Varus finds success in the LCS with different builds
Varus has had a turbulent year in the LCS. His playrate in both the North American and European leagues started off low in the summer, but saw a dramatic increase following Patch 8.14 in NA, according to data from Games of Legends.
Varus, the favorite Darkin archer, has made a comeback in the professional meta, but players have taken him in two different directions. In the European LCS, players have stuck with a more traditional auto-attack build, purchasing Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Runaan’s Hurricane, and Blade of the Ruined King. On the other hand, in North America, there has been a return to an older, more lethal Varus build.
Armed with Muramana, Duskblade, and Youmoo’s, Varus players can delete carries off the map with a single Piercing Arrow. Lethality Varus hadn’t seen play all year, so why did the build suddenly change so much?
Buffs to Varus’ Q and W
In Patch 8.14, Varus received buffs to his Q, Piercing Arrow, and his W, Blighted Quiver. The Q was given higher damage ratios across the board, while the damage dealt when popping three stacks of W was increased at early ranks. These changes made his Q deal massive damage, especially in the early laning phase.
With Arcane Comet as his Keystone, Varus can be a strong lane bully. Few lanes can survive his constant harass with Q and E, Hail of Arrows, and in all-ins, he can deal a surprising amount of burst damage if he stacks his W.
Meta shifts and the power of poke
In recent competitive matches, top lane carries like Rumble, Gnar, and Gangplank have become more common. This shift in the meta, where teams often have only one tank, makes Varus’ poke even stronger. Against tank-heavy compositions, the traditional Rageblade build allows Varus to cut through the frontline easily. However, when facing squishy champions, long-ranged harass becomes more impactful, leading to more Varus players opting for lethality builds.
In addition, teams have become more reliant on the Baron buff to close out games. This has made poke champions like Varus more necessary, especially when playing on the red side. With poke, teams can slowly whittle down their opponents as they start the Baron and engage when they get low. In the LCS, where teams often spend a lot of time around Baron, poke is extremely powerful.
Varus is a versatile marksman who can build like an assassin or a traditional marksman, making him a safe early pick. When played optimally, Varus can rain hell down on his enemies.
Varus, LCS, European LCS, auto-attack build, lethal build, buffs, Q, W, Piercing Arrow, Blighted Quiver, Arcane Comet, meta shifts, Baron buff, poke champions, marksmen