EPTI've been a big fan of Magic: The Gathering for a long time, and a common type of article that is posted after major events is a Top 5 Winners/Losers. This is a list of the cards (not players) that gained or lost the most. Sometimes it's a card that is thought to be awful that is great, or vice versa. Some are cards that everyone thought would be good, and were proven to be so.
I like talking about Heroes so I figured I would make a similar list. We are now a few weeks into the Sylvanas patch and the competitive scene has started to stabilize and some clear winners and losers have emerged. Obviously Heroes is a very young game and anything can change at about any point as new discoveries are made (such as Basketball Azmodan) but this list is composed off what I see currently in competitive play.
Note that because a Hero is on the Winners list does not mean it's the best pick in every situation. On the flip side being on the losers list does not mean that Hero is garbage and cannot win. In fact in every patch you will see many of the "winners" lose games and plenty of the "losers" win games. However I am looking at most overall change, even if the hero was good/bad before.
An important note is THIS LIST IS FOR COMPETITIVE STYLE PLAY, solo que experiences will be different than what is shown here. I also tend to see more NA events than EU so this list will have some NA bias.
So to start off who's the big winners?
Winners
1 - Sylvanas
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/8/8e/Sylvanas_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
The hype is real. Sylvanas is one of the strongest Hero releases I have seen in my time playing Heroes of the Storm. While some releases like Chen or Thrall were very strong and could do new things that had not been done before, Sylvanas flips a base mechanic of the game on it's head, and has one of the strongest kits on the backside to boot.
Multiple obvious things stand out for why Sylvanas is so strong. The largest and most game changing is however her passive, Black Arrows. For those unaware, Black Arrows stuns any minion, mercenary (except boss/map objectives), or any buildings it procs on. You might say "That doesn't sound THAT bad, surely there is something to keep it in check!” Well in fact it has no internal cooldown (allowing for perma-stunned buildings) and procs off of both abilities and basic attacks on a Hero that has a base attack speed of 1.67 and a 0 mana basic ability that gets refreshed seven times per wave and additionally has only a base cooldown of two seconds. In other words, Sylvanas can perma-stun multiple buildings at a time. Honestly this whole section can come down to that last sentence. She completely can eliminate a defenders advantage for 0 mana and no cooldowns.
Add in Wailing Arrow (R), a ranged AOE silence, a reliable escape/gap closer that can go over walls, a DOT that spreads on her Shadow Dagger (W), and you have a kit that is currently unrivaled in Heroes of the Storm. While some characters may be better overall, none have the ability at all levels to bypass all defensive structures for no mana. This ability to "turn off" the defenders advantage is one of many reasons of the resurgence of heavy early game roam lanes and Sylvanas is easily one of the very top Heroes in the game.
No meta shift can likely force Sylvanas out of her first pick/ban status as her current kit works in all known major comps. Unless she gets nerfed in an upcoming patch, expect A LOT of Sylvanas picks/bans in your life if you watch or play competitive Heroes.
2 - Tyrande
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/2/20/Tyrande_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
The Church of Elune has invaded Heroes of the Storm in full force. For a long time Tyrande had a powerful kit however she was only seen here or there for a week or two at a time, then would disappear into the void for long periods. However last patch she was seen much more frequently and was starting to quietly become a top pick for a lot of teams.
For a variety of reasons, this patch has seen the full reemergence of the early "gank squad/roam lanes." When gank lanes are an option, no Hero is better than Tyrande. While Tyrande becomes viable anytime roaming is in, she recently got a slew of changes that looked to shift around some of her power and make her more reliable for players. The end result was a VERY strong buff overall. She is now more reliable, more versatile, and her formerly near-useless heal is now a powerhouse when upgraded at level 13. In the end the result was Tyrande getting buffs, quality of life changes, and the current style of competitive play trending towards the style she does better than anyone, all in the same patch.
As long as roam lanes are usable Tyrande in her current form will be a top pick. However I have to imagine Blizzard has taken note of how quick she went to "picked a decent amount" to "pick or ban every single game ever on every map" and will likely tone her back. Giving her access to her old level 13 upgrade on her stun as early as level seven (Size now free passive, Range on seven) and her damage amplification mark should be the likely targets, however who knows at this point.
In any case, this patch Tyrande in my opinion is the #1 overall Hero in the game. She brings a beautiful mix of versatility, utility, healing, vision, ranged CC, and damage that no Hero can match in every area, Tassadar included. If Sylvanas had not come out with such hype and delivered, Tyrande would be an easy #1 pick for this list. You could easily make cases for either.
