As we dig into the data from the 2023 and 2024 Kings of War US Masters tournaments, we uncover fascinating trends in magic item usage. This analysis provides some quick insights into player preferences and strategy evolution.
Overall Statistics
| Year | Total Items | Unique Items | HHI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 226 | 38 | 567 |
| 2024 | 253 | 42 | 558 |
As I’ve discussed elsewhere, HHI is a metric of how concentrated a market is. In this context, a lower HHI means less concentration of magic items. That is, in 2023, we saw 38 unique items with an HHI of 567, while 2024 saw 42 items with an HHI of 558. While these numbers are comparable, there is more variability in the 2024 US Masters tournament–again suggesting that we have more variety in list-building than previously, which is credit to the RC.
Top 10 Magic Items Comparison
| Rank | 2023 Item | 2023 Count | 2024 Item | 2024 Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding | 22 | Blade of Slashing | 24 |
| 2 | Brew of Strength | 13 | Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding | 23 |
| 3 | Brew of Sharpness | 11 | Conjurer’s Staff | 17 |
| 4 | Staying Stone | 10 | Brew of Sharpness | 14 |
| 5 | Blade of Slashing | 10 | Brew of Strength | 13 |
| 6 | Conjurer’s Staff | 10 | Staying Stone | 13 |
| 7 | Sacred Horn | 10 | Helm of the Drunken Ram | 12 |
| 8 | Pipes of Terror | 9 | Lute of Insatiable Darkness | 10 |
| 9 | Orb of Towering Presence | 9 | Orb of Towering Presence | 9 |
| 10 | Hammer of Measured Force | 8 | Trickster’s Wand | 8 |
No real surprises here. We continue to see a mix of the “mega items” (j-boots, strength/sharpness) with cheaper list-filler options like the staying stone and blade. It’s interesting to see the HOMF fall off the list and the Trickster’s Wand make an appearance, potentially indicating a shift away from the def 6 meta and more towards concern about magic users. Could this reflect, in part, the rework to Nightstalkers and Twilight Kin? The combination of both the trickster’s wand and the conjurer’s staff making a rise does seem to suggest more of an emphasis on magic/anti-magic in this year’s tournament.
Biggest Movers
Increases
| Item | 2023 Count | 2024 Count | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blade of Slashing | 10 | 24 | +14 |
| Lute of Insatiable Darkness | 4 | 10 | +6 |
| Helm of the Drunken Ram | 7 | 12 | +5 |
Decreases
| Item | 2023 Count | 2024 Count | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gnome-Glass Shield | 8 | 3 | -5 |
| Brew of Haste | 7 | 3 | -4 |
| Sacred Horn | 10 | 8 | -2 |
Why on earth has the blade made such a jump? Any theories? I’ve got nothing. And seeing the helm and lute both gain substantially suggests people are still concerned about high def units, which contradicts what we see with the HOMF. Any theories on why this is happening?
New Entries and Exits
New in 2024
– Blade of the Beast Slayer
– Liliana’s Tear
– Blood of the Old King
Not Used in 2024
– Wings of Honeymaze
– Crystal Pendent of Retribution
– War-Bow of Kaba
– Crown of the Wizard King
– Dragonshard Shield
– Helm of Confidence
– Boots of the Seven Leagues
I’m not surprised to see the Wings disappear. They’re a niche item for use with hero killers, and most tournament lists have shifted away from combat individuals (except in rare cases) and towards 50mm scoring units. The other items also strike me as heavily situational and perhaps overcosted, so I’m not surprised to see them dropping out of the masters lists as well.
Conclusion
What do we take away from this? In general, it’s good to see the HHI continuing to go down (and thus creativity continuing to go up). We do see conflicting signals about whether def 6 remains a concern. And does anyone have a simple explanation for why so many more people wanted to take the blade of slashing this time around? The significant spike is definitely an outlier. TastyBagel of Regnum Aeternum proposes on the kowforums that perhaps the Blade “is linked to rising popularity of all these monster-sized heroes, and that their usual 5 base attacks is rough. Most have cs2 or similar, so the bigger hurdle is to hit. With the Blade being 5 points, it’s an easy pickup at the end of list building.” That intuitively makes sense to me as well. What do you think?
As always, stay tuned to Dash28 for live coverage of the masters. And then come back here for statistical recap after the tournament ends.
