Brace yourself, and get those dancing shoes on. Hook champions are back and ready to terrorize solo queue games near you.

The rise of Blitzcrank and Thresh in competitive may look chaotic from the solo queue perspective, as these hooking champs often are lauded (and reviled) for their playmaking ability, but there is actually a measured and reasonable argument for their presence in competitive play. A lot of things have changed to justify their strengths in the bottom lane, and now these supports have risen to be top tier options for competitive teams and solo queue players.

Why were they not strong before?

Before we figure out why they are here now, we should recall why they previously weren't as prevalent. First and foremost, the strength of ranged supports and pushing bottom lanes were more important than playmaking in the bottom panel. With the presence of mobile bullies such as Ezreal, playmaking was much harder as you were shoved under your turret.

Karma and Lulu also had greater survivability in lane, with many shields and shield-strengthening abilities staying relevant. This means that their ability to all-in those supports are much lower. Ivern's presence also made playmaking difficult for similar protection reasons.

Finally, Blitzcrank and Thresh saw less play as a result of being less of a contributor to the in-lane sustain for AD carries. Beyond Relic Shield, these champions didn’t have enough sustain to deal with the poking of Karma, Lulu, Nami, Malzahar and Zyra.

Why are they strong now?

The two champions have been beneficiaries of a shifting landscape around them. As a result of many item and champion changes, there has been less of a focus on pushing lanes and greater sustain available to AD carries, making sustain provided by supports less necessary. In fact, this also has created a meta where immobile, carry-oriented laners are more dominant as a result of this safety, making Blitzcrank and Thresh much more threatening picks.

Pushing lanes have been made to be weaker through a greater focus on early jungle pressure. As a result, pushing lanes are in a more dangerous state as all-in champions such as Blitzcrank, Thresh, and even Rakan, can punish them more cleanly with the help of a jungler than champions like Karma and Lulu.

These lanes are also difficult to maintain versus these champions because of the immobility of champions often involved in a pushing lane. This includes Ashe and Varus who have utility but have issues escaping if caught before they have access to their ultimates. Lanes with hyper carries are also immobile, meaning that the playmaking ability of Blitzcrank and Thresh can keep these champions down as they attempt to scale safely.

AD carry sustain is another massive issue in a meta where bot lane is a particular focus. With the advent of the reworked Doran’s Shield as an item that provides an absurd amount of regeneration and keeps AD carries safe without needed sustain from supports, it opens up the support position to be less about protection and more about engage. Doran’s Shield gives greater regeneration than any other starting item in the lane phase, meaning that poking and trading is less punishing onto lanes which feature a Blitzcrank or Thresh.

Pressure from outside of the bot lane has also contributed to these playmaking champions being featured in competitive play and solo queue. The influx of Galio in particular makes picking engage-related supports even more potent, as they can jump into fights and ensure the damage reduction will keep them alive and then provide follow-up crowd control.

All of these factors have created a new type of bottom lane meta, which features Blitzcrank and Thresh as primary tools to get your lane ahead. Even with the 7.13 changes, these champions are likely to latch themselves onto the meta and stick around.

Gabriel Zoltan-Johan is a news editor at theScore esports and the head analyst for the University of Toronto League of Legends team. His (public) musings can be found on his Twitter.