The Winners and Losers from Deadlock Fight Night #30

Deadlock Fight Night #30 is in the books, giving us yet another great week of EU and NA Deadlock action. This week brought us some big changes in the meta in light of the June 17 patch notes, showing some clear winners and losers of the patch, the event, and the overall meta.

The picks and bans from DFN #30 (Image courtesy of Deadlock Fight Night)

Winners

McGinnis Players!

McGinnis was finally picked in a Deadlock Fight Night after months of complete inactivity as Abrahams utilized her to help them win map one of the EU $1,000 Finals Match. It was Jamside who played her, opting for a Weapon carry build in place of the recently nerfed Wraith.

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Not only was McGinnis played in this match, but she also helped make the difference in the outcome. The hero offered clear crowd control and zoning advantages, represented a huge split push threat with 20k+ Objective Damage, and offered a respectable amount of healing. All in all, this performance could signal other teams to follow suit and utilize the hero more in this role.

Abrahams vs Virtus.pro Map 1 stats (Image Courtesy of Deadlock Fight Night)

Fans of massive Bebop hooks

Bebop was selected five times in DFN #30 and provided a lot of value in each appearance, especially from Tas. This comes in large part due to the reduction in Rescue Beam usage post-patch, making it harder for hooked targets to be saved from the destruction of Bebop.

But, even still, it wasn’t bomb stack builds that ruled the day, but tanky Weapon damage builds. This almost positions Bebop as a potential support hero in pro play, whose main job is to get a hook, survive, and open the door for teammates to do massive damage.

As more patches come through, Bebop’s usage will be one I am very closely looking at, as a significant increase in Bebop play can, in and of itself, shift what items and heroes teams play to counter the annoying hook.

Losers

NA Teams Not Named Hydra Nation

After Melee Creeps went MIA and Valhalla suffered a tough defeat to Hydra Nation, the status of top-level NA Deadlock looks a bit lopsided after DFN #30. Hydra Nation, with the exception of one map, looked very scary in this special best-of-5 series, even when their drafts didn’t look as optimal.

Time will tell what happens in future weeks, but we may be on the cusp of a monopoly in NA Deadlock.

Sustain damage (but mainly just Wraith)

This is more specifically a loser from the latest patch, but it translated over to DFN as well this week. Wraith was picked just once, and it seemed like McGinnis could have been a better pick in hindsight. However, with such a small sample size, it may be hard to tell.

Valhalla vs Hydra Nation map 3 stats (Image Courtesy of Deadlock Fight Night)

Wraith has continuously fallen from the days of the Mercurial Magnum dominance, and now looks to be a solid low-priority or unpicked hero. This could also signal a falling away from teams favoring sustained damage, while some may opt for more burst.

With Bebop on the rise, Calico remaining strong, and Viscous needing to be constantly employed to save allies, we may be on the cusp of a burst damage and burst-prevention meta. But, after just one week on the new patch, it may be too early to call. We’ll have to wait for DFN #31 to see how it all shakes out.

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