Blitzcrank, Thresh or Nautilus: who is the true mayor of Hook City?

Hook City. It is a place in Valoran where even the mightiest carries have no rule over anyone. Where all the gold in the world can mean nothing in the end. A land where, in one moment, you can be stolen away from your teammates, never to return. By rocket, chain, or anchor, the men from this town throw grabs from everywhere, turning the tides of any battle, and giving their teammates that “wild card” edge.

One question remains unanswered though. Who is the one true mayor of Hook City? The Great Steam Golem with his smoking circuits? The Chain Warden and his haunting whispers? Or the Titan of the Depths and his slow, forboding walk? Let us find out.

Blitzcrank – “Fired up and ready to serve.”

Hook Factor: Rocket Grab can pull an opponent directly into his position. It can pass through walls and bring enemies through them. It also has the shortest range amongst the three.

Strengths: Blitzcrank to me will always remain the support with the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time. No one could produce a more shocking turnaround than grabbing the enemy carry towards the entirety of your team. His Rocket Grab + Power Fist + Static Field combo can lock any opponent down for up to four seconds without any chance of escape, as well as deal as decent amount of damage.

Blitzcrank is also the least item-dependent champion compared to Nautilus and Thresh. Just give him a Ruby Sightstone and some boots and he is good to go. Also, his entire skillset is built to compliment his Rocket Grab, and thus is made for very quick bursts. This makes him a high-risk champion that greatly rewards players when the hook connects. This risk carries on throughout the whole game, meaning missing nine grabs can be ok as long as the tenth hits and makes you win.

Weaknesses: Being such a huge gamble, the risk factor can easily work against you, meaning that even though you hit nine hooks, the tenth could miss and cost you the game. Worse, the grab could connect to a champion who wanted to be pulled, such as an Amumu or a Malphite. Also, if you fail your grabs, you really don’t do much in teamfights. Though you have an uppercut and an AoE silence, most of the time, you’ll be just running around.

 

Thresh – “What delightful agony we shall inflinct.”

Hook Factor: Death Sentence holds down champions the longest. Thresh has a choice between dragging them for a short distance or flying towards them. It has the longest range and passes through walls, but can’t bring enemies through.

Strengths: Thresh, simply put, can do so much it’s unbelievable he isn’t overpowered. Aside from his signature hook, he has a line AoE displacement move, a “save-a-teammate” skill which doubles as a scouting tool, and The Box, which is a powerful AoE slow for initiating or peeling. His skillset allows you to have so much choice that with the enough mechanical skill, you could utilize each one optimally.

Thresh shines the brightest when it comes to teamfights. You don’t need to spam all your abilities in one go. In fact, I compare his playstyle to be similar to Lulu, for the fact that both of them teach you how to use your skills wisely. Another advantage he has is that even if everything he has is on cooldown, the late game damage he could deal from the souls he collects is pretty high compared to a typical support autoattack.

Weaknesses: Of course, getting into the late game could pose a problem for Thresh, since he doesn’t have any armor increase per level, solely relying on Damnation. Another huge hurdle to take on is one of communication. He requires a lot more teamwork than Blitzcrank of Nautilus. Your teammates need to be very knowledgable about your skills. If they don’t know what your lantern does, it’s basically just a temporary ward.

 

Nautilus – “Beware the depths.”

Hook Factor: Dredge Line brings targets to the midway point. It doesn’t go through walls, but has the unique property of dragging Nautilus forward if it hits terrain.

Strengths: Nautilus is a walking crowd control machine. Even his passive snares opponents. This huge, lumbering titan can stun somebody for up to four seconds, as well as slow him down for an additional two. As long as he is within attack range, even Flash can’t save you the moment you get caught by his anchor. Slow as he may be, one must remember that Dredge Line and Depth Charge have a decent cast range, thus one always needs to be careful when he’s in your sight.

He is a such a threat in teamfights that ignoring him is just asking for the fight to be lost. His crowd control skills aren't just potent: some of them have great AoE. Riptide can hit the whole team, slowing them down, and Depth Charge could be casted on the farthest enemy, knocking up his teammates that are in the way. This makes him great for disrupt enemy carries or protecting his own.

Weaknesses: As gigantic as he is, he is the most item dependent among the three, meaning if he doesn’t get gold fast enough, he will easily fall behind. His natural stat growth is worse than Blitzcrank or Thresh, so he needs more than a Sightstone to survive teamfights. He is also one of the slowest champions in the game. Sure, he has his Dredge Line to help him gain distance, but apart from that, others could just run away from him and kite.

Verdict

To this day, no one truly knows who deserves the crown of being the mayor of Hook City. So the battle for supremacy rages on. In the end, it is up to you, dear summoner, to choose which one of these three you consider the best.

May your hooks be always successful in the Fields of Justice.