User blog comment:ClariS/Why Xerath's Passive is Bad/@comment-163.191.194.60-20130320135709/@comment-7305443-20130324055231

I think it does have uses in gameplay. You'll never be planting yourself at max distance, or at least you shouldn't, since teamfights are fluid situations. Moving back and forth, side to side. Generally you'll want to plant yourself at just a bit farther than your normal range so that you can affect a rout and turn it (hopefully) into an ace.

And simply put, Xerath needs to be answered, especially after level 10 when his cooldowns are shrinking by leaps and bounds. Thus you get the anti-carries, best examples for this being probably Zed, Jax, and Kha'zix. In order to affect the fight properly you'll end up being positioned in range of a flash+(clone/leap). Will the passive save you? Probably not unless you got great peelers, but it will take that extra 3ish swings or an extra cooldown or two.

Is this a niche passive? Unequivocably. No way I could argue that, but it is useful and maybe it doesn't change choices but it does change outcomes. Do I think you're satan if you think Xerath needs a different passive? Nah, but I think saying his passive doesn't improve gameplay is wrong enough for me to disagree with. And I most certainly think that this passive on an AP tank would be broken at 15% (7.5% maybe) and certainly broke as balls on an AP Bruiser or Assassin.

My opinions of course, and since this is my first posting, I figured I should make it a doozy.