We think it’s great for the game when a wide variety of different classes can be played in a given position, provided the gameplay created is interactive and interesting, both for the person on that champion and other people in the game. Seeing mages come to be played in the support position over the last few years, for example, has generally seemed like a strong positive; it creates a wider variety of experiences, allows players with different tastes to enjoy the role, and enables a wider range of team comps and strategies.

Similarly, some unusual, effective, and relatively fair picks have also been great to see previously (e.g. the occasional Riven mid as an assassin counter, support MF synergizing with Ashe as a lane partner, the occasional unusual mage like Karthus top etc). Right now we’re also seeing Ziggs see play as a farming bot laner. So far at least it looks like an effective pick that has clear strengths and weaknesses and brings something a bit different to the lane. Ziggs probably is a bit on the strong side, both bot and mid, at time of writing though, so we might nerf him on those grounds. Keeping him as a decent choice bot as well as mid’s something we’d like to do if possible.

As far as champs normally played as support going to mid (or other lanes), those would face the same “Is this healthy?” test. We think it’s great to see an enchanter like Karma there for example, given it allows for interesting play and team comps while having a lane that’s pretty fair and interactive for other players. On the other side of things, though, there have been cases where we’ve seen enchanters go to positions other than support in ways that’s created really negative experiences. AP Janna mid is probably the clearest example of that, with her play often consisting of sitting at the tower, casting Q to one shot the wave and then not really interacting meaningfully with her lane opponent at all during the laning phase. That sort of thing’s not something we feel’s good for the game, regardless of which class is doing it, hence Janna’s ability to do that got removed, which subsequently meant she stopped getting played mid.