[Hero Wars Guide]The Revival of Magic Teams｜Insights with HeroWars Login

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An era when magic reigned supreme

Based on certain statements, Nexters (the operator of Hero Wars) seems to regret what happened five years ago.
At that time, many players focused on training Yasmin and K’arkh, who were strong in low-cost battles. Since Hero Wars is a game where character development takes years, having a strong team at low cost was crucial. However, in high-powered battles, the strongest DPS units were the twins, Lars and Krista, who couldn’t even touch K’arkh.
Few players with Lian and Maya could stand up to the Twins.
At that time, the top players in the arena prioritized the development of Aurora, Lars, and Krista.
This trend was evident on Web31, where I play. Many players in my guild ended up bringing up Lian to counter the Twins.

Then, in Winter 2020, Isaac was introduced, creating a paradigm shift that made magic teams easy prey for him.
One powerful Isaac was enough to turn the tide. This led to a mass exodus of players who had invested heavily in the once-dominant Twins.
Korean and Chinese players were particularly affected. Previously, they had easily defeated K’arkh-based teams with the Twins, but now they couldn’t win at all. Many who had invested everything in their Twin teams became discouraged and left the game.
Nexters learned from this experience: introducing a hero who can single-handedly defeat an entire meta team is bad for the player base.
From that point on, a five-year winter began for magic teams. No matter how well a magic team was built, Isaac could easily counter it.
In addition, Rufus, who is immune to magic attacks, and the redesigned Dante ushered in the era of Physical damage dominance.

Would adding a magical hero capable of easily crushing physical teams – essentially the opposite of Isaac – solve the problem?
The Nexters don’t seem to think so. If they did, history would repeat itself, leading to another mass exodus of players, this time from Dante and K’arkh users.
Instead, their goal seems to be to end the era of physical dominance without necessarily creating a new era of magical dominance.

After Isaac’s release, the newly introduced magical heroes were designed with balance in mind.
Instead of making them outright counters, the design philosophy shifted to giving Isaac an advantage while ensuring that he couldn’t completely shut them down.
Augustus is a prime example. By converting magic damage to physical damage, he negates Isaac’s counters. However, Isaac can counter Augustus by teaming up with Sebastian, creating a layered counter system.
This design philosophy is more complex than simply making Isaac a magic killer, but it creates a more engaging, long-term gameplay experience.
Meanwhile, Amira and Folio introduce a different concept: their attacks are so overwhelming that they are designed to kill opponents instantly before Isaac can even react.

In Guild Raids, one of the game’s main modes, physical teams continue to dominate the ladder.
In order to farm Ascension materials, players are practically forced to develop physical teams.
Unlike other game modes, obtaining Ascension materials through in-game purchases or events is inefficient, making Osh battles crucial for resource farming.
However, magic teams are regaining relevance. The Maestro Battle is particularly suited to magic-based teams.
In fact, Nexters has officially stated that Folio was designed for the Maestro Battle.

Another factor in the resurgence of magic teams is Area of Conquest.
Since only one team can be used for offense and defense, players must carefully consider whether or not to include Isaac.
Strategic guilds are adopting a mix of Isaac users and non-users, pairing them for optimal matchups.
As a result, magic teams, once considered only viable on offense, are now becoming as viable on defense as physical teams.
However, many players still prefer physical teams. With character progression taking years, it’s natural that most players are invested in physical heroes.
In addition, many former magic users who quit during Isaac’s reign have yet to return.
Nevertheless, Magic Teams have made a remarkable comeback from their darkest days and are now established as a viable play style.