Top tournament heroes since the Rexxar Patch

The Rexxar patch has proven a few things. Sonya is back , Uther is god, and Warriors still play nice with other warriors. Rexxar does have a niche roll in gaining the edge in a double warrior mirror match, but the rise of Melee Asssasins and damage oriented brawlers like Sonya and Arthas make his fragile nature a real issue.



Let's look at the combined hero pick stats from the following tournaments:



Road to BlizzCon - Americas Championship

Enter the Storm - Cup #3

Stormgrounds Invitational

2015 HOT6 Heroes of the Storm Super League

2015 HWC- Taiwan Championship

Kharazim has a surprisingly high win rate and if we ignore Tassadar (which is appropriate, as his his win rate is mainly due to Cloud 9's k1pro niche success) he is the most winning support hero since the last patch. I'm not sure this has to do with overall power level, and it is likely that Kharazim teams win more often because of the confidence and synergy needed to pick the hero at all. He isn't a generic safe pick like an Uther or Malfurion, so when he is picked there is a good reason.



Muradin continues to subtly be one of the best heroes in the game, while Leoric and Kael'Thas enjoy their predictable above 50% win percentages. Arthas has recently fallen into favor, as the double warrior (and even triple warrior as popularize by Korea) still proves to be a very strong option

Zeratul is by far the most banned hero in the game; what is new? Well, a newfound respect for Uther (as especially noted in the latest Tempo Storm vs Cloud 9 matches at the Americas Championships) and some healthy Abathur fear as well. Leoric and Kael'thas demand bans, which is expected. Lower on the list, we see Tyrael with a respectable number of bans, most likely representing the Korean meta.

Is there a hero more universal than Johanna? In a day and age when you can never have too many warriors, she absolutely shines in every possible way. She is the undisputed "safe" pick that also synergizes dangerously well with heroes like Abathur, Azmodan, Jaina, and Kael'Thas. She is good against double warrior, good when playing double warrior, good as a solo warrior: she is just good ok?



Jaina (despite her nerfs) still brings massive AoE damage and CC so she will always be strong. Uther still brings burst healing, stuns, and Divine Shield so she will always be strong. Arthas, on the other hand, has historically been a more volatile pick.He used to always picked, then he was nerfed and never picked. Now, he is back and in Korean (and more frequently in other parts of the world) is becoming a standard part of the warrior meta. Nothing has changed about Arthas, but heroes like Kharazim and Leoric make him stronger, he synergizes so well with them.



The take away:



If there was ever a time for Kharazim to be a top tier support, it is right now. The influx of melee heroes and offensive warrior types that benefit from increased movement speed and passive heals give Kharazim a fighting chance against traditional top tier supports like Uther, Rehgar, and Malfurion.



to be a top tier support, it is right now. The influx of melee heroes and offensive warrior types that benefit from increased movement speed and passive heals give Kharazim a fighting chance against traditional top tier supports like Uther, Rehgar, and Malfurion. The Zeratul rule in competitive play is pretty easy: if they let you pick him, you pick him. Zeratul is universally powerful because of the heroes he kills so well - Jaina, Zagara, Valla and Kael'thas. You can even add Nazeebo on that list and you start to realize that all of the top tier squishies are just food for Zeratul, especially when he can Void Prison the teams support.



rule in competitive play is pretty easy: if they let you pick him, you pick him. Zeratul is universally powerful because of the heroes he kills so well - Jaina, Zagara, Valla and Kael'thas. You can even add Nazeebo on that list and you start to realize that all of the top tier squishies are just food for Zeratul, especially when he can Void Prison the teams support. Warriors are hot right now- everyone know this. But what makes Leoric so popular and Diablo so lonely? 3 things: wave clear, crowd control and survivability. If a Warrior can do all 3 of these well, chances are they are top tier. Muradin doesn't have wave clear, but he still makes the cut because his crowd control and survivability are second to none. Heroes like Johanna and Leoric have all three of these traits in spades, and the result is their near constant pick.



More niche warriors like Sonya and Arthas are warriors in name only. The most popular community term for heroes like this are "Bruisers" meaning they are more like tankier melee assassins than true warriors. They focus on killing enemy heroes, not necessarily protecting allies.



so popular and Diablo so lonely? 3 things: wave clear, crowd control and survivability. If a Warrior can do all 3 of these well, chances are they are top tier. Muradin doesn't have wave clear, but he still makes the cut because his crowd control and survivability are second to none. Heroes like Johanna and Leoric have all three of these traits in spades, and the result is their near constant pick. More niche warriors like and are warriors in name only. The most popular community term for heroes like this are "Bruisers" meaning they are more like tankier melee assassins than true warriors. They focus on killing enemy heroes, not necessarily protecting allies. Kael'thas nerfs did have an affect on the heroes popularity. While still a top tier pick, he isn't as dominant as he once was. This is more noticeable in tournament play, as teams have an easier time dodging living bomb spreads. He still may feel like a god in solo queue, but don't take that as a truthful representation of his power level.

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