The Rise of Gangplank - An Analysis on Gangplank in the Competitive Scene
The popularity of Gangplank has grown since his rework. Is the Saltwater Scourge viable for competitive play or is he still a liability?&
Introduction:
Gangplank has been the subject of many drastic changes and the focus of Riot Games for the past few months. He has already been picked several times in the NALCS, NACS, and EUCS with moderate success. Have the changes brought to Gangplank made him viable in competitive play? Or is he still a bottom-tier pick that should not be seen in competitive play. In this article we will address the main changes that Gangplank has gone through and the changes it has brought to his playstyle and viability. In the end we will find out if he truly is ready to be seen in professional play.
Gangplank's New Skill-Set:
Passive: Trial by Fire
Every several seconds, Gangplank’s next melee attack ignites the target, dealing bonus true damage over time and granting a brief burst of movement spee. Destroying a Powder Keg instantly refreshes Trial by Fire.
This skill adds more mobility and damage per second (dps) to Gangplank's kit thus making his trading in lane exceptionally good and allowing him to shred tanks. The change in passive definitely bolsters Gankplank's early game and with the great scaling on his passive, it allows him to scale well into the late game which was a huge problem for pre-rework Gangplank.
Q: Parrrley
Gangplank fires his pistol at his target, dealing damage and applying on-hit effects. If Parrrley kills a unit, the shot plunders bonus gold and refunds mana. For each Gold plundered, Gangplank gains a Silver Serpent that he can use at the shop to upgrade Cannon Barrage.
The staple plundering skill of Gangplank has remained the same although it has several new interactions with other skills, most apparent his skill Powder Keg (E).
W: Remove Scurvy
Gangplank consumes a large quantity of citrus fruit, curing all disabling effects and healing him based on his missing health.
Another staple spell of Gangplank that has remained roughly the same. This spell was buffed as he now heals based on missing health. This spell has turned into a one point wonder that helps immensly in dire situations. The small buff has made his laning phase extremely dominant and allowing him to create more pressure in teamfights thus scaling well into the mid and late game.
E: Powder Keg
Places a powder keg that can be attacked by Gangplank or his enemies. If Gangplank destroys a keg, it explodes in an AoE blast that slows and spreads the damage of the attack to all nearby enemies. Other casks within the zone will chain explode. If an enemy destroys the cask, it defuses the explosion and grants gold.
The newest addition to Gangplank's skill-set. This spell is extremely potent and has the ability to completely turn fights around and in addition provides a massive amount of gold when used in conjunction with Gangplank's Q: Parrrley. The various uses of this spell; as an escape, long range nuke, and mass waveclear makes Gangplank become extremely dominant in both lane and teamfights.
R: Cannon Barrage
Signals Gangplank’s ship to fire waves of cannonballs at an area. Each wave deals magic damage and slows enemies. Cannon Barrage can be upgraded up to three times.
Death’s Daughter fires an initial mega-cannonball in the center of the area of effect.
Raise Morale gives allies within the area of effect additional move speed.
Fire at Will increases the rate of fire over the duration of Cannon Barrage.
Gangplank's ultimate is exactly the same except it has more utility in the form of its 3 upgrades and it offers slightly more damage. The changes to his ultimate can be regarded as a slight buff to Gangplank as not much is done except an increase in damage.
Gangplank in Competitive Play Post-Rework:
NALCS:
Team Dignitas vs. Team Impulse
Gamsu: 3-2-4
Gamsu the top laner of Team Dignitas picked Gangplank in game 3 of the playoffs. He finished the game with a score of 3-2-4 with his team having 10 kills total. Gangplank had an extremely strong early game showing, but ended up falling short in the mid game due to the team being behind. Gangplank did show signs of brilliance and having 70% kill participation is exceptionally good, especially for a top lane.
NACS:
Team Imagine vs. Cloud 9 Tempest
Although Gangplank was not picked in this series, Team Imagine decided to ban Gangplank in both games. Perhaps Gangplank has had a strong showing in scrims from the side of Cloud 9 Tempest or the team as a whole decided Gangplank was a ban-worthy champion. One thing that can be ascertained is that Gangplank is rising in popularity in the competitive scene and he's definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Coast vs. Renegades
RF Legendary: 2-4-3
In the crucial game 3 of the grand finals of the NACS playoffs, RNG RF Legendary decided to bring out Gangplank. With several popular top lane picks open such as Maokai, it was surprising to see RF Legendary pick Gangplank. At first glance we would think the Gangplank pick wasn't the best choice, but when we acknowledge that Renegades only had 5 kills - we have to realize that in actuality Gangplank was a decent pick. Boasting 100% kill participation and the second highest KDA ratio on his team, the Gangplank pick definitely wasn't at fault. We saw glimpses of Gangplank's brilliance in the early game, but slowly we came to realize that Gangplank was still susceptible to ganks as every top laner with no gap-closer is. Still, we did see some lane dominance come out of the Saltwater Scourge.
EUCS:
MouseSports vs. Team Dignitas EU
Wunderwear: 3-4-6
In this close best of 5 series in the EUCS playoffs, MouseSports banned Gangplank 3 times in games 1, 2, and 3. Wunderwear who had one dominating performance on Gangplank previous to this series has most likely continued his dominance on that champion in scrims thus resulting in those bans or Gangplank has proven himself to be a champion so strong that he must be banned. If either one is the case then it only shows how once Gangplank is mastered he can become a crucial threat with any team composition. Wunderwear playing Gangplank in the crucial game 5 amassed a scoreline of 3-4-6 with 64% kill participation. He was pivotal to his team's success and showed why the rework of Gangplank has made him viable for competitive play.
Team Denial vs. Team Dignitas EU
Wunderwear: 8-3-6
The debut performance of Gangplank post-rework was a spectacular one. Wunderwear dominated the laning phase and transitioned his massive lead into dominating teamfight wins with him leading the charge. This game displayed the incredible early game strength of Gangplank when played correctly and how easily Gangplank can snowball off one small advantage. Wunderwear's performance was so stellar that Team Denial ended up banning Gangplank in game 3 of their series.
Summary:
Gangplank has quickly proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with. Showing several solid performances and warranting several bans in both EUCS and NACS have shown that this champion is definitely one to watch out for. In game 2 with Team Denial vs. Team Dignitas EU, Wunderwear displayed the dominance of Gangplank in various stages in the game and the massive impact that he potentially can have when given one small advantage to utilize. Ultimately, Gangplank has proven himself to be ready for competitive play. However, due to him only being able to fill the position as a full damage fighter he can only be used in compositions with a tankier jungle and support.
Until next time!
WildWang (@WildWangLoL)
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