TAUNT META TIER LIST — 4-6-18

The below is just my opinion. You may disagree, as taunts are in many ways aesthetic. However, just like any other tier list, if you do disagree, you’re wrong.

Also, unlike usual tier lists, the lancers are generally ranked within the tier here, at least a bit. For example, Titus is very nearly A-tier, whereas Phaedra is very nearly C-tier.

S

Gremo

Blackburn

Khita

Garrison

Comments: Garrison, Khita, Blackburn and Gremo are the top dogs, each having some truly exceptional taunts and a well-rounded arsenal that lets you have good taunts for almost any situation. What’s more, you can pick all 4 of these for a balanced team comp with massive BM.

A

Lockwood

Brynn

Finn

Kaigin

Comments: Lockwood is a diamond in the rough, nearly reaching S tier and having no truly weak taunts, as well as a couple of top-tier ones. Fits well into any taunt composition. Brynn is an excellent frontline choice, with witty two-part taunts, plus she mocks Lockwood in her regular voice lines. Finn brings his quirky attitude and puns. Kaigin is an all-rounder, having all taunts weighing in at 4/5 — no exceptional choices, but all very solid. By coincidence, this foursome also makes a balanced team comp for all your taunting needs.

B

Titus

Nix

Juno

Zuki

Grey

Oz

Isadora

Orion

Helio

Rufflebucket

Tol-Ren

Meridian

Comments: These mostly speak for themselves and are analyzed in greater detail below. Titus very nearly reaches A tier. Tol-Ren / Meridian nearly C.

C

Elle

Celeste

Aurora

Rask

Phaedra

Su-Ren

Nev

Asana

Magnus

PuP

Quark

Comments: These mostly speak for themselves and are discussed in greater detail below. PuP and Quark are just barely C-tier.

D

Vonn

Comments: Vonn brings up the rear, but it’s understandable. Poor guy has been on ice for 100 years and his taunts clearly haven’t aged well. Maybe Meridian forgot to cryogenically freeze them, I don’t know. It’s also possible he’s just not funny.

Analysis

This is generally based on a mix of the average of the taunts in the kit and the top 2 taunts of the kit (which are given greater weight because you can only use a maximum of 2 taunts per game).

Asana: 2.67 average — 3.5 top — C

“Cut in Twain” — 2/5

“Face Your Demise” — 2/5

“Judgment Comes For You” — 3/5

“Stand and Face Me” — 3/5

“Touch Me and Bleed” — 2/5

“Angel of Vengeance” — 4/5

Overall, Asana has a pretty mediocre taunt package. Cut in Twain and Face Your Demise are fairly pedestrian taunts. Judgment Comes for You is a bit more interesting, and is a dash taunt so it’s more taunt-worthy (the nature of the ability being taunted does play a small role in the taunt’s effectiveness, though of course it is only one factor). Stand and Face Me is solid — reasonably threatening and does force them to stand (unless you’re using Walk and Fight, in which case you may want to rethink your life choices), and the root has a bit of a surprise factor. Touch Me and Bleed is fairly run-of-the-mill, particularly as there’s rarely a huge shock value when Asana pops Ret. Finally, Angel of Vengeance is a great taunt that gives Asana the boost she needs to sit comfortably in C tier. “Behold! An Angel of Vengeance!” Sweet. Plus, it’s a two-phase ability. You know she’s using it during Prep Phase and you’re like oh shit here comes the Asana ult, and then she says ANGEL OF VENGEANCE and comes crashing in. Niiice.

Aurora: 2.67 average — 4.0 top — C

“Shocking” — 1/5

“Submit to Me” — 3/5

“The Sting of Entropy” — 2/5

“You Shall Not Fall” — 3/5

“Give Up This Fight” — 2/5

“I Decide Who Lives And Dies” — 5/5

Aurora’s taunt game is OK but needs some work. I think “Shocking” is one of the worst taunts in the entire game. “Submit to Me” is decent though, has some solid flavor. “The Sting of Entropy” is so-so, as everyone knows, and “You Shall Not Fall” is one of the more boring things you can say when healing someone. However, You Shall Not Fall gets a small boost given that it could apply sarcastically to her knockback on the ability. “Give Up This Fight” is presumably targeted at her enemies, but a lot of the Paralazer ability is for allies, and in any event it isn’t ultra-impressive. The only real redeeming aspect of Aurora’s taunt game is her ultimate taunt. “I decide who lives and dies!” is fantastic. It’s powerful-sounding, it has solid graphics, it reflects the nature of the ability. One of the better taunts around!

