The 12.17 patch in League of Legends has finally hit the live servers. With patch 12.18 being the Worlds patch, the changes in patch 12.17 will definitely change things up from the Summer split meta [12.14/15].

Tentative patch 12.18 changes via Riot Phroxon

With no pro play data on patch 12.16 and 12.17 [The Asia Star Challengers Invitational is being played on 12.16], it's hard to define what the Worlds meta will look like. Here are my thoughts on which balance changes from patch 12.17 will either make or break the Worlds meta.

Hecarim

Every high-elo player I’ve chatted with have all stated that this mini-rework that Hecarim received makes him incredibly strong. From the buff onto his Q [Rampage] and E [Devastating Charge] to the extra resistances that he gets from his W [Spirit of Dread], they were all in consensus that Hecarim is back in the meta.

Hecarim even proves to be effective even in solo queue. On the KR server, he currently boasts a 49.22% win rate, with an 18.25% pick rate and a 24.09% ban rate. Even with such a high pick/ban rate, the fact that Hecarim can produce such a win rate is definitely a good sign for the fans that want to see Hecarim on the competitive stage.

Miss Fortune

In both solo queue and in pro play, Miss Fortune has never felt like an off-meta champion. You always tend to see more AP Miss Fortune players in your average low elo solo queue games, and she always made the rare appearance in pro leagues all around the world.

The buffs that she received to her kit were made with the intent of giving power to her traditional AS build, over the lethality build that’s been trending with her in recent days. However, the buffs were too much, as she currently boasts a 53.64 win rate, with a 25.51% pick rate and a whopping 48.31% ban rate. These buffs were so massive that her W [Strut] had its buff reverted. But is it enough to stop her?

Nami

Although Lucian-Nami have been considered a strong bot lane duo in competitive play, they always felt like trap cards for pro teams. One of the reasons why the bot duo was strong was because Nami can cast E [Tidecaller’s Blessing] onto Lucian and proc her Electrocute with Lucian’s double AA passive. With Riot removing this interaction, I’ll presume that there’s definitely less incentive for pro teams to go Lucian-Nami. 

Renekton

Let’s be honest. Even after these nerfs, pro teams are still going to pick Renekton.