It is little known of Crystal Maiden, that in her long study of the Frozen Arts, she once greatly displeased her Ice Wizard master and to restore herself to his graces and prove worthy of his instruction, she passed a year dwelling in the climes of slush where the Blueheart Glacier spends itself at the edge of the Boiling Sea. Here, where snow had never fallen, Rylai spent months in deep meditation, mastering her powers, before waking one afternoon with a single frigid word upon her lips: “Snowdrop!” For a moment, the steam that filled the air turned to ice, and the warm precipitation became a softly falling snow. When she returned to her old teacher, she found him waiting with a smile, fully aware of the magic she had wrought, as he presented her this outfit to show her worth and mastery.

Belle of the North Star (created in part by the TF2 polycount winner Chemical Alia along with her cohorts Dry and jCool) was the hands-down winner of the community’s affection and votes. 5129 ratings with less than 1% downvotes. An impressive run for a professionally executed set, bold in its re-envisioning of Crystal Maiden as a confident and wealthy princess. There is a lot to like about the entry from the ornate but extremely readable cloak to the intricate portrait presentation. We know Belle is a fan favorite and one we expect to find its way into the game soon.

So it may be with a certain note of controversy that we announce the selection of Anuxi’s Snowdrop as our favored winner (pushing Belle from the winners circle due to our decision to focus on a broad set of heroes). Anuxi has crafted something really special. We love the way Crystal Maiden’s cape has been reinterpreted as a pair of fluffy tassels, changing the shape of the hero and really pushing on her design while maintaining readability (the tassels outline the cape’s profile and profiles are a critical component to at-a-glance recognition). The portrait is awesome, with the fluffy hood contrasting a wayward lock of hair. Here is a truly beautiful and mysterious ice witch, one eye and mouth occluded. Snowdrop is a perfect example of redefining a hero without changing her identity and doing so with an ‘our artists wish they made this’ level of execution.

Polycount Discussion Thread