Blackburn: 4.2 average — 5.0 top — S

“I always get my target” — 3/5

“Maybe this’ll shut you up!” — 5/5

“I could take on an army!” — 4/5

“Stopping Them Dead In Their Tracks” — 4/5

“Guess I’ll Kill Them All Myself” — 5/5

One of the best taunters in the game, if not the very best. “I always get my target” is kind of funny because 99% of the time I see that taunt the Blackburn is missing. But it’s a decent taunt for a primary. “Maybe this’ll shut you up!” is world-class. “I could take on an army!” is also pretty decent, having the whole stim animation and head tilt back, and I mean that is a pretty Blackburn-esque phrase. “Stopping them dead in their tracks” is decent, not amazing but gets a boost because Blitz is so awesome for taunting. You dash, probably dodge something, and then taunt during BLAST PHASE when they already knew you dashed and that something special was coming, and you nail your target. Finally, “Guess I’ll Kill ‘Em All Myself” is a world-class taunt as well, so Blackburn has quite a strong taunt kit. If you add in the special ult animation for Contenders, you can really get some excellent Blackburn swag going.

Brynn: 3.6 average — 4.5 top — A

“Watch Out For The Pointy End” — 4/5

“Behind Me, Now!” — 1/5

“Shield to the Face” — 5/5

“Did You Miss Me?” — 4/5

“Stand in Line” — 4/5

Brynn has a great taunt package, but “Behind Me, Now!” is pretty boring. It lacks the humor and charm of the rest of Brynn’s package, and much as I might want to get behind her for various reasons, Aegis isn’t really a bodyblock move so much as a Brynn-protecting-herself move. However, Watch Out For the Pointy End is a humorous warning, and Did You Miss Me (because I won’t miss you!) has a nice little two-part cadence and mocks the enemy for missing her as she dashes past. Stand in Line also scores well, because she then says “You’ll get the point soon,” which is of course not only a great double entendre but also changes the tone of what she’s saying and adding just a little bit extra personality into the taunt. Finally, you look like you could use a shield…to the face! is a classic, one of the elite taunts in the game. Brynn pretends to help out the enemy, but actually hits them in the face! GOTTEM! Plus the ability itself can bounce off walls to hit unwary targets and applies CC — thoroughly taunt-worthy.

Celeste: 3.2 average — 3.5 top — C

“Watch Out, I Get Handsy” — 3/5

“I’ve Got A Secret” — 3/5

“Lights Out” — 3/5

“Don’t You Just Love The Chase” — 3/5

“Not so safe now, are you?!” — 4/5

Almost the definition of mediocre, Celeste scores a 3/5 on almost everything. Now, 3 isn’t a bad score, but it’s better to have a wider variety of scores so you can focus on the good taunts. For Celeste, there aren’t really any terrible taunts, but there aren’t any amazing ones either. “Watch Out, I Get Handsy” is nice, kind of punchy, a bit punny. “I’ve Got A Secret” is so bad it’s good, like why would you tell them you’re putting down a trap anyway but she’s so annoying about the way she says it how the hell am I gonna give it less than 3/5? “Lights Out” is solid. “Don’t you just love the chase” is…well, it’s Celeste, and at least a bit different. “Not so safe now, are you?!” is pretty good, actually, but the “safe” pun doesn’t quite land for me.

Dr. Finn: 3.5 average — 4.5 top — A

“This’ll Wet Your Whistle!” — 4/5

“The Sturgeon Is In!” — 4/5

“You’re in for a shock!” — 2/5

“Pop Goes My Bubble” — 2/5

“Watch Out For The Undertow! It’s a doozy.” — 5/5

“Sleep with the Fishes!” — 4/5

Finn’s taunts are overall pretty good. “This’ll Wet Your Whistle” is so quirky and fun, feels great to use. “The Sturgeon is In” is a real classic and delivered well, which gets it a good score even though generally heals aren’t the greatest abilities to taunt. The line, unlike say Aurora’s heal taunt, is targeted at his enemies, letting them know that, in fact, the Sturgeon is in. “You’re in for a shock” and “Pop Goes My Bubble” are pretty meh in my opinion, however. Finally, his ult taunts do deliver. “Sleep with the Fishes!” is firm and threatening, probably Finn at his scariest. And “Watch out for the undertow! It’s a doozy” is great, I mean, he literally says it’s a doozy. Of course that gets a 5/5.

Elle: 2.8 average — 4.0 top — C

“Bite the bullet” — 2/5

“Oh, I’m just full of surprises” — 2/5

“Oh, I think you’re going to be blown away” — 2/5

“When you least expect it…bye-bye.” — 3/5

“They Say Murder is in Cold Blood…” — 5/5

I really don’t like Elle’s taunt kit (with one exception). “Bite the bullet” is pretty meh for me…I think it’s supposed to be punny but it’s just not. “Oh, I’m just full of surprises” and “Oh, I think you’re going to be blown away” are like…really? Like…are those meant to be funny? Is Elle really full of surprises? I guess you can roll to hit someone you weren’t otherwise in line of, so that redeems it a bit, but I still find it underwhelming for a chick who should be focused on the shotgun and cold-blooded killer aspects. “When you least expect it, bye-bye” is a nice idea for lurker drone, though the execution doesn’t quite land for me. (No pun intended. Also why is there no execution pun in Elle’s taunt repertoire?) Finally, though, her saving grace: “They say murder is in cold blood, but yours is so warm…” — easily one of the best taunts in the game, so clever and flavorful and frankly slightly scary. I love it.

