Doran's Shield is the new black for AD Carries in Patch 7.10

On May 30th (KST), the opening matches of 2017 LCK Summer Split saw a small but significant change on the bot lane. AD Carries from both started the game with a Doran's Shield in all games for both matches. Considering how 'Doran' always meant Doran's Sword for ADCs until very recently, this is a huge change in the ADC metagame.

Among many item changes made in Patch 7.9, Doran's Shield has been reworked to be more viable choice as a starting item. Its original unique passive had been "Blocks 8 damage from single target attacks and spells from champions", but now it has been reworked to "Restores 20 health over 10 seconds after taking damage from an enemy champion".

Not only that, Doran's Shield now allows champions to deal an additional 5 physical damage to minions on hit, making last hits on minions easier in the early game. These two changes made it a popular starting item for not just ADCs, but champions on all lanes who are often subject to auto-attack harass.

So, before you pick up that Doran's Sword like usual, please remember: In 7.10, the shield is mightier than the sword.