League of Legends' Tahm Kench Is Getting a Devour Nerf

Tahm Kench is known for his ability to put an abrupt halt to enemies’ plans by Devouring a [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

TahmKench 1
(Photo: Riot Games)

Tahm Kench is known for his ability to put an abrupt halt to enemies' plans by Devouring a teammate and taking them to safety, but Riot Games is exploring nerfs to that ability that would prevent the champ's allies from evading danger so easily.

To understand the nerf, you've got to first understand everything that Tahm Kench's Devour (W) does. The move can either cause Tahm Kench to eat an enemy who has three stacks of his passive built up or allow him to scoop up a teammate and rush them to safety (PSA: If you're an ally Devoured by Tahm Kench and issue a right click command, he spits you out, so don't do that unless you have a plan). When carrying an enemy, Tahm Kench's speed is drastically reduced, but when he has an ally in his belly, he receives bonus movement speed when moving towards enemies. This last part is the portion of Tahm Kench's Devour that Riot Games is looking to nerf in Patch 8.8, according to Riot Meddler.

"Tahm Kench nerf aimed at giving opponents more ways to deal with him when he's saving allies," Riot Meddler said as part of a list of changes expected to ship in Patch 8.8. "What we're currently testing is that he no longer gains bonus movement speed when moving towards enemies if he has an ally devoured. Original intent was that that would encourage more aggressive ally devour cases. It mainly seems to result in TK running away faster because there's often an enemy along the line of his retreat (or close enough to, the directional check's pretty generous in its angles)."

Those who play as Tahm Kench and server as the savior of many allies in peril can likely attest to the fact that the movement speed buff is generous at times like Riot Meddler said. If an enemy is around Tahm Kench when he eats an ally, especially if he's saving someone in the middle of a teamfight or from a dive, there's a strong chance that he'll get the movement speed boost. Couple that with Keystone Runes like Glacial Augment and items that grant a little extra movement speed like Knight's Vow and you've got a recipe for one fast Kench.

The nerf may not be as large a change as those who detest playing against Tahm Kench would like, but it seems like a fair way to adjust his Devour given how seldomly the champ uses such a valuable ability to deliver a teammate to a fight. This nerf is expected to ship in Patch 8.8, but there's a chance that it may not go through or will be adjusted in some way.

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