no-alt
All News
article-headline

General

9 years ago

ESL Gamescom Meta Observations

There are no scheduled events in EU after Gamescom, so this is the last time we will see any EU teams play before Blizzcon.  So what does their meta look like right now?

Double Warrior

Up until now, most teams have stuck to drafting a single warrior with a melee bruiser/assassin.  At Gamescom, EU has shown a huge preference for replacing that melee bruiser/assassin with yet another warrior.  Interestingly enough, the two finalists at this event have both frequently deviated from this meta multiple times (Misfits never picked double warrior before the finals match vs. Team Dignitas)

Tychus/Leoric

With double warrior the dominant meta in Europe, it should come as no surprise that these two heroes are also prominent in the EU meta, given that both are great vs. two warrior compositions.   Leoric finished with a 10-5 record and Tychus with a 15-6 record at Gamescom - perhaps EU teams should consider banning/picking these two heroes so that if they go double warrior, the enemy team can't immediately counter their composition.

The Return of Jaina

It seems like it's been forever, but once upon a time Jaina was the only mage in the game.  Even after Kael'thas arrived, Jaina remained firmly in the meta and was one of the longest standing heroes always seen in competitive play.  And then the Ice block moved to level 20/Bolt of the Storm removal nerf arrived, and Jaina disappeared completely.  

Eventually, Blizzard realized that they had gone too far with the Jaina nerfs, and decided to rework her - she got a 3rd wave of Blizzard baseline at the cost of damage as well as some talent shuffling.  Most people thought that these changes were going in the wrong direction - they said that the third wave of blizzard wouldn't actually hit anyone, and that the change reduced Jaina's burst damage.  However, that third wave of Blizzard increased Jaina's wave clear and sieging ability, and Jaina never was a liability in teamfights due to her ability to land wombo combos.  Finally after being missing from the competitive scene for so long, she is back in a big way, sporting a 9-6 record at Gamescom.

Jaina and Zeratul

The Void Prison -> Ring of Frost Wombo Combo.  When it hits the right targets, it will pretty much instantly delete those heroes. This combination only has a 3-3 record in the entire tournament, because it can be difficult to set up and execute against good teams who mind their positioning.  When it does work though, it is truly a thing of beauty.

Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHotS and on Facebook for more competitive Heroes of the Storm news and coverage from around the world.