This is exactly what people are talking about when they say "bad RNG." It's the kind of card that makes people prejudiced against all RNG, when the problem is actually just bad design of this particular card.
Then again, there are so many Champions that are mediocre or bad if your deck doesn't support them, I don't think you'll be winning because of the specific Champion generated very often. More likely, you'll win because of the infinite value, which sucks just as much.
I REALLY HATE INFINITE VALUE, AND THIS CARD MAKES ME VERY ANGRY.
Bad design is a Champion with strongly synergistic cards that cannot exist apart from each other, like Daybreak and Nightfall (as well as several that you mentioned). Those decks build themselves, leaving very little room for experimentation, aside from a few tech slots. When you see a Champion like that, you immediately know a third of the deck is taken up with a certain package.
When you see a Champion like Tahm Kench, you never know what to expect because his abilities have such broad application while still being completely unique and flavorful.
Deny and SpellShield are pretty womp-womp, though.
Nah -- it's a 2 mana fleeting spell you got for free; you're more than happy to trade it for either Deny, Bastion, or popping an existing SpellShield. You gained mana advantage and card advantage for the former 2 cases, and my understanding is that if SS kills your Single Combat then neither unit takes damage so I'd expect the same effect here. Plus, you can always just try again for 2 mana next Round.
Bigger scare cards are things like Twin Disciplines or Mystic Shot. You really hate to pay a total of 6 mana just to see your TK die before it even gets the Detain effect off.
I was thinking more of a situation where something HAS to be dealt with this turn, as is often the case with Lee Sin. Mana advantage and card advantage aren't very relevant at a time like that.
Removal without triggering Last Breath or sending to the dead pool is already worth more than a regular kill, so 8 mana vs the 7 mana of Vengeance (which has seen a lot of play in every meta since beta) is utterly negligible.
The fact that it also removes Landmarks is just icing on the cake.
There are so many ways to abuse this card. Pick any unit with a decent summon effect, and it's great, especially if the stats are chunky. Genevieve Elmheart comes to mind.
If this were fast speed, it would be beyond broken.
Aside from Obliterate Fish, Bilgewater didn't have the best hard removal. This fills that gap super well, but in a reasonably interactive way. I hope it works OK, because I think the design is fantastic!
Deny and SpellShield are pretty womp-womp, though.
These followers are thematically similar to Tahm Kench in terms of artwork, but you're not required to play them together. There are many other units in Bilgewater and other regions that will be extremely good with TK.
I can imagine TK pairing very well with Freljord, Demacia, Targon, Noxus, and Shadow Isles. The followers and spells revealed yesterday and today will be great with Targon, Shadow Isles, Demacia, and Noxus at the very least.
The infographic was at the top of the CotM patch notes provided in the game client. Short of showing up to your house with a singing telegram, I don't know what more you expect from them.
Typically the strongest decks have no counter and represent a 59 percent winrate.
Which we have seen with every bilgewater noxious deck.
Let's see what cards get released in 2 weeks before we just gut Ionia all over again
Reverting the Lee Sin buff would not "gut Ionia." If it does, the problem is the rest of Ionia. The entire region should not have to be carried by one Champion.
But that's not really the case. Karma remains extremely strong, even though no one has bothered making her a new deck since her sidekick Ezreal got nerfed. Yasuo is still great with both Swain and Leona, and Shen and Lulu have been seeing a lot of play lately (both together and separately) as people explore Support possibilities.
In fact, Shen and Lulu are being held back by Lee Sin because they both get murdered by him, so yeah, it would be better for Ionia to revert the buff. He was always fine at 6 mana, and there was absolutely no reason to make him a faster card.
Overwhelm is always welcome, so I think Crystal Ibex is pretty good.
Is the body preferable to the value of Zenith Blade or the Regen of Augur? Maybe, sometimes.
Feels really bad when you're not facing aggro. If the opponent has just one or two bigger units, the baby stuns aren't going to matter at all.
I'd rather just play Spacey and hope for an otter.
