What do all the champions above have in common? They are all female champions from League of Legends, and all but two of them are banned in the upcoming tournament in Iran.
Efforts to get the game playable in Iran might finally be finding some success, but according to translated posts on Iran’s World Cyber Games Facebook page, the female champions are going to be heavily banned for their revealing attire.
How heavily, you ask?
The only female champions in the game who will be playable are Annie and Anivia.
Admittedly, since the original post went up there has been a new one listing out Diana, Fiora, Karma(in her traditional skin), Kayle, Leona, Lissandra, Lulu, Lux, Nami, Quinn, Sejuani, Tristana, and Vayne as being under consideration for allowing into the tourney.
Riot Games is not famous for having the least sexualized characters in its game. People much less strict than the Iranian government have criticized many of the female champions for their ‘armor’ and similarity to one another.
My question is not about the right or wrong nature of the choice banning, which is Iran’s right whether I agree with it or not, but what effect those bans will have on the game itself. Most games have six bans total; in this event players will be starting with 36 characters banned out, before ever making their own bans.
At the very least this list of banned champions drastically reduces the options for support champions by eliminating Sona, Soraka, Lulu, Zyra, Janna, Nami, Nidalee, Karma, Lux, and Morgana. That leaves Alistair, Blitzcrank, Thresh, Taric, and Nunu as playable supports. This means with six bans, it is entirely possible to see literally every support in the game (Zilean doesn’t count) banned from play, leaving bot lane in a weird place.
It is entirely possible to see literally every support in the game (Zilean doesn’t count) banned from play, leaving bot lane in a weird place.
Iran will need to invent its own meta, that is for sure.
While I would obviously prefer such a new meta to arise from the players themselves and not from hideously restrictive governmental requirements, it could actually force players to think in new ways. If Iran winds up with its own professional teams, whether or not they will be allowed to play in international events will raise a multitude of questions. Whether they can deal with the champions they never see and whether the rest of the world can deal with teams who have to redefine their own meta could make for some exciting gameplay.
