Shanco

Ganon is where he should be imo. I dunno about Falco but he lacks results, especially when compared to Ganon whose representation is extreme for a supposed bottom-tier. Puff is pretty much unanimously the game's worst character at this point. In Japan this makes this the second game in a row where she would be rated worst in the game. I can't speak to Mega Man since opinions about his viability are all over the place, much like Corrin's, although high level players are convinced Mega Man isn't Gimmick: The Character like Corrin seems to be seen as. Olimar, yeah, he's too high probably. Lucario, I dunno, since his meta is much more developed in Japan. Pikachu is weird. Too low? Maybe, but idk. Robin gets bodied too hard in disadvantage to be A tier. Corrin has a wealth of problems that keep him mid-tier, including poor edgeguarding (then again, Fox's is worse), the game's worst shield pressure, awful grabs and an awful reward for getting one. I'm honestly surprised he's not lower. Ryu looks like he could use a tiny boost in rankings but he's not S, that's for sure. Marth and Lucina's results have improved consistently over the past few patches. They also have winning matchups on Rosa and Cloud, and some say Mario as well. Mr. E/Pugwest may have been struggling a bit, but there are others who have stepped up in their place but aren't talked about, because, well, they're not Mr. E or Pugwest. There's also only room to grow from here for the Falchions seeing as in mid-level tournaments Lucina is by a mile the most popular character. Also Japan seems to think that Kirby is a one-trick-pony...which I can't really disagree with tbh...

This is a tier list that recently surfaced from Umeki, a top Smash player in Japan. Its credibility is helped along by the fact that this was a very largely agreed upon tier list by the JP community.

OKC I'm expecting to take the West as well, albeit in seven. The East has been injury-riddled as Simon mentioned so it's hard not seeing the Cavaliers make it out. However, Cleveland had very close season series with both teams; in the case of Miami v Cleveland, the home team always won. Raptors can probably do well vs Cleveland, if not win outright, if they win in Miami tonight and carry that momentum over to game 1 in Cleveland. They are really hurting however, so their chances are going to take a hit if Carroll and Valanciunas can't suit up for the Finals. If Miami takes the series, it's not the ideal scenario for them as coming off a seven-game grind of a series with three games already that have gone to OT. To have the best chances they'll really need someone in response to Bismack Biyombo; someone who can come off the bench and in the absence of greater talent for any reason, take a load off Wade and the others' backs. EDIT: Toronto just mauled the Heat in Game 7...that really changes things.

I saw the posts on the screenshots thread, and theorizing that RoA could actually be a feasible first item, I decided to have a gander over a bunch of different sites and vids to find opinions from higher level players on Ori builds. Lo and behold, RoA is actually a popular first item on Orianna, about as popular as Morello's and Athene's. But there was more to it than that, obviously. While there was a bit of contention in terms of what to start first, what to build and when to build it, the consensus was that the first item on Orianna varies between games and that no one first item is going to be a cover-all for every situation. Not Morellonomicon, not Athene's, not Rod of Ages. For example, you're not going to want to take Morellonomicon first, if at all, against a decent Zed since you're straight fucked post-6 if you're not prepared for his onslaught, and even against other passive champs you don't want to touch it if you're behind. You're also not going to take Rod of Ages if you need Athene's to assist a semi-squishy initiator like Vi or Kennen in teamfights, or if you need to compete with high-waveclear champs. I also watched some vids and checked some things that LoL general chatrooms pointed me to (such as one of PowerOfEvil's broadcasts) for advice on the MYMU and which champs like building which item first. They made the case that while Morello's is pretty nice to have for the AP and its passives, Athene's isn't wholly outclassed, even on less support-y mages like Xerath; the healing passive works with summoner Heal which, seeing as Athene's passive nearly doubles Heal's potency, can be the (unexpected) difference between a teammate's life and death. Waveclear champs that get messed up in teamfights yet survive can use the Harmony passive to more easily recover and get back and take any defensive action they need to in order to minimize the damage. Morellonomicon is a fat AP item that is perfect for a few different mages, like Ziggs and Ahri. Some of the more utility-ish mages like Karma will buy this instead of Athene's in order to assert dominance in mid-game or in lane if they're far enough ahead, as 100 AP is definitely not anything to laugh at. Unlike the others, it gives no defensive stats, no mana back without kills, and on top of that the dev team is looking at nerfing it in 6.11. Rod of Ages had a lot of opinions of indifference, such as "it's alright", "it helps you live", "it does its job". I'm guessing the reason why it's liked by people using Orianna is because of Catalyst of Aeons's passive, which siginificantly amplifies her survivability and improves trades while sacrificing next to none of her burst. There are other sacrifices that you have to make for it, however, such as less waveclear due to the loss of CDR, as well as the other fancy passives that each item has.

