Keep in mind that Taric is still on the Public Beta Environment and will not be available in pro play for quite some time, so much of the info currently available is limited and subject to change. This is only a prediction, after all. Now, to meet Summoner’s Rift most fashionable and bare-chested warrior.
PASSIVE: BRAVADO
Taric infuses his next two basic attacks whenever he casts an ability. He swings faster with these two attacks, which deal increased damage and reduce his cooldowns.
A simple passive that gives Taric a reason to get up in his enemies’ faces and show them whose lane it is. It allows him to effectively trade, so long as he can catch his foes without being kited.
Q: STARLIGHT’S TOUCH
Taric heals himself and all nearby allies based on the number of Starlight's Touch charges he’s stored. Taric generates up to three charges over time.
Replacing his old wimpy heal, Taric can now efficiently keep his allies and him sustained in a fight. While it does require stacking to do any heals worthwhile, the benefit of being an AOE makes up for it.
W: BASTION
All of Taric’s abilities are simultaneously cast from both Taric and his linked ally.
Passive: Bastion increases Taric’s armor.
Active: Taric links with an ally, shielding them from damage. Bastion remains on Taric’s ally until he recasts it onto another ally, or the two move far enough apart to break their link.
This is the spell that truly makes Taric the support he is now. The armor may be nice, but the shield and tether that allows any of Taric’s spells to have double the effect is what makes this spell so game changing. Double the heals, shield, stuns, and even the AOE of his invulnerability. This will allow for quite a number of strong outplays and synergies.
E: DAZZLE
After a brief delay, Taric fires out a short wave of celestial energy in a target direction that stuns all enemies struck.
Did you ever want a version of Aurelion Sol’s ultimate, but with stronger CC and have the ability to fire from two points? Here you go. This will allow Taric to lockdown foes, while also letting him to apply harass damage and catch out people for a fight.
R: COSMIC RADIANCE
Taric calls on the stars themselves for protection. After a moderate delay, he and all nearby allies become invulnerable for a few seconds.
This is what you get when you combine Bard with Kindred. The ability to negate all damage on literally your entire team is so broken as a concept that this ability alone may make Taric the next team fighting support to immediately pick up. Just keep in mind that there is a delay, so judge before you call it down.
Putting all of Taric’s new toys together, on paper, he seems like a nearly unkillable wall with more utility than you can shake a stick at. While he still suffers from immobility, his combined heals, shields, stuns, and invincibility make him nearly unkillable anyway. He fits right in with supports like Alistar that like to just be a wall that soaks up everything while his team stays behind, but Taric takes a step further and allows his allies to go ham without much fear.
The biggest drawback I see is his weakness to kiting and inability to get out if he is put under too much crowd control. Outside of that, Taric is one champion many support mains should look into trying out, lest they get left behind by those who can quickly learn Taric’s strengths and take advantage of them. We will see more clearly in the upcoming months if teams begin to utilize him, or if I am just blowing hot air.
Be sure to comment below what you think of the new Taric and his competitive viability!
