I randomly got Gnar in an ARAM and had a load of fun with him so I decided to start running him on the Rift.

I'll likely have more to say about Gnar as time goes on, but this is just my initial impression of the few match-ups that I have faced.

Akali - Not a fan of this match-up. At 21-9-0 with MR glyphs, she chunks you for a one bar of health every time she hits you with a Mark of the Assassin. And you definitely do not want to let her proc the mark. In the early lane you can kite her somewhat, but once she gets Shadow Dance forget about kiting. The lane isn't a... Read More

Kassadin is one of the few champs I feel comfortable taking Mid Lane and having a decent chance of doing well, if not in lane, then at least through roaming to other lanes.

I've been playing him off an on even before his most recent re-work. I've been called on to do mid duties more of late so I've dusted him off to try and terrorize the Rift.

It is hard to described the differences in before an after the most recent rework. His mobility is definitely lower. His ultimate feels clunkier. It is harder to get in position to insta-gib someone and his chase potential while still... Read More

Swain

Is an AP mage that can serve as a top or mid laner. He has good catch potential with Decrepify and Nevermove and he can tank and deal a lot of damage between Torment and Ravenous Flock. He does take a while to ramp up in lane, but once he is online he has the potential to take over a game.

FalseoGod has a really good guide to get you started with Swain so go take a look at that for an in-depth overview of the Master Tactician.

Quas is a god on Swain so look up some videos of his Swain play if you want to see it done right.

You can tailor your runes... Read More

Vayne

Miss Fortune ****s on Vayne in lane. Trade early and trade often while balancing out your mana usage. Pop her with Double Up if she hangs out behind her minion wave, which she will want to do after you've traded with her once. Generally speaking I would save Make it Rain for disengage if their lane decides to do an all-in or the jungler comes to gank as it simply burns too much mana to be a regular part of your rotation. However, if you can set up a kill by getting a couple or more autoattacks in, don't hesitate to use the slow to keep your target in range.... Read More

Wanted to get back to Top Lane Sion since he got hit with the nerf bat in Patch 5.6 and talk about some topics I didn't cover earlier or are worth revisiting due to other changes in the game.

Decimating Smash damage to monsters was lowered from 90% to 80%

Roar of the Slayer passthrough damage was lowered from 50% to 30%

The Decimating Smash changes are not very important for Sion Top. Main effect is that if you do try to farm jungle creeps, it takes a wee bit longer.

The Roar of the Slayer changes were significant, but not disastrous. The big bad dude is still... Read More