The Mid-Season Invitational 2022 is just around the corner. In every major international tournament, the meta tends to shift away from the regular season, usually through patches implemented by Riot Games. The last patch that these teams played on were either 12.5 and 12.6 — and with MSI being played on patch 12.8, Riot Games decided to implement major changes to the game for MSI.

Patch 12.7 and 12.8 saw some reworks to champions, as well as balance changes to a number of champions. We at Inven Global had a chance to speak with Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek, former mid laner for Fnatic/current LoL content creator for Gen.G, to discuss which of the balance changes from the two patches will shift the metagame at MSI 2022.

Top Lane

ㄴ "It'd be a crime if GP didn't get picked. I think he'd get picked 100%. He SHOULD be perma picked/banned, but it's hard to say whether that'd be the case. First Strike GP = bad because it makes GP unplayable in 90% of his matchups."

ㄴ "I don't think players will play her. Her buffs are nice; still a late-game monster, but I don't think people are going to play her due to her earlier nerfs."

ㄴ"Even if he can hop over walls with his W now, I don't think it matters because he still lacks damage. I also barely see him being played in the KR Challenger solo queue, so I don't see him being picked at MSI." 

ㄴ"I do play against a lot of Sejuani players in the top lane but I don't think she's particularly strong. I feel she's a 'cheese' champion because people are unfamiliar with how much damage she does. Most Sejuani players run tp/ignite, so she's more prone to dives as well. I think she's a worse version of Ornn. Less CC & damage."

Jungle

ㄴ" I think there's a higher chance that Karthus will be played over Lillia. Lillia's too hard to play and is misunderstood. I think Karthus is insanely OP, but it's pro play at the end of the day. They might as well lock in Jarvan IV. He's permabanned in KR solo queue, but there's only one LCK team at MSI, and I don't see Oner as a Karthus or a Lillia player."

The Reworked Champions

ㄴ "I personally think the champion's Karthus level OP, but I believe he will never get picked."

ㄴ"Yeah... I think the champion is just...bad. Maybe I see a scenario where he gets picked in the support role, but even then, I don't see it being picked. The changes are essentially non-existent."

ㄴ "He's interesting. I do think the rework is good. However, players are still learning him. He's a very complex champion. Something tells me that he won't be played because he's too complex. His whole kit's about more healing, but less damage. I think he's a top lane pick, but I think can also be picked mid lane situationally. I can see a world where everyone will play him because he does feel like a 'pro play' type of champion, but I don't know if it's going to happen.”

Bot Lane

ㄴ "Despite the heavy nerfs, if players still pick Zeri, then it'll be crit Zeri. She'll be less mobile, squishier, and super slow at hitting her powerspikes. As crit Zeri, she'll deal more damage, but she needs a lot of gold."

ㄴ “Ezreal should be the king of bot lane at MSI. If he isn't, something's wrong. I think that Press the Attack is stronger than Conqueror. Triforce is best in solo queue, but in competitive play, I think players will build Essence Reaver into Eclipse later.”

“I also anticipate Lucian ADC to be played, but paired with supports that gives him buffs [ex. Nami, Rakan]. I think Samira’s also not too bad right now, so she might be picked in certain scenarios. Same goes for Miss Fortune. Lethality Xayah has been nerfed pretty hard, so I think teams will pick her a lot less as well.”

Items & Runes

ㄴ “I think Galeforce nerfs are huge, so I don’t think players will build that item anymore. Umbral Glaive buffs are really nice, so I think that item will see more pro play. As for Time Warp Tonic, players will still take that rune despite the nerfs.”