Welcome (back) to The OverSeer, everyone. This is Proilios, and after yesterday's review about the Seoul Dynasty, I am ready to share my thoughts on the NYXL, who placed 4th in my end-of-season power rankings for 2019.
Now this team has been one of the most feared and respected teams ever since OWL began, and they've made some interesting changes this off-season, so let's see if their roster moves improve their chances at winning the championship, or deplete them instead.
Now this team has been one of the most feared and respected teams ever since OWL began, and they've made some interesting changes this off-season, so let's see if their roster moves improve their chances at winning the championship, or deplete them instead.
TANK
The Excelsior currently have Mano on main tank, and HOTBA and BiaNcA on off-tank.
I don't think I'm exaggerating things when I say Mano is one of the most respected main tank players in the League. He has never disappointed his team, and is one of the most consistent players on the squad. I also feel like he's one of the best Reinhardt players out there, as he played like a monster during the Goats era, exhibiting solid synergy with Nenne's Zarya. That said, I feel like his Reinhardt was his only impressive main tank pick in 2019. He played a ton of Winston but wasn't his usual playmaking self on the hero, played Orisa but wasn't able to create as much space or land as many Halt combos as you'd expect him to, and was just average on Wrecking Ball as a whole. I'm going to reserve my judgment a little bit because I think it was a temporary problem, and the meta might have something to do with that, but I'm not going to count him as a top-tier main tank until I can see him return to his usual form.
HOTBA was with the Guangzhou Charge last year, and his off-tank play was a little underwhelming overall. I thought his D.Va was one of the weakest in the League, Roadhog and Sigma were average, and Zarya was pretty good, but not the best. What I was pleasantly surprised by though was HOTBA's performances on DPS heroes. He played Pharah and Tracer, most notably, and did a fine job countering Goats comps with them. Sadly, he probably won't be playing damage for the NYXL, which is why I don't rate him very highly at the moment. The second off-tank to be added to this team is BiaNcA, who was on XL2 Academy until recently. He's not had a ton of success in Contenders, but whenever he's done well, it's been on D.Va and maybe a little on Zarya. His Sigma didn't impress me during the Gauntlet, and I haven't really seen him play Hog, so I can't comment on that. Essentially, even if you assume him to be an above-average D.Va and Zarya at the Contenders level, that doesn't boost your stonks a lot when it comes to OWL, since the level of competition here is at a whole new level.
In summary, I don't think the NYXL have a very good tank line for Season 3. I still have trust in Mano, and believe that he can still be the rock his team needs, but I doubt that HOTBA and BiaNcA will be good enough to be super impactful in-game. Simply because of the off-tank duo, I think this team could peek into a bottom-5 tank line if they don't improve, and I don't really know if that's a hot take, but it is what it is.
DPS
New York's damage line consists of Saebyeolbe, Libero, Nenne and WhoRU.
Saebyeolbe is the core motivator, leader and captain of the NYXL's ship. A versatile and talented hitscan/flanker player, SBB was a big influence on the Excelsior's success last season. After sitting out most of the traditional Goats Meta, he was brought in to play Sombra, whom he played almost like Tracer, whom he's a God at, assassinating enemy backlines, escaping with his life, and being a major threat to flex supports of all calibres. He also proved to be one of the best Reapers in the League during the Playoffs, and also wowed us with his Bastion play in some of the NYXL's brand-new strategies. He's a pivotal part of this squad, and will no doubt be a good player in the 2020 season as well. Another key part of the Excelsior's damage line is Libero, who is a very versatile projectile player. He's comfortable on a wide variety of heroes like Genji, Hanzo, Pharah, and even Doomfist. I think anyone who follows the League knows who this guy is, and it goes without saying that I have absolute faith in him going into the 2020 season. Nenne was also on this squad in 2019, and he is a hitscan player who was probably brought in for his Zarya play during the Goats Meta, a purpose he did end up fulfilling quite well. That said, I don't think his actual hitscan play is anything special on relative terms. His Tracer is pretty good, and I've seen him play her outside the League, but I don't think he compares to someone like SBB, who is insanely good and can carry fights at any level on that hero. Also, in case anyone feels like pointing out how well Nenne did in the Widow 1v1 series during the All Star Weekend last year, I'd just like to mention that being good at 1v1s is vastly different from being good in your core competitive modes. The ideas of positioning, gamesense, and ult tracking completely throw a spanner in the works, and although Nenne's raw aim is good, he is no match for a horde of other Widow players when it comes to actually playing her in an official match. He's probably the least impressive DPS player on this team, and certainly pulls down their average skill level by a fair amount.
