Champion review: The Leader
EdisonLaw
Member Posts: 7,693 ★★★★★
It's big brain time, Summoners!
Samuel Sterns aka The Leader is here, and I'm excited to share my review of this champion. We'll be diving into his stats, animations, damage, utility, signature ability, and best uses/matchups to see where he fits in the Contest.
Stats: The Leader boasts impressive stats. His health is surprisingly high, despite not being known for his strength or durability. His Armor rating and attack are average, but his block proficiency is exceptional. With maxed Parry, all his blocks are perfect parries. In fact, his block proficiency surpasses that of Arcade, Kate Bishop, and Doctor Doom, who are also known for their high block proficiency. This, combined with the inequity mastery and his protection passives, makes the Leader extremely tanky both offensively and defensively.
Animations: 8/10. The Leader's animations are quite fluid, with his movements being smooth and his specials both flashy and fast.
Damage: 7/10. The Leader's damage primarily comes from degeneration, regeneration reversal, and his power dissolve debuff. In matchups where he can exploit the opponent's power gain or regeneration, he can deal significant damage by reversing these effects. In standard matchups where he cannot take advantage of these mechanics, he relies on his Special 3 to inflict a large Degeneration debuff. Additionally, if the green door is open, his damage potential increases further, inflicting degeneration vulnerability on activation of the SP3, and the door deals instant degeneration damage to those who stand in it. His basic attacks don't hit hard, so they're not reliable for damage.
Utility: 9/10. This champion has a lot of utility, primarily focusing on reducing the opponent's regeneration and power rate, which is very effective. He can apply spectre and wither debuffs with his basic attacks. His Special 1 inflicts a Vitality passive if the opponent's regeneration rate is at or below 0, which increases regeneration rate and leads to more heal reversal—use it against high regeneration opponents. The Special 2 inflicts a power dissolve, dealing damage based on the power drained; use it against power gain opponents. All these debuffs are Severe, meaning the opponent cannot purify or cleanse them, and each debuff grants damage mitigation, except for Special 3s, via Protection passives. This ability is similar to Sasquatch's damage reduction. Additionally, the Leader has some AI manipulation, making opponents act more aggressively the closer they are to the green door and more likely to throw their specials more often. His signature ability also adds more utility.
Signature Ability: 8/10. While not required, the awakened ability enhances The Leader. If the opponent suffers from 12 debuffs (4 for Mystic champions), he gains an indefinite steadfast passive, allowing him to block unblockable attacks—handy against champions like Dr. Doom and Mangog. His Fury passives are paused when the door is open, allowing for additional damage. Finally, light intercepts inflict random Spectre or Wither debuffs, speeding up his ramp.
Strong Matchups/best uses:
- Dragon Man, Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Strange, Hyperion, Symbiote Supreme, Mephisto: These champions have some form of power gain, which the Leader can reduce or even reverse. Plus, his Special 2 inflicts a power dissolve, dealing damage whenever they try to gain power.
- America Chavez: The Leader is one of the best counters to America Chavez, as he can reliably remove her dimension passives using his wither debuffs, keeping her power gain under control.
- Gorr, Wolverine, X-23, Kindred, Serpent, Sasquatch: The Leader's Spectre debuffs help control these champions' regeneration, and his Special 1 inflicts vitality for even more heal reversal.
What are your thoughts and opinions on this champion?
6
Comments
Here I goooooooo
I need to R4 to be usable