Garrison: 4.0 average — 5.0 top — S

“Punching Time!” — 3/5

“Rearrange Your Face” — 4/5

“Open Wide, Mate” — 5/5

“Brought Enough for Everyone” — 5/5

“Time To Make An Impression” — 4/5

“Got a Delivery” — 3/5

“Is It My Birthday?” — 4/5

Garrison is one of the taunting elite, sitting up in S-tier. Like Brynn, he has humor and a great accent that helps all of his delivery (got a special one for you buggers!) — plus he has no weak taunts. Punching Time is a solid and effective taunt, and Rearrange Your Face is one of the better primary taunts around, nearly scoring a 5. Open Wide, Mate also sits around a 4.5 and we rounded this one up. What better way to deliver a hand cannon blast than asking your victim, in a friendly way, to open their mouth and take a load? Brought Enough For Everyone is absolutely iconic, and can even be double taunted if you take Double Trouble. And with recent changes Garrison DOES bring enough for everyone! Time to Make An Impression is a nice pun because he does come crashing down hard, and it really has a nice feel with his dash overall. Got a delivery for you buggers is a solid taunt, scoring a typical 3/5 that a solid taunt would merit, and Is It My Birthday? is a lovely additional ult taunt, potentially conveying the health drop aspect or just generally celebrating the fact that you pulverized the crap out of an enemy across the map.

Gremo: 4.29 average — 5.0 top — S

“Hey you! Catch!” — 4/5

“Can I press the button?” — 4/5

“Whoopsie! Mind the mines!” — 4/5

“Let’s teach ’em how to fly!” — 4/5

“Bombing Run” — 5/5

“Ha Ha Ha” — 4/5

“How Many? 2?” — 5/5

To probably no one’s surprise, the Gremolitions are one (two?) of the top-tier taunters in the game. “Hey you! Catch!” is probably the simplest one they have, and even that one is fun, with Idd poking his face down into the camera frame to yell “Catch!” “Can I press the button” can be a little annoying with the whimpering, but it’s also kind of hilarious. I love Odd’s reply. Also for them to be arguing about the button while you know they’re about to bomb somebody builds a little dramatic timing. “Whoopsie! Mind the mines!” is of course excellent, nearly scoring a 5. Sorry we accidentally splorted a bunch of mines around us, hope you weren’t planning on walking through this area. “Let’s teach ’em how to fly!” is also great, and also nearly a 5, with Idd doing some wing motions with his hands. Bombing Run absolutely scores a 5/5, with the two gremunks yelling it in sync and doing the world’s greatest dance. Is this a dark horse for the best taunt in the game? Finally, you’ve got the two ultimate taunts. Many folks purport to like the laughter one, though I’ve always found it annoying. However, it goes on so long and is literally just them laughing — it demands a good score. I think How many? is fantastic. Idd is so excited when he yells MOAR! Overall, a phenomenal kit.

Grey: 3.43 average — 4.0 top — B

“Stick you like a pig” — 4/5

“You can run, but you can’t hide” — 4/5

“He’s caught the scent” — 2/5

“Say goodnight, love” — 4/5

“Gotta run” — 3/5

“Enjoy your new cell” — 3/5

“Walk into my lair” — 4/5

Grey has a lovely set of taunts. “I’ll stick you like a pig!” is a classic, and her primary really feels good when it hits, so it feels extra good when you taunt it. “You can run, but you can’t hide!” scores well, too — it’s a more rarely seen taunt, so gets some style points for that, plus it really reflects Grey’s mantra. “He’s caught the scent” is fairly unremarkable. “Say goodnight, love” is delightful: lots of fake-affection flavor, plus she’s knocking you out with that dose. “Gotta run” is a solid dash taunt, although you really should never taunt Grey’s dash. Extra BM if you do, I suppose. “Enjoy your new cell” is decent, and “Walk into my lair” gets a little extra boost because she’s essentially baiting you to walk INTO it, which is really taunt-worthy.

