Week 5 of the LCK was finally played on patch 11.13. Teams definitely realized that Ziggs was over-tuned in the bot lane, and because of this, we’ve even seen off-meta picks that were used to counter Ziggs, but the Hexplosives Expert managed to blow up most of them.

There are many exciting matches that await in week 6 of the LCK. In this week’s Quest’s Musings, I’ll be talking about Ziggs’ performance in week 5, as well as the current state of the LCK meta.

Ziggs definitely is broken. He should be perma-banned/picked.

Currently, Ziggs has a 6-2 W/L record in the LCK, and found himself on the top of the competitive bot lane meta list. We’ve seen Hanwha Life Esports’ adc, Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, play Morgana to counter DWG KIA’s bot lane, Ziggs and Sejuani [in the support role]. They actually had a sizable lead until the mid-late game, when HLE’s team composition eventually got outscaled.

The two losses that Ziggs had in the LCK were definitely not because of the champion difference. His first loss was in game 2 of DRX vs Gen.G; it was just DRX getting outclassed on a team level. Ziggs’ second loss, which was in game 2 of T1 vs NS RedForce, was T1 making a LOT of mistakes; even with a huge gold lead by Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan’s Volibear, T1 made too many blunders. From getting solo killed to poor positioning, T1’s blunders gave NS the footing that they needed to come back from behind and sweep T1 2-0.

Ziggs did get nerfed in patch 11.14. However, not only will week 6 be played in patch 11.13, but I personally also don’t feel that they’re enough to kick him off the top of the competitive meta tier list. 

The LCK meta is too stale. Especially in the jungle.

So far in the split, the two most notable types of team compositions were either heavy engage or poke, because champions that are able to be flexed into multiple roles, and are either good at skirmishing or poke are heavily prioritized in the LCK. Champions like Diana, Lee Sin, and Volibear are heavily prioritized because of their early dueling power and their abilities to engage. Due to such, drafts in LCK feel very bland, because teams just play the same champions over and over again.

I feel that Poppy is a great pick that’s not being picked up by the LCK teams. Any champion with a dash can be negated by Poppy; meta champions like Diana, Lee Sin and Renekton are completely useless against the Yordle that eats up damage for her team like a sponge.

If you’re looking for AP junglers, why not play champions like Karthus and Fiddlesticks? Instead of playing Nidalee, a completely useless AP jungler that only works in solo queue because of how disorganized it is compared to pro play, why not play champions that have great scaling, teamfighting, and fast jungle clear speed? Statistically speaking, Karthus and Fiddlesticks are ranked 7 & 8 respectively in KR platinum+ solo queue; Karthus has a 52.63% win rate with a 4.01% pick rate, while Fiddlesticks has a 52.97% win rate with a 3.55% pick rate.

All champions have their strengths and weaknesses; it’s about how teams utilize their strengths, while minimizing the weaknesses they have. Champions like Karthus and Fiddlesticks can completely change the meta, and I’m ready to see some fresh jungle picks in the LCK. The meta isn’t about what’s now; it’s about what’s next.