This is my entry for CDC#7 "Calling the Gamechangers"
Link to the contest: CDC #7 - Calling the Gamechangers
Tomator - Alien Overlord
Class: Ranged Assassin
Universe: Nexus (previously Classics)
How he fits the contest theme
Tomator would be the first hero who interacts with non-heroic elements on the battleground, as his abilities can change depending on what Mercs he encounters (see his Trait), and he can also change which Mercs appear on the battleground with certain Talents.
He also takes Rexxar’s pet combat to the next level, as he can switch between different Lackeys which he obtains throughout the match (also see his Trait)
Lastly, Tomator has two upgrade options at level 20 for each of his heroics.
Trait:
Passive 1 - Overlord’s Collection:
Tomator can keep up to 3 total Lackeys in his collection (number can increase with Talents), but only one active at a time (select with 1, 2, 3 keys).
details
The active Lackey will follow Tomator around and engage enemies they encounter, prioritizing heroes (will chase, but has a leash range of ~5 from Tomator)
Inactive Lackeys will gradually heal. If a Lackey dies, their respawn timer will be 3 times as long as it would take to fully regen from being inactive.
Lackeys grant no kill XP (or, in the case of Leader Minions, drop Regen Globes)
Default Lackeys are a Melee Minion on 1, Ranged Minion on 2, and Leader Minion on 3.
Passive 2 - Overlord’s Arsenal:
Tomator gains bonuses depending on the type of active Lackey
Details
The list of bonuses is after Basic Abilities (because some bonuses affect Basic Abilities, so I thought it would be more clear that way).
Bonuses remain even if the active Lackey is dead (so it might be a valid tactic to keep playing after a Lackey dies, instead of always switching for another one).
Active - Capture Beam:
Target an enemy (or neutral) non-hero, non-boss (non-structure), to begin channeling for up to ~5 sec, rooting the target and dealing low DPS to them.
If a minion or non-Boss merc dies (or is bribed) while affected, they are captured and replace the active Lackey.
Newly-captured Lackeys are at full health.
Basic Abilities:
"not Trait":
While this isn’t considered his Trait, all of Tomator’s Basic Abilities can be charged to improve their effectiveness.
Details
They all begin channeling in place when used, increasing in level over time, similar to Gazlowe’s Deth Lazor.
Level 2 is reached after charging for 1 sec, and after another 3 sec the ability is automatically fired(further levels can be reached with some Lackey bonuses).
Each Basic Ability has 3 max stacks, and using them costs 1 stack per charge level (i.e. they have charges, but I didn’t want to use that word to avoid confusion with charging them), so fully charged isn’t always better (unlike Yrel).
Q - Thermal Bomb:
Throw a bomb that deals damage in a small AoE (about the size of Tyrande’s Lunar Flare).
Level 2 increases AoE radius (to about the size of Hammer’s Napalm Strike).
Hitting an enemy with Level 2 also causes them and nearby enemies to take additional damage equal to ~50% of the bomb damage over ~3 sec.
Details
Each "tick" of this damage is also applied to any other enemies within ~3 radius of the affected enemy, so if an enemy comes in and out of range within the effect time, it won’t take full damage.
Multiple instances of this effect don’t stack, even if the bomb hit several targets.
W - Beam Sword:
Tomator swings a lightsaber-like sword in a small cone in front of him (~90° and ~2 length), dealing damage.
Level 2 increases the cone length by ~100% (but not the angle) and damage by ~50%.
Hitting at least one Hero with Level 2 also refunds one use stack of Beam Sword (so baseline you can use two L2 and one L1 in quick succession, if you don’t miss).
E - Barrier:
Tomator is shielded for ~15% of his max HP for ~5 sec
Level 2 adds a small barrier that rotates around Tomator to face in the direction of the cursor, blocking enemies and skillshots.
Damage blocked by that barrier is reduced by ~50%.
Details
Blocking stuff with the rotate-able barrier deals damage to the Shield, but effects (such as a stun from Muradin’s Stormbolt) don’t apply.
The barrier body-blocks enemies by having a hitbox, and only blocks skillshots that don’t usually penetrate. Think of it as carrying a small version of the walls outside forts 
Heroic Abilities:
R1 - Abduction Beam:
Target an enemy hero. After a long delay (~3 sec), the target will be "beamed up", placing them in Stasis for ~4 sec.
R2 - Robot Guard:
Summon a robotic Guard which becomes your active Lackey and lasts up to ~10 sec.
The Guard has high-ish HP (like Nazeebo’s Gargantuan or Kerrigan’s Ultralisk) and has the same abilities as Tomator, which it uses according to its own AI.
Lackey Bonuses:
As mentioned in the Trait section, the bonuses depend on the type of Minion or Merc that is active.
Details
(list of Merc types: https://heroesofthestorm.gamepedia.com/Mercenary_camp#Types)
Note that Mercs for which various types appear on the same camp give the bonus of the "leader", even if that’s not the one captured.
