Really??? I feel like you OP hasnt played Urgot at all in Season 2, and probably doesnt even know he was nerfed in S2, and the changes in S3 was a massive buff to him.
I have said it before, and I'll say it again, Urgot's best place in Mid in this meta, he should be played as a Bruiser/AD Caster/ Anti-Carry, that is his strong suit.
He has no burst, so why go mid? Answer: He bullies his lane, to the point that the mid is too scared to go toe to toe w/ them, especially if they have skill shots, because he only need 1 on you to commense the butt hurt, the slow from his shield is not good? are you freaking serious? Play an ADC, you have to macro move while attacking, you do the exact same thing w/ Urgot, it just takes some skill to get it down.
His AA range is too short? Answer: HE HAS A LOCK ON W/ CONSISTANT DAMAGE THAT GUARENTEES 3-4 HITS DEPENDING ON CDR. And you want to buff his AA range? On top of his 15% damage reduction? You got to be kidding me, does anybody else not see how ridiculous this would make Urgot. He would stomp any ADC if that happened.
His shield was nerfed down in S2, becuase it would negate entire skill shots by enemies, on a 9second CD, it honestly needed to be nerfed, and I have been playing Urgot since late S1.
His Ult dumps you into their group, and he isnt tanky enough? Answer: That is why you build him bruiser, so he can take the hit. Not to mention, his ult gives him Arm/MR, on top of slowing his opponent, equip Urgot w/ a flash, and boom, you get right back into your group if need be.
So you might ask yourself, how does all of this fit together. Simple.
Boots 3hp Pots, Manamune, BC, GA, FH, Situational, this gives urgot incredible damage on his Q, enough CDR to get 4 Qs off w/ noxious blast lock on, and enough defense to take being in the center of their team for a few seconds while your team rapes the carry. And if you all read this and just think to yourself "no, that wont work, it makes no sense," I challenge you to try this w/ Urgot for a few games, not one game, atleast 5 games.
Now, Urgot does have a few counters mid, LB, Kass, Fizz, Kat(depending on skill), Gragas. Anybody who has very good range, and can farm from a distance will have advantage over Urgot, but any melee middle will not make it. The idea of laning mid w/ Urgot is to bully their AP, punish them from farming, and keep them XP locked.
Max Q, then W, then E, take R when available. Now, Most people activate shield as soon as they throw noxious blast, dont do this, if your enemy is hit by noxious blast, you should still be in range for a Q, unless you are running back and so are they, after you hit the blast, get the first Q to lock on, and right before it does, pop the shield, this will allow you to get the most out of your shield to block minion aggro, possibly negate a skill shot if they retaliate, and by the time the blast has worn off, you will still have a few seconds on shield to get back into position behind minions.
I will always and forever be the flag holder for Urgot Mid Fanclub, I hope you all try this out and find out why he is perfectly fine in this meta
