There's a reason why Blizzard has changed up Plague's stats. Plague's order is now Cham + Shael + Um. This is a hefty cost but also a new purpose for the unexplored Cham rune D2R items cheap. The Plague that's been updated Plague is a strange variant that's got its own specific uses. Everybody is trying to figure out what the advantages of using Plague instead of something like Hoto, or as an even formidable melee weapon like"Grief" or "Breath of the Dying.
The biggest change is that Plague now makes use of socketed 3 swords instead of the general weapons. Another change is that -1 is added at All Skills, and the elimination of +strength as Fal is no longer used. Damage has been increased as a major benefit for raw damage. The other stats are basically identical.
Plague was odd at beginning, but it also had its own uses, possibly for casters. YouTuber Drunski125 suggests the fact that Plague is restricted to swords is a mistake. "If you could have it in scepters. Imagine having a 3-point Fist of Heavens Scepter you roll Plague in, gives your a cleansing aura and additional skill point.
Which is an incentive to choose something different from Hoto. For instance, if you receive an additional +3 light sentry or +3 Death Sentry claw, you could roll Plague, get +4 to traps, cleansing aura - again, more reason to go with something other than Hoto diablo II resurrected items. "Blizzard has yet not announced when Diablo 2 Resurrect's v2.4 is going to be available.