With MSI right around the corner, the next two League of Legends patches will help determine what champions pro players will lean toward for the event as well as what picks will help players speed up the ranked ladder.
On April 5, League Patch 13.7 will roll out, and there are several buffs to champions such as Alistar, Azir, and Kalista as well as much-needed nerfs to Zeri, Thresh, and Annie. Considering Annie has been dominating both the Rift and the Howling Abyss for several weeks now, that change in particular is a long overdue tweak by the Riot devs.
But with the announcement of the upcoming patch details, one champion is missing from the nerf list, and League players aren’t happy about it. This champion has been destroying the top lane and has a win rate of 53 percent across all ranks.
The champion in question? Rock-solid tank top laner Malphite.
Since the direct buff to Malphite’s W in Patch 13.4 and the buff to Plated Steelcaps in Patch 13.5, his win rate, and ban rate, have only risen.
League players picking the tank have been maxing Thunderclap (W), buying Plated Steelcaps and Iceborn Gauntlet, and taking a tank-heavy rune build with Grasp of the Undying, which itself was also buffed in Patch 13.5, Shield Bash, Conditioning, and Overgrowth. And when combined, you have a force to be reckoned with.
While some players are baffled by the fact Malphite won’t be getting nerfed in the upcoming patch, others believe he’s actually easy to counter.
So, if you’re a top laner facing off against Malphite, you may want to choose a great counter pick like Sion, Mordekasier, or Cho’Gath, or ban him until he gets nerfed. Whether that’s in this season or sometime later remains to be seen.
The Riot dev team did not respond to calls for Malphite nerfs.
