Irelia’s Upcoming Update and Her Place in the Meta
Irelia’s major update is just around the corner, and before we take her for a spin in solo queue, we decided to test her out on the PBE to see where she stands in the current meta.
Overall, she’s strong, possibly a bit too strong, but it’s still early to consider her overpowered. We can assume that her damage, tankiness, or utility might be adjusted before her release, so let’s focus on her kit alone. Based on her abilities, it seems like she’ll fit right into the current evolving meta of League of Legends.
A Bruiser in a New Meta
Irelia is a bruiser, but she can build high damage similar to Fiora, allowing her to burst down targets like an assassin. Unlike most bruisers, she has exceptional mobility and can dish out just as much, if not more, damage without sacrificing anything. This makes her best-in-class and in a meta that is being dominated by bruisers, she’ll thrive.
Bruisers like Irelia have been increasing in popularity, and by the time she’s released, they should be at the top of the meta. With significant nerfs to tank items and Aftershock, as well as the introduction of a new rune designed to help bruisers take down tanks, tanks’ time in the spotlight seems to be coming to an end. Assassins will rise up, and bruisers will counter them with high damage and damage mitigation.
The beauty of Irelia’s kit is its versatility. Even when the bruiser meta phases out, she’ll still be useful as a high-damage diver or even a full-blown tank.
The Death of Tanks and Her Counters
Irelia excels at blowing up carries and assassins, making her perfect for chasing and disorienting mages. Tanks are her only real counter, not because she can’t kill them, but because they usually have crowd control abilities that are her weakness.
Unlike assassins or mobile mages, Irelia doesn’t have an easy way to dodge crowd control since her gap-closer can only be used toward enemies. This makes her susceptible to being kited and locked down, preventing her from reaching her targets. However, a skilled player using her new kit can turn the tables on whoever tries to lock her down because they know she can blow them up too.
Playing Irelia can be challenging due to her difficulty. While she has the potential to easily kill anyone and can time her W ability to block incoming damage, it requires a high skill level to pull off. Playing her can be frustrating at first, but with practice, she becomes incredibly fun to play.
Irelia is set to hit live servers in two weeks as part of the Patch 8.7 cycle.
Irelia, update, bruiser meta, tanks, assassins, League of Legends, damage, mobility, crowd control, kit, difficulty