edit: o right. should clarify first. In QM, Varian role is set/allocated/designated as tank currently. this means players who wanted to play TB or Smash are almost forced to go tank unless they happened to get another tank in their team (which is rare), or they still go TB/Smash, get full flamed by their team because they have no tank while the enemy does (tank, healer roles, etc are mirrored).
Make Varian in QM hero selection screen two separate heroes, please, Varian - Tank, Varian - Bruiser (distinction at the behind because of A-Z order albeit less intuitive).
There is already a code for disabling certain heroics/talents in ARAM, which we got a new one in the new patch,
Varian level 4 choice could be done the same. For Varian - Tank, disable TB and Smash, for Varian - Bruiser, disable Taunt.
This method is not something new, as, in some fighting games, there are two versions of the same character. This will make QM Varian players really happy (don’t implement this in Draft though. this could just work like the Random hero pick guy, only existing in QM hero selection screen).
If the devs are concerned about separate artwork (for the hero selection), animation (when clicked Ready), not to worry (just use the same one). Majority of HotS players do know the predicament HotS devs or the Classic team is in, and will just appreciate the work, effort they’re putting.