Helio: 3.14 average — 4.0 top — B

“Echo…Hammerhammerhammerhammer” — 4/5

“Woooo! We turn it up to 11 on the Richter scale!” — 4/5

“Shield on the Field!” — 3/5

“Miniature Black Hole!” — 2/5

“Wall of Pain!” — 4/5

“Killing Machine Activated” — 2/5

“Gonna Give You Some Improvements” — 3/5

Helio’s taunt game is good but not great, which is a bit of a shame because his in-game lines tend to be awesome (“I hope they put my same back the brain way!”). Luckily, he gets off to a solid start with two really good primary taunts. “Echo Hammerhammerhammerhammer” is a classic, and “We turn it up to 11 on the Richter scale!” has a lot of flavor, and both feel good to use. “Shield on the Field!” is also pretty decent, for such a simple ability. It’s a free action shield on a short cooldown with charges. But of course it rhymes, which is nice, and it just has a good feel to it, the way he delivers the line and has a simple sort of motion to go with it. “Miniature Black Hole!” is silly, I mean everyone pretty much calls it that already so unfortunately it goes from a classic line to a trite “is this even a taunt?” status. I’m not really sure it is a taunt, to be honest. And taunting your Black Hole is dumb for many reasons — it’s used on an ally, often out of vision, it doesn’t do anything til next turn, etc. “Wall of Pain!” is pretty good — not exceptional, but does get a boost because Wall is one of the more tauntable abilities. This one does get some “classic” status as well, because people do call it his Wall (rather than Disruption Matrix), but they don’t call it a wall “of Pain” so he has some extra oomph that’s absent from the Black Hole taunt. “Killing Machine Activated” is decent but just doesn’t excite me, even though it does describe the ability. “Gonna Give You Some Improvements!” is actually decent, though. Even though the “you” is his teammate, Helio is exactly the sort of person who would taunt a teammate while buffing them. Yeah, your teammate sucks, and you’re improving them! Hey enemy team, check out how good I am! Not only am I crushing you, I’m making my otherwise terrible ally better at crushing you!

Isadora: 3.2 average — 4.0 top — B

“Nibble on this, fools!” — 3/5

“You thought I was in danger? I. AM. DANGER.” — 5/5

“Who looks squeezable now?” — 3/5

“How deliciously evil!” — 3/5

“Killinator, assemble!” — 2/5

Isadora is a solid B-tier taunter. She gets a bit of flair from having her taunts be indecipherable rodent noises without the interpreting aid of her Forceball, but even with this boost she belongs comfortably in the B tier. Nibble on this, fools! is a solid primary taunt, probably just above a 3, and who looks squeezable now? is also solid, perhaps just below a 3. So deliciously evil would score higher if it weren’t on a bit of a passive ability. You don’t necessarily want to alert them to when your AoE doodad is up (because it’s weirdly hard to tell), and in any event you’re not taunting it on the turn it’s actually doing stuff. I still give it a 3/5 but there was more potential there. Killinator, assemble! is fairly pedestrian. Her best taunt by far is you thought I was in danger? I. AM. DANGER. It mocks the enemy for thinking she was a poor defenseless little aminal, and the camera does her a nice zoom as she says the final three words with panache. Plus, it’s on a dash, so you get a lot of impact (no pun intended) from the taunt.

Juno: 3.2 average — 4.5 top — B

“I hope you got your dancin’ shoes on!” — 3/5

“Every dog needs a leash!” — 5/5

“I’m gonna knock you off your feet!” — 2/5

“You won’t catch ME off guard!” — 2/5

“Here comes the showstopper!” — 4/5

Juno scores well with a nice mix of taunts. While her knockback and shield taunts are fairly unremarkable, “I hope you got your dancin’ shoes on!” has some nice flair to it, and “Here comes the SHOWSTOPPER” feels quite nice. Finally, of course, she has one of the absolute greatest taunts in the game — “Every dog needs a leash!” That taunt probably cracks the top 10!

Kaigin: 4.0 average — 4.0 top — A

“Your demise is inevitable!” — 4/5

“A Torrent of Death” — 4/5

“Nowhere is safe” — 4/5

“Fear the unseen” — 4/5

“Accept your fate” — 4/5

Kaigin’s taunt set is one of the most consistent in the game, as if his taunts are applying a void mark every turn or something. It’s too bad you can only use 2, because Kaigin has the most well-rounded kit of anyone. I give ALL of his taunts a 4/5. None are truly exceptional, but they’re all really good. “Your demise is inevitable!” is nice and threatening, has the cute finger beckon, works great out of invis or when they’ve run out of escape options. “A Torrent of Death” is one of my personal favorites, but doesn’t quite make it to 5/5. “Nowhere is safe from my blades” is very apropos for a crazy dash behind a wall or something. “Fear the unseen” is really nice — a rare situation where they know where you are so it’s fine to taunt the invis, and it’s actually quite intimidating. “Accept your fate” is great on the ult as well, basically suggesting that you, you know, bend over and let him get it over with. 😉

Khita: 4.0 average — 5.0 top — S

“I hope you like butt splinters!” — 5/5

“Don’t worry, I got you!” — 3/5

“Can you just…stand still while we shoot you?” — 5/5

“I’ll…just be going now” — 4/5

“Where’s my favorite pincushion?” — 3/5

An absolutely legendary taunter. “I hope you like Butt Splinters” is one of the best taunts in the game. It’s delivered well, has a nice camera angle on her setting up the shot, it can even hit enemies out of line of sight (so you might catch them in the butt). “Don’t worry, I got you” is one of those “I’m helping a teammate so why is talking to them a taunt” kind of things, BUT it really fits well. That’s exactly what you’d tell a teammate (or teammates) when using a Khita shield on them. So it gets a solid score. “Can you just stand still while we shoot you?” is another phenomenal taunt. It’s funny and sarcastic, great delivery, fits the ability perfectly. “I’ll just be going now” — again, the delivery is impeccable. And that’s again, very flavorful for what you’re generally doing with the ability. Like ooooops this guy’s near me better jump away and shoot him, don’t mind me. Finally, the pincushion line has lots of flavor but just doesn’t strike me as being as good as some of the others — still quite decent, though.