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Melee, Ranged, and Leader Minions: Basic Attacks do ~100% additional damage to Structures.
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Reavers (Alterac unique Catapult replacement): Tomator receives ~50% reduced damage from minions and structures while he has a shield from E.
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Catapults and Siege Giants: Q range is increased to 10 (allowing it to outrange structures)
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Assault Troopers and Impalers: Basic Attack range is increased to 8 (allowing it to outrange structures)
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Gnolls and Hellbats: W now reduces Armor by ~10 for ~3 sec, stacking up to 3 times.
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Sentinels : W can now be charged to Level 3, increasing cone radius to 180° and damage by ~100% (stacking with the Level 2 upgrade)
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Sappers: Q can now be charged to Level 3, doing so will cause Tomator to charge to the target area, dealing ~200% more damage.
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Knights and Wizards: As long as Tomator has a shield from E, all nearby allies gain 20 Spell Armor.
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Fallen Shaman and Fallen Hound: an additional Fallen hound appears while this Lackey is active, and if it’s killed, Tomator will revive him (can only revive once every ~6 sec)
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Goliaths and Ravens: Q bombs will now chase the nearest enemy to the targeted point, and will detonate if they hit an enemy or go out of their cast-range.
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Fortification Camps: Capture Beam (D) can now be targeted on allied minions, non-Boss Mercs, and summons. Doing so will not root the target, and will instead heal them over time if they remain in range.
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Support Camps: casting E also heals Tomator for ~50% of the shield amount.
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Recon Camps: Tomator’s sight range is increased by ~20%
Talents:
Level 1:
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Teleportation Tech(Z) - Tomator loses the ability to mount normally, and instead can now teleport anywhere his team has vision after a brief channel (~45 sec cooldown).
Any damage taken during the channel interrupts the ability and places it on a ~10 sec cooldown. -
Healthcare Benefits(D) - Quest:Each Regen Globe taken by Tomator permanently increases inactive Lackey healing rate by 1% up to 25%.
Reward: after reaching 25 Globes, dead Lackeys will respawn ~20% faster, and the active Lackey will heal at ~50% of inactive healing rate as long as it hasn’t dealt or taken any damage for ~5 sec. -
Weapons Finetuning(Q/W/E) - Triple Quest:
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Hit Heroes ~15 times with charge level 2 or higher of Thermal Bomb.
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Hit Enemies ~20 times with charge level 2 or higher of Beam Sword.
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Block ~10 Skillshots with charge level 2 or higher of Barrier.
Rewards: completing each Quest grants an additional Charge of the corresponding ability (one use count, not charge-up level).
Completing all 3 quests reduces the time for each charge-up level by ~20% for all 3 abilities.
Level 4:
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Demolition Bomb(Q) - Thermal Bomb deals ~ 100% more damage to non-hero targets and refunds ~10% of its Mana cost for each Minion hit and ~20% for each Merc hit.
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Barrier Block(E) - Casting Barrier or blocking Skillshots with the level 2+ controllable barrier gives Tomator a charge of Block, stacking up to 5 charges.
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Custom Collection(D) - Once every ~60 sec, Tomator can interact with a captured Merc camp to change which kind of Merc will spawn there next time.
Details
The type of camp (Siege/ Bruiser/ Item) remains the same, but he can choose the specific Merc variety (e.g. interact with a Sapper camp to change it for a Siege Giant / Hellbat / etc.)
A "wheel" appears to allow the selection, similar to the one that lets you choose emotes or ping types.
Level 7:
- Thermal Mine(Q) - If Thermal Bomb doesn’t hit any targets, it remains in the ground as a Mine for up to ~6 sec.
The Mine explodes for ~50% of Thermal Bomb damage if any enemy comes in range or if it times out.
Tomator can move the mine by hitting it with Beam Sword.
Details
The distance the mine flies by hitting it with W increases with the charge level of the W.
The mine has a small (~0.5 sec) delay before exploding, to allow for more than one enemy to be hit (for example, if it gets thrown at a minion wave, it wouldn’t just hit one minion the instant it’s in range).
The time-out explosion is to allow hitting stealthed things (like other types of mines )
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Spinning Strike(W) - After casting Beam Sword, it can be reactivated within ~1.5 sec, causing Tomator to spin with the sword, dealing damage in a circle around him (radius and damage are the same as charge level 1 of W)
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Barrier Shock(E) - The charge level 2+ controllable barrier deals low damage over time to enemies who touch it. It also can now block skillshots that only hit heroes.
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Mercenary Overlord(D) - Lackeys and allied Mercs near Tomator deal ~50% increased dmage.
Level 10: See "Heroic Abilities".
Level 13:
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Incendiary Bomb(Q): Thermal Bomb leaves behind a patch of fire that lasts ~6 sec and deals damage to enemies who step on it (~20% of base Q damage per sec they remain there).
