League of Legends patch 9.12: Mordekaiser rework resurrected from the afterworld

League of Legends patch 9.12 finally updates Mordekaiser, while Ryze, Sylas and Yuumi are on the receiving end of balance changes (aka nerfs).

Riot Games has released patch 9.12 for League of Legends. No, this one doesn’t introduce Qiyana, Empress of the Elements, but Mordekaiser’s rework has arrived along with a number of other champion tweaks.

Mordekaiser is back from the afterworld and has been resurrected with improved visuals and a completely new kit. The classic champion has undergone a much-needed visual and graphical update (VGU), and now he finally feels like the unstoppable iron juggernaut he was originally envisioned to be. His abilities finally fit his lore and the type of champion he is.

And perhaps more important than anything else, he feels like a modern champion. He’s exciting again. His new ultimate — Realm of Death — can be incredibly useful if used correctly in a team fight. His abilities synergize with each other.

In addition to Mordekaiser’s rework, League of Legends patch 9.12 also contains some pretty big balance changes for Ryze, Sylas and Yummi. For the former two champions, the goal is to make them more balanced across all levels of play. Yummi, on the other hand, is too overpowered and has been nerfed slightly.

In an attempt to make Ryze more welcoming to less experienced players, but not completely overpowered when played in the right hands, Riot has made some pretty big changes to his abilities. The issue is Ryze can be incredibly strong when played by a skilled player with a coordinated team; it’s why he’s so popular (and powerful) in Pro play. But he’s not very welcoming to new players. With that in mind, here’s what’s new with Ryze, who is now on his sixth or seventh round of balancing changes.

Ryze has had his Overload (Q) ranks decreased and his shield removed from it. Rune Prison (W) no longer instantly roots enemies, but instead slows them; it converts to root with Spell Flux (E). This should give his gank targets a better chance to escape, according to Riot.

Spell Flux has also had its damage nerfed, but ti also now always bounces off its primary target. Realm War (R) now has passive scaling warp damage (Overload damage bonus against targets with Flux increased to 40/70/100%).

I’m no professional, but I’ve experienced the potential of Ryze. When I’m on my A-game, I have absolutely dominated with him. As much as I hate to admit it, his root was pretty overpowered and essentially a free kill in a 2v1 gank. This change was much-needed, and honestly, I don’t think turning it into a slow will hurt Ryze’s ganking potential all that much.

Sylas is another champion who excels in high-tier competitive play, but struggles when in the hands of average (read: most) players. Like Ryze, Riot is attempting to find a sweet middle ground, tackling parts of his kit that are more powerful in pro.

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His passive, Petricite Burst, now stores up to two charges and has had its base damage increased. His AoE damage is now less effective against minions. Chain Lash (Q) has had its detonation damage and AOE range decreased on minions, while the Kingslayer (W) heal has been buffed slightly. Lastly, his Abscond/Abduct (E) shield has been adjusted; Sylas no longer shields himself for two seconds on first cast.

The last among the major champion balancing changes in patch 9.12 is Yuumi, who arrived in League of Legends last month. Yuumi is a support champion who was intended to have a high skill cap; however, Riot realizes that good Yuumis “are very frustrating to play against and have virtually no windows of vulnerability.” This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if only a small pool of high-skilled players were good with her; but, it seems that just too many people are now dominating with her.

In response to the growing number of good Yuumis, Riot is reversing some of the mid-patch buffs they gave her at release and nerfing her defenses a tad. Her Bop N’ Block passive has had its ability power scaling nerfed. You and Me! (W) has also been nerfed.

I’ve seen both good and bad Yummis. I didn’t think she was too overpowered, but it’s not unusual for Riot to roll back some abilities after a champion’s release once they are in the hands of the general LoL audience.

Aatrox, Ashe, Caitlyn, Irelia, Karma, Lulu, Master Yi, Nautlius and Zac are other champions who have been slightly tweaked in patch 9.12. You can read the full patch notes here.

Lastly, patch 9.12 features three new Dark Star skins. Dark Cosmic Jhin, Dark Star Shaco, and Dark Star Karma are now available.

What do you think of the changes made in League of Legends patch 9.12?