Abathur has had better months.
There was once a time when Abathur would strike fear into the hearts of anyone who had the misfortune of facing him. He had it all: split pushing, damage output, lane dominance, excellent exp saturation and, on top of all of this, he was near unkillable. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) things have changed drastically for the evolution master. Since the heavy nerf to Ultimate Evolution and a myriad of other changes, the drop from the top of tier list to the near bottom was a long one.
But a rising tide lifts all boats, and as the double healer + Illidan (or some other melee assassin) meta continues to dominate, Abathur might have found a new home in competitive lineups. Not as the powerhouse of old, but as an aggressive support. One that split pushes and enables Melee Assassins to reach new levels of deadliness.
At the Planetkey Invitational, LDLC utilized Abathur in a 4 protect 1 style linup that relied on Illidan's raw strength and survivability. Rehgar, Tassadar and Abathur provide an overwhelming amount of shields and healing, while E.T.C distrupts the enemy long enough for Illidan to dominate team fights. This strategy makes use of a new talent Abathur received in his overhaul, Adrenal Overload, which gives the Symboite host an additional 25% increased attack speed. Illidan can never get enough attack speed.
Because the build focuses on Abathur as a hard support (That builds for max hero damage with symbiote spike), Evolve Monstrosity is favored over Ultimate Evolution, as this allows Abathur to both push a lane and contribute to a team fight meaningfully. Ultimate Evolution does more harm than good in such a finely tuned line-up, as more consistent shields on one super buffed Illidan is arguagly more powerful than a second watered down Illidan. It is almost important to know that Adrenal Overload increases the attack speed of Abathur's Monstrosity, which speeds up split pushing as well.
While LDLC did not win the set vs SK gaming, the lineup still proved highly competitive. Do you think Abathur is still a viable pick despite the changes? Let us known in the comments section, or on twitter @gosugamershots.
