Ragnaros just has it all right now. He can solo lane, heal himself, give himself or an ally a speed boost, reveal stealth Heroes at range, clear minion waves quickly (it just takes a single Q in the late game), do good burst damage, and he even has decent talent diversity. Lava Wave was super strong early on and got nerfed, but can still be very useful. Sulfuras Smash can turn any fight in your favor instantly, and really isn’t that tough to hit. Oh yeah, and about his trait… That alone can make him a top pick on certain maps. Boss, Punisher, Immortal, Zerg wave on your Fort? Just activate your trait. Need to stall out the enemy team from capping an objective? Just activate your trait.

Falstad might not be the best auto-attacker, but his kit makes him invaluable. Since he’s a damage dealer, his global presence is a lot stronger than other global heroes because he can really push in a side lane while the teams posture up at objectives. That mobility is especially useful on maps like Sky Temple and Cursed Hollow where decisions need to be made quickly about objectives and bosses when they spawn. Of course he’s also great on maps like Braxis Holdout and Dragon Shire where out-rotating your opponents can lead to winning the objectives. Falstad can stand on his own in the damage department, but it’s Mighty Gust in addition to Flight that puts him above the other ranged Assassins. It’s a failsafe button for capturing bosses or getting your team out of trouble, or a strong engagement tool for those who know how to flank the enemy team or split off some enemies from their teammates.

Gul’dan is a powerhouse when given space, and even when pressured his kit can keep him up and doing damage. Like most mages, he lacks mobility but makes up for it in damage. What sets Gul’dan apart is his sustain. His Fel magic allows him to Drain Life constantly, dealing damage and healing himself, and his health is basically another mana bar. Combined with the very low cooldown on Fel Flame Gul’dan is one of the best at taking care of large minion waves and mercenaries, or waves of Zerg on Braxis Holdout. To top it off, if the other team stacks up or tries to converge too hard on Gul’dan, they better get ready to suffer through Horrify.

Valla is one of those cases that shows how a simple hero design can still work wonders. She’s a pretty straight forward auto-attacker but she’s strong because she doesn’t really have a weakness and generally excels at everything. Valla has good damage including some AoE and is very mobile. Her Heroics aren’t spectacular but get the job done, while her Storm Talents are incredible, either giving very high attack speed or attack range.

Li-Ming can’t put out that constant damage quite so much as Gul’dan can without getting resets, but she can sure burst people down, and getting a kill as Li-Ming usually means that you’ll get more if you’re in the middle of a big fight. She has been nerfed several times in terms of damage, but the most recent one changing Calamity to no longer hit non-Heroic targets is what puts Gul’dan in the top mage position. Her best wave clear outside of her Heroics only does damage to the front minions, while Gul’dan can hit just about everything and on a 1.5 second cooldown. She is still a top pick for her ranged siege and killing potential, but she’s weak on certain map objectives.