Lockwood: 3.86 average — 5.0 top — A+

“Prepare to be impressed!” — 5/5

“This is why they pay me the big bucks” — 4/5

“Line up, nice and pretty for me” — 3/5

“Looks like your luck’s run out” — 3/5

“Better watch your step” — 4/5

“Hey! Better luck next time!” — 5/5

“They’ll never know what hit ’em” — 3/5

Lockwood is one of the greats! All of his taunts are solid, and some are elite. “Prepare to be impressed” is one of the most iconic taunts in the game, and it really delivers with his Trick Shot. What more could you ask for from a taunt than asking your enemies to get hyped for how great you are? “This is why they pay me the big bucks” isn’t quite as exceptional, but is still a very solid taunt because, you know, it’s important to be paid the big bucks. “Line up” and “Luck’s run out” are both pretty decent. “Line up” has that nice graphic of him spraying the enemies, and “Luck’s run out” has him kind of doing a sing-song thing. “Better watch your step” is a great trap taunt, totally mocking the enemy for what they’re about to do. “Hey! Better luck next time!” is a terrific taunt, delivered with the kind of flair you’d expect from Lockwood — I think he even winks. And of course it’s exactly what you’d want to say when you dash out of a ton of damage. “They’ll never know what hit ’em” is in my opinion Lockwood’s weakest taunt, but it’s still pretty solid. Overall, a really nice taunt package, and you’d expect no less.

Magnus: 2.6 average — 3.5 top — C

“This is the only law around here” — 2/5

“Enjoy some of EvoS’ hospitality” — 3/5

“Get the Horns” — 2/5

“I always grab opportunity by the neck” — 2/5

“You leave when I tell you to leave” — 4/5

For such an impressive dinosaur and CEO, you’d think Magnus would have his taunt game on point, but unfortunately his taunts feel underwhelming and his quiet voice feels more relaxed than threatening. “This is the only law around here” is serviceable as a primary taunt, but nothing more. “Enjoy some of EvoS’ hospitality” is decent, has some flavor, decent ability to taunt. “If you mess with the bull, you get the horns” is a classic line and, despite being a bit predictable, would score higher if it weren’t on a stupid ability. Why can’t I taunt the dash portion?! I don’t want to taunt the prep phase portion! This really hurts Magnus’s taunt game. “I always grab opportunity by the neck” is pretty mediocre as well. Finally, “you leave when I tell you to leave” is pretty good and saves Magnus from D tier. It reflects that he is, in fact, the boss, and it’s a perfect boss line to fit the nature of the ability. Additionally, the calm delivery accomplishes some of the intended threatening feel since the lines are inherently threatening.

Meridian: 3.0 average — 4.0 top — C

“Dawn Breaks…and so shall you!” — 4/5

“You are under my protection” — 2/5

“This pains me, but not more than it pains you.” — 4/5

“Behold the glory of Hyperion!” — 3/5

“My Light is Your Light” — 2/5

He’s a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, so it’s no shock that his taunt game is a bit lacking, but it could be worse. “Dawn breaks” is quite solid as primary taunts go, has the nice zoom in on his face. But then “you are under my protection” is relatively boring. “This pains me” has some really nice flavor in his voice, and the sentiment is pretty good on a few levels. “Behold the glory of Hyperion” actually manages to score a solid 3/5 simply because of his inflection in “glory.” It’s so iconic and entertaining. Finally, “My Light is Your Light” is actually a decent taunt and delivered decently, but suffers because his ult is just not a very tauntable ability. You use it so much, and it’s relatively low-impact…do you really want to waste a taunt on that?

Nev: 2.8 average — 3.5 top — C

“Ring ring, friendo” — 4/5

“Hairball” — 2/5

“Someone wants to play cat and mouse!” — 2/5

“Cats know when to cut and run!” — 3/5

“A Cat-astrophe’s comin’ your way!” — 3/5

Nev’s taunts are a funky bunch. I give Ring Ring, Friendo a 4/5 because it’s so iconic. Is it stupid? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes. But it’s so bad it’s good. Hairball, however, is far less exciting, as is her cat and mouse taunt — pretty boring. “Cats know when to cut and run” is decent, though — she has that nice slash across the camera with her claws that adds a bit of flair. Finally, her ultimate taunt is probably the epitome of so bad it’s good. A Cat-astrophe’s c-o-m-i-n y-o-u-r w-a-y. Hula hips. Apparently she does a handstand at the end. Admit it, you’d rather see that abomination than a lot of the boring crap out there.

