It seems like the tiny changes made to Tahm Kench in patch 11.13 have finally allowed League of Legends players to “unbench the Kench” in ranked play.
Revamping Tahm Kench: what has changed?
Tahm Kench didn’t receive a full-kit rework like champions like Pantheon or Warwick have, but the changes made have progressed him to a point of validity in many roles in a typical game on Summoner’s Rift.
Oddly, none of his abilities actually changed, but they were reordered on his HUD. The changes to him were made through his ultimate ability and his W ability, which were swapped and adjusted accordingly.
His W is now called Abyssal Dive and is similar to his old ultimate, which allows Tahm Kench to teleport from one place to another. However, the range is now much shorter and deals damage, knocking up opponents caught in its radius.
His R, now called Devour, is the same as his old W, which allows him to eat an ally or opponent. But now, upon eating an ally, they receive a large shield from Tahm Kench that ranks up with each point put into the ability. It has a similar effect when swallowing an opponent but with damage instead of a shield
Is the new Tahm Kench playable?
With no new abilities or themes added to the champion, it may seem like not much has changed. However, the adjustments made to him have actually put him into a place where he is finally a viable champion, allowing players to “unbench the Kench” and try him out in matches.
Tahm Kench can still be a support champion if players choose to take him that role, but now he has many more opportunities to showcase his kit. Since he now has more damage available, including an ultimate ability that actually deals damage and can be used as a finisher move, he can be played as an AP champion in top or mid lane.
He can also build items like Night Harvester or Demonic Embrace to assist his team tank, or even try items like Rabadon’s Deathcap and Luden’s Echo to go all out and help his team deal more damage.
Tahm Kench is also seeing a surprising amount of play in the jungle. With the changes to his W, Abyssal Dive, he now has powerful ganks that can come out of nowhere. The distance may not be as long as his old ultimate, but he can still swallow an ally or go in alone so that he can give his team a strong lead with his ganks.
His jungle clear may be a bit weak due to his lack of AoE, but he more than makes up for it with his ganks. So players looking to take him into this role need to be sure to gank as much as possible in the early game to get his team again and give himself enough stats to contribute to his team when the late game rolls around.
