After a fun weekend with some of the best European teams competing in Enter the Storm Cup #4, there's some new trends developing in the meta, while some old trends still hold true.
Greymane, Lord of the Worgen
When Greymane was first released there were questions of how relevant he would be in the competitive scene. There's no question now that Greymane has become a top pick, being picked 18 times. Greymane, if played correctly, can be a major asset to a team especially with his ability to clean up team fights with his cocktail build. He has risen in popularity recently and was in a solid amount of games for European teams, but really wasn't a target ban. He's a strong pick that can be very versatile, so it's not surprising why he's getting so much playing time.
Fear the wizard!
Being the newest hero, there was a period where Li-Ming was slightly OP. Ess of Johan definitely made Li-Ming too easy to play, but there were questions of just how powerful she would be after removal of the ability. Seeing as she's the most banned hero, Europe definitely fears the possibility of playing against her. Even after her nerf, she can put out an insane amount of damage, and can be very hard to play. It makes sense that she would be a priority ban, but it's interesting to note that she isn't in the top 10 most picked or contested. So while Europe doesn't want to play against Li-Ming, it seems as though they don't really need to play WITH her either.
Zagara isn't going anywhere
Zagara is still, and almost always has been, an extremely viable pick. She was picked/banned in every EU ETS game, being picked more than she was banned. Zagara is easily the most reliable specialist pick because of her ability to push lanes and provide a massive amount of vision, so it makes sense why she is still a top pick.
The Church of Rehgar
Rehgar has easily become one of the best supports in the game with his recent buffs giving him more healing potential and a stronger presence. Even with him being such a powerful support, he wasn't the target for many bans. So European teams tend to believe they can afford to let their opponents have Rehgar. Teams took advantage of this too, seeing as he was first picked in 15 games and only banned in 4. Plus, a well timed Ancestral Healing can easily shift the direction of a team fight.
The Mountain King
One of the biggest changes in the European meta is the importance of Muradin. Muradin has always been a solid tank because of his stuns and ability to take insane damage, but in EU ETS #4 he was the third most contested hero and the second most picked hero. Muradin is by far Europe's favorite tank, but he also isn't anywhere near a must-ban. Muradin didn't even make the top 10 most-banned, while Diablo and ETC did.
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