That feel when watching Garen vs Rengar in the top lane of high-elo play. Ultimate brush battle

Roses are red, A deep crimson hue; Now help me take mid, Malz, 'Cuz why wouldn't you?

The Z-axis was a thing back in Brawl as well. Link's arrows got notoriously screwed by this mechanic and tbh the arrows may have been the very reason the mechanic was brought in in the first place. In this game things seem to have been brought back into line for the most part. Also, list of stages where the Z-axis is removed. Omega versions also have their Z-axis removed in these stages. Both versions Duck Hunt Flat Zone 2 / Flat Zone X Super Mario Maker 3DS version Dream Land Mute City Balloon Fight Pac-Maze Wii U Version Pac-Land

If Ori's not a protection mage then I have no clue what you'd call her.

I dunno about taking FH over Zhonya's anymore except in pretty niche situations, but both push Ryze's damage to extreme levels. Zhonya's moreso however.

Absolutely take Athene's on Ori.

I mean, it's important, but looking back on my S mage games I'm curious as to why they put so much weight on it. Also CS is not graded by how much you get in a given time frame; I think how it's weighed is the differential of CS between you and the enemy (how much you have over them, measured against the game length).

...lmao. Okay. Anyway, in a Mage's case, the S comes largely (I believe) from KDA and participation in objectives such as Drakes. Assists and kill participation all factor in to a lesser extent (as with other factors, these are weighed differently depending on role). I've done heaps of damage and still only gotten A or so because I just couldn't finish anyone off and neither could my teammates.

I find ease in a character that just throws himself at the enemy team, and safety out the window.

Yeah, Morello's is pretty nuts on Lux now. I would recommend it 2nd/3rd after Athene's and maybe Rabadon's. However unless you are immensely fed, not a good idea to buy it first - it does very little to compensate for Lux's woeful mana issues in the early to mid game.

As Lux you will not buy Zhonya's every game anymore. Lux wants immense amounts of AP and 70 pales in comparison to other items such as Luden's, and Lux doesn't find always too much use for its active if you're playing her properly in TFs. You will still want Zhonya's against hard engage comps with heavy AD assassins like Talon, Rengar, etc. In this scenario you will probably buy it regardless of the CDR cap, due to the value of the active; alternatively, you can also buy Luden's or Liandry's instead of Morello's but those two are comparatively niche when speaking to Lux. She also chugs mana so both items help a lot here I'm honestly not sure about this because I never really looked into it, but if it did apply on self-casts, cool, but if not, it works out since Lux will, most of the time, often be behind her carries when fighting.

Some mages will definitely prefer Athene's over Morello's and vice-versa for varying reasons Lux now wants both Athene's and Morello's most games, but will almost always go Athene's first. Karma will probably want Athene's to make her even harder to kill through the mid-game than she already was.

Honestly, based on everyone's comments on the changes, my hopes aren't high for these changes making it to live next patch. Sona's nerfs are probably getting a revert, too.

Went back to an old fave...didn't think ulting Vlad was useful until I found out that the ghost's autos apply Rylai's.

I played lots of Ziggs on PBE and the chances are exactly as they seem: a massive buff

Taliyah's voiceover: Taliyah is voiced by Erica Lindbeck. Skins in this PBE patch: Freljord Taliyah Super Galaxy Kindred - 975 RP Super Galaxy Fizz Super Galaxy Shyvana All skins 1350 RP unless otherwise stated

It's rock-surfin' time! http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/page/champion-reveal-taliyah-stoneweaver