Hey, I wanted to start a discussion on Xerath. First, I want to talk about him as a champion in general. Then, I want to talk about his role and power level in mono Shurima.

In general, I think Xerath outside of Mono Shurima is balanced. Maybe even slightly weak, but could be strong if there’s a deck in the future.

But my issue with Xerath is that it just seems so…unthematic. I main Xerath in LoL. He is a squishy, immobile sniper that pokes people down with precision. He is almost always focusing on the highest damage, lowest-health units.

The Xerath in LoR hits the weakest health unit when a…landmark is destroyed? This makes no sense thematically. At all. It doesn’t feel like a snipe. It feels like shrapnel from a destroyed landmark hits something.

To be thematic, Xerath should be a control tool that chooses who he snipes, or his sniping should hit the highest damage or lowest health unit because that’s more accurate to his gameplay in LoL. And landmark synergy for him just makes 0 sense.

Then we get to Xerath in mono Shurima. I am fine with Mono Shurima. I am fine with it leveling up as fast as it did before the recent nerf. But Xerath, the squishy sniper suddenly goes to a goddam 9 health champion for 4 mana?

Xerath’s level 3 power level is effing absurd. Everything that dies is obliterated…even things that Xerath didn’t kill. This eliminates every SI deck from doing anything. He deals 5 damage to the weakest unit every turn and on landmark removal. He has 5 attack and 9 health.

I get that the restored sun disc should be strong and a win condition. But I feel like the other 3 champions are balanced when they level up…but Xerath is just such a monster, and it doesn’t even make thematic sense.

I’d honestly like to see a compete rework for Xerath to better fit the sniper theme, but since that probably won’t happen, I really think his level 3 should be toned down so that mono Shurima is a little bit less polarizing against slower decks.

Thoughts?