In League of Legends, patches regularly change which champions are good or frequently played. However, there are some candidates where this is a bit more difficult. For an old champion, it seems that a rework hasn’t helped either.
Which champion is it about? Skarner is a veteran in the roster of League of Legends. Since 2011, you can play the crystal scorpion, who is preferably represented in the jungle. However, he has long been one of the lesser-known and less popular champions.
Previously, Skarner was slightly reworked several times, and in 2024, a major rework came. He was not only visually adjusted, but also his abilities were revised. Although his rework initially had a positive impact, it seems that nothing remains of it today.
Unpopular and barely successful
What is the current status of Skarner? When you look at Skarner’s statistics on the current patch at lolalytics.com (as of 26.04.202), the situation for the scorpion does not look good:
- Across all ranks, with a pick rate of 0.91%, he is the second least popular champion. With a win rate of 43.73%, he is currently the worst champion in the game in that regard.
- In the higher ranks, it looks similar. In Emerald or higher, he has a pick rate of 1.02% and a win rate of 47.76%. Here he ranks last in both aspects.
That he is unpopular and hardly successful in solo queue is a pretty bad sign. Other champions like Rek’Sai, Ivern, Taric, or Ziggs are also unpopular across all ranks, but they do not have such a bad win rate, or in the case of Taric and Ziggs, even have a pretty good win rate.
What is the reason for this? This is not always easy to answer, but one can make guesses. On the one hand, his kit is good, especially the ability to take opponents with him, but it also requires teamwork and good prioritization. If you take the wrong opponent in a team fight as Skarner or the team does not react, it can go wrong quickly. While Skarner can engage well in fights, escaping is more difficult.
The current jungle meta is also relevant. According to data (via lolalytics.com), Skarner is currently countered by champions like Volibear, Warwick, Kayn, or Amumu. These are champions that are quite popular.
In the professional scene, however, things look better. According to gol.gg, he is currently one of the 5 most popular junglers of the Spring Season with 226 matches. But even here, he only has a win rate of 42%.
What does the community say about it? Under a Reddit post, the Skarner situation is being discussed. RW-Firerider (via Reddit) says that Skarner is a champion who will probably never be good in solo queue and in pro play.
GothaV2 (via Reddit) is a Skarner main and is disappointed that the champion is unpopular, even though he finds the kit good. DarthVeigar_ (via Reddit) thinks that his problem is that he simply has a boring kit.
What do you say about Skarner? Do you find him better since the rework, or have you already forgotten him because he is hardly seen anymore? Feel free to let us know your opinion in the comments. Skarner is also not doing particularly well in other areas: An unpopular champion in LoL has a sad record that Lux fans could not even dream of
