WPC Ace league Week 4 Recap October 23rd, 2013 00:49 GMT Text by K-poptosis Graphics by riptide WPC Ace

League 2013

Dark Times: The Fall of Ish’Kafel



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WPC ACE League Week 4 Recap

Our WPC Week 4 Recap kicks off with



We hope you enjoy this feature! Our regular recap will be out soon, of course, and before we go, just a quick reminder that WPC Week 5 starts in -







Dark Times: The Fall of Ish’Kafel by K-poptosis





Ish'Kafel the Dark Seer



Sir? Madam? Asexual Faerie Dragon? May I have just a moment of your time? I know you are just passing through, but surely we share the same interests, else this would not be the current focus of your eyes. We have a lot in common, you and I. Considering the surroundings of our fortuitous meeting, we most assuredly both adore Chinese Dota. Surely then, you have you have heard the laments, nay, the failings of the once great Ish’Kafel, the one they call the



This must be rectified! Set straight! Only then will you realize the travesty of his continued state of nerfhood, the unfair furor with which the IceFrog droppeth the hammer upon his pointy head. What if I told you that in this very WPC-ACE tournament, in the 23 matches in which he has been selected, he has only succeeded victoriously in five of them? Your interest is piqued, I see. Shall I extrapolate further? Alas, to truly understand the current state of the once-great defender of Damathryx, we must first go backwards.



We start nearly a year ago, in the plane of Reddit, in the midst of a particularly prominent discussion where the famed crier Tobi Wan was answering questions hurled at him from the local rabble. On this day, A popular soldier raised his voice above all others and exclaimed:







For this was a sign of the times. During this period, which just happened to be during and just after the second Great International, the Dark Seer was seen by many as being quite powerful! He was drafted quite often, being the 16th most chosen of all heroes during that era. Not only that, but he was widely successful, maintaining the highest win-rate of any hero with more than 100 contests under their girdle. Furthermore, the way in which he went about battle was often seen as bothersome to opponents. He would pull them unexpectedly to the top of heights from where they could not hope to climb down, as well as attack them with copies of themselves, all whilst exclaiming “Why dost thou strike thyself?” again and again and again.



But even the Seer of Dark could not predict the bleakness of his future. Not long after the second Great International, the word of the IceFrog himself was passed down. What it spoke for the Dark Seer was ill indeed.







The IceFrog had forsaken Ish’Kafel! “Surely”, his followers shouted, “some reproach was necessary for his transgressions against the metagame, but truly he has been lashed out against with far too much prejudice,” and there was much gnashing of teeth and wearing down of keys all along the great halls of the Internet.



But in an unexpected twist, the blow the IceFrog struck down upon the Dark Seer brought more attention to our pointy headed hero than ever before. Verily, despite this heavy punishment, Ish’Kafel became one of the most popular selections during the period between the second and third Great International. In truth, he was anointed second most amongst all other would be heroes, and was surpassed only by the Grand Magus himself. His record in battle was far from legendary, however, as he won naught but 47% of his contests, hardly deserving his rank. Many wise men of the age attributed this showing to how often lesser skilled combatants would place him into the Long Lane of Suicides due to his particularly simple strategy there, therefore skewing his rate of success.



Nevertheless, combatants kept selecting the Dark Seer, and the IceFrog continued to smite him, rendering his success rate lower and lower with each word he bestowed upon us mortals down below.





patch 6.75 winrate not included due to short lifespan of patch and low sample size For this was a sign of the times. During this period, which just happened to be during and just after the second Great International, the Dark Seer was seen by many as being quite powerful! He was drafted quite often, being the 16th most chosen of all heroes during that era. Not only that, but he was widely successful, maintaining the highest win-rate of any hero with more than 100 contests under their girdle. Furthermore, the way in which he went about battle was often seen as bothersome to opponents. He would pull them unexpectedly to the top of heights from where they could not hope to climb down, as well as attack them with copies of themselves, all whilst exclaiming “Why dost thou strike thyself?” again and again and again.But even the Seer of Dark could not predict the bleakness of his future. Not long after the second Great International, the word of the IceFrog himself was passed down. What it spoke for the Dark Seer was ill indeed.The IceFrog had forsaken Ish’Kafel! “Surely”, his followers shouted, “some reproach was necessary for his transgressions against the metagame, but truly he has been lashed out against with far too much prejudice,” and there was much gnashing of teeth and wearing down of keys all along the great halls of the Internet.But in an unexpected twist, the blow the IceFrog struck down upon the Dark Seer brought more attention to our pointy headed hero than ever before. Verily, despite this heavy punishment, Ish’Kafel became one of the most popular selections during the period between the second and third Great International. In truth, he was anointed second most amongst all other would be heroes, and was surpassed only by the Grand Magus himself. His record in battle was far from legendary, however, as he won naught but 47% of his contests, hardly deserving his rank. Many wise men of the age attributed this showing to how often lesser skilled combatants would place him into the Long Lane of Suicides due to his particularly simple strategy there, therefore skewing his rate of success.Nevertheless, combatants kept selecting the Dark Seer, and the IceFrog continued to smite him, rendering his success rate lower and lower with each word he bestowed upon us mortals down below.



