Kassadin proves to be very effective with the new rune First Strike
Recently, mid-lane has gotten significantly more diverse in terms of types of champions. Bruisers, duelists, and even marksmen have taken over the position, leaving traditional mages and AP mid laners dropping out of the meta.
However, when the 2022 Preseason begins, especially with the release of patch 11.24, Kassadin suddenly becomes extremely OP. According to op.gg, he is now the top-tier mid-lane champion, with a win rate of roughly 53%, an incredibly high ratio.
First and foremost, the metagame has shifted significantly after the preseason, allowing mages to establish their spot in the mid lane once again.
With the appearance of strong items like the Crown of the Shattered Queen and the Shadowflame, mage champions gained considerably more power. This resulted in mages coming back extremely strong, and for champions like Kassadin whose passive reduced 15% AP dmg also benefits in a way.
Crown of the Shattered Queen has been one of the most essential items for Kassadin, granting him extra tankiness, allowing him to survive in the team fight longer. Lunalina, an OTP Kassadin always goes Crown of the Shattered Queen and Frozen Heart for extra tankiness but can still deal decent burst damage.
Then there’s the First Strike rune, which aided him in becoming exceedingly strong in a short period of time. The gold achieved from the rune ensures him with enough gold for items, even if you are losing the lane. First Strike is the perfect rune for him to scale throughout the game.
In short, with First Strike, the ability to scale and to deal damage make Kassadin much better. Combined with the new preseason items, Mages in general, and Kassadin in particular has quickly risen to become a hot meta.