So what are the strats? What's the best passive and packages to pick for both Leona and Diana? I'm kind of missing these from the article. I'm rather new to LoR and can't judge power levels well.
Sorry, Theodrinus -- I thought about doing a "best" comment on each, but honestly playing through it multiple times I found merit to multiple different builds. If I were pressed to say what I think the easiest build for each was, I'd say:
If we go to the stats page of mobalytics we notice a total overhaul to how the website is calculating win-rates instead emphasizing individual deck-lists with smaller sample sizes aka games played.
Riot has indicated that they value gameplay diversity and highly discourage any 3rd parties from "solving" the meta. This redesign is likely Mobalytic's attempt to honor that agenda.
Spellshield does NOT counter frostbite from abilities - e.g. Icevale Archer, Sejuani, and Ashe's attack. I guarantee 100% that these abilities go right through the spellshield. It does counter harsh winds though.
Rule of thumb:
Spells always get negated by SpellShield
If it is a unit-based skill that goes onto the stack -- or in other words, if it can be Denied -- then it gets negated by SpellShield
If it is a unit-based skill that doesn't go onto the stack / can't be Denied, then it will slip through SpellShield
Why do you guys assume that the new art was done by a different artist? Do could've just asked the original artist or art team to tweak their design a little.
I'm pretty sure both the old and new art are done by the same art team -- SixMoreVodka. But even if it's being done by the same SMV team member that did the original: does that make it any less insulting?
Lovely. No offence meant to the artist of the old version, I'm sure they are great, but I do think they missed the mark just slightly with the first version.
I'm glad they did this, but at the same time I feel really bad for whoever the original artist was.
"Everyone hated your work so much we're making the unprecedented move of patching in new artwork."
"But why?"
"Because your take on a 2-foot tall purple-skinned fairy didn't look human."
Radiant Guardian POWER: 5 → 4 I don't get this either. The difference between 5->4 attack on curve 5 is HUGE. Its much bigger then they are expecting. Not only that but there will be times it won't be possible to activate her effect. A vanilla 4/5 that costs 5 mana is terrible.
They are trying to reduce the power swing. A lot of times, RG comes out with the effect and if you can't remove it immediately then the game is just over. Not only is she durable enough to survive a hit from most units letting her give 10+ nexus HP, but she also discourages attacking with smaller units as they'll allow her to get even more hits in. Reducing by 1 attack will go a long way in throttling her potential to just carry games. Compare this card -- which is almost 3x of every Demacia deck on ladder right now -- with Soulgorger, who is +1 mana for -2/+2 stats and hasn't seen play since Rising Tides released.
Regarding you comment "there will be times it won't be possible to activate her effect": you always activate her effect. The only time you see a naked RG is when Remembrance low-rolls.
Not even a mention of Lee Sin as something they are watching?
DISAPPOINTED
TBF, they didn't post any watch list in these notes so you don't know what they're looking at. And honestly, I don't even think Lee Sin is that problematic; he's just very popular right now. I'd much rather see L2 Swain + The Leviathan get hit first -- that combo is a lot consistent, and it's been dominating both ladder and tournaments for what feels like forever now. Or Gangplank or Trundle. All 3 champs have significantly higher winrates than Lee Sin.
I mean, I'm not complaining, but where is that bonus xp coming from? and how long will it last?
Every region except Targon provides +50% bonus XP towards its region rewards up to Level 12 -- I assume you are referring to that. It only applies to the associated region reward progress and will last until you pass Level 12.
Otherwise, there's daily PvP bonus for your 1st-3rd wins of the day.
Granted the following advice might not be as applicable in the current state of the world, but before the pandemic I made huge progress with my reading lists by downloading free audio books from my local library and then listening to them on my daily commute. It's only 30 minutes round trip, but being able to do that every single work day really adds up over time. I can clear even massive novels in 2 months, which is really good when you consider that that commute time was otherwise "going to waste".
If you want to look into that, try downloading either Overdrive or Libby to your phone and then look up your local library. Hoopla Digital is the other great online repository, but I think its fees are more expensive so fewer libraries participate.
The wild cards were fun for a little bit, but they were here for too long. If they did it for a certain week, I could accept that more than the entire month (or two in the previous case).
I think Doom in the Tomb would have been fantastic had they done it for 2-3 weeks, preferably ending exactly on Oct 31. That's basically enough to shake up the meta and discover powerful archetypes while still having a clear end in sight.
I am entertaining the thought to try Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series for a third (or fourth?) time. I've never managed to get past book 4 because he's all about character development and I prefer faster plots.
I highly enjoyed Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, but you are absolutely right that it is a sprawling story (the entire saga is 13 extremely large books). If you have the means, I recommend listening to the audio book version -- Michael Kramer and Kate Reading do a fantastic job, and its carried by many local libraries.
Other standout recommendations:
Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series (Final Empire is the first book) - story in a feudal / aristocratic world where certain people with magical powers plot to overthrow a tyrannical dictator.
Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series (Furies of Calderon is the first book) - honestly my synopsis is almost the same as above except now everything except the main character has magical powers, the ruler is good, and the bad guys are plotting to overthrow him
Robin Hobb's Fitz series (Assassin's Apprentice is the first book) - young boy grows up to discover he's a royal bastard and that the king wants to raise him to be an assassin for the crown
Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series (The Last Wish is officially the first book, but you could also start at Blood of Elves) - These books often get overshadowed by the video game and Netflix show, but honestly they are utterly fantastic in their own right
I like the "ban champions, not decks" concept. In practice it's going to have a similar effect to the region-limitation most tourneys have been using -- you don't want to include Aurelion Sol in 3 decks just to see him get banned -- but thematically it makes it feel more like say LoL than HS.
On the downside it means that Cloud Drinker probably won't see play anymore.
Agreed, but I think that's more about Cloud Drinker being an incredibly weak card outside of very niche applications. Honestly, he could use a nerf-reversion back to being Enlightened: Reduce by 2 -- it made sense at the time, but with all these new Sol and Trundle control decks Karma could now use a little help.
Sorry, Theodrinus -- I thought about doing a "best" comment on each, but honestly playing through it multiple times I found merit to multiple different builds. If I were pressed to say what I think the easiest build for each was, I'd say:
Riot has indicated that they value gameplay diversity and highly discourage any 3rd parties from "solving" the meta. This redesign is likely Mobalytic's attempt to honor that agenda.
Rule of thumb:
That honestly is a fair point. We'll see -- maybe we'll go back to an aggro-centric meta just because everyone wants to out-rac Lee Sin decks. :-P
I'm pretty sure both the old and new art are done by the same art team -- SixMoreVodka. But even if it's being done by the same SMV team member that did the original: does that make it any less insulting?
I'm glad they did this, but at the same time I feel really bad for whoever the original artist was.
"Everyone hated your work so much we're making the unprecedented move of patching in new artwork."
"But why?"
"Because your take on a 2-foot tall purple-skinned fairy didn't look human."
They are trying to reduce the power swing. A lot of times, RG comes out with the effect and if you can't remove it immediately then the game is just over. Not only is she durable enough to survive a hit from most units letting her give 10+ nexus HP, but she also discourages attacking with smaller units as they'll allow her to get even more hits in. Reducing by 1 attack will go a long way in throttling her potential to just carry games. Compare this card -- which is almost 3x of every Demacia deck on ladder right now -- with Soulgorger, who is +1 mana for -2/+2 stats and hasn't seen play since Rising Tides released.
Regarding you comment "there will be times it won't be possible to activate her effect": you always activate her effect. The only time you see a naked RG is when Remembrance low-rolls.
TBF, they didn't post any watch list in these notes so you don't know what they're looking at. And honestly, I don't even think Lee Sin is that problematic; he's just very popular right now. I'd much rather see L2 Swain + The Leviathan get hit first -- that combo is a lot consistent, and it's been dominating both ladder and tournaments for what feels like forever now. Or Gangplank or Trundle. All 3 champs have significantly higher winrates than Lee Sin.
Every region except Targon provides +50% bonus XP towards its region rewards up to Level 12 -- I assume you are referring to that. It only applies to the associated region reward progress and will last until you pass Level 12.
Otherwise, there's daily PvP bonus for your 1st-3rd wins of the day.
I predict he's going to go from a 3/2 to a 2/2.
I personally feel that's more about players acting like sheeple when choosing which decks to play rather than any indication of balance.
Honestly, I think every region right now has at least 2 other regions it can be partnered with to produce an extremely strong deck.
https://twitter.com/ArtifactFiVE/status/1302266579535704066?s=20
https://twitter.com/Dogofwisdom8/status/1302672364631621633?s=20
Granted the following advice might not be as applicable in the current state of the world, but before the pandemic I made huge progress with my reading lists by downloading free audio books from my local library and then listening to them on my daily commute. It's only 30 minutes round trip, but being able to do that every single work day really adds up over time. I can clear even massive novels in 2 months, which is really good when you consider that that commute time was otherwise "going to waste".
If you want to look into that, try downloading either Overdrive or Libby to your phone and then look up your local library. Hoopla Digital is the other great online repository, but I think its fees are more expensive so fewer libraries participate.
I think Doom in the Tomb would have been fantastic had they done it for 2-3 weeks, preferably ending exactly on Oct 31. That's basically enough to shake up the meta and discover powerful archetypes while still having a clear end in sight.
I highly enjoyed Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, but you are absolutely right that it is a sprawling story (the entire saga is 13 extremely large books). If you have the means, I recommend listening to the audio book version -- Michael Kramer and Kate Reading do a fantastic job, and its carried by many local libraries.
Other standout recommendations:
I really was. Between the Ez nerf and the Lee and Heimer buffs, it really opened up a lot of design space
You know it, baby!
Every time I read this forum title, I mentally picture it being the setup to a Triumph the Insult Comic Dog meme...
I like the "ban champions, not decks" concept. In practice it's going to have a similar effect to the region-limitation most tourneys have been using -- you don't want to include Aurelion Sol in 3 decks just to see him get banned -- but thematically it makes it feel more like say LoL than HS.
Agreed, but I think that's more about Cloud Drinker being an incredibly weak card outside of very niche applications. Honestly, he could use a nerf-reversion back to being Enlightened: Reduce by 2 -- it made sense at the time, but with all these new Sol and Trundle control decks Karma could now use a little help.