I haven't watched VCT for a while, but I tuned in and saw a lot of shakeups like Phoenix being picked pretty commonly now, Harbor finally being playable, and Omen not being locked in for 90% of matches. Compared to before where Phoenix was very rare, and Omen was the default controller, etc. I think this is pretty cool and refreshing.
I wanted to ask, what about Phoenix changed or how has the game changed, to make Phoenix more attractive as a pick in the new meta?
pho was always this good it's just there were better (waylay/yoru) and now they've nerfed pho is next up
basically the duelist class is so bad now that it makes a mediocre pick like phoenix look like commonplace
duelist are the strongest class atm bro, init and sentinels are weak plus the yoru nerfs means that phx is essentially a flash init with a powerful 6 orb ult, it also helps that neon is super strong as phx struggles to make space/entry
duelists aren’t as strong as you make it out to be
the strongest duelist yoru got gutted, jett is weaker, raze got nerfed but she is still a very strong agent that teams should still run, waylay insta-saturate nerf made her more of a niche pick. neon is still the same agent as in 2025 except she’s shining because all the other roles got nerfed to the ground
everyone else got nerfed so he's the best option for alot of double duelist comps
he's kinda had the best flashes since his rework, a very good very cheap ult for snowballing. But only now they've demolished all the initiators and sentinels before chipping away at the duelists too he has space to be good.
hes an agent that can be very self sufficient and also help team mates w molly wall and shi. also super cheap ult that can give u free entry. only reason he wasnt played much was because initiators had more util
Discord