User blog comment:Shigfugjum/Another Vel'koz Blog/@comment-8506165-20140311153442/@comment-24420226-20140311192912

Well, i also derped on the MR with the W (you can also read that below). In response to your bullets:

1) Full tank Garen isn't comparable. His primary goal is soaking damage, not killing enemies, and his Ult can only affect 1 enemy. Vel'Koz's ult has direct damage impact on the entire enemy team.

2) The cd complaint was to enforce the notion that your spells are very important to hold onto for key moments. At 40% cdr and max rank, your E still has a 7 second cd. If i'm playing Syndra and I see you miss your knock-up trying to engage, i know you have 7 seconds minimum where you all you can do is Q (pray you aren't waiting 6 seconds for that cd as well), meaning I get a full rotation almost for free. If it's the start of laning phase and your E has a cd closer to 15, that's a full rotation plus 3 additional Q's. If i'm playing Zed, then it means that you die.

3) The impact from Lux's ult is directly tied into the absurd frequency with which she can use it, so of course going for cdr excacerbates that. With Vel, it's not about how often, it's about the timing of the ult and how many people you can get a full channel on that makes him scary. Cdr doesn't help you be patient or position well, and it doesn't increase the damage-per-cast your ult does.

Basically, you want quality over quantity with Vel'koz. 1 ult that aces the team is better than 3 ults only picking of one or two people at a time. And Athene's could totally give you great lane dominance. But that is not what you should be focusing on with Vel'Koz. As I had hoped my prelude story would illustrate, Vel'Koz is all about struggling through the first 15 minutes of game, then winning a fight at dragon and carrying that momentum with the rest of your team.