Ever since the Ashe rework in Patch 5.9 , Ashe's popularity has absolutely skyrocketed by almost 500%. Personally, I think she was already growing powerful right after Graves and Jinx were nerfed, but the rework definitely brought her into the spotlight.
Introduction
Ever since the Ashe rework in Patch 5.9 , Ashe's popularity has absolutely skyrocketed by almost 500%. Personally, I think she was already growing powerful right after Graves and Jinx were nerfed, but the rework definitely brought her into the spotlight.
W - Volley
E - Hawkshot
R - Enchanted Crystal ArrowRework Summary
The basic changes that Ashe underwent are as follows:- Faster missile speed, reduced attack speed, and reduced "crit" damage on her autos;
- All basic attacks after the first "crit" for 10% extra damage, but Ashe cannot crit normally for 200% damage anymore;
- Ashe's Q is no longer a toggle slow, but more like Twitch's expunge with passive stacks and an active boost;
- Ashe's W is buffed slightly in terms of reliability as long; and
- Ashe's R slow proc was nerfed.
All in all, she's simply a little more reliable and has more tools at her disposal.
Ashe In the Current Meta
Outside of being a newly modified champion, how good is Ashe in the current meta? Ashe's ultimate is always game changing on any given team composition, and is mostly hampered by her lack of escape (outside of any number tweaks).
Ashe is Good Against:
- Large and/or immobile targets;
- Champions with a single gap closer, but sustained rather than burst damage; and
- Teams with low sustain.
Ashe is Good With:
- Champions with high CC and follow-up initiation; and
- Strong peel-type supports (read: Janna).
Ashe is Bad Against:
- High burst assassins with invisibility (read: Talon);
- Champions with multiple gap closers and burst damage (read: Akali)
- Teams with strong all-in engagement (read: Leona)
There's no-one in particular that Ashe is specifically "bad" with though, as she does also work with burst supports that can chain with her CC.
Conclusions
The new Ashe is a well oiled machine compared to the old Ashe, but not drastically different from how she was before as indicated by a nearly undetectable movement in her win rate, especially considering the massive spike in her play rate.
In terms of the current meta, she does do very well simply because her counters aren't as popular on the rift at the moment. Even if she does get "countered", against her poorest lane match-up (Draven) she's still sitting at a solid 49.5% win rate as a result of the sheer utility that she provides.