Mid-scope updates are all the rage in League of Legends this year. After Olaf and Taliyah both received mid-scope updates in Patch 12.9, several other champions, including Rell and Swain, are both on Riot Games’ high-priority list for a mini-rework.
A mid-scope update is not classified as a total rework or update to a champion. Instead, it focuses on a handful of abilities, tweaking them slightly to improve the champions’ competitive viability. In the past, champions like Xin Zhao and Lucian were targeted with mid-scope updates to revitalize and alter the way they were played, particularly on the professional stage.
And while Riot has its own plans to update certain League champions, a roster of over 150 champions—many of which have been released years ago without an update—can be overwhelming. Although Riot typically has a strong track record of keeping champions modernized, there are still a few that are in desperate need of a slight boost to bring them back up to speed.
Here are five League champions we believe are in need of a mid-scope update.
Karthus
Karthus is easily one of League’s most boring champions. With a simplistic kit and low skill ceiling, the Deathsinger needs some sort of boost to make him as appealing to play as some of the game’s other mages. At his core, Karthus’ main point of intrigue comes in the form of his ultimate, Requiem. Beyond his iconic, map-spanning, team-wide damage source, Karthus is in dire need of an update to his other abilities, especially his lackluster Wall of Pain (W).
Furthermore, Karthus has traveled far away from his original roots as a mid lane control mage. Dating back to 2019, the champion has been played in the jungle or bottom lane positions during 161 of the major region professional games in which he’s appeared, according to League stats site Games of Legends. He’s been played as a mid laner in just 12 games over the last three-plus seasons.
Azir
Azir has been absolutely gutted since his initial release in 2014 and remains a shadow of his former self. If you were to go back and watch the Azir Champion Spotlight from 2014, you’d see several abilities that simply no longer exist. Currently, the Emperor of the Sands is incredibly meta-dependent and only comes to light when zoning champions are at the forefront of the mid lane power table. For Azir to return to prominence as a universal, dependable pick, he would need to be more effective in the early game via his Sand Soldiers, in addition to having more dependable hard crowd control outside of the notably hard-to-pull-off “Shurima Shuffle.”
Taric
Taric has been a niche pick in the support meta ever since his full-blown rework in 2017. While he borders on serving as a pseudo-off-tank and a dedicated enchanter, Taric can never seem to find his corner of relevancy. Champions that slide into a more traditional support role and do it to a fuller extent than he does have been far more prominent in the meta ever the last few years. Names like Leona and Nautilus have held down the market on engaging and teamfight durability, while champions like Nami and Karma are far more relevant enchanters.
A mid-scope update that adds more depth to his core abilities, Starlight’s Touch (Q) and Dazzle (E), could make Taric a more intriguing and compelling pick. In their current states, those abilities act as a one-click heal and delayed stun in a straight line, respectively, so giving them a face-lift could make Taric not only a stronger pick, but a more fun-to-play one, as well.
Teemo
Teemo has been invisible on the competitive stage throughout League’s history, and it looks like Riot has no desire to make him a seriously competitive champion (he’s only been buffed five times in the last three years, according to his Patch History). There’s little that he brings to a team composition outside of his gimmicky playstyle and annoyance to play against during the laning phase.
Despite his “meme” status, Teemo could genuinely see his pick-rate increase if he had any sort of utility beyond his Blinding Dart (Q) in the laning phase and Noxious Trap (R) in the late-game. Teemo doesn’t have any crowd control (apart from his blind) until level six—and even then, his trademark ultimate ability can be countered by a totally free item in Oracle Lens. The only serious way to give Teemo enough juice to stand up to other ranged, harass-centric top laners in his class—champions like Graves, Kennen, Vladimir, and others—is to up his teamfight potential. Right now, his one-dimensional playstyle is focused entirely on catching enemies out of position and slowly whittling them down. Although Teemo can certainly be a nuisance, the problems he poses for enemy teams are far too easy to answer for him to have any significant value in a team composition.
Annie
Annie’s biggest claim to fame is that she revolves around being an “easy” champion for new players to learn the game with. While she fits that role perfectly, there aren’t a whole lot of reasons for experienced players to pick her up again and really push her into the forefront of the meta. A mid-scope update to Annie would have to most likely increase the range of her abilities to keep pace with other far-reaching control mages like Syndra and Viktor, while possibly having to decrease her damage ratios as a countermeasure.
