In League of Legends, champions are regularly adjusted. Often, overly strong characters are nerfed or too weak ones are buffed. Now, it affects one of the weakest champs in LoL, receiving a total of 28 changes, most of which are nerfs.
Which champ is it? Mel Medarda has been part of League of Legends since January 2025. Even before she entered the Rift, she was introduced through the Netflix series Arcane. Since her release, the mage has had a high ban rate and is considered annoying by many players.
Why is she one of the worst champs? In League of Legends, each champion has a win rate that indicates how many games the champ wins. The average is approximately 50%, showing that a champion is more balanced. However, some have significantly higher or lower win rates, indicating that the respective champ is therefore too strong or too weak.
Currently, Mel has an average win rate of about 45% at almost every rank and is often found within the last six spots. At the highest ranks, namely Master and above, she even has a win rate of only 42.5% in her main role, the mid lane (leagueofgraphs.com).
Despite a poor win rate, Mel is severely nerfed
What changes are being made to Mel? Riot employee RiotEmizery posted on Reddit about Mel’s future. With the update on March 26, which is set to be released on February 4, 2026, according to the official LoL website, Mel will receive 28 adjustments.
We summarize the major changes here:
- The attack speed will be slightly increased
- The damage of her passive ability will be nerfed
- Mel’s Q ability will take longer to cast, projectile speed will be slowed, the radius is smaller, and damage will be spread over time with the changes. However, the ability will cost less mana, deal more damage to minions, and deal more damage on the first hit of an explosion (which will be reduced with further hits).
- During her W ability, Mel will no longer be immune and instead gets a barrier that protects her from some damage. Additionally, the movement bonus will be slightly increased and extended.
- The E ability will also not be spared and will be nerfed with a reduced radius and spell range. However, projectile speed and damage will be slightly increased. Additionally, the duration of rooting will be set to a maximum of 1.5 seconds.
Why is Mel being nerfed so heavily? The Riot employee directly gives a reason for Mel’s nerf. According to him, Mel causes frustration for those who play against her. He further states: “Our goals with these changes are that more players feel they can play Mel in a way that meets their expectations and that Mel players feel more competent and that their success is the result of their skill.”
Even in 2026, the mage will be banned by many players. Mel’s strength has been a major issue with the champion since her release in January 2025. Just two days after she was released, the first nerfs came: New champion in LoL is too strong, nerfed after just 2 days
