GOATS vs Dafran

How will the meta impact Atlanta's roster?

#DeleteBrig has elevated itself to a supreme meme. The top tiers of the Overwatch community have expressed their disdain for the shield bashing maiden, and Blizzard has nerfed her damage output dramatically. Yet, the composition that her addition to the game enabled, GOATS (triple tank/triple support), in its various manifestations, remains viable, if not dominant.

With 2019 practically here, and Overwatch League virtually on the horizon, a question looms heavily in the shadows. It whispers from the fringes of my mind, overshadowed by the thrill of a fresh pro team with one of the most prolific players to grace the competitive scene. If GOATS remains viable for Season 2 of OWL, what does that mean for Dafran?

Think about it. Have you asked yourself this question? Because, for me, it's the question. Where does one of the best hit-scan DPS players in all of Overwatch fit into a comp that, well, doesn't need or require DPS? Granted, this is a league-wide question that undoubtedly impacts rosters across the board, but for our purposes, let's keep it on the home field.

As Dafran arrived at the Atlanta Reign house, he resumed streaming at regular intervals. This was one of the first things I was waiting to see. What would he do when confronted with this while randomly queuing and the match called for GOATS? Would he adapt? Would he simply out play the opposing team with heroes he was comfortable and highly proficient with? Would he cave to frustration? Admittedly, that last one was more concerning than I care to admit. I had to see for myself.

Day after day I tuned in casually to his stream, watching as closely as I could. Sure enough, GOATS reared its head again and again. The result? A fair amount of Zenyatta from our best DPS player. There it was. One of the strongest damage dealers in The League, playing support. Albeit some nasty, head poppin', discord slingin', down right dirty Zen play, but nonetheless, support play. At some points, he even resorted to wielding the shield bashing maiden herself, and M1'd his way to victory! My suspicions had been confirmed, but what do these ominous results actually mean? What truth, if any, can be derived from all of this?

Honestly, it's hard to say. An individual player's casual (yes casual) stream doesn't necessarily determine the future plans of an entire team, but the implications here can't be denied. GOATS will play a role (pun intended) in the way teams approach the upcoming season. With the recent nerfs to Brigitte's shield bash combo and damage potential, it does allow heroes like Tracer (one of Dafran's strongest) to engage without the woe of a one-shot-whomp from the Queen of Brawl. As such, Dive comp is slowly regaining a foothold at the top tier once more, but will it be enough to counter GOATS?

The fledgling matches of Season 2 should prove very telling. Teams will unveil strategies that have been in the works for months. Nevertheless, will we see another meta emerge? If Atlanta starts Dafran, and the other team goes GOATS, what will Reign's response be? Who plays the third tank and third support? Do you throw Dafran onto Zen and allow Kodak to shift to another support? Or is there a monster lurking in the shadows? Perhaps there's an entirely unexpected strategy? A Symmetra? Or even a BASTION?? That's a lot of questions. Ones that ultimately won't be answered at least until February, but rest assured Atlanta's coaches, Sephy, Silence, and Casores are well on their way to answering them. Dafran has a ridiculous skill set that is highly adaptive, but what will the team's response be and what role will he ultimately play? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the success of this team could very well be determined by the answer.