Nix: 3.29 average — 4.5 top — B

“You’re mine now!” — 3/5

“I’ve been saving this bullet” — 4/5

“Shush” — 3/5

“You’re my eyes and ears” — 2/5

“Keep your distance” — 2/5

“No one is safe” — 4/5

“360 no scope” — 5/5

Nix’s taunt game is quite good, putting him towards the top of the B-tier. “You’re mine now” seems dull but you get this cool first-person cam of him aiming his sniper rifle at the target, which is nice. “I’ve been saving this bullet just for you” is meme-worthy, so that’s of course a good taunt. “Shush” on his invis is actually decent — you don’t really want to taunt his invis, and I think the lack of utility of the taunt outweighs its BM factor in this instance, but the taunt itself is pretty good. “You’re my eyes and ears” is pretty boring — is the drone even listening to Nix? Does it HAVE ears? “Keep your distance” is also dull, like yeah okay it slows but it’s also an AoE move and like I don’t know is he supposed to be threatening with that? It’s not the most tauntable ability either, despite being a big AoE. Nix pulls it together big time with his ult taunts, though. “No one is safe” is nice, has that animation of him growing his gun in increments (*titus smirk*), and of course “360 no scope” is a classic, both because of the line, its delivery, and Nix doing a cool spin shimmy up his gun in a 360 before blasting the socks off your face. I don’t know why you were wearing socks on your face.

Orion: 3.2 average — 4.0 top — B

“Your future…burns bright!” — 3/5

“You are not permitted to die!” — 5/5

“These fools will fall before us!” — 2/5

“Mortal lives are mine to mold” — 3/5

“Kneel before me!” — 3/5

Decent taunts, all with some aggressive powerful flavor. “Your future burns bright” is a solid primary taunt. “You are not permitted to die!” is really a stand-out taunt. Fate Transfer is one of the most important abilities in the game, and if the opponent didn’t see it coming and played into it, you really want to hammer home just how much they done goofed. Plus, like, not PERMITTING them to die is an incredibly Orion thing to do. “These fools will fall before us” is kind of unremarkable. “Mortal lives are mine to mold” is a bit more interesting than your average bear as healing taunts go. “Kneel before me” is a solid ultimate taunt, but little more.

Oz: 3.4 average — 4.0 top — B

“No tricks — just good old-fashioned laser” — 3/5

“Time to show you my true colors!” — 3/5

“I’m leaving you a present” — 4/5

“Have you met my doppleganger?” — 4/5

“And now for the Main Event” — 3/5

Oz brings a lot of personality to Atlas, so it’s no shock that his taunt game is pretty solid. “No tricks — just good old-fashioned laser” is a nice taunt. Lasers aren’t old-fashioned, so that’s funny. “Time to show you my true colors” is a reference to Oz’s spray painting abilities, and of course while he’s spray painting you he has that cool circle windup. “I’m leaving you a present” is very iconic and the ability itself is super taunt-worthy too. “Have you met my doppleganger” is a decent taunt, and the ability itself is just SO taunt-worthy, I mean it’s literally the epitome of a mind game where you’ve outplayed someone by swapping with your afterimage. Finally, the “main event” is nice, has this long drawn-out spin thing and emphasizes Oz’s role as a showman. No exceptional taunts here, but no slouches, either.

Phaedra: 2.8 average — 3.5 top — C

“I will crush you into dust” — 3/5

“Decay and die!” — 2/5

“Feed me!” — 2/5

“Nothing Will Keep Us Apart” — 4/5

“We aren’t done playing yet!” — 3/5

Phaedra’s taunt game is pretty average. “I will crush you into dust” is a reasonable solid primary taunt, reflecting what she’s doing and seeming appropriately threatening. “Decay and die” is a bit underwhelming, and just isn’t really what you’re thinking about when you use bugs. “Feed me!” is decent but suffers because Mending Swarm, like Asana’s Retribution, is not the most tauntable ability. “Nothing will keep us apart!” reflects Phaedra’s undying love for Grey (in a gastric capacity) and feels great when you’re about to dash through a wall, very solid taunt. And “we aren’t done playing yet!” works pretty well given that the ultimate keeps you from, you know, leaving.

PuP: 2.5 average — 3.5 top — C-

“Arf arf” — 3/5

“Chomp chomp” — 4/5

“Booster Dash” — 2/5

“Walkies” — 2/5

“Prowl” — 1/5

“Ult” — 3/5

PuP’s taunts aren’t my cup of tea, though I suppose that may be controversial. “Arf arf” is fine, he barks and does the chompy thing. I think the giant chompy mouth coming out of PuP is pretty neat. And then “chomp chomp” is much the same, plus we get a nice first-person cam on that so very nice. After that, though…his dash and walkies are both kind of…eh, yeah, a thing came out of the PuP and did a thing, okay we get it. Prowl is even worse, imo, like PuP just whimpers and goes invis. Why would you want to taunt that? I mean, you wouldn’t really want to taunt his invis anyway, and the taunt is just so lackluster. Finally, the ult taunt is decent. We get a nice growl from PuP before the subwoofers come out. Overall, it’s enough to land him in C tier, but little more.

