This post isn’t only about Shaco, but about the ban process in general. While by and large I think bans are good and that draft mode is a big improvement for the game, I do wonder what Riot will do about champions that are getting banned in most every game.

Your experience may differ from mine, but nearly every game has Heimer/Shaco/Shen banned and then either Soraka, Xin Zhao, or Taric. For now this has encouraged much more variety in champion selection, but even now I see a few champions popping up more than I think is reasonable. Ashe, for one, is in just about every game – I mean like 90 percent. So what can Riot do to make sure the ban system continues to encourage variety, both in bans and the champions played?

One solution is obviously nerfs, and I think Heimerdinger is a great candidate. He is still too strong a lane presence for most characters to be successful against, and in solo queue that’s a big problem. Players are largely focused on picking a team with synergy, and not necessarily a team that can play against the opponents.

Another solution would be buffing the marginalized toons. I haven’t seen Kog’Maw once in draft mode other than a game in which I picked him. I haven’t seen Kennen. I don’t see Karthus or, much as it pains me to say it, Eve. Give those characters the tools to be successful in a draft setting and maybe we’ll get more variety.

I also wonder if Riot would ever consider global bans – toons that change from week to week that are unplayable, just as some champs are free each week. Part of being a good player, in my mind, is knowing a wide variety of toons. It seems pretty important to the competitive environment, then, that the best players know how to play more than a handful of champions. In most cases I think that’s already true, but it would encourage a breadth of knowledge that could help every player improve.