In a recent tweet, game director Dustin Browder was asked about the incredibly low pick and success rate of Zagara's second ultimate 'Nydus Worm'. His answer was a surprising peak into how Blizzard is focused on breaking all of the MoBA molds, even the ones they create for their own games.
That's right, a third heroic! No other single hero would have the option for a third ultimate and it raises some interesting possibilities. I think the foremost question is, what exactly would that ultimate be? Well let's look at the options. Zagara's kit heavily revolves around the idea of the overwhelming nature of the Zerg. She, as a broodmother, watches over her brood and leads them into battle.
She has her Nydus Worm, the zerg swarms primary method of quickly deploying troops and initiating surprise attacks, and devouring maw, an ult symbolic of the Swarm's ability to 'swallow whole' all they encounter. But we don't have anything that gives that feeling of 'Zerg Rush'. You know what I'm talking about, the fear that seeps into your heart as you see innumerable zerglings barreling down your way, crushing and devouring all underfoot. We need something to give us the feeling of overwhelming our foes with undefeatable numbers.
But why Zagara?
I find it interesting that Dustin would mention this for Zagara specifically, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The zerg are known for being able to adapt to any and all situations, morphing their very genetics so long as it means survival. So why wouldn't Zagara have access to more than two powerful options as an ult? She is, after all, the most intelligent Broodmother, able to rival the power of Kerrigan herself.
It fits both lore-wise, and flavor-wise that a powerful Zerg Broodmother would be the first character to break the two heroic mold out of nothing more than pure survival instinct. As cool as this is though, I'm more excited at what possibilities the very prospect of this opens up. If Blizzard doesn't feel like even the systems THEY themselves set up need to be obeyed by the books, we could get some very interesting heroes.
Think about a hero with four or five basic abilities, or perhaps one that gets its ult as a level 1 talent instead of 10. Maybe there could be a hero who has an ult choice at every talent tier, and they simply over-write each other. If nothing else, this unlocks a ton of new possibilities for Blizzard to explore, and you know they will, because there's nothing Blizzard likes more than keeping us guessing.
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