Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom picked up Yorick the Gravedigger to see if this ghoul-summoning champion could be destined for melee greatness.

When Riot Games first announced Yorick the Gravedigger and I heard about what his intended role would be within the game, I'll admit that I was very hesitant. Introducing a new champion in the melee DPS slot that competitive players would actually want to use is a significant challenge considering the stringent requirements that League of Legends' current metagame imposes. Ranged DPS carries considered to be "top tier" are usually judged by their ability to deal a lot of damage at all times, while the best "mages" are those with high, on-demand, burst, combined with a light splash of utility (stuns, crowd control, slows).

For the role of a "bruiser," however, which Yorick is, the requirements can get pretty high: top tier bruisers often have a few crowd control abilities to protect their squishy teammates (and catch their targets), enough damage (or utility) to be considered a major threat in a fight, the survivability to be on the front-lines at all times and good sustainability to participate in multiple team fights without needing to constantly return to base.

So does Yorick fit this long list of demands? Let's find out!

Yorick is a unique champion in that he relies heavily on summoned pets to deal damage. Omen of War summons a ghoul on Yorick's next physical attack, increasing Yorick's movement speed by 15% while the ghoul is alive and dealing strong physical damage. Omen of Pestilence spawns a ghoul at a targetable location, dealing a small amount of damage and slowing enemies in the explosion. This ghoul also has a persistent slowing aura for as long as it remains alive. Finally, Omen of Famine is a targetable spell that instantly summons a ghoul on the opponent, with the ghoul healing Yorick for all the damage it deals. On top of these three abilities, Yorick's passive, Unholy Covenant, grants him extra bonus damage (I believe 5% per ghoul) for every ghoul that is alive. Yorick's ghouls also deal a percentage of Yorick's damage and they have a percentage of Yorick's total health as their own.

While the above spells tie in rather well with Yorick's role as a "bruiser," his ultimate, Omen of Death, ends up going in an entirely different direction. With Omen of Death, Yorick instantly creates a "revenant" version of a teammate, with that revenant having anywhere from 50% (at level 1) to 100% (at level 3) of that teammates' health and damage. If the teammate that Yorick used Omen of Death on dies before the summoned revenant does, the teammate will be instantly brought back to life with full control, but will lose 10% of his/her health per second, ultimately dying in 10 seconds or less.

On paper, Yorick appears to be something of a Mordekaiser-esque champion, but with less survivability, more auto attack damage and a more "team-based" ultimate. In execution, however, Yorick is simply underwhelming. Even Mordekaiser, who many consider to be a "low-tier" champion, has some great moments to shine if he can gobble up a lane on his own to get some tank items and a Rylai's Crystal Scepter (I'm not saying it happens often, but it can). Yorick, on the other hand, simply cannot compete in any category.

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