Worlds 2022 is already in full swing, with the first stage coming to a conclusion on Oct. 4 with two final best-of-fives between MAD Lions and Evil Geniuses, and DetonatioN FocusMe and Royal Never Give Up. This finally gave Riot Games the freedom to test bizarre and off-meta changes that would leave a mark on the meta in the final weeks of Season 12. So, we will be witnessing the rise of AP Twitches, Kai’Sas, Malphites once again, and the flowering of Nasus supports with Patch 12.19.
On top of that, the devs took away power from the power picks like Master Yi and Rek’Sai simply to reduce their overbearing agency and over-the-top numbers. The mythic item, Eclipse, was also due for nerfs thanks to the increasing number of bruisers and assassins opting for this slightly overtuned item. Lastly, Patch 12.19 shipped with mid-scope Syndra update to give back her the ability to shine once again after the Durability update.
So, let’s jump into the winners and losers of Patch 12.19 to see which picks will rapidly increase your win rate and help you reach the rank you truly deserve.
Winners of Patch 12.19
Patch 12.19 heavily focused on bringing the off-meta fantasy to life with across-the-board buffs to AP Twitch, Tahm Kench, and Kai’Sa to unleash their full potential onto their enemies in Summoner’s Rift. On top of that, Patch 12.19 has brought updates to neglected champions like Syndra, Blitzcrank, and Nasus. So, the clear winners of this wacky League patch are Syndra, Blitzcrank, Malphite, and Nasus.
Syndra is a mid-lane burst mage that was heavily hit after the Durability update went live on May 25. With this mid-scope update, Riot is giving her more utility and damage in mid to late game. The devs finally gave Syndra players depth and skill-expression mechanics like passive stacking that will easily separate the Syndra first-timers from OTPs.
After Patch 12.19, Blitzcrank is fired up and ready to serve in either the top lane or jungle. These recent adjustments will transform him from situational feast-or-famine support into a low-economy jungler and top laner. Most of his power will now come from auto-attacking, Overdrive, and Power Fist. With tons of AP buffs, we can now expect Bltzcranks across the world to go the AP route or hybrid route with Nashor’s Tooth and Sunfire Cape.
Malphite AP ratio buffs that went live with Patch 12.19 definitely mean that the bane of AD carries’ existence is back in bot lane. These big AP buffs will also help mid-lane Malphite easily nuke his squishy opponents.
The final winner of Patch 12.19 is Nasus, thanks to across-the-board buffs. Not only does Nasus get bonus range on his Siphoning Strike, but his Wither now heavily gimps any heavy auto-attacking champions like marksmen, Yasuo, and Tryndamere. The Wither buffs also might open up the support role for Nasus since the value of this spell now is incredible.
Losers of Patch 12.19
Since the list of nerfed champions in Patch 12.19 is not as long, there aren’t many patch losers this time around. The only significant nerfs were the Rek’Sai’s nerf and the Eclipse nerf. Although these nerfs are seemingly impactful, in reality, only the Eclipse will leave a mark on the current meta.
Rek’Sai nerfs only decreased her base attack damage, meaning she will have a slightly harder time when clearing her jungle. Still, this may result in her being late to ganks, and, therefore, for rotations.
Related: The winners and losers of League of Legends Patch 12.18
The final nerf that will definitely have a large-scale impact on the current meta is the Eclipse nerf. Recently, this item only grew in popularity due to bruisers like Aatrox and Riven including it in their build since this item offers lethality, lifesteal, and a shield on every third auto-attack or spell cast. Before bruisers started adoring this item, assassins were those who, in the first place, popularized this item that finally gave them counterplay to tanks and bruisers. So, the Eclipse wielders will surely suffer with Patch 12.19. Still, there are more than enough mythic item lethality options like Prowler’s Claw and Duskblade of Draktharr that help you one-shot that AD carry.