League of Legends‘ newest blacksmithing champion, Ornn, has only just been revealed, and players are already beginning to speculate what role the Frejlord being might best fit into. Top lane seems like a no-brainer, but looking at his abilities, Ornn might be able to find success throughout the map.
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When he was first teased, two of the only descriptors that were given to the champ was that he’d be extremely self-reliant and that’d he’d be building up more than just his allies’ spirits. At the time, this led to theories that he could create structures, build items for teammates, or permanently alter parts of the map.
We now know that this has to do with his ability to shop from anywhere on the map, and with the CC his abilities bring, it’s looking like he’ll be right at home in more than one lane.
Ornn In The Top Lane
In what appears to be the most obvious choice of the three spots that Ornn could find himself, the top lane is likely where the Vanguard will live most of the time.
Top lane is already regarded as an island in the game that’s far separated from the other lanes, only receiving the occasional visit from a jungler, and Ornn’sย passive will only make that even truer. Assuming that Ornnย can stay healthy enough to stay in lane for a bit longer, by the time his opponent is shoving the wave so that they can recall and make their first big purchases, Ornnย can simply rack up some more gold and step under the safety of his turret to buy his items.
With no innate sustain, he’ll have to recall eventually, but his abilities keep him pretty safe in the meantime. With a shield, percent health damage, a slow, a knock-up, and a terrain-building ability to trigger his ownย knock-upย on, Ornnย is the teamfightingย Vanguard that every bot lane dreads when that ward lights up as he teleports.
Riot Reav3 also commented that this’ll probably be where he’s best at, though that remains to be seen.
“Initial tests internally suggest he will be strongest as a top laner but we will see when all of you get ahold of him!” Reav3 wrote in a Reddit discussion.
Ornn As A Jungler
If a player should choose to take Ornn into the jungle, the bread and butter ability looks like it’s going to be his E: Searing Charge.ย
While the numbers for Ornn’s base damages on his abilities remain to be seen, the knock-up effect looks to be pretty lengthy, especially with it being an AOEย CC. With how many walls and tight corners there are in the jungle, Ornn’sย ability to slow, knock back, and knock up enemies might not be enough to outright kill invaders, but it’ll definitely make them think twice before stepping towards his Blue Buff.
His W: Bellows Breath might also be an extremely useful ability for the jungle, but that depends on how the new CC, Brittle, is applied. If it counts for jungle monsters, or even the larger monsters, it’ll help him out tremendously. Dealing current health damage with the initial ability and a percentage of their maximum health with the Brittle effect, being able to apply that CC to bigger monsters will help speed up his clear and make him a viable jungler.
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Ornn As A Support
There’s not a lot of player-made terrain that Ornnย can smash through in the bot lane unless a J4 comes downriver at level 6, but Ornn’sย passive, Living Forge & Master Craftsman, looks like it’ll be more than enough to make him a viable Relic Shield support.
The only question that remains about the passive is how the upgrading system works. His ability’s second description reads “Ornn and his teammates have access to special upgrades for select items in the shop. Each player is limited to one of these upgrades.”ย This could mean anything from finishing full items if a player has the necessary components to adding on special upgrades similar to the old boot enchantments. Teammatesย won’t be able to shop from Ornn’sย selection of items, though; that feature is reserved for him.
Regardless of how his passive works, the rest of his abilities will likely make him work well with a duo partner, especially one who has ample CC to trigger his Brittle effect.
