Buzz
A single tweak by Riot has significantly diminished the value of Lethal Tempo.
If you've been paying attention, in the Pre-Season 2022, Marksmen were the least affected group with no champions or items receiving a rework. Instead, Riot decided to revamp Lethal Tempo, making some champions unexpectedly powerful. The standout trio includes Caitlyn, Jinx, and Aphelios, utilizing this keystone to dominate both solo queue and professional play.
However, with the arrival of patch 12.2, the popularity of these three champions remains unchanged, but Lethal Tempo is completely left in the dust. While Caitlyn and Jinx opt for a safer playstyle with Fleet Footwork, Aphelios leans towards a more aggressive approach with Press the Attack or Conqueror. Why does the landscape of top-tier AD carries' rune choices change so drastically after just one patch? Let's delve into the reasons.
Firstly, let's examine the changes in patch 12.2 for Lethal Tempo, where the attack speed it provides scales with the champion's level. At first glance, this seems like a fair adjustment, designed for champions with the potential to scale their power towards the late game. However, a significant reduction in attack speed stats (especially for ranged champions) early in the game makes AD carries wielding Lethal Tempo very vulnerable in the early stages of the match.
We must remember that League of Legends is a heavily snowball-oriented game, and falling behind your opponents early can leave you incredibly weak, with little chance of making a comeback. This weakness translates into losing control of vision, resources around a specific area (specifically, the Bot lane). Clearly, being on the receiving end of a map takeover by the enemy team narrows your resource intake, and farming alone won't make you stronger than your adversaries.
To address this issue, the only solution is to utilize runes that enhance either offense or defense early on to ensure, at the very least, a safe lane phase. Even in minor runes, prioritize options that improve laning rather than those boosting overall strength. Lethal Tempo, after its nerf, fails to meet this criterion, gradually being overlooked by professional players.
Certainly, Lethal Tempo won't become obsolete with Riot's changes. It is merely restored to its rightful place, serving champions with late-game prowess rather than being abused as a tool for dominating lanes excessively as it was before. Champions like Vayne and Kog'Maw still utilize this rune effectively, solid evidence of its continued viability.
