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I'm surprised nobody has done this yet (been waiting for years), so I'll take matters into my own hands.
My mom used to say, we can tell a lot about a person from their tactician and arena. Today we look at the tactician and arena choices of the final table at Vegas Open. What fit spoke to u?
Gingersnap Dango 1, Sanctuary of the Ancient
Vegas' champion interestingly paired the restful sanctuary with Gingersnap 1 instead of Gingersnap 3. It's always interesting when the 1-star tactician is chosen over the 3 star, since most would just take the more embellished version (Dango 3 adds headwear & wings). Yes perhaps Milala simply didn't have Dango 3, but I like to think it was intentional, to fit the innocent and childlike wonder of the forest. Or to maintain visual clarity, so the focus could all be on the game.
The runner up with a whopping 37 pts pilots Poro with Supernova. Poro was a highly requested tactician prior to its release just this year so I had expected some representation coming, but the Supernova Arena was quite the shocker.
I did not expect many aggressive colors to be shown this weekend, I felt arenas like Supernova could hurt visual clarity and thought pros might not like that. Kevin's performance prompts me to reevaluate my thinking.
Jade Emperor Sprite, Akana Arena
DSG Broccoli brings the most aptly chosen tactician to the final lobby. Not only does the green of the Jade Emperor visually match the color of the vegetable, China happens to also be the largest exporter of Broccoli. There are not many good green options for tacticians currently, and Broccoli has chosen wisely.
While I can't yet understand the choice of it, the Akana Arena does pair surpringsly well. My guess is that Broccoli wanted to keep the arena dark, elegant but simple, free of distractions, a common theme of arenas in this final table.
Had he brought only either River Sprite or Default Arena, I would gather that Ashemoo cared for nothing but number crunching and game winning. But to bring the two together is a statement. I myself have played TFT since set 1, the default arena evokes emotions new age players would never understand. There used to be only 3 rows for positioning. Ashemoo is sentimental here, he holds onto a shard of the past. He also likely has never given Riot money for skins.
Dark Star Grizzle 1, Splash Party Arena
My G Double61. Not only did I watch him win worlds live, but he was now using my favourite arena of all time. I love it so much I bought it twice on 2 different servers, its the only money ive ever spent on TFT. Well he seems to love it as much as I do, after some research I find he's been using this arena since its release in Reckoning (set 5).
He couples it with Dark Star Grizzle 1, an addition from Set 8. Mistake it not for a Choncc, Grizzle has less of a belly but fuller shoulders and neck. Its eyes are not squinty but alert, and the dark star variant tops it off with an Iron Man reactor.
Prodigy Ossia 3, Frostguard Arena
To differentiate Ossia 2 & Ossia 3, look out for the circular pulse present only under Ossia 3's model, as well as the trailing purple streaks as she walks. Noel rocks a full purple theme this weekend with highlights of yellow and orange on the Ossia against the purple backdrop of the Frostguard.
Choices are aplenty for purple arenas, so I can't help but feel the ripple pattern smack center of Frostguard is why Noel, consciously or unconsciously, matched it with the similarly circular pulse of the Ossia 3.
Chibi Little Devil Teemo, Choncc's Splash Resort, High Noon Saloon
Humbug was the only player who switched up arenas in the finals. Games 1,2,3 were played with Choncc's Splash Resort (pictured), but games 4,5,6 were played with High Noon Saloon (below).
The first combination was my favourite of the whole weekend, I felt the red of the devil teemo distinguished really well against the rest of Choncc's Splash Resort. It also kindof complemented the bamboo construction of the bench. Maybe I just like the resort too much...
High Noon Saloon, Humbug's second arena
Tracking 5454's tacticians proved difficult. While he stuck to a single arena - Journey's Outset from Fates (set 4), he was the only player to regularly switch up tacticians between games. The fashion icon employed:- Tidepool Paddlemar 1 (G1 & G2)- Chibi Dragonmaster Yasuo (G3)- River Sprite (G4)- Sauna Sprite (G5 & G6)
In addition, I also spotted him in round of 256 when he was featured, using
- Pentakill Choncc 3 (all 3 games of round of 256)
There seems to be no common thread among the tacticians chosen. I've always believed the very fact that there is no common thread IS the strategy behind switching up these tacticians. Change of tacticians keeps the play fresh and the mind sharp, and 5454 understands that.
Conclusion
Some humor aside, it's wonderful to see 9 different arenas and a whopping 12 tacticians (thank you 5454) in a tournament finals, with the only repeat being river sprite, an understandably irreplaceable classic. If any finalists or friends of finalists are reading this, please tell the story, why these tacticians and arenas were chosen. Else, what did u think of the outfits? What an incredible event.
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