User:Blueeighthnote/Metagame Analysis/Leader Lifespan

It is quite an abstract subject to talk about how long the leader stays relevant. However, certain leaders have certain qualities that make them more prone to being replaced, while some others may be able to stay healthy for many years.

Phases of relevancy
These are what I believe to be the seven phases of a leader:


 * 1) Speculation
 * 2) Debut
 * 3) Dominance
 * 4) Stable performance
 * 5) Decline
 * 6) Becoming unviable
 * 7) Resurgence

The length of each phase is different for each leader. Keep in mind that not all leaders will go through all of these phases, as some leaders may never reach dominance at any point and simply declines from there. Some leaders may actually never fall into the "unviable" category if buffs happen to them soon enough. (Note: For a leader to be considered unviable, it is usually below subpar and completely lacks the power to pass Biweekly or recent Ultimate stages).

Speculation
When a card with leader material is introduced, players will begin speculating if the card is good for the metagame. As Tower of Saviors is now a mature game, many players with 4 to 5 years of experience may be able to accurately judge whether the card is good or bad before it even enters the field.

The speculated score for a certain leader can be extremely positive, positive, neutral, negative, or extremely negative. Some leaders might be met with critical acclaim universally before it even begins its "Debut" stage. However, often there are cases when a leader is almost impossible to assess due to mixed reactions or widely different opinions.

I will provide examples that I still fondly remember, from events of all kinds of different time:


 * Example 1, Amaterasu (2017): This is a vivid example of how a multiplier attracts players' attention. The 126x multiplier when activated is extremely potent, leading to many players believing that this is undisputedly the most powerful card in the game. A few minority of players fear that such a multiplier may destroy the balance of the game we know. Who knows that the difficulty of triggering that condition actually tames such fear......


 * Example 2, Monster Strike Lucy (2016): The reception of this card was fairly average - players pointed out the 36% damage reduction, but due to it being a new concept, everyone was uncertain how this card will change the metagame. The multiplier of 6.25x, even for year 2016, was considered unimpressive considering the power of Babylonians and PR Daji (who was still dominating early 2016). Who knows the heart runestone effect and defensive capabilities will be so overpowering......


 * Example 3, Rakshasa and Tang San Zang (2017): Players were looking towards Rakshasa rather than Tang San Zang at the moment, due to there being a lack of good Earth leaders at the time in early 2017. When players learn that Tang San Zang's leader restriction is a measure to prevent PR Lucifer stacking, players were disappointed yet excited at the same time. Still, no one was expecting Tang San Zang to be that good, while Rakshasa does not work as a leader at all......


 * Example 4, PR Taotie (2014): The news of these Chinese beasts getting PR is very exciting, as they enhanced many players' old friends and make them powerful again. Players speculated their abilities to be above average, but due to the fast-paced changes to the metagame later, the good days did not last long......


 * Example 5, Huang Fu Duo (2015): Players were drawn to the idea of a Light & Dark Human team with a solid multiplier, and with all the Xuan Yuan cards that were introduced, players expected this style of playing to be unique and fun. Unfortunately, they are too underpowered in practice.....


 * Example 6, Azathoth (2017): Madhead was actually making a bald move when they release a series with no human-shape characters, but in exchange give these dragons, demons, and beasts massive power. It turned out to be successful when players immediately notice the high power provided by Azathoth, reviving the under-usage of dragon teams. Players noted that the low recovery would be an issue to Azathoth, but it turns out that......