According to the announced schedule from Riot Games, this year League of Legends players will definitely witness the transformation of two champions, Dr. Mundo and Udyr. Additionally, there may be a few more champions getting reworked in the latter half of 2021.
Although the purpose of reworking is to make champions more ‘hot’, the results do not always meet expectations. In fact, the fate of reworked champions has become increasingly unpredictable. Some champions are too ‘boring’ or weak, making them unpopular, while others have turned into imbalanced monsters that are often picked as soon as they are available.
Here are some examples; see if you agree!
Aatrox
Since his rework, Aatrox has gone through numerous power adjustments but remains a popular ‘hot pick’ in the meta. By the 2021 season, Aatrox seemed to have ‘gained wings’ by fully utilizing the new item features. Many players even consider Aatrox a ‘broken champion’ who should be banned if not picked due to his overwhelming power when combined with the Bloodthirster + Black Cleaver combo.
Udyr
The fate of Udyr is quite ‘twisted’. He has been ‘missing’ in League of Legends for many seasons, with only one professional match appearance in Season 10. Finally, in the current 2021 season, Udyr has become a ‘hot pick’ and is set to be reworked due to fan votes.
Fiddlesticks
While some champions adapt extremely well to new items, others like Fiddlesticks have been ‘discarded’ from the meta. This champion is quite ‘unlucky’ as he was just reworked in April last year, becoming a hot pick in both ranked and professional play.
Yet this year, he has ‘vanished’ from the meta, not being picked once in professional play and hardly used for climbing ranks. The only mode where Fiddlesticks is still utilized is… ARAM.
Pantheon
Currently, Pantheon is considered a fairly balanced champion as he is neither too strong nor too weak, making him viable for all roles except for the marksman position. Furthermore, Pantheon’s standing in the meta has not changed much after the introduction of the new season items.
Nunu
Since his rework, Nunu has become quite an interesting champion as players primarily use him for humor in ranked play, and few bring him into professional matches. For many reasons, even when used in professional play, Nunu is only seen in lower-tier tournaments and does not appear in major competitions.
Swain
It seems Swain is a champion with an extremely short ‘expiration date’ that Riot Games introduced into League of Legends. After being reworked in early 2018, Swain was quite popular for about a year, but since the summer of 2019, he has ‘stayed in the bushes’ in professional play. Even in ranked mode, Swain does not hold a significant position in the meta.