The biggest name from Contenders that's been signed to the NYXL this off-season is WhoRU, a flanker/projectile player who's spent a ton of time with Fusion University and won a good number of accolades with them. He is mostly known for his Genji play, which is very impressive. I've watched him play that hero a fair bit, and from his perspective, it always feels like I'm watching an actual ninja fight, which is not something I'd say for most other pro Genjis. I think he's going to be pretty good going into Season 3 of OWL, provided his erratic behaviour and aggressive playstyle don't get in the way of what the Excelsior is trying to achieve.
In summary, I believe the NYXL has a solid DPS line. They've got playmakers on every subrole, and seem like they can adapt to every meta. My only question mark is about Nenne and what he's currently contributing to this team, because he's just like a mini-version of Saebyeolbe as far as I'm concerned. Even with him though, I'd say this damage line is Top 10, and they can certainly push for higher depending how well they can pop off based on the metas they have to play in.
SUPPORT
The NYXL's support line consists of Anamo and Mandu on main support, and JJoNaK on flex support.
Anamo has been a staple on this team's starting line ever since ArK was traded to the Justice, and he's actually been doing a good job. His Lúcio play is quite safe, which goes hand-in-hand with the Excelsior's defensive playstyle, and he, just like ArK, is famous for dying very little in-game. I guess staying alive is the first thing nailed into any main support's head if they join this team, so Mandu will probably become #3 in the 'Least Deaths per 10 Mins' category soon enough. Since his name has popped up, let's quickly go over Mandu. He is also a main support player, and was most recently on O2 Blast. He's a relatively-new name to the professional Overwatch scene, but has still been doing well in Contenders. That said, I am a little puzzled about his signing. Based on what I've seen, Mandu has a more active, higher-tempo playstyle than we're used to seeing the NYXL adopt, so it makes me wonder whether the roster as a whole is going to lean into a new approach this year, what with WhoRU, who's another aggressive player, being signed as well. That said, I don't think Mandu's signing is going to make a big difference to this team, and I don't think he's going to be a top-notch main support, despite the good things I've heard about him.
Finally, we've got the first ever MVP of the Overwatch League...the Zen God himself, JJoNaK. Now I say 'Zen God' because his Zen play got him the MVP award in Season 1, but he's equally proficient on his other support picks, and especially Ana. He plays both Ana and Zenyatta like a damage dealer, doing his bit of healing but focusing mainly on making offensive plays, and it works out for the best almost every time. His Moira, on which he surprisingly DPSes less on, is also pretty good, and he's also been grinding Baptiste on ladder, which means he's going to be a terror in every single meta the League is part of in 2020. Probably still a Top 3 flex support in the Overwatch League, JJoNaK is the carry support you never knew you needed, and he's probably going to wreck face again in Season 3.
To round off the support line discussion, I think JJoNaK is still a top-notch flex support, and Anamo is a pretty good main support, but Mandu's presence is quite strange for me, like I said, because of his over-active playstyle. I just don't think that's going to gel well with the NYXL's usual approach, which is why I think this support trio will hover somewhere between the 8th to 12th spot in the League.
THE RAW LOOK VS. REALITY
It's seemingly a common belief among the community that the Excelsior have a championship-calibre roster this year, but I don't think that's accurate, at least on paper. They've got solid DPS and support lines, sure, but their tanks, and specifically their off-tanks, don't seem quite as reliable. If I'm right in my analysis, the NYXL will end up being a mid-table team this year, since I trust neither HOTBA nor BiaNcA to be noticeably good, but I'm still confident this roster will make the Play-Ins. They've got far too much talent on the rest of their roles to not even be Top 12.
Let's say the off-tanks do end up being above-average though. How far up the rankings can New York push then? I'd say Top 8 is a fair assumption. They can certainly be better than more than half the teams out there, but pushing into Top 6 might be a trickier task than one thinks, especially since a few rosters have amazing players on every single sub-role.
In conclusion, I'm fairly certain that the NYXL will be a Play-In team, at least until I do a revised analysis of all the teams before my pseudo-power rankings post right before OWL begins. I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion, and if any of you wishes to express your disagreement with what I had to say, feel free to do so in the comments section, but remember to be polite and respectful to keep the conversation healthy.
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