So I am a devoted fan both of Tassadar the character, and pre-rework support Tassadar. R.I.P.
I have been playing Tassadar almost exclusively since the rework, including both co-op versus AI, and QM. I do not deny that he is more internally consistent now, nor that he is fun to play.
However, in addition to the concerns that many people have raised about his lack of mobility and defensive measures, I am trying to understand why he would be picked over another [mage] hero?!
Having assessed his kit, here are the qualities that I believe(?) are unique to Tassadar compared to other mages. Please correct me if I am wrong!
Create hard albeit very temporary choke-points via Force Wall
Push heroes out of an area – rather than stun/root them in place – via 10 - Black Hole
Grant spell power to nearby allies (20 - Khala’s Gift)
And here are other attributes that are not unique to Tassadar but are still noteworthy:
Hyper-fast waveclear right from level 1; shorter cooldown than Jaina, for example, but comparable to Kael’thas
Several abilities slow targets; not as easy to use (delayed Q, AA range) nor as long-lasting as Jaina’s chill
Inflict armor debuff (13 - Feedback)
Reveal a portion of the map (13 - Oracle)
Taking all of the above into account, here are some reasons to pick Tassadar over another mage:
You need [another] answer to Deathwing and/or a heavy front line (i.e., Q build with 16 - Thermal Lance and possibly 13 - Feedback)
You have heroes who synergise with slow effects (e.g., Raynor’s 1 - Ace in the Hole), and Jaina and Chromie have been banned or picked by the other team
You are playing on Blackheart’s Bay, where hyper-fast waveclear on short cooldown can be abused in close top/middle lanes and weak objectives, and Kael’thas has been banned or picked by the other team
You are playing on any map where creating hard choke-points and/or pushing enemies out of a small area is considered particularly useful (e.g., Infernal Shrines)
20 - Khala’s Gift and the talents for proc’ing Psionic Storm are some nice additions, but not strong enough on their own to pick Tassadar, in my opinion.
These are just my thoughts. I have no cred, but wanted to share my assessment before asking for yours!
Please discuss. I’m really keen to hear what people think about our new Protoss over-under-lord.
Addendum to this:
Tass has anti-armor talents, a lot of poke and touching, an execute enabler in his auto, auto enabler in feedback, oracle but it sucks imo, walls to enable diablo, waveclear. So yea, he does have utility and lategame he amps up the damage with reducing armor with his archon or his feedback or both. Potent in some cases.
Maybe if I want a mage who is also good vs tanks, but since Thermal Lance is a fairly late game talent I don’t feel like he is a good mage on his own vs tanks.
He is really good on maps like Infernal Shrines, where you want to clear quickly, and being able to lock the enemy team out or in that small area can be quite valuable. He has a lot of burst with Q build, without sacrificing much in the way of clear, so I can see drafting him on that map quite easily. I have had a few matches with a Tassadar as a tank, and if they see what I am setting up, they can split the enemy or isolate my kill target with well placed walls very nicely. It really helps when the enemy is retreating, so we never get to the point where we have to get in tower aggro range.
Right now? Only if you need hyper waveclear and your other mage options with waveclear are all taken/banned. Otherwise, you don’t want to pick Tass ever. He’s just too clunky right now because of all the delays. Tier B hero or even less.
I actually just played a QM match on Infernal Shrines, and Force Wall with 4 - Electric Fence and 20 - Force Barrier in combination with 10 - Black Hole was absolutely ridiculous.
He can get pretty darn crazy. You combine Beam Alignment with Executors Will and get cooldown reductions for days (for Q build), plus all the spell powers stack I believe so Khalas embrace is a good combo with executors will.
I generally see him very successful on maps where he can duo soak lanes, since he erases minions, like Infernal shrines and Spider Tomb. He is also excellent on maps with static objectives that you’re required to finish like Volskaya, Infernal Shrines or Sky Temple, kinda like Alexstrasza, Archon lets you gain a massive edge in a team fights which if used correctly can probably let you carry honestly
I find his waveclear pretty nice and if you abuse beam you can regen mana so i do not think he would be miserable on both diablo maps.
Force wall and beam on choke points and capture obj seem nice.
It may be more fair to wait and see if he’ll get his much needed survivability buff.
On another note i find that mages like healers aren’t that far appart currently and this is a pretty good sign.
What do you think about the mages current state ?
I can’t really answer this question, because I do not play Chromie, Gul’dan, Kael’thas, Kel’Thuzad, Nazeebo, or Orphea, and have only limited experience with Li-ming (level 8), Nova (level 8), and Jaina (level 12). Tassadar is my highest level mage character at just-shy-of-20.
Parenthetically, I am a bit dubious now of needing survivability buffs. Maybe very minor, if there is no commensurate nerf. A lof of his weaknesses can be addressed by a supportive team. This is why I’m so intent on understanding when he can reasonably be drafted over other mages – left to do his work, he can be an absolute terror.
One point yet unmentioned: Tassadar is excellent at taking merc camps on his own (of course, depending on the build). I could, however, take a bruiser camp on my own as early as with level 7 talents. I’d say that’s not possible with most mages.
