We’re back with another installment of all the happenings in the Fold. Admittedly, this is a rather eSports heavy week but I am really enjoying the face of our competitive scene.

Evil Eight



Week Two brought plenty of surprises for the lucky Vainglory viewer, including a little bit of the ole Roam Taka. The EU is up for grabs, but some teams in NA are really starting to cement themselves as tyrannical forces in the Summer Season. It serves to note that skins are not allowed in the Evil Eight because this isn’t a dog and pony show, it’s business.

EU

The field is tight across the sea as this week saw losers become winners all over the dang place. GankStars Cerberus actually fell on the first day to Snow Tsunami, a 1-2 series that showed Petal’s ability to handle the pesky Lyra and the might of Kestrel. Last week’s other finalist, Mousesports, got swept by SK Gaming in the opening round as well. SK is one of many teams that have recently realized Catherine may not be a bottom rung Roam this update. Her utility in the current meta has been overlooked, especially by us at Broken Myth.

Emerging once again as a powerhouse, Team Secret made this week look almost easy with some tried and true strategies they have been fortunate enough to practice over the course of a few updates. The finals against SK Gaming must have felt particularly good for the reigning champs. Game two saw bash brothers Krul and Phinn in the jungle with blond bounce boy Vox in the lane rampaging to a flawless victory.

Contrary to a lot of what our tier list felt, the EU matches had plenty of Glaive. In games where Lyra was off the table, the rocket axe proved a great standby for jungle control. What remains true, however, is that Adagio and Fortress have little to no place in competitive play as a Roam hero right now. There is just way too much damage on the field and you need to be able to grab the reins and hold on till the blood stops flying. Which it almost never does.

NA

I’m just going to go ahead and speculate that Team Phoenix only had one team in the finals this week because they had to fight each other in the first round. With off-season acquisitions, Phoenix has plenty of power in both of their squads, but Reign is where your money should be. But Brerman, did you even watch the final? I did, let me build up to it.

GankStars Sirius are in a tough spot. They have been outclassed both weeks as they seem to work on developing synergy with a relatively new roster. Drafted from Primal Impulse, PajamaDrama is now running Roam alongside MackDaddyB while FooJee has rotated back the lane. I have yet to see Jungle Lance work in competitive play, granted I haven’t watched every game ever, but the double lockdown alongside Catherine wasn’t enough to halt uNi’s Skye.

That leads me to Nemesis Hydra, who came to play. VONC who? The notorious aggressor was shut down hard as iLoveJoseph and LostBoyToph each took a turn as Skye and counter played his weapon power carries beautifully. TeamSoloMid was definitely looking better this weekend, but even with Lyra bans they couldn’t make Kestrel work the way they needed to. FlashX is also used to being the shot caller and I wonder what that must be like when VONC decides to go HAM.

Nemesis finished off the weekend with a sweep of Phoenix Reign, which itself is quite the achievement. But I revert back to what I said earlier, and that is Reign will be a heavy favorite for this season. Their deep hero pool and jungle might in this current meta that takes place mostly below the lane serves them well.

From the looks of it, Kestrel’s win rate was crazy high in both EU and NA. While arguably number 1 Jungler Taka still looked good, teams were using the dangerous mid range to their advantage. This is that sweet spot where you can get killed at any moment, but as long as you play the tease, you can unleash hell as they try to close the distance.

Challengers Series

The all inclusive bracket of death is proving an extremely entertaining watch. In case you aren’t familiar, both VaingloryLeague and Vainglory Invitational Series are taking turns hosting Challenger brackets for teams to have a chance to rise toward the Evil Eight.

Last week Necrolyte and Team Apex made it to the finals, Necrolyte taking top honors. So, of course, they are 1st and 2nd seed going into the VIS week 2 of challengers. Also keep your eyes on Ardent Awakening and The Enforcerz due to high seeding, and in the case of the latter, necessary use of “Z”.

Northwind Reim



Alternate Fates takes us this time to possibly the most parallel of universes we’ve seen in non-canon lore. In this story (spoiler) Reim’s son still dies, that guy can’t catch a break, and the Mage wanders off to be alone again. Only instead of camping out in a cavern of ice he trudges through to find a frozen soldier that promises an item of great power if Reim helps him. A real JRPG kind of set up that will surely have a solid pay off of heroic proportions. I’m loving that wizard staff he’s sporting now too.

1.20 Previews



Based on a few veiled teases from PlayoffBeard and others, we have some indication as to what to expect in the next update. Most importantly, some sort of change to Koshka that will bring her back into the meta. The quote we have is “she’ll play more like an assassin”, or something like that, but it does give one plenty of room to think. In her best moments, she plays like a tanky brawler where she can spin around in a battle. This leads me to believe she’ll benefit more from impact bursts like Taka and will need to get back out in a hurry again to find her next opening. That will definitely add another level to her play style and increase her difficulty in a good way.

There has also been talk about a new homepage look for when you first open the game. Speculation on that? I’m not sure, how about recent game history and messages from heroes trash talking about your weak sauce play.

We’ve also been promised new AI bots with five levels of difficulty. This will not only making bot matches a bit more interesting, but also assist in the new AFK replacement mechanic. This is breaking news, but I actually have the difficulty names. Starting with the weakest:

1) Drunk baby with 10,000pms lag

2) On the city bus and it’s the driver’s first day

3) Trying to watch Game of Thrones during team fights

4) Self-described “Try Hard”

5) StatusBaked playing with his feet

If you hear anything else about 1.20 (that’s not a potential leak) please let us know!

Tshirt Giveaway



Up until August 1st, SEMC is doing a T-Shirt giveaway of the iconic Vainglory black tee. I can testify, having bought one, that they are comfy and make you infinitely more attractive to potential mates. In case you haven’t noticed on Twitter, the attached graphic has everything you need to know about the contest.

Thanks for stopping by, we appreciate you. Come back for more Jeff and Marty’s Summer Fling and maybe something other great reading material for the potty! Peace out Taka Bloodbaths and Halcyon Charger Caths.