| 28 June 2011
And the winner is NOT Phoenix.
It's actually She-Hulk. She has been on four championship-winning teams, and one runner-up team. Wolverine has been on three championship winners and two runners-up. Here's the top five according to the breakdown (bolded number is total, second number is championships, third number is runners-up):
- SHE HULK 5 (4, 1)
- WOLVERINE 5 (3, 2)
- PHOENIX 4 (2, 2)
- AMATERASU 4 (2, 2)
- SENTINEL 4 (1, 3)
- DORMAMMU 4 (1, 3)
So is there hope that a Phoenix-based team won't win the title at Evolution 2011? Don't count on it, according to dahbomb:
She is a problem and she needs to be solved. The combination of Wolverine as point and Phoenix as anchor has created a new monstrosity for players to deal with. Early X factor usage on a Phoenix team has also created some problems that players are having difficulty dealing with. Tokido is the forerunner of this strategy and he has won every single major he has been in with it.
Phoenix defines the current meta of MVC3. You either have a Phoenix team or you have a really solid anti-Phoenix team/strategy/technology up your sleeve to deal with the problem. The rise of good Phoenix gatekeepers like Wesker/Wolverine makes matters worse where they are pretty much free to do whatever they want and are generally exposed to less punishment because the other player is too busy worrying about Phoenix on deck.
It goes without saying but... expect to see Phoenix at EVO.
