User blog comment:Willbachbakal/(Champion Concept) Rasputin, the Abomination/@comment-4068613-20130717210545/@comment-1330314-20130719121717

The cooldown on his ultimate is actually specifically higher than that of the ability he absorbs, so that he can't out-poke enemies. His only other poke-worthy ability is also quite slow. In any case, friendly fire may not be the correct term: yes, you could technically nuke Rasputin and end up with him using it on the carry, but you could just as well cast a spell on or  and give them enough mana/attack speed to finish off an ally. Moreover, the latter two block the spell they're being attacked with. When the passive from his W is down, Rasputin suffers from the full effects of whatever he was attacked with. Thus hard CC can actually deny him the proper opportunity to use the spell he just absorbed. In the worst case scenario, a misused ult could lose a teamfight, just as it would in a normal situation.

The same general thinking goes for his passive, which even with a one-second window is less powerful than other revives, such as 's or 's. Moreover, whereas Anivia can resurrect at full health, with a one-second window it'd be difficult, if not impossible, to restore Rasputin to the same amount. Moreover, it can be countered preemptively, just as Anivia and can be killed while resurrecting. Essentially, the counter to a lot of Rasputin's mechanics is small, quick spellcasts, as opposed to heavy focus. If you've got powerful spells and want to use them you still can, except you have to weaken Rasputin's defenses before unleashing your full power on him.