League of Legends news » Pros talk swinging the new Black Cleaver

Cinderhulk's reign in the competitive metagame is looking a little shaky. With Patch 5.8's major changes to the Black Cleaver, teams now favorite it for its new armor shred, increased cooldown reduction, and movement speed buffs as a way to bust apart heavily armored tanks.

While it's being built in the same roles, if not the same champions, as Cinderhulk, Unicorns of Love jungler Mateusz "Kikis" Szkudlarek is happy with its introduction to the game. "I think Black Cleaver's a great move to try and not let the tank meta be too dominant. It's a great answer for bruisers to not fall behind or be at a disadvantage versus tanks."

PRESS THE ASSAULT

Kikis is keeping his eyes on a number of otherwise recently overlooked champions to utilize the new item. "I think the best champions for it right now are mostly Xin Zhao, Wukong, and also Gnar," he said, noting their ability to quickly stack physical damage onto a target. He also points out that Renekton is a solid top lane pick thanks to the item, especially since Ruthless Predator instantly reduces an enemy bruiser's armor by up to 15%.

SK Gaming midlaner Hampus "Fox" Myhre concurs, but is worried that it won't exactly be the anti-tank weapon it was designed to be. "I think the new Black Cleaver is really strong, but I haven't seen that many carries use this item to kill tanks. It's more tank junglers going Cinderhulk into Black Cleaver, and being really strong," said Fox. "I think, with this, tank bruisers are going to be even stronger because they only have to go Black Cleaver as a damage item, while AD carries still have to go for Last Whisper as a third or fourth item to keep up."

But Fox does acknowledge that the teamfight potential might mean that a good peeling bruiser helps amplify their AD carry's effectiveness. "I think it goes both ways. It's a big item to get, so I'm not entirely sure it's going to be the build to go in the LCS, but in solo queue it has been really effective at making your AD carry stronger and easier for him to kill tanks. But I don't think you can skip Last Whisper entirely."

Kikis hastens to note that AD carries shouldn't build Black Cleaver themselves -- with a key exception. Urgot, whose Noxian Corrosive Charge synergizes extremely well with Black Cleaver, has a couple of reasons to consider the item. "I think it can replace Frozen Heart in the build, since it gives 20% cooldown reduction as well. You just deal more damage, since you go for a damage-oriented item instead of a defensive one."

THE UNSEEN BLADE

Speaking of dealing damage, Fox suspects that Black Cleaver will also help his role as much as it helps bruisers. Zed, in particular, is on his radar. "I think this will be the go-to item for AD assassins," said Fox. "I value cooldown reduction a lot, and the item gives 20%, which is huge."

About this, Kikis is more skeptical. "I think Black Cleaver's fine for assassins, but I wouldn't say it's optimal. They mostly want full damage items. I think this item is better for bruisers so they can start shredding the armor, and assassins can come in and deal more damage."

But while they disagree on the efficacy of the item on mid lane assassins, they do agree that the newest threat in Fox's position might just be wielding the thing like a hammer. "We might see Jayce coming back to the meta because of [Black Cleaver]," said Fox, expecting Jayce players to finish it as the second or third item in his kit -- sooner if the enemy team stacks armor early.

Kikis thinks that a poke champion like Jayce wouldn't normally consider Black Cleaver. That's because most poke champions don't have sustained damage, so the item's abilities wouldn't be fully utilized. Jayce, however, "depends on play style, since Jayce has more ways of using this item," said Kikis. "Since you can be more aggressive and use other skills to apply the stacks. Also, with the W [Hyper Charge], you apply stacks really fast. It's really good [on Jayce] as a peeler or front line, instead of from the back line."

SLICE AND DICE

But above all, both Kikis and Fox come to the same conclusion: the most optimal use for Cleaver is with Cinderhulk, not against it. "It synergizes really well as a second item after Cinderhulk," explains Kikis. "I can use the HP bonus from Cinderhulk, and it fits really well with the champions I build it on because of all the stats the item gives -- especially the cooldown reduction."

Kikis betrays a little bias, claiming "the item is more targeted to junglers," but acknowledges that both jungle and top have strong claims to the item. "Both positions can build it if it suits them, and if it benefits the team. There's going to be more room for people to go for triple-AD comps, and have sustained DPS."

Ironically, sustained DPS is exactly what it takes to take down tanks. It might very well be that those that live by the Cleaver will die by the Cleaver.