Can a mage ever win the World Championship?

[Xander Spitfire]

WC was overall amazing and the final was epic.

Now do you think a mage will ever win this event? I know they have won pop up and other tourney but they don't seem suited for the top spot.

Bold prediction --> Shadow Warrior will win one before any mages.

[AmberFade]

At their current state unlikely, but absolutely possible.

The strongest competitive mage builds are still the classic rushy ones. Rush loest, KoU Aramia, sticky Majiya etc. The problem with them is they strugle against a variety of midranged deck archetypes, what makes them a realy risky pick. You could absolutely survive the day 1 swiss with them, as Fakekiki and Ryan have proven by getting very close to top 8 with a 3:2 score, but the odds to go all the way in the top 8 are very low since usually well rounded midranged decks get through the swiss.

If there are no cards that open up the possibilities to build mages differently from rush and controll (Gravebone) they can only win WC if they luck out with the tournament meta being very Controlldeck oriented. Builds like Gravebone could do very well in such a tourny meta aswell, as we have seen in the European regionals this year. The problem is that agressive midrange decks like Zal, Amber, Baduruu are always very popular and eat mages alive.

[qaz92zaq]

Mages definitely have a solid shot.

They had very good chances of taking a top spot in the first 3 WCs. This was just a particularly bad year for them because Hunters and Elementals are the strongest 2 classes right now and both tend to be good against mages. There is no reason for that to reflect on future years.

[BT InzektrHornet]

Considering the piss poor support they are getting in LL part 2, I don't see it happening any time soon.

I agree with your assessment for next year though. Shadow warrior has a clear shot. However, warriors are notoriously weak against mages.

[AmberFade]

Considering the piss poor support they are getting in LL part 2, I don't see it happening any time soon.

I agree with your assessment for next year though. Shadow warrior has a clear shot. However, warriors are notoriously weak against mages.

Honestly dont think that the LL cards are enough to help Shadow Warriors get into the meta. The new cards will most likely boost Amber first and foremost, and she is and has always been one of the strongest heroes to beat up mages with, what kinda makes your statement not entirely accurate.

[BT InzektrHornet]

Honestly dont think that the LL cards are enough to help Shadow Warriors get into the meta. The new cards will most likely boost Amber first and foremost, and she is and has always been one of the strongest heroes to beat up mages with, what kinda makes your statement not entirely accurate.

You are right. I just reread them. They don't favor any warriors above amber actually.

[Xander Spitfire]

Weaponsmith and Yari Plunderer will help Logan and Rothem by limiting the amount of weapon they have to carry. Think General + Gambit for Victor.

Mage playstyle is too limited to reach the top imo. They need more control tool and rely on allies imo. Burn isn't enough (and never was)

[maskee]

Mages will be able to win when some new strategy comes. Rush and burn is not good for deck lock tournaments. I can imagine very powerful Loest control deck in future with right cards. Or maybe frosty Elad will be competitive in future. Right now... probably not.

Funny thing is that clasic old CotC rush Elad will be damn hard to beat for WC winning deck. But she would never reach that final through those Baduurus and Elementalis...

[Racko]

I don't see it happening but it would be awesome if a Mage won it.