League of Legends Patch 9.15 breakdown – Summoner’s Rift edition

Karma

"Empowered E – Defiance Bonus Shield: 30/90/150/210 (+0.6 Ability Power) -> 25/80/135/190 (+0.5 Ability Power)."

Since Karma’s buffs on Patch 9.12, she’s been a mainstay in both solo queue and competitive play. In fact, her current presence in pro play amongst the top five regions is 88%, the fourth highest of any champion. So, there’s no doubt that these nerfs are deserved, but are they enough to peg her down a few notches?

To be fair, they should be. While Karma has a tendency to over-shield herself and the utility provided by her E – Defiance is more important than the shield, a small reduction should be enough to see her win rate fall slightly. She won’t disappear on Patch 9.15 but expect to see her slightly less as a result of these nerfs.

Kha’Zix

"Q – Taste Their Fear Base Damage: 50/75/100/125/150 -> 60/85/110/135/160."

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Voidreaver in the meta as Kha’Zix has fallen away from the main group of junglers in recent times. Giving him a small buff to his Q damage won’t be enough to bring him back completely but could see a small increase in his win rate due to the improvement to trading in the early stages of the game.

Although it may seem like a tiny buff, consider how many times Kha uses his Q during a skirmish and the boost in damage really starts to add up. Kha’s 50.01% win rate could see a small increase as a result of these changes.

LeBlanc

"E – Ethereal Chains Base Root Damage: 60/90/120/150/180 -> 70/110/150/190/230."

LeBlanc? Who? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. On Patch 9.14, the Deceiver struggled with a 45.93% win rate and a 4.1% pick rate. Her place in the meta has been filled and she’s a long way from returning, especially with these tiny buffs. Ultimately, LeBlanc shouldn’t need to rely on completing her E root to blow up an enemy carry, and if she does have to complete the duration, she’s going to die in that time anyway.

Therefore, a +50 damage at max rank might seem like a nice buff, but when you consider that it’s her last skill to level up, and she hardly ever completes a root in late game teamfights, this buff is near-useless. Placebo.

Lee Sin

"Q – Resonating Strike/Sonic Wave Sonic Wave Base Damage: 50/75/100/125/150 -> 55/80/105/130/155. Resonating Strike Minimum Damage: 50/75/100/125/150 -> 55/80/105/130/155. Resonating Strike Maximum Damage: 100/150/200/250/300 -> 110/160/210/260/310."

They can’t keep getting away with it. Riot’s insistence on bending the meta to their will just before the World Championship is a trend that has become frustrating over the years, but anything is better than a Juggernaut update 1 patch before Worlds starts I guess.

Lee Sin is already well within the pool of meta jungle champions at the moment and this can only boost his priority in that pool. His solo queue win rate will always be low due to the high skill floor and the requirements to utilise his full kit. We’ll be seeing more Lee Sin in pro play, and he’ll probably start to show up in solo queue a bit more as well, yippee.