 champ like a tier 1 like you." Blitz is 100% viable as long as you can land that skillshot.[/quote]

[quote=theBMB]even without damage items, blitz has pretty good damage output, he can drop a carry to at leash half with a grab > knockup > auto attack > passive lightning > ult. Even better is speed boost > knockup > passive lightning >auto attack > pull > passive ligntning > auto attack > ult I like to play blitz as tanky DPSupport. A weird hybrid that focuses on sustainability (mainly lots of mana and CDR) so that I can always be there when needed.[/quote]

[quote=Urscythe]Blitz makes a terrific half-tank/off-tank/whatever term you want to use. I build him that way and it works well. Mana Barrier gives you a lot of extra HP, allows for some truly hilarious baiting, and keeps him around longer so he can really abuse that 3 sec (with max CDR, which you will have) Power Fist. You have to be able to consistently land Rocket Grab. He can still do okay without great accuracy, but it's really the reason you're picking him, isn't it? Flash is mandatory. Clairvoyance is also a recommended second since even if someone else has it you'll be screaming for them to maphack a location so you can be more accurate with your "blind" hook. Just have them take the Exhaust you would've taken. It's really all about patience. Get used to how someone's gonna try to dodge and wait for them to avoid getting juked. I like doing Mana crystal+potions -> Sheen -> boots -> philosopher's stone -> chain vest+null magic mantle -> hexdrinker/shroud -> frozen heart/hexdrinker -> shurelia's -> etc It's worked well for me so far.[/quote]

[quote=samgoeslol]i really fell in love with the manamune build if i solotop or get alot of farm since the manamune will give u so much mana to bait them enemies and spam your abilities to yr hearts content. Imo manamune is a great offensive and defensive item on blitz. if u play blitz on a duolane or need amage quickly just go for sheen. if u go manamune you should buy sheen and lots of mana items after. greez sam[/quote]

[quote=DuffTime]Meh, just don't agree. Sheen glacial shroud gives you way more and it's way stronger if you rush that, both offensively and defensively. I've only ever seen Ez Corki and Urgot use Manamune to any effect.[/quote]

[quote=Keels]I'm saying i check the tier lists just to generally get an idea of his viability. I imagine I would build him like I do my Urgot... plenty of mana to feed my manamune, lots of tank and damage, but this time with trinity force, even though I ran that on Urgot for a time. I think the lists are useful and entertaining, but there is, of course, no way to determine which champion is better than the others. You'll see characters like [[jax]] and [[mundo]] at Dreamhack, even though 5v5 they may not be the "best".[/quote]