simple idea to fix: make it so it's impossible to have more then a single stack of five potions.
probably a b*tch to code, but seems like a good choice to me

if everybody is doing it people will hate it. if everybody builds GA people hate it, now everyone builds warmogs. people hate it. its pretty much you cant build the most effective thing at the time, or everyone will hate it.

The people that stack 9 pots/ward at the start of the game are really only hurting them selves, If you know they are playing a champion that will do it (Akali/Vlad for example) then you play something that has very easy poke so they burn through the pots quickly and are now behind an item while you already have your boots, hextech or what ever you are building.

I think this offers slightly better variety than the old boots pots spam. You can now go:

• Red elixir + 6 pots
• 2 wards + pots
• fairy charms/HP regen + pots
• flask + 3 pots
• armor + 5 pots
• dorans short
• sword + 2 pots

I preffer cloth and 5 top..... you dont really need 9pots..... but against mana intensive top laners 9pots usually beats them because they dont have enough mana to burn through that many health pots.
Also boots and 3 isnt much different.... if you start 9 pots... stay in lane untill you get enough money for boots and another item before you go back and buy no pots on your return trip it is the same as if you had 3 pots and boots..... burn through your 3 pots getting money to buy more pots and another item. It really isnt that different. It just hurts mana intensive harraseres like pantheon and wukong.

My guess is you play panth, wu or darius or some other mana based harrasser.... so 9pots is going to beat you.

I prefer a Rejuvenation Bead or two + pots + wards. It's overall better because you get even more regeneration paired whit potions, and you gonna use them to get a warmog armor anyways XD.