3 - Jaina
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/a/a6/Jaina_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
Jaina is similar to Tyrande in that they were both strong picks commonly used in the last patch. Additionally she also got both direct buffs as well as quality of life changes in a patch that was shifting to a style of play that better suits her than previous ones. While Jaina was very good in the tri-lane scenarios of the past patches, she is better suited to solo laning or two Hero roaming, both of which are much better this patch than has been in months upon months.
Jaina would have likely become a top pick for this patch even without all the love she got in it, the buffs pushed her over the edge. While Tyrande in my opinion is still the #1 pick overall, Jaina is by and far the best high damage option in Heroes of the Storm currently. Expect Jaina to be up with Sylvanas as the #1 priority picks/bans this patch. Tyrande may offer more overall, but what these two do they do better than anyone.
4 - Zagara
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/6/6e/Zagara.png)
The Broodmother has always been a strong and viable pick since her release, however now she is back to being a top pick that every team plays on every map. While Zagara was a solid pick in the tri-lane meta, she is beyond amazing in a roaming setup where each team has three solo laners. While Zagara does not have an escape, she has something that goes almost entirely unused in a tri-lane scenario, Creep Tumors. Creep Tumors are trivial to insta-clear in a tri-lane scenario, and in fact just end up draining Zagara of mana she could instead spend on pushing/counter-pushing. In a 1v1 lane scenario however, creep wins lanes. Aside for the additional health regeneration offered on creep, the vision network Zagara can set up will make it so the lack of an escape is not an issue, as you will see incoming roam lanes from a mile out. Once Zagara establishes control of a 1v1 lane you have one of the most ungankable lanes in the game. She moves faster than you on creep, she heals more, and she sees more.
Zagara is one of the biggest lane bullies in the game with only a few losing match ups, and Devouring Maw is one of the single best teamfight heroic abilities in the game, Zagara brings it all. She is here to stay this patch and all teams need to know how to play with and against her.
5 - The Lost Vikings
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/c/cf/The_Lost_Vikings_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
The Lost Vikings have been a strange Hero since release. Despite since Day 1 having the single highest Hero winrate in Quick Match/Hero League (according to Hotslogs) the Vikings were very rarely seen in competitive play. Several teams experimented with them, and some even had good results when harnessing the power of the Longboat, however they never became a staple and relegated to only several teams playing them, and most only using them on Sky Temple or Cursed Hollow.
Since the current patch however The Lost Vikings have been EVERYWHERE in competitive play. Teams of all skill levels are using them, and even teams that ignored them in previous patches. This is one of the more curious changes as the only change The Lost Vikings received was a slight nerf. However the nerf was minor, and I think the emergence of Vikings can be attributed to two separate things.
First and foremost the Vikings simply operate better and easier in a solo lane vs a tri-lane. In a 1v1 there is less to micromanage, and forcing the opponent to attack Olaf (which he regens right away) has bigger effects. In a tri-lane opponents could focus down Olaf with just auto-attacks of three people alone, where in a solo lane a single Hero will have to use abilities as well to bring him down. Every time a Hero does that but fails to secure the kill on Olaf is an advantage to the Vikings player.
The other factor is simply just time. The Lost Vikings are a complicated Hero that has a setup that has largely been unseen or used in a MOBA before, and when playing at a competitive level you need to be GOOD on a Hero, not just “ok”. When top teams in the last patch started experimenting with Vikings, it sent a message to all teams “start learning The Lost Vikings”, and it seems most got the message.
I could easily see The Lost Vikings being good for a long time, however with their insane winrate in normal games, Blizzard could easily swing the nerf bat their way.
Losers
1 - Any Warrior not named E.T.C or Diablo
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/a/a6/Anubarak_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/2/2e/Arthas_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/5/53/Barbarian_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/f/fb/Muradin_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/3/36/Tyrael_icon.jpg){kind=icon}
I can’t imagine how frustrated high level Warrior players are right now. For about 6+ months now almost all Warriors have received nerf after nerf, with only slight buffs that don’t matter in return. Anub has been gutted 2-3 times now, Tyrael had his single strongest talent removed with nothing in return, Arthas got gutted, Muradin got
At this point in the games life, if you pick a Warrior that is not E.T.C or Diablo you are picking an inferior Warrior. While some tanks may be picked in certain situations still (such as Tyrael with Nova), in almost all cases picking E.T.C or Diablo would offer you more than picking not E.T.C or Diablo. They are just too good compared to the rest of the field.
