Thought: Why Ezreal?

Despite hefty nerfs, Ezreal was still the premier carry at MLG Dallas. His continued popularity at the professional level isn't a coincidence, Ezreal has the best kit around for that level of play.

To understand what makes Ezreal so good competitively we'll have to cover a wide variety of topics. Hold on to your keyboards, because we're going to be diving through a whirlpool of mechanics, laning principles, and meta elements as we explore Ezreal's dominance.

That Ezreal is one of a limited set of AD carries with an repositioning ability is well known, but Ezreal is unique in that he is the only one with a blink. Blinks are nigh-instantaneous and mechanically different from the dashes and jumps that Graves, Corki, Tristana and Caitlyn all use. Dashes have a fatal flaw in that the champion's collision detection lags behind the dash, and jumps are even worse. The champion may look as though they have escaped the range of an ability, but in reality they are still hit and suffer the consequences. This makes using them to evade significantly more difficult. Blinks are not only faster than dashes, but can not be interrupted once they've begun. Even if a crowd control ability lands as you blink, the blink will still happen. Blinks also have far fewer issues when dealing with terrain. Because of all the advantages of blinks, Ezreal is a significantly safer pick.

Ezreal's security is further increased by Mystic Shot. Even when severely disadvantaged in lane, Ezreal can continue to farm from a great distance. This safety mechanism, combined with Ezreal's blink, makes zoning him nearly impossible if he plays his cards right. Mystic Shot also provides a tool for harass, skirmishing, and checking brush. That it also applies on-hit effects such as Sheen and Phage is icing on the cake. Ezreal is simply an extremely safe laning choice when put in the right hands.

The mid-game also happens to be both one of Ezreal's main strengths and the current focus of the professional meta. Essence Flux's use as a tower and objective pushing tool sets him above his peers. Trueshot Barrage is a powerful ability for clearing creep waves that either inhibit a tower push or pressure one of his own towers. Combined with Ezreal's safety, he's simply the best mid-game carry.

Normally I would predict that all of this would warrant further nerfs to Ezreal. However, with Season 3 on the way and vast revisions to masteries, items, and jungling, it's likely that Riot isn't going to nerf champions who happen to match the meta. For all his strengths Ezreal has poor creep clearing aside from his ultimate, and a relatively weak late game. In a different meta, such as the one which preceded what we have now, Ezreal could easily be the worst AD carry. If you're sick and tired of seeing Ezreal in every match, you'll have to wait until Season 3 begins in earnest.