Free hero rotation week of Tuesday, August 18th
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Available at all levels: Malfurion. Valla, Anub'arak, Tychus, Nazeebo
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Available at level 12: Johanna
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Available at level 15: Kael'Thas
A last look at the Butcher Patch
With the new patch being released today, we thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the era that was The Butcher patch. This snapshot shows where the Meta ended using our GosuGamers Tournament Stats.
And this is why context is important; why writers like me get made the big bucks. At first glance we might say, 'wow, look at how great The Lost Vikings were!" but alas, you ignorant fool, you'd be wrong. The Vikings were great picks situationally, and mostly have their winrate inflated as they were a favorite strategy of Team Liquid. So, while the Lost Vikings may look like they dominated the Butcher Patch tournament results; the truth is that the Butcher patch was dominated by bruiser tanks.
During the time of the Butcher patch, we saw the meta shift significantly to a double warrior composition. This let so-called secondary warriors shine. These high-damage, but often times lower sustain, warriors crushed front lines. Notable here are the winrates of Leoric, Arthas, Sonya and Anub'Arak. While they are all Warriors, the traditional tank role was often filled by characters such as Muradin and Johanna.
Speaking of our crusader: Johanna got to play in a lot of games, the most games, in fact. While the highest winrate will often reflect what is hot at the moment in the metas, and often says more about the patch itself, the most picked category will often give the best insight as to the 'state of the game'. If Heroes of the Storm were a pantry, these heroes would be your bread and butter. They are the staples that comprise the foundation of the meta, the heroes on which foundations are built. It is no surprise that heroes whom have nearly always been in the meta stay on this list. Zagara, Rhegar, and Valla simply refuse to not be played. And even with the most focus towards more damage heavy warriors, Johanna and Muradin find their rightful spots on this list.
And then we have the mages. As much as the Butcher patch might be known for the rise of the double warrior composition, the mages, Jaina and Kael'Thas, dominated the damage dealing role. Every team wanted one of these backline blasters in their composition. But that begs the question, the question which is on every players mind nearly every game; where is Zeratul?
"First Ban is Zeratul" is a phrase many of us are used to hearing. He was banned nearly twice as much as Jaina. It seems people do not like getting stabbed from the shadows. However, the reasons Zeratul was so often banned are many fold. One, he is a good all around hero, he has very little weaknesses in his kit. Second, his Heroic ability is absolutely game changing and often unavoidable, and third, he requires the opposing team to build around him. A Zeratul pick can send a strategy out the window, so it is often better to simply not deal with it.
And with Zeratul out of the picture along came Elsa, er, Jaina. Most contested will perhaps give us the most complete snapshot of the tournament meta during the time of the Butcher patch. Jaina and Zeratul were either always banned or picked, Zagara remained the best specialist in the game, but teams were still being built around the old reliables Johanna, Uther, and Valla.
The Butcher patch saw the rise of Zeratul from good to great, the introduction and reliance on a double warrior meta game, and the mages holding sway as the best backline damage dealers in the game. However, the meta changes with every little tweak, and with new changes being implemented in today's patch, it will be interesting to see how the Heroes of the Storm meta evolves.
Blackheart's Bay: A Special Place
Rarely does a map lend itself so well to a certain Hero class that it can be considered a home away from home. But if you're playing a lane specialist, Blackheart's Bay is a very welcoming place to vacation.
Due to how the map is setup, and the large split between the top two lanes and the bottom lane, Blackheart's Bay lends itself to strong solo laners. It should be no surprise then that we see specialist winrates on Blackheart's the highest among the current map pool.
The Queen holds sway. Zagara, strong overall as always, continues her specialist lane dominance on Blackheart's Bay as well with the 3rd highest overall winrate (54.7%) which is tops for specialists on the pirate's cove. Zagara being near the top of winrates isn't exactly surprising. However, she is followed immediately by Nazeebo at 54.6% winrate, and Murky comes in seventh overall among all heroes on Blackheart's with 52.1% winrate.
The bottom lane of Blackheart's Bay, nay, the bottom half of the entire map, is a specialist wonderland. Coins and camps and a lane to call your own. Not only does a solo lane pusher thrive in this environment, they pressure the other team allowing your remaining four (likely useless, non-specialist) teammates to have an advantage at the top. Blackheart's Bay truly is, a special place.
On our mini-map: Relics Gaming
Hailing from the South Eastern Asia Region, Team Relics of Singapore have fought their way to rank #10 according to our GosuGamers Global Rankings. Relics is currently riding a five game match win streak and have won seven out of their last eight contests.
Relics has beaten such SEA powerhouses as Mahou Shounen (Rank #34), Salt Gaming MY (Rank #43), Play10Lose11 (Rank #28), and Bibingka (Rank #23). Perhaps most impressive, however, are the two victories Relics has been able to take over the MSI Master Gaming Arena Qualifier from SEA, Team myRevenge.VS (Rank #35). Relics has shown they have the ability to beat anyone in the SEA Region, and with more tournaments incorporating a global format, don't be surprised to see Relics win the SEA brackets.
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