2 - Sgt. Hammer
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/b/ba/Sergeant_Hammer.png)
If you put together a list of Heroes based on their solo lane strength, Sgt Hammer will come up very near the bottom if not on bottom. Roam lanes are back and you need three solid independent solo laners in most cases, a situation that does not help Sgt Hammer. Additionally the choices of current common roamers such as Tyrande and Diablo are all Heroes that very easily can stop a Hammer even while the Hammer’s booster jets are on.
Picking a Hammer used to mean in the tri-lane meta that you had a very strong early game, a “meh” mid game, and god tier late game. In roaming setups you have one of the worst early games possible, a “meh” mid game, then a god tier late game. Giving up both early and mid game in one of your solo lanes is a pretty much guaranteed loss, and until multi-Hero lanes return, I would not expect to see Hammer outside of one-off comps/map strats.
3 - Azmodan
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/e/e3/Azmodan.jpg)
The “Basketball Azmodan” style popularized by Tempo Storm had already been fading out pretty hard before this patch as teams learned how to play around the late game terror that was a stacking Azmodan. However in the Sylvanas patch Blizzard introduced a limit to the maximum number of stacks you could have in a game. This kills the Azmodan. With the limit being only 500 bonus damage Azmodan will still have a really annoying post-20, however he will no longer be able to stack forever and one shot carries as easily. Between teams adapting last patch and this, I don’t see Azmodan seeing any use until he receives buffs/rework.
4 - Nazeebo
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/2/29/Naziba.png)
With the Sylvanas patch came a well needed round of nerfs for Nazeebo who had been topping both damage charts and pick/bans for a long period of time. The amount of effort required to shut down his Ravenous Spirit would often lose a team fights, and if left unchecked would wipe out entire teams in moments by himself. The end result is Nazeebo falling from one of the “go to” damage picks, to a situational pick that has more counterplay and does not scale as well into the late game. The Specialized Toxin nerf in specific was needed and when combined with the changes made somewhat recently to Gathering Power, Nazeebo no longer rules the late game damage. Specialized Toxin frankly was too strong in it’s old form and kept the Ravenous Spirit style alive when combined with Tyrael’s endless nerfs.
However this is not all bad for Nazeebo, the changes to Gargantuan has allowed it to see play, and he has a much better style overall for both players and spectators. However in my own teams comms last patch (or before) when we wanted Nazeebo we would say “better first pick Nazeebo if we want him” and just in a scrims two days ago we said “Well we want Nazeebo, might as well 10th pick him, doubt they will take it”, and we got him in 10th pick. Nazeebo is still a good Hero, just not overwhelming anymore.
5 - Zeratul
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/heroes/images/1/1b/Zeratul.png)
Thrust into the spotlight over the last six or so months, Zeratul looks to be back to lurking in the shadows. The patch brought about a reduction on the second bomb on Double Bomb which significantly reduced Zeratul’s mid to late game burst potential. Double Bombs allows Zeratul to take a play style very similar to LeBlanc from League Of Legends, jump in & cycle your spells (normally one shotting Heroes)then jump out to safety. While that style of play has not been eliminated (and will still be the best style of Zeratul you can play) the burst potential it had is no longer. While 50% by itself is not bad, the previous changes to Gathering Power change the overall possible damage from it’s old 240% with max stacks to (if my math is right) 174% overall, a pretty large change. 60+% damage reduction on your main damage spell is a lot for any Hero to swallow, and Zeratul is no different. Luckily for him the power of Void Prison and Double Bombs + Rewind will keep him in play, however don’t expect to see as many Zeratul bans or quick picks anymore, he will be a situational and late pick now.
Closing
I hope you enjoyed this list as much as I did writing it. I know there is likely many errors and such, however I just wrote this myself in a couple hours, it’s not intended to be a major piece for a website or anything. If people like this I can continue it for future patches, and thank you for your time!
About me
I am Patrick F Soulliere II aka ESV Diamond. I have been involved in E-Sports for over five years and now own a top NA Heroes of the Storm team which I coach named ESV Wildfire. I have around 2.5-3k games played and am Masters league on Hotslogs.com. I have played and won in competitive matches against some of the best teams in NA and always spend much of my time analyzing and theorycrafting. If you have any feedback feel free to leave it here or on my twitter at http://www.twitter.com/esvdiamond.
Thank you all!
