So with Skarner's ability to affect the early game in terms of a ganking jungler considered and critiqued, it is time to move onto the most defining feature of this lone Brackern: His Stinger.
A unique suppression ultimate, where the target is left not only helpless and stunned, but also dragged around the battlefield at Skarner's whim and Skarner himself is left to do as he wishes.
For this comparison, CC Ultimates from other junglers will be looked at and damage will be disregarded for the purpose that the most important aspect being compared is the effects of the crowd control.
Here is a quick look at some other jungler Ultimates that contain a strong CC.
Damage is not shown.
Skarner - COOLDOWN: 130/120/110 - RANGE: 350 - 1.75 seconds Suppress and Drag
Maximum possible displacement of target is 1.75x Skarner's Movement Speed as he'll be dragging them. ~650+ range in most circumstances.
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Vi - COOLDOWN: 130/105/80 - RANGE: (725) +- 800 - 1.25 seconds Knockup and ~150
Lee Sin - COOLDOWN: 90/75/60 - RANGE: (975-1100 + [600]700) +- 375 - 1200 range Knockback over 1 second
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Wukong - COOLDOWN: 120/105/90 - RANGE: (625) +- 162.5 - ~1 second Knockup
Xin Zhao - COOLDOWN: 120/110/100 - RANGE: (600) +- 187.5 - ~600 range Knockback
Gragas - COOLDOWN: 100/90/80 - RANGE: (600) + <1050 +- 400 - 600 range Knockback
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Nautilus - COOLDOWN: 140/110/80 - RANGE: (1100) +- 825 - 1 second Knockup and 1/1.5/2 second Stun
Sejuani - COOLDOWN: 130/115/100 - RANGE: (650) +- 1175 - 1.25/1.5/1.75 second Stun/90% Slow
Amumu - COOLDOWN: 150/130/110 - RANGE: (1100) +- 550 - 2 second Entangle (Rooted and cannot Auto Attack)
Malphite - COOLDOWN: 130/115/100 - RANGE: 1000 +- 300 - 1.5 second Knockup
Zac - COOLDOWN: 130/115/100 - RANGE: (1150-1550) +- ~200 - 1 second Knockup and 20% slow
Hecarim - COOLDOWN: 140/120/100 - RANGE: 1000 +- ~300 - 1 second Terrify
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Lulu - COOLDOWN: 110/95/80 - RANGE: {900} +- 150 - ~1 second Knockup and 30/45/60% Slow Aura
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Malzahar - COOLDOWN: 120/100/80 - RANGE: 700 - 2.5 second Suppress
Warwick - COOLDOWN: 90/80/70 - RANGE: 700 - 1.8 second Suppress
NB Ranges within "()" for other skills in their kit, "[]" for warding range and "{}" for use on Ally only.
Comparing Skarner's Ultimate to other Jungler's CC Ults shows a clear issue for Skarner:
His ability to actually use his ult is severely lacking.
Excluding Flash which has a 400 Range, Skarner has no fast or instant gap closers to get within range of an intended target and no way to stop himself from being CC'd and kited to death before he can get into range.
Even his sprint is tied to his shield which is easily broken, thus removing his sprint.
With the introduction of a Gold Generation Item limit of 1, the new Spirit Stones and Ancient Coin (and upgrades), Skarner can no longer build himself an item (read Talisman of Ascension) with a big speed boost to make getting into range slightly easier.
The cooldown on Impale, though it looks higher in comparison to all the other Ultimates listed except Amumu's, is actually offset significantly by Skarner's passive, however this means managing jungle farm extensively to capitalise on this.
Every other potential jungler with a comparatively high CC Ultimate has a way for the ult to reach the intended target much easier (denoted within "()" for other skills in their kit, "[]" for warding range and "{}" for use on Ally only).
Although Impale has one of the longest CC durations, the amount of displacement is linked to Skarner's movement speed at the time.
Taking into account that any speed buffs available would most likely have been used for Skarner to close in on the target, the displacement ranks rather averagely along with other Knockbacks.
With the exception of the two other Suppresses of Malzahar and Warwick, every other Ultimate listed has an AoE effect, including the other targeted Ultimates of Vi, Lee Sin, Nautilus and Lulu.
All of these factors means Skarner puts himself at much more risk when attempting to use his Ultimate and in the end, it has a mostly average effect on the target compared to many other CC orientated Ultimates whilst not disrupting anyone else.
For the final piece, Skarner will be subjected to a comparison against who I feel is his greatest competitor - The Shadow of War.
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