Jericho goes to the Superbowl!

[Xander Spitfire]

With the Superbowl coming this Sunday why not use a football analogy to break one of the biggest myths in Shadow Era.


Jericho’s ability is not good.


I disagree for 3 reasons

Most player in this game knows how good he his vs. Warriors or Gwen/Darkclaw by removing key attachments.

That’s reason #3

What’s less understood is how his ability to protect his allies from being disabled/crippled makes him different from Zhanna. I’m not sure about Threbin yet but Both Zhanna and Jericho have similar win condition. Controling the board with strong allies back-up with The King’s Pride (more often than not). Zhanna will outlive you by healing and waving the board. Jericho on the other hand can’t do that so he’s trying to find an opening. But once he does, his ability is there to protect his allies and let them control the board untill the end.

Crippling Blow?

Doesn’t work.

Captured Prey?

Nope

Layarian Seductress, Jasmine, Sword Thief?

Good luck with that.

That’s reason #2


Now the #1 reason why Jericho’s ability is on par with all other hero:

He’s like a shutdown corner.

For those not familiar with the term let me explain this football analogy.

A cornerback (CB) (also referred to as a corner) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football.[1] Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles.

A shutdown corner is a term given to an elite cornerback who’s so good that the offensive team is forced to change part of their game plan and NOT throw the ball to the receiver or part of the field he covers because the % of catch is just too low. This is huge from a defensive point of view.

Back to Shadow Era, I feel Jericho works the same way and the reason why you will often have a high amount SE unused is because he’s preventing your opponent to play certain card/ability because they are of no use.

He’s shutting them down.

Now of course this game is still young and not all heroes rely on attachment/ability so he has terrible matchup for that matter and Jerry has his own shortcoming against rush/direct damage archetype. But like I have often said, he’s the type of hero whose strength will grow as the game expands.

Hope you enjoy reading this and let’s hope for a great Superbowl!

[AnomalousT]

I never thought I would see Jericho being compared to a cornerback. . . but I do think it is a good analogy, and for that I applaud you

[Lahiri]

I remember when Jericho was THE priest, and nobody used Zhanna.
His ability was cheaper, but less good (it could only destroy an attachment if I remember correctly).
Despite his ability everybody loved him and it was tier 1. It was a classic control deck just like we play Zhanna nowadays.
And yeah, mages (Majiya and Eladwen) were already very popular.
So, why is Jericho so underused now? Probably because DP didn't give him the tools to be in any way better than Zhanna.
The attachment-based deck is a joke, while classic priest-control just work better with a healer.
I don't know if SF will provide him better tools (I have access to the test server, but I've not used Jericho yet), but that's the way to make him competitive.
Maybe his ability isn't as good as other heroes', but still useful.

[Yvan Antoine]

Before jericho's ability was 2se. Therefore even if he is spamming wizents staff you can still use his ability once or twice without interrupting your draw. At 4se using his ability twice would take most of the game without using wizents staff.

[pjoe0211]

Shutdown corner really is a poor description, shutdown corners are the most versatile corners...They can stop the run and defend a teams #1 wr.

Jericho is decent in some matchups, but his low hp and high ability SE cost leaves him open to get burned deep(like from maj and eledwen decks) I used to love jericho and have tried hard to make good decks with him, but at least so far, he just doesnt have enough hp I actually think if he had 30 starting hp like warriors that he would be a usable hero.

Hes really only suited to be playing zone in a cover 2 scheme like tampa will be running this year and what the Bears used to run with Lovie Smith.

:P

[Preybird]

@Pjoe: Actually in my opinion Jericho is the most versatile hero in the game. But of course versatility comes at a cost, a lack of focus which is part of the reason people think he's weak.

I've beaten plenty of Majiya decks with my Jericho. Elad is tougher but all decks have a shocking matchup, and really it's only her and Zaladar for Jericho.

[Xander Spitfire]

Shutdown corner really is a poor description, shutdown corners are the most versatile corners...They can stop the run and defend a teams #1 wr.

Jericho is decent in some matchups, but his low hp and high ability SE cost leaves him open to get burned deep(like from maj and eledwen decks) I used to love jericho and have tried hard to make good decks with him, but at least so far, he just doesnt have enough hp I actually think if he had 30 starting hp like warriors that he would be a usable hero.

Hes really only suited to be playing zone in a cover 2 scheme like tampa will be running this year and what the Bears used to run with Lovie Smith.

:P

Good point :P Besides the analogy is more about the way it removes a part of a game plan entirely. The same way a solo deck will turn all the ally counters of your opponent into dead draw.

[Super Grover]

Shutdown corner really is a poor description, shutdown corners are the most versatile corners...They can stop the run and defend a teams #1 wr.

Actually Shutdown Corner is the perfect analogy especially for what you described lets say for a Warrior.

Stop the run = Blood Frenzy, if you can stop the super draw of a Warrior then usually you can beat them.

Defend a teams #1 WR = the warrior will CB your big attack ally and you defend them by popping off the CB.

So I think Shutdown Corner is perfect for what this thread is describing.

[pjoe0211]

Actually Shutdown Corner is the perfect analogy especially for what you described lets say for a Warrior.

Stop the run = Blood Frenzy, if you can stop the super draw of a Warrior then usually you can beat them.

Defend a teams #1 WR = the warrior will CB your big attack ally and you defend them by popping off the CB.

So I think Shutdown Corner is perfect for what this thread is describing.

just cause you can shutdown one kind of wr does not make you a shutdown corner, a shutdown corner can shut anyone down. speed wrs, possession and #1 wrs.

[AnomalousT]

I like how this thread gets started and immediately it turns into this argument. Well not one to be left out of this argument, I'm going to claim Jericho is most like the QB. The QB has to make a lot of quick decisions. He has to know when to audible. He has seconds to decide which WR he's going to throw it to. And sometimes he has to decide when a play is broken and just run the ball himself.

Jericho has to make decisions on whether to take the BF now, or get that enrage next turn, or take away that CB. He has to decide when a play is broken and Tidal Wave is just the best answer. And Jericho needs to know when to draw, or when to get that 4se and use his ability. And just like a QB his decisions can make or break a game.

Just a little devil's advocate