Swain, the Noxian Grand General
Overview:
Since my initial redesign, Swain has received a full-on VGU that changed both his kit and his visuals in...interesting ways. Gone is the cripple with the creepy pet raven (and admittedly cool perch-pauldron), and in his place? Draco Malfoy, with a mysterious, laser-blasting red right hand.
With his new kit following in the original's footsteps of being a walking damage aura, my original issues still stand - he might not be "Swain, the Master Tactician" anymore, but turning him into a brute force in-your-face drain tank makes less sense for a character fashioned after carrion birds, and misses the opportunity to leverage Swain as a showcase of Noxus's diverse representations of the concept of strength.
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If Sion is the face of old-school ground-smashing Noxian strength and Darius is a sharpened, deliberate, and precise iteration of that strength, Swain is a much more cunning, oppressive, and opportunistic strength. He controls the battlefield not through overt displays of power, but by rewriting the rules of engagement to wage a war of attrition and information.
That said, my previous redesign was lacking in terms of interactivity and a compelling path of mastery, so this updated redesign aims to address that (while adopting some elements from the VGU), specifically by turning his Q into more of a moment-to-moment opportunity for skill expression.
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As this is an update of a redesign that was already pretty divergent from his original and VGU identities, there wasn't much left to carry over that wasn't already there (mainly the ability to grant vision, various health/mana sustain tools). Ravenous Flock felt like a good fit, however, complimenting his own immobilization capabilities and allowing him to capitalize on moments of enemy weakness.
All values in blue are meant to give a general idea of the ability's properties, and are subject to change.
Class: Artillery
Recommended Positions: Solo Midlane, Solo Sidelane
Complexity: Low
Innate: Ravenous Flock
Swain can target an immobilized enemy champion within 1125 units to rip out a Soul Fragment from them, dealing 20 to 105 (based on level) + (30% AP) magic damage and making them shortsighted for 2 seconds (6 second cooldown). Champions that die within this range also leave behind a Soul Fragment.
Soul Fragments slowly travel towards Swain, and restore 4% mana once they reach him.
Q: Macabre Emissary
Swain conjures a raven that swoops along the target path, dealing 40/60/80/100/120 +
(35% AP) magic damage to minions it passes through and revealing the first enemy champion struck for 4 seconds. The raven will continue to circle above them for up to 20 seconds or until they move beyond 1100 to 2700 (based on level) units away, granting obscured vision of them for the duration.
Ravens that strike an enemy already affected by Macabre Emissary will refresh its duration and join the ravens already circling above them (up to 3 per champion).
Damage from Swain against an affected target will signal the ravens to dive into them, detonating themselves for 40/60/80/100/120 + (35% AP) magic damage each in quick succession, increased by 0.6% for every 1% health the target is missing.
Range: 850 (cast range), 350 (swoop distance)
Targeting Type: Skill Shot - Vector
Cooldown: 5/4.75/4.5/4.25/4
Cost: 30/35/40/45/50 mana
W: Nevermove
Swain creates a magic trap at the target location that activates after 2 seconds and lasts for
4 minutes. The first enemy champion to walk or dash over a trap will trigger it, becoming rooted by grasping talons for 2 seconds and taking 80/120/160/200/240 + (70% AP) magic damage.
Traps within Vision of Empire's area of effect become invisible after 2 seconds.
Swain can place up to 5 traps at a time, and placing a trap beyond this limit will immediately destroy the oldest one.
Range: 900 (target range), 250 (activation radius), 300 (effect radius)
Targeting Type: Skill Shot - Circle
Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10
Cost: 80/90/100/110/120 mana
E: Vision of Empire
Swain warps a massive area in the target direction into a Vision of Empire for up to 30 seconds, ending early if the ability is re-activated, or if Swain moves 600 units away from it.
Enemy champions within the Vision are revealed and marked for 2 seconds every 6 seconds, becoming vulnerable to Ravenous Flock.
Minions that die within the Vision have a 20% chance to drop a Soul Fragment (increased to 100% for siege minions), and all Soul Fragments within the Vision are quickly brought to Swain by the ravens that congregate within it.
Visible enemy champions within the Vision are inflicted with Grievous Wounds.
Range: 1500 (length), 1200 (width)
Targeting Type: Skill Shot - Line
Cooldown: 15/13/11/9/7 (once effects end)
Cost: 10 mana per second
R: Death's Hand
Swain transforms his demonic arm into a raven and commands it to attack the target enemy, dealing 150/210/270 + (60% AP) magic damage. Upon returning, it heals Swain for 70% of the damage it dealt (reduced to 35% against non-champions).
Death's Hand's cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds for every instance of Macabre Emissary it triggers.
Range: 1100
Targeting Type: Targeted
Cooldown: 16/14/12
Cost: 100 mana