Mark and Dash: how ARAM has shifted with the 5.8 patch

With the introduction of the 5.8 patch, there were some interesting changes that shifted the meta of ARAM. The biggest addition to the Howling Abyss is the Mark/Dash. This snowball will deal true damage (scaling with your champion level) and mark an opponent, allowing you to dash to that opponent without being targeted. The cooldown of 20 seconds allows you to spam this move quite often, essentially making it another basic ability. As the games goes on for a longer time, the Mark will do noticeable damage, especially to their squishy targets. As this goes in a straight line and at a moderate pace, it is relatively easy to dodge; however, when there are multiple snowballs coming at you at the same time, it can get quite hectic. Make sure you are aware of you position relative to your opponenet's positions and always expect a snowball to come flying to your face.

Which champions benefit from Mark/Dash the most? Any melee champion with great crowd control but having a lack of gap closers comes out the winner here. Champions that fit this bill include Rammus, Skarner, and Udyr. You also have a greater chance of landing CC and AOE abilities, such as instant Alistar knockups or immediate Galio and Kennen ultimates into their entire team. Not only did the Mark and Dash make more champions viable now, but it also aleviated the pain of going against all-poke compositions; now, they can't hid from a distance as much, as landing a snowball could turn the match immediately into your favor.

Along with the Mark/Dash, we also see the returns of the Bloodthirster and Warmogs, two items that have been asked for by the community for quite some time. With Bloodthirster's comeback marks the end of the Sanguine Blade, a cheaper version. Sanguine Blade as a first item wasn't that great since the stats were relatively weak. But now with Bloodthirster back, you can choose to build this first instead of Infinity Edge on most ADCs, or like you usually would on champions like Riven. Warmogs is now another viable option for all tanks to use, thanks to the good stats it brings. Although you wouldn't build this as a first item, it synergizes well with many tanky champions during the mid-game period. The changes to have Warmogs built from the Crystalline Bracers and the build path to a Giant's Belt allow you to get this item quite efficiently. Now, instead of worrying about buying the item in basically halves, you can manage to pick up pieces every time you die.

With all this being said, ARAM has a completely new feel to it. No longer do poke champions have as complete dominance as they had before the introduction of the Mark/Dash. Now that every champion has his gap closer in their disposal (assuming you can land the snowball), champions will be marked and dashing all around the map in a frenzy. That being said, you may find yourself needing to focus a bit more nowadays. Getting hit by the wrong snowball may potentially allow your opponents to swing the momentum of the game. Previous tendencies that were safe now must be proceeded with caution. Before, collecting health relics while your opponenets were at a distance was safe; now, one wrong step and their whole team might be at your heels. It is also important to note who marked you with the snowball. Getting hit by one of their squishy carries may not cause as much alarm as going in would be quite suicidal for that champion; getting hit by an Amumu, and there may be reason to panic. Games will be more intense now, but the list of champions that are viable now have increased by a lot.