Above image shows actual matchups. Champions in a crew are shown in pick order.
Prevailing Themes
Raith vs Mournblade - this was the story of Week 1 in the inaugural Slam Jam. On the scenario of Quest, The Rising Tsunami was chosen in every matchup, while The Ashen One appeared in all but one. Both appeared early on in the draft, with Mourneblade being a top 2 pick every time he showed up, Raith'Marid being top 2 in five of his showings.
Why these two champions? Neither is a clear counter towards the other; but both provide a pro-active game plan that works well on Quest. Mournblade’s plant ability makes him the only Champion that can plant round 1 quest-side without an ultimate, while his followers help prevent your opponent from doing the same.
Raith’Marid, on the other hand, has extreme maneuverability that lets him move to needed locations at a moment’s notice. The tide ability from his Splashlings helps prevent your opponent from doing the same. In combination with his above average defense and attacks for a Shaper Champion, we will likely continue to see Raith chosen by players.
In the Name of Diversity
Despite a heavy presence of Raith and Mourneblade, the champions selected were far reaching. In the 14 player event, Round One saw picks from 16/18 of the possible Champions.
Not only that, but most of these Champions were also able to claim a victory. 12 Champions pulled out a win in week 1.
Even more encouraging, both Raith and Mourneblade showed themselves to be very much beatable. Neither had a dominant record and both lost nearly as much as they won.
Taking Down the Top Dogs
For Raith, opposing powerful reds seemed common. Being able to threaten Raith with a kill himself helped to keep him at bay.
For Mournblade, the name of the game was movement. Every champion on opposing teams that defeated mournblade had either abilities to move units out of the way (like Earthquake or Tide) or to free their friends and themselves (Scoot and Shoot, Roar of Battle).
Matchup of the Week
I’m going to highlight the picks from Landon Sheehan and Joe Bells game, hoping to shine a light on some of the awesome strategy going into the draft format.
Joe first picked Raith’Marid. A solid first pick (one chosen by only one other player this round) due to Raith’s versatile package. It’s hard to counter pick Raith because of his pro-active strengths.
Landon countered with Sneaky Peet. Himself a great pro-active threat, able to get to the other side of the battlefield with ease on Quest. In addition, Peet is great at finding Raith and trying to devour him, making Raith’s plot phase increasingly awkward.
Joe retaliated with Lorsann; a hero with the highest accuracy attack in the game coming in on an impressive range 3. With this ranger, the goal is to be able to hit even the dodgiest of characters; especially Sneaky Peet.
With 2 sets of 1-shield followers on the board, Landon took Luella. Luella’s Arc Lightning (and her ultimate) is capable of tearing through all of the small units taken on the other side so far, both of which are extremely potent if not dealt with.
Looking for a survivable squad that could also impact the board, Joe took Halftusk. The Froglodytes 3 armor makes them tough versus Luella; and Halftusk himself is both hard to kill and extremely accurate - another threat to bully on Sneaky Peet.
Finally, Landon finished with Rangosh. With no Maelstrom’s on the opposing side, the Bandits are able to stay alive and do work on the board or feed Rangosh himself to help take down champions. With a plot-phase auto-wound, the Bandits can take Froglodytes off of hexes with ease, helping Landon find openings.
In the end, Landon took the match 5-1, bringing Round 1’s only victory to a squad that brought neither Mournblade nor Raith’Marid. The terrifying trio of Peet, Rangosh, and Luella ruled the day.