Goredrinker took a severe hit, and Stridebreaker, another item built from Ironspike Whip, becomes the new meta…
With the introduction of mythic items, Season 11 has seen a myriad of playstyles across all roles, Champions are getting more versatiles, forgotten picks like Udyr and Gnar are seeing daylight once more, and unconventional picks like top lane Nocturne and Karma have been a common sight lately.
As a top laner, survivability is often expected, since most of the time it’s bruisers and tanks that are played there. Goredrinker used to be the go-to item for bruisers, but thanks to the recent nerf and the easy access to Grievous Wound, it’s time for fighters to look for another option…
With the recent adjustment made to Stridebreaker, especially with the increased dash range, Juggernauts will have an easier time approaching their targets. The Galeforce meta has made their life miserable, and Stridebreaker did not provide enough for them to get close to those pesky marksmen. Combined with Winged Moonplate items (Force of Nature and Deadman’s Plate), fighters will become a worse threat to backline carries than assassins. A normally clunky Sett can be just as fearsome as Master Yi with Stridebreaker, Deadman’s Plate, and his Q activated.
Despite having its slow and damage component reduced, the increased range of Stridebreaker is more than enough to compensate these nerfs – to many champions. For example, with a higher dash range, Darius can easily follow up with his Apprehend (E), effectively increase his threat range to a maximum of 840 (Stridebreaker, 300; Apprehend, 540), making the slow nerf irrelevant.
After Stridebreaker power spike, you can either opt for more survivability and mobility with a Winged Moonplate item, or a offensive/defensive hybrid item should as the Black Cleaver or Sterak’s Gage. The Black Cleaver is getting a buff in 11.5 – it is now cheaper and gives more movement speed the more armor shred you inflict on the target – so it can be a great option for those who can stack its passive quickly enough. You should always finish your build with more defensive items depending on the state of the game and the enemy team composition.