User blog comment:Ozuar/Don't Insult Anti-Meta: AP Leona vs. Fizz/@comment-1330314-20131212210550/@comment-1330314-20131213044240

Thanks! I still disagree with respect to Ashe being a niche champion: she has an 6% average pick rate in ranked 5v5, 10% in ranked solo queue and 20% in normals, none of which point to a niche champion choice. Though she does have a well-defined role, she isn't niche in any respect: she fits the role of a marksman, fits all the specifications of a marksman (strong late game, great synergy with expensive AD and autoattack-based items), and does generally as well as other marksmen in most situations. A better example of a niche champion would be, who specifically counters mages, or , who shuts down carries early on. AD Ashe is also her mainstream build, whereas AP Leona is not. Obviously, Ashe provides assets to her team that other marksmen do not, along with certain deficiencies, but that just means her contribution to a team is unique, which is the intended goal of every champion. Leona provides heavy crowd control and tankiness at the cost of poor damage scalings of her own, which is why she fits the role of a support transitioning to a tank. Directing her towards assassination (which is not her playstyle -- Leona initiates fights by diving in but can't kill targets on her own, whereas assassins typically are too squishy to initiate teamfights but can solo other squishies) goes against her strengths and weaknesses, which is why she's not as good an assassin as champions whose kit is specifically designed for assassination.