And so now we find ourselves in our current predicament. No time has been more dire for the Dark Seer. Over the past month he has only been victorious in only 39% of his appearances despite being seen in 77% of contests, selected in some and exiled in others. This comes on top of his truly disgraceful performance in the WPC-ACE tournament, which we have already discussed. And yet, the IceFrog smites him again in his most recent utterance, increasing the cooldown in his vacuum yet again.



So with sadness in my heart, I urge my fellow combatants to steer away from the disgraced Dark Seer. It has been made clear that the IceFrog has been smiting him based upon his measure of appearance, and not his measure of success, quite like the much maligned Spirit Breaker. Herein lies my wisdom: should warriors hear my cry and choose to select the Dark Seer less, we may be able to divine the root of his recent troubles. If his performance were to improve with more careful selection, what the wise men proposed many patches ago may indeed have merit: that he is oft picked in situations where he cannot thrive. Conversely, should his record continue to suffer, this well-known wail of the rabble will be more cacophonous than ever before:



“Has IceFrog gone too far?”











CREDITS

Writers: K-poptosis

Gfx: riptide

Editors: TheEmulator

Photograph by

Writers: K-poptosisGfx: riptideEditors: TheEmulatorPhotograph by Eugene Regis Our WPC Week 4 Recap kicks off with a closer look at Dark Seer , a hero who has fallen far from his glory days in the past year. Why does Ish’Kafel keep getting hit with the nerf baton, and what can we do about it? TL's own K-poptosis answers all in analysis of the sage: Dark Times: The Fall of Ish’Kafel We hope you enjoy this feature! Our regular recap will be out soon, of course, and before we go, just a quick reminder that WPC Week 5 starts in -Sir? Madam? Asexual Faerie Dragon? May I have just a moment of your time? I know you are just passing through, but surely we share the same interests, else this would not be the current focus of your eyes. We have a lot in common, you and I. Considering the surroundings of our fortuitous meeting, we most assuredly both adore Chinese Dota. Surely then, you have you have heard the laments, nay, the failings of the once great Ish’Kafel, the one they call the Dark Seer ? What is that? He remains a solid pick you say? Surely you are mistaken. That, or sorely misinformed.This must be rectified! Set straight! Only then will you realize the travesty of his continued state of nerfhood, the unfair furor with which the IceFrog droppeth the hammer upon his pointy head. What if I told you that in this very WPC-ACE tournament, in the 23 matches in which he has been selected, he has only succeeded victoriously in five of them? Your interest is piqued, I see. Shall I extrapolate further? Alas, to truly understand the current state of the once-great defender of Damathryx, we must first go backwards.We start nearly a year ago, in the plane of Reddit, in the midst of a particularly prominent discussion where the famed crier Tobi Wan was answering questions hurled at him from the local rabble. On this day, A popular soldier raised his voice above all others and exclaimed:And so now we find ourselves in our current predicament. No time has been more dire for the Dark Seer. Over the past month he has only been victorious in only 39% of his appearances despite being seen in 77% of contests, selected in some and exiled in others. This comes on top of his truly disgraceful performance in the WPC-ACE tournament, which we have already discussed. And yet, the IceFrog smites him again in his most recent utterance, increasing the cooldown in his vacuum yet again.So with sadness in my heart, I urge my fellow combatants to steer away from the disgraced Dark Seer. It has been made clear that the IceFrog has been smiting him based upon his measure of appearance, and not his measure of success, quite like the much maligned Spirit Breaker. Herein lies my wisdom: should warriors hear my cry and choose to select the Dark Seer less, we may be able to divine the root of his recent troubles. If his performance were to improve with more careful selection, what the wise men proposed many patches ago may indeed have merit: that he is oft picked in situations where he cannot thrive. Conversely, should his record continue to suffer, this well-known wail of the rabble will be more cacophonous than ever before: @Kpoptosis