Additionally, the Level 2 “catch fire” mechanic is now applied from Level 1. -
Stepping Cut(W) - Beam Sword now charges a short distance forward, passing through enemies and dealing damage in the path as well as the cone in front. (kinda like Mal’Ganis’ Fel Claws)
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Completionist (D, requires "Custom Collection" at level 4) - Quest: Capture different types of Lackeys.
Reward 1: After Capturing ~5 types, gain a 4th Lackey slot.
Reward 2: After Capturing ~10 types, the Lackey bonus from the 4th slot Lackey will always be active.
Level 17:
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Sword Combo(W) - The Level 2 stack refund effect of Beam Sword is now applied from Level 1 (recharges one stack regardless of charge level).
Additionally, hitting a Hero affected by Thermal Bomb’s “catch fire” effect deals ~25% bonus damage and also restores one stack of Thermal Bomb. -
Triple Barrier(E) - Barrier can now be charget to level 3, causing an additional 2 controllable barriers to appear (to the sides and slightly behind Tomator, forming an equilateral triangle with the first one).
In addition, the controllable barriers remain after the shield expires, but after that each one will dissipate after blocking something once. -
Tag Team(D) - Switching to a different Lackey while the currently active one is still alive gives the Lackey "tagging in" ~15% increased movement and attack speed for ~3 sec and the one "tagging out" ~10 sec worth of inactive healing as a burst heal, and causes the Lackey bonus of the "tagging out" lackey to remain active for ~3 sec.
Details
The "tagging in" Lackey’s bonus is also active for the ~3 sec, but multiple copies of the same bonus do not stack.
This effect has a ~15 sec cooldown, so you can’t just summon all your Lackeys quickly and gain all the bonuses.
- Imrpoved Teleporter (Z, requires "Teleportation Tech" at Level 1) - Reduces Hearthstone and Teleportation channel time by ~33% and cooldown by ~20%.
Additionally, the Channeling for Hearthstone and Teleportation is no longer interrupted by damage (but is still interrupted by being stunned, silenced, dazed, feared, sleeped, or time stopped).
Level 20:
- Displacement Beam (R1 upgrade) - While an enemy is in Stasis from Abduction Beam, you can reactivate the ability and target a lane, ending the Stasis immediately, but teleporting the target to the chosen lane.
Details
Lane targeting works like Ragnaros’ Lava Wave
The teleported enemy will be placed in the "frontline" of the chosen lane, similar to how Web Weavers and Garden Terrors spawn (right in front of the furthest minion wave or structure, and just out of tower range).
- Prison Ship (R1 Upgrade) - Instead of being placed in Stasis, the target of Abduction Beam is teleported to a small sub-area outside the main map, where they must find the exit portal before they can return.
Details
The sub-area consists of 4 tiny rooms divided by sight-blocking walls. The abductee starts in one of them and the portal in another (randomly selected) one, so finding the exit might take less than the usual Stasis time (for a lucky high-mobility hero), but should usually take longer.
There’s a weak patrol in each room other than the starting one (about Doubloon Camp strength)
The abductee loses shared vision with their team, so global abilities can’t be used, but Tomator’s team has no sight of the ship, either.
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Built to last (R2 upgrade) - The Guard no longer has timed life and can now be swapped for a normal Lackey to allow it to regenerate. It also gains the benefits of Lackey-related talents.
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Guard V2.0 (R2 upgrade) - The Guard (not Tomator) gains all possible Lackey bonuses.
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Overlord’s Army (active) - activate to summon all your Lackeys at the same time and gain all their bonuses for ~ 6 sec (identical bonuses don’t stack). After the effect ends, all (surviving) Lackeys will be placed on cooldown and no Lackey will be active.
Skins:
Tuul’mator:
"When Sarlac was defeated by the Blackthorne, not all of his armies faced justice. A lone warrior fled Tuul, and now finds himself in the Nexus, ready to build an army of his own. An empire of his own."
Tomator looks like a generic enemy from Blackthorne:
https://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/104/c/9/blackthorne_ledge_enemy_by_digi_matrix-d7efcok.gif
Comes in variants with green, blue, yellow, red, or orange skin.
Spacebowl:
"Despite being one of the fiercest sports in the universe, some people used to call the Spacebowl a ripoff of a smilar event from Earth… Until Beam Swords were made legal, that is."
Tomator is dressed like a Football player (American Football, not Soccer ).
The Q bomb is replaced by a Football, and he now yells “hut!” whenever he changes his active Lackey.
Color variants for different HotS eSports teams, like Azmodunk and Cheerleader Kerrigan.
Changelog
Edited in a few clarifications
Added talents (and heroics )
Changed basic abilities, added more talents, added skins
)![:sweat_smile:](https://d3rakab8gpdsa3.cloudfront.net/en/heroes/images/emoji/twitter/sweat_smile.png?v=6" ":sweat_smile:")
![:stuck_out_tongue:](https://d3rakab8gpdsa3.cloudfront.net/en/heroes/images/emoji/twitter/stuck_out_tongue.png?v=6" ":stuck_out_tongue:")