Imma ruin it for real. -Switching Blast and Mag Bomb on Warmage is pretty elegant, no issues there. Opens up a cheaper build. -General is kinda whatever, but the Warcry double whammy makes me reconsider pretty hard the include. -Totem is really wtf. It's close to back where it was pre-revamp but I always have a major issue when we're forced a Bomb 3 on a champ with 10 base dmg. Weighty over Lumbering is a nice bone as the race+racial... might even make a somewhat "decent" combat unit... ugh SO MUCH CHANGE. -Netter. Guess it had to happen. As far as nerfs go I've seen worse. Might even run it with Punish now (Entagling+AP loss is a deadly combination). Seems more like a skirmish champ that the straight up "I win if it lives". Not all that bad. -Alchemist died with the bomb nerfs. Giving it Init back is cute and all but still, no bombs no champ. Decent stats though. I'll give the 71 nora build a try and probably be disappointed. -Scoundrel. Why? I'll give you props on not being afraid to mess with stats a LOT more than we are used to. I can dig this new philosophy... but really, lol
Skeezick feel around on the same level as before. Bane Shift just shifted. Netter feels really off, mediocre damage even when lotta stuff out. General is like, okay vs half. I'm no fan of drummer. Instigate is fun I guess. I miss the old skeezick, meh
I definitely think skeezick are stronger now, I'm going to be using them as my main deck to get a better idea of exactly where they stand in todays meta - I think the Totem opens up so many more options. Few people have said they're disapointed with the scoundrel, but I think he's runnable as a font harrasser/side font runner - he's quick and fairly decent at scrapping, time will tell whether he's worth the slot or not, but i'm running one in my deck to see how he performs.
Yeah, that's why I am asking in two different threads hoping to get an answer. How is the gameplay so much more diverse with the new totem compared to the last one? Gained Races: Skeezick, Mutant Default cost to 80 nora Health increased (+4) Starting Abilities: Immortality, Majestic 2, Acid Bomb 3, Weighty and Skeezick Rapture Upgrade Set 1: Guarded Skeezick (default), Heal Mass 2, Heal Mass 3 Upgrade Set 2: Acidic Greeting (default), Blind, Skeezick Alliance He moves around more, synergises more in theme (loses blind rip) and has the option to get guarded. Also costs more. How exactly does he ? You ran him 1x before, you run him 1x now. Your main goal is still to play him for skeezick rupture. Sure he's better now, but how does he ?
Honestly it seems like you just moved him back in the direction he was prevamp, but honestly he doesn't seem fundamentally different from what he did before this patch. What new avenues are open to skeez that weren't previously?
I feel like the Warmage, Alchemist and totem so far are whats making the difference, as I think I said elsewhere, it makes up for the lack of alternate damage types. What is so different about the totem? Guarded. When guarded is put on a big tanky front liner like the totem, for me it enables everything around it. And yes the intention was to give him the role he used to fulfill in skeezick, as he had become something I would NEVER run before the patch. Now he is a front liner that enables everything around him, which makes him the special champ that his flavour sets him up to be. Skeezick have a lot of built in weaknesses - they have no relocation - no flying - no possibility of draw wins usually. so adding this to the mix helps a lot. Also, the Alchemist with initiative and Potion opens up many options - some of which people haven't thought of yet plus the obvious ones such as deploying the alchemist to get off a Warcry or surprise kill of some sort. When I played skeezick before the patch it felt very one dimensional, boring and weak, you try to build up and either get crushed or if your opponent lets you build you powerturn them. And I was left looking backwards at how fun skeezick used to be when they had other options. Wheras now I view them as being fun, having more options and being competitive. I know skeezick weren't the worst theme in the game before this patch - but they were far from one of the better ones.
Guess we agree to disagree. I don't feel that guarded, an ability that puts the ball in my opponents camp, "opens up so many possiblities". Sounds more like you were giving me the salesman talk and try to make up for it now by adding that warmage and alchimist kind of also make the difference. Either way, we'll see how it plays out. I still seem to only deploy the core of the skeezick bg. The rest is filler anyway.
Well, maybe you have a differing playstyle - I always did look at the skeezick decks you made and think they were awful. For me, the Totem is now the core of my deck 2x and I get him down 2nd or 3rd every game if he's drawn. give it a try. BTW, the totem does not rely on your opponent to hit it - you put it in their face and they have no choice, either kill it or they can't touch your backline... It is a massive annoyance to the enemy if they let it live, if you play smart and position well it is very powerful;
Warmage is cheaper, but he's fundamentally the same. Alchemist got init back and you could theoretically give an action pot for surprise w/e but ap is one thing skeez have never really been lacking, the alchemist want run much prior to this and it wasn't because he wasn't fast enough. It's because he was a bomber and since the revamp he lost that and then bombs got nerfed. So now he's a pseudo support with an alt dmg, which is nice but the totem already gave everyone an ale dmg attack. So ultimately while the alchemist is a little different from how he was a few days ago I see nothing that would shake the way skeez are played. As for the totem, yes he got guarded back, but guarded is only so good against other players. If I see something with guarded I'm not attacking it unless I'm sure my opponent won't be able to counterattack. So guarded is nice, but I'm not seeing anything changing the way skeez are played. I don't mean this to seem an attack, as the champs you tweaked are better, but ultimately I feel these were lateral changes given the nerfs. And skeez are still in the same place after the last algorithm change. I've also got to disagree on your assessment of the strength of the theme. Skeez were strong. As dmr said probably t1.5. Maybe 2, but certainly still one of the strongest if not the strongest in SL. If you were looking for themes in SL that really needed tlc then the myxsex or mutants or even these post farm change beasts would have been the way to go.