Good when played exactly on turns 5-7 (assuming you can afford to). Otherwise, not great. It's certainly no Progress Day!
Imagine what fun it will be to draw your second and/or third copy of this from the first one.
This is exactly what people are talking about when they say "bad RNG." It's the kind of card that makes people prejudiced against all RNG, when the problem is actually just bad design of this particular card.
Then again, there are so many Champions that are mediocre or bad if your deck doesn't support them, I don't think you'll be winning because of the specific Champion generated very often. More likely, you'll win because of the infinite value, which sucks just as much.
I REALLY HATE INFINITE VALUE, AND THIS CARD MAKES ME VERY ANGRY.
On the contrary, I think it's good design.
Bad design is a Champion with strongly synergistic cards that cannot exist apart from each other, like Daybreak and Nightfall (as well as several that you mentioned). Those decks build themselves, leaving very little room for experimentation, aside from a few tech slots. When you see a Champion like that, you immediately know a third of the deck is taken up with a certain package.
When you see a Champion like Tahm Kench, you never know what to expect because his abilities have such broad application while still being completely unique and flavorful.
I was thinking more of a situation where something HAS to be dealt with this turn, as is often the case with Lee Sin. Mana advantage and card advantage aren't very relevant at a time like that.
Sure, but if you're not playing Shadow Isles, I bet you'll still use it.
Yeah, I'm not at all comfortable with what this will do for Swain decks, which are already slightly too good.
Removal without triggering Last Breath or sending to the dead pool is already worth more than a regular kill, so 8 mana vs the 7 mana of Vengeance (which has seen a lot of play in every meta since beta) is utterly negligible.
The fact that it also removes Landmarks is just icing on the cake.
You can't tell me this isn't lifted directly from Pokemon.
Doesn't fit into every Bilgewater deck, obviously, but where it does fit, it's amazing!
There are so many ways to abuse this card. Pick any unit with a decent summon effect, and it's great, especially if the stats are chunky. Genevieve Elmheart comes to mind.
If this were fast speed, it would be beyond broken.
Vladimir's new best friend, but probably Soraka's as well (I hope she's next!)
Vulnerable is such a nightmare for decks that try to avoid interaction. Since I usually hate those decks, I love cards like this.
Aside from Obliterate Fish, Bilgewater didn't have the best hard removal. This fills that gap super well, but in a reasonably interactive way. I hope it works OK, because I think the design is fantastic!
Deny and SpellShield are pretty womp-womp, though.
These followers are thematically similar to Tahm Kench in terms of artwork, but you're not required to play them together. There are many other units in Bilgewater and other regions that will be extremely good with TK.
I can imagine TK pairing very well with Freljord, Demacia, Targon, Noxus, and Shadow Isles. The followers and spells revealed yesterday and today will be great with Targon, Shadow Isles, Demacia, and Noxus at the very least.
After he swallows an ally and pukes it back up, it's healed to full, so that's a bit of synergy.
Use a deck tracker and review the log when you see something that puzzles you.
I would be extremely surprised if someone were actually able to cheat in the ways you describe and get away with it.
Ooh, right! The healing synergy! I had forgotten Soraka was coming.
Yeah, this card is going to be the nuts.
The infographic was at the top of the CotM patch notes provided in the game client. Short of showing up to your house with a singing telegram, I don't know what more you expect from them.
Reverting the Lee Sin buff would not "gut Ionia." If it does, the problem is the rest of Ionia. The entire region should not have to be carried by one Champion.
But that's not really the case. Karma remains extremely strong, even though no one has bothered making her a new deck since her sidekick Ezreal got nerfed. Yasuo is still great with both Swain and Leona, and Shen and Lulu have been seeing a lot of play lately (both together and separately) as people explore Support possibilities.
In fact, Shen and Lulu are being held back by Lee Sin because they both get murdered by him, so yeah, it would be better for Ionia to revert the buff. He was always fine at 6 mana, and there was absolutely no reason to make him a faster card.