Table of Contents

• Standing Up to Europe and Korea
  
• An Evolving Meta
  
• Player Spotlights

The greater part of Phase 2 HGC has come to a close. Our BlizzCon teams have been decided, the Crucible is over, and the teams left licking their wounds from the playoffs are evaluating their prospects, hungry for another chance to be the best. It has been an eventful year for the NA HGC, with many “firsts” for the region, but we’ve also seen the departure of some of its greatest players. This article will serve as a recap of the 2018 season, North America’s evolution, and the region’s contribution to the pro scene.

Standing Up to Europe and Korea

While North America has yet to compete in a LAN finals match this year, the region’s best have started to break through the EU barrier. Coming into the Phase 1 Western Clash, North America had not taken a single series off a European team since 2016, leaving little enthusiasm for even the most die-hard NA fans.

This was all changed on day 1 of the Western Clash. Surprising everyone, Team Twelve earned the first NA victory of day 1 by beating Method in a clean 2-0. This sent Method to the lower bracket to face HeroesHearth, who had lost their first series against Team Dignitas 1-2. HeroesHearth hammered the nail into the coffin for Schwimpi and friends in an exciting 2-1 victory. However it was Tempo Storm that would prove to be the real game changer for NA. They had already made an impact thanks to a decisive 2-0 defeat over Zealots, but then really turned some heads with a 3-1 take down of Fnatic. Psalm in particular proved to be a master of the blade, his Maiev, Malthael, and Genji picks playing a large part in slicing through Fnatic’s awkwardly drafted team compositions. In the end, Tempo Storm was the only North American team to make it to the semi-finals, making NA HGC history.

At the Mid-Season Brawl, NA would continue to secure victories over all but Dignitas and Gen.G teams. HeroesHearth established themselves as a North American counterpart to Method (led by Schwimpi at the time), both teams showing great flexibility in their drafting with strong showings from Abathur and Valeera. The most significant achievements, however, came with Tempo Storm defeating Ballistix 5-2 throughout the group and bracket stages. HeroesHearth managed to take a game off both Tempest and Ballistix as well, but Tempo showed significant dominance over the former BlizzCon champions. Tempo Storm had very strong early and mid-games against Gen.G, but ultimately crumbled as the pressure mounted during the late game. The potential was (and continues to be) there for an upset.

For the first time in recent memory, North America has been confident enough in their own gameplay to tackle the European and Korean teams without “cheese strats”. No TLV nonsense from 2017 BlizzCon and no double boss rushes on Warhead Junction (though the map isn’t in this year’s map pool). Every North American team has stood strong, drafted smartly, and played cleanly. Some were more successful than others, but it is a clear step in the right direction for establishing North America as a respected region around the world.

An Evolving Meta

What a year this has been for HGC drafts! Coming off the imposing and heavily criticized Double Healer meta of late 2017, the widespread healer nerfs coupled with the 2018 gameplay changes (tower ammo, stealth, healing orbs) left many in anticipation of how the pros would adapt. This was also a year of fewer heroes releases and many hero reworks, with all but the exception of Mephisto having a significant impact on the pro meta. While Maiev and Fenix were incredibly dominant in the short spans in which they were objectively overtuned, it is safe to say that Blaze and Yrel have had the most lasting impact on the meta. Their dominance in the solo lane has completely redefined drafting priorities and 1v1 matchups, and they’ve more recently helped usher in the unique “no-tank” meta.

This was also a year of a “say yes to anything” style of drafting. Throughout every region, there was a new level of flexibility and willingness to challenge the conventions of standard team comps. No region exhibited this more than North America.

Tempo Storm came running out the gate this year with a couple of full melee compositions. With a roster of Cattlepillar, Jun, Psalm, Fan, and Glaurung, Tempo Storm knew they had the greatest collection of NA impact players, feeling comfortable to put every player on an impactful melee carry. From compositions with Kerrigan, Ragnaros, and Malthael, to off-role picks like bruiser Uther, nothing was seen as too daring. Compared to some of the more stagnant drafting of previous metas, this was a breath of fresh air.

The earliest innovations of 2018 started in EU, with Method busting out the first Solo Healer Abathur, typically paired with Samuro or Valeera on Sky Temple. HeroesHearth would be the first NA team to take this concept and run with it. While the value of Abathur on Sky Temple is more apparent, HHE would take solo Aba to Braxis Holdout, focusing on constant rotations and skirmishing with Tracer, or Genji. Fights would be forced on HHE’s terms, delaying the advancements of the enemy team with Junkrat mines and Anub’arak Cocoons. As the year progressed, solo Aba became a viable option on any map reliant on swift rotations (Dragon Shire, Infernal Shrines, etc) as long as the rest of the comp contained mobility, self-sustain, poke, or benefitted from short skirmishes.

