‘First Impressions’ of Braum with Xpecial and nRated
A new champion now graces the fields of Summoner's Rift: the first new intended support character since Thresh. But Braum has much to live up to, as his direct predecessor's impact upon the competitive scene has been consistent and ubiquitous since day one. Alex 'Xpecial' Chu, now of North America's Team Curse, and Germany's Christoph 'nRated' Seitz of SK Gaming offer their expertise and insights.
How well does Braum compare against other melee supports?
nRated: Braum has a really safe laning, while being able to range-harass with his Q. He has reliable CC, but it is a bit harder to engage than with Alistar and Leona in most cases.
xPecial: Braum has two skills dedicated to blocking/negating damage and three skills (passive included) dedicated to damage and crowd control. This means that his killing potential isn't as high as Leona and lacks the sustain of Alistar, which will make his laning weak and make him very prone to being harassed in lane.
Unlike Yasuo's Wind Wall, Braum's Unbreakable wall does not fully prevent damage after blocking the first shot. However, while Wind Wall only blocks projectiles, Unbreakable reduces damage from all oncoming sources, excepting true damage and tower attacks.
Given that, how do you think Braum players would want to start out their laning? As passively as possible?
Xpecial: Or the ever-so-popular 4v0!
nRated: I think Doran's Shield or Targon's are a must to sustain against any poke. At level one, he has a lot of damage compared to other supports, but he misses the hard all-in that Leona and Alistar have to offer. I feel he outscales by time, so poking and staying back at first is the right choice to go for.
Notably, while Braum has a team-defense mechanic very similar to Lee Sin's Safeguard, he has no inherent means to closing in on a target in order to directly trigger his passive Concussive Blow stacks. He must slow or knock them up with Winter's Bite or Glacial Fissure respectively, then walk in on his intended target.
After bypassing the laning phase, what strengths or weaknesses do you predict for him?
Xpecial: Yeah, Braum definitely just needs to survive laning phase. His strengths are his huge CC chains that will excel in skirmishes and teamfights. His ultimate seems to be a similar version of Nami's ultimate, but can actually be used for engaging. His biggest weakness will definitely be poke champions.
nRated: After laning he is a very mobile tanky support with roaming capabilities, as well as a good teamfighter. Either way you shouldn't use him for sieging, but rather in all-in and pick comps.
Finally, how would you describe his competitive viability?
Xpecial: It's hard to tell without seeing numbers, as any champion can be made viable if buffed enough. Braum definitely has the right kit for competitive play with the ability to peel and engage. I'm extremely excited to try him out!
nRated: I feel Braum, if correctly used, is a viable pick for competitve play. His skillset leaves enough room for outplays and he has a lot of utility and cc to offer.
Though the LCS summer split will be played on Braum's patch, it will take a few more weeks before he sees his first chance at competitive play. As is usual with new content, he will be banned during the onset of the competitive season's second half.
