Patch 3.19 analysis: Is it the end for Seraphine?

After a while without balancing, which resulted in two champions (Seraphine and Vayne) dominating the meta, we finally got a patch focused on buffs and nerfs and this time there wasn't any mercy: a lot of cards were hit very badly.

Patch 3.19 comes out this Wednesday (08) and besides card balancing, it also brings cosmetics from the Spirit Blossom theme, but in this article I will focus on where the money is for a good part of players: analyze how the meta will be after these alterations.

Without further ado, let's go to my analysis:

She barely arrived in LoR and already did a lot! Seraphine was dominating the meta, with practically a deck for each region, but the most problematic one was Seraphine Ezreal. With this champion taking longer to level up (now she levels up after you've played 9+ new spells) and also Fanclub President costing 5 mana, Seraphine decks lose a big portion of their power. However, I believe

President not to be the focal controversy point here.

In the Seraphine Aphelios Zoe deck, in which the focus is to activate the spell Purrsuit of Perfection, to summon Catastrophe, Seraphine will remain strong, as this deck is filled with 1 copies of spells and still has access to Aphelios' range of spells and Zoe's Supercool Starchart, so Seraphine won't feel much difficulty to level up in this version.

I believe Seraphine Viktor with Curious Shellfolk was also not that much affected, as Bandle City offers many ways of creating new spells with an accessible cost, so Seraphine won't suffer to level up. Still, it is safe to say this champion will see much less play and will make space in the meta for other decks.

No, it didn't.

When we think of Demacia as a region, the first thought that comes to mind: rally. Though there are champions that don't cover this archetype (Yes, I'm talking about Lux), most work with strikes or rallies, which makes those the predominant features of this region. The arrival of Vayne put Demacia right on top, because this champion was an excellent support for champions outside of this region which could benefit with rallies, however, I think one nerf to Tumble could solve the issue.

Besides Tumble, which now starts at 4 cost, Demacia had two big nerfs: Relentless Pursuit loses its buff effect (Poor Taric) and Golden Aegis now costs 5.

Considering that Vayne was the one who stole the spotlight, I think it is unfair to alter spells that are such a big part of other Demacia decks which weren't as prominent in the meta. Poppy Taric now will hardly ever see any play and I don't know how Scouts will be like now that Golden Aegis costs 5, but at first glance, the thought I have is that these decks will disappear, which is quite sad.

Ok, Ionian Tellstones was quite strong, but I didn't expect such a heavy nerf to it. Now this spell lost its Health Potion and Homecoming and gets Ritual of Renewal and Gruesome Theater. Even though Ritual of Renewal offers healing, it is a slow spell, so then Ionia, which before had a way to stall games against aggro, now it no longer wins against these matchups.

That is without saying that Shimon Wind, which offered a blocker at burst speed, now with its speed spell changed to focus, it also makes Ionia's life very difficult against aggressive decks.

Like so, it is very likely that Karma, Lee Sin, Kennen, Master Yi and other champions that were present in the meta because of these spells might disappear after they are nerfed, but it is not the end of Ionia, as there is another champion from this region which is very strong and went by unnoticed by these nerfs. Do you know who I'm talking about? No? Well, rest assured that sooner rather than later I will tell you all about him!

Senna Veigar, Feel The Rush and Heimer Jayce, besides the Norra Shadow Isles variations (there are some that play her with both Heimer and Veigar) were always very consistent decks, that suffered a lot to win against Demacia decks, because of the many rallies that this region offered. Now that the rally archetype was highly damaged by the nerfs, it is very likely that all of the decks cited above come back at full force, as they can play really well against many types of decks. And this isn't the end of it, okay?

Zed (Yes, it was he who I was referring to above) Hecarim, which for a while has been strong in this meta, tends to remain strong, as most Ionia cards that were altered aren't present in this deck, so it is safe to say this deck will be the most popular choice in the first few days of the new patch.

Red Gwen, another quite strong deck, can start its comeback with more frequency, specially now that level 2 Gwen got a buff in her skill Snip Snip Snip!

Even the beloved Zombie Ashe, which matches Freljord with Shadow Isles, might reappear, as there were buffs to the spell Shatter and the unit Rimefang Wolf.

Be it in the aggro or control strategies, one thing is certain: we will see a lot of Shadow Isles in the LoR meta until there is a new balancing patch.

What did you think of these changes? Which deck are you going to play when the patch is live? Tell me all about it in the comment section! ;)