Right around the advent of Whitemane and the return of Tyrande, the meta took another drastic shift. Primarily spearheaded by Justing and the rest of Team Octalysis, the team brought their own personal meta of drafting Yrel or Blaze as the main tank with a double support backing them up. Often times the secondary support would be Medivh or Abathur, with Medivh enhancing the long team fight capabilities and Abathur patching up the XP loss of a team focused on aggressive rotations and skirmishing.



This double support + “no tank” style also brought forth Xul as a main tank, the most intriguing (and my personal favorite) adaption of the year. With a double support composition (particularly with high damage but low waveclear healers like Tyrande), Xul in the 4-man brings the waveclear needed to speed up team rotations. The February balance patch brought in some welcomed changes to Xul that ultimately went under the radar when viewed through the lens of a typical specialist. But when viewed as a tank, Xul has a base health similar to Anub’arak (2000 vs 2100), a targeted root with the same cooldown as Howling Blast, a personal 25% health shield, and a reliable engagement heroic with Skeletal Mages. When drafting a double support composition that already contains a solid solo laner like Yrel, Blaze, or Sonya, picking up Xul will bring better damage and comparable CC to any other traditional tank.



Octalysis single handedly turned the meta on its head, with double support and no tank drafts making their way throughout the ranks of NA HGC and even gaining validation in EU. Teams are starting to understand where all of these new compositions fit into the mold, opening a whole new set of divergent drafting paths which can adapt to a variety of situations. The traditional concepts of what makes a viable composition are being challenged and evolved in the process. As BlizzCon approaches, it will be interesting to see how each region incorporates or counters the new North American meta. Will Korea dismiss the NA meta as cheese? At the very least, it is fair to say that the No Tank + Double Support composition is vastly more interesting than the Double Tank + Double Healer compositions of 2017 BlizzCon and won’t nearly be as ubiquitous.

Player Spotlight

Let me go on record by saying that I am generally an advocate for long term roster stability. Team synergy is a delicate ecosystem that is cultivated over time and requires careful maintenance through structure, support, and respect. Living in constant fear of being kicked from the team certainly works a motivator for some players, but there is much to be said for a culture/environment that is based on trust. A roster that commits to the long term health of the team will often few short term failures as stepping stones along the path towards the teams truest form.

That being said, I would like to take this time to recognize a few players that are generally overlooked and would be prime candidates for being picked up by other teams.

Drated
Current Team: Team Octalysis
Preferred Role: Assassin

I personally think Team Octalysis should keep its roster together going into 2019 because they are on the cusp of being something really special. That said, I think Drated is someone that the top teams should keep their eye on in the future. I’ve sung this player’s praises since his time on Imported Support and LFM, as he has proven to be a player possessing both immense natural skill and the mindset of a life long learner. He seems to use every match as a learning experience, showing growth from week to week. Even when LFM was a Crucible team, it was obvious that Drated was one of the best Genji players in HGC. If teams are looking to upgrade their assassin lineup, they need look no further.

Casanova
Current Team: No Tomorrow
Preferred Role: Flex

Casanova has been a diamond in the rough throughout his time in Open Division and HGC. No Tomorrow have struggled to break out of the Crucible position since they joined HGC in 2017, in part due to a core roster issue, but Casanova is visibly trying to change this. He has swapped roles multiple times, constantly trying to do what he can to carry his team to victory. Casanova is a player that I truly believe would shine on a team with a stronger core.



ViN
Current Team: Tempo Storm
Preferred Role: Assassin

It is tough for the general public to view ViN through anything but the lens of a Psalm replacement. The loss of Psalm was certainly felt throughout the HGC and had a visible impact on Tempo Storm in Phase 2. ViN has had unbelievably big shoes to fill, and has done a remarkable job in doing so. Without the shadow of Psalm looming overhead, it wouldn’t be unfair to rank ViN among the top players in NA. Tempo Storm should most definitely hang onto this player, though it is unclear what will happen with Swoy going into 2019.

Last Thoughts

While NA is still struggling to compete with the best EU and Korean teams, the region is starting to chip away at what was previously a foregone conclusion. Second place EU and Korean teams have shown vulnerability to the North American meta, making early tournament elimination a very real threat. All of this means that BlizzCon should be one of the most competitive cross-regional bouts yet. All North American eyes are on Tempo Storm and HeroesHearth to overcome the weaknesses left by their roster vacancies (Psalm and Arthelon) and bring their strongest forms to Dignitas and Gen.G.