Quark: 2.5 average — 3.5 top — C-

“It stings but it’s worth it…for me, not you” — 3/5

“If you die, you’ll be all better” — 3/5

“Reorganizing your atoms” — 1/5

“If it tingles, it’s working. If it burns…it’s working!” — 4/5

“Watch me fly!” — 2/5

“I’m a miniature reactor!” — 2/5

One of the weaker taunters in the game. “It stings but it’s worth it” and “if you die, you’ll be all better” are decent — the former because of the “gotcha” and the latter because Tiggarius respects that philosophy. But after that it’s mostly downhill. “Reorganizing your atoms” is not only kind of a crappy taunt, it’s also on an ability totally worthless for taunt value. Conversely, If it Tingles it’s working, if it burns…it’s working! is creative and entertaining — easily Quark’s strongest taunt. Radiate isn’t much of an ability to taunt, though, since you’re basically mashing that button the majority of your turns anyway. “Watch me Fly” is pretty boring, even as a dash I would almost never taunt this. And “I’m a Miniature Reactor” is like…we knew that, Quark. Is that even a taunt? Also like omgosh the Quark had his ult and some nearby teammates, and he ulted, what a shocker, glad he taunted that.

Rask: 2.67 average — 4.0 top — C

“Rip You To Pieces” — 3/5

“My Claws Thirst for Blood!” — 3/5

“Begone!” — 2/5

“I Cannot Be Stopped” — 2/5

“My Body Rebuilds” — 1/5

“Unleash the Beast!” — 5/5

Rask is a pretty predictable taunter. “I will rip you to pieces” and “My claws thirst for blood” are both fairly intimidating and apropos, score a solid 3/5 each for primary. “Begone!” is a little dumb, especially because often he’s throwing someone 1 square so he can keep hitting them the following turn. “I cannot be stopped” is technically true of his dash, but feels like it could equally apply to something like Rampart’s unstoppable, and I don’t like the way he delivers the line. “My body rebuilds” is such a wasted opportunity, because not only is it boring (and a boring ability to taunt), but one of his non-taunt lines for that ability is “Broccoli holds me together!” Finally, Rask does get some redemption from his iconic ultimate taunt, “Unleash the Beast!” That’s impressive and feels good to use.

Rufflebucket: 3.17 average — 4.0 top — B

“Stab and Spin Cycle: Online” — 2/5

“Beatdown Activated” — 3/5

“Instruction: Stand Behind Shield” — 3/5

“Target Impalement: Imminent” — 4/5

“You can’t stop me” — 3/5

“Ultimate Ability Activated” — 4/5

I expect this one to (maybe) be a bit controversial, because no doubt some folks love Rufflebucket’s robotic style of delivery. But I expect better from him, because he’s a known jokester and fun-haver. “Stab and Spin Cycle: Online” just doesn’t really do anything for me. “Beatdown activated” is a little better, seems decently threatening, but activating a beatdown is…I mean why not activate asskicking mode? That’d be a stellar taunt, you know? Instruction: Stand Behind Shield is OK, but he’s really telling that to his teammates, who aren’t really meant to be the focus of a taunt, and really your teammates aren’t going to be standing behind your shield anyway most times. It still scores a 3/5 but that’s all. Target Impalement: Imminent is solid enough to merit a 3/5 and gets a boost to 4/5 because he’s implied to be giving the middle finger. “You can’t stop me” is again decent, it’s a bit taunting to tell someone they can’t stop you when you pop unstoppable, but lacks the robot theming. Finally, I gave Ultimate Ability Activated a 4/5 because of its self-descriptive nature. The ability could do absolutely anything and the taunt would apply, but that’s weirdly appropriate given Rufflebucket’s robotic nature. Also, heck yes you want to tell them you’re activating your awesome ult which dashes and damages and slows and protects and turns you into a rocketship. Together, it’s just enough to get Ruffles into B tier.

Su-Ren: 3.0 average — 3.5 top — C

“You will learn respect!” — 3/5

“No Need For Fear” — 3/5

“If You Can’t Keep Up” — 3/5

“Think Before You Act” — 2/5

“Let’s see who’s still standing in the end” — 4/5

A pretty average taunter in all respects. “You will learn respect!” is a nice solid primary taunt. “No need for fear” is reasonably good as free action heal taunts go. “If you can’t keep up” is good, versatile as it can apply to both the offensive and defensive dashes (and Su would totally mock a teammate). “Think Before You Act” isn’t as good, though — I suppose the ally really should think before they act in case they could get more value on Spirit Bend, but it applies more to enemies you target with it, and it’s just kind of an underwhelming phrase. “Let’s see who’s still standing in the end” is a fairly nice taunt for a VERY taunt-worthy ability, rounding out Su’s taunt repertoire. She doesn’t have any exceptional taunts, but it’s decent.

Titus: 3.5 average — 4.5 top — B+

“Chaos Comes For You!” — 3/5

“You are all doomed!” — 3/5

“I’ll Take The Fight To You!” — 3/5

“Face Me, Cowards!” — 5/5

“So Sharp You Won’t Feel It…Yet” — 3/5

“Steel Yourself…or I’ll Do It For You!” — 4/5

Titus is a very solid taunter. “Chaos Comes For You!” is great, but only scores a 3/5 because it feels like it should be a dash taunt but isn’t. “You are all doomed!” doesn’t suffer that problem, but is also not quite as cool, so also a 3/5. “I’ll take the fight to you!” is a solid dash taunt, though not super imaginative. “Face me, cowards!” is actually awesome and quite underrated. I wasn’t expecting to rate it so highly because most free action stuff doesn’t merit such high ratings, but you’re actually weakening nearby enemies, plus you’re calling them cowards, and his eyes turn red and fiery during the taunt which is FREAKING COOL. “So sharp you won’t feel it…yet” is a solid taunt, feels good to surprise them with the ability, but lacks a “wow” factor. Finally, “Steel yourself…or I’ll do it for you!” is kind of a pun, and also just kind of badass.

Tol-Ren: 3.0 average — 4.0 top — B-

“Your blood will wash my sword!” — 3/5

“Go ahead, fuel my blade” — 4/5

“You cannot fight a force of nature” — 2/5

“Our paths were always meant to cross” — 2/5

“You will die where you stand, ha ha ha” — 4/5

Tol-Ren has a mixed bag of taunts, and honestly it depends a LOT on what skin you use. “Your blood will wash my sword” is pretty nice, gets a solid score for his primary. “Go ahead, fuel my blade” has some troll mode in his voice, which is lovely, and this is one where you really want the 2nd skinset with the human face because he just has this great troll vibe to his expressions. “You cannot fight a force of nature” is like…what? Who’s a force of nature? Tol? Why? Has this taunt ever made sense to anyone? “Our paths were always meant to cross” would be cooler if you were both dashing, but of course if your target is also dashing you can’t actually hit them with the ability, so this doesn’t work as well as I’d like. Finally, “you will die where you stand, HA HA HA” is just great, because of the “ha ha ha.” So much personality delivered in that line, and if you’re using the human skin he goes full troll mode on this one too.

Vonn: 2.4 average — 3.0 top — D

“First Flurry” — 2/5

“Ice in your Veins” — 2/5

“Like catching snowballs…full of knives…” — 3/5

“Put your plans on ice” — 3/5

“Withering in a winter wonderland” — 2/5

Vonn is unquestionably the worst taunter in the game, imo. “The First Flurry before a storm” is pretty underwhelming, and he shoots out this dinky little icicle. I’d score it a 1/5 but it’s got just a bit of “so bad it’s good” to push it up to a 2/5. Like sometimes you really just want a taunt that is stupid. “I am the ice in your veins” is like…are you, though? Like…my ally…? has the ice? in their veins? And that’s Vonn? I’m confused. “Like catching snowballs…full of knives” is a reasonably solid one, delivery is OK, has a bit of humor to it with the delayed line. “Put your plans on ice” is also decent, reflects that he’s slowing them and protecting himself, potentially foiling two different things they were trying to do. Finally, “witherin’ in a winter wonderland” would be a lot better if someone had taunt Vonn how to sing. Also, really? Witherin’? It’s not even the same number of syllables as “walkin'” It doesn’t work! How about “whining in a winter wonderland,” does that work for you VONN? I’d score this a 1/5, but again, sometimes you really just want a taunt so bad you embarrass your entire bloodline. I hope Lex has better taunts, and I bet she will.

Zuki: 2.88 average — 5.0 top — B

“Rockin’ the Rocket!” — 1/5

“3..2..1…Fire!” — 1/5

“Homemade Cluster Bombs!” — 2/5

“Are you sure you wanna stand there?” — 5/5

“Bringin’ the Boom!” — 3/5

“Later, suckas!” — 5/5

“I’d run if I were you” — 4/5

“Artillery Barrage Inbound” — 2/5

The Zuka. Zuki has the most taunts in the game, with 8. But there’s a looooot of variance. Personally, I think the taunts on her primary suck. 3..2..1…fire. Is that supposed to be a taunt? What are you taunting? You counted down and you shot a shot. Whoopie. Rockin’ the rocket has some alliteration, but I still don’t feel very good about using this one. Homemade Cluster Bombs has a bit of excitement in her voice, but it’s like…do we care that they’re homemade? Sometimes cluster is taunt-worthy, but it’s still not too exciting. “Are you sure you wanna stand there?” is great, though. Of course they don’t want to stand there. That’s how the Big One works. Plus you have to taunt it a turn in advance, but unlike those other stupid prep phase taunts (Magnus, Helio, etc.) it actually taunts on the turn it DOES SOMETHING. So it’s great. “Bringin’ the Boom!” is simple but effective, and of course also a Big One taunt so it does nicely. “Later, suckas!” is a great taunt. You don’t often want to taunt Zuki’s dash, but you COULD taunt it for BM (unlike, say, PuP’s invis — does anyone care if you’re going invis on turn 20?), and the line is great, and delivery also great. “I’d run if I were you” is nice. Zuki looks at her nails, kinda chills while she’s prepping her gun, ehhhh you probably didn’t have time to run but she knew that. “Artillery barrage inbound” is too simple, though — we know you’re launching an artillery barrage, that’s literally how your ability works. So, overall, Zuki has some excellent taunts that launch her into B-tier, but her underwhelming primary taunts keep her from the upper echelons.