Protection vs AOE vs Counter

So I went ahead and ran two extra sets of 5 rounds in the Arena after the patch this evening. Everyone in the top twenty was still using pretty much the same Heros. Dooku, QGJ, Rey, OD, RG and so on. I decided to try all Sith with Dooku leading to start. Everyone is 7* except Vader still at 5* but all pretty much maxed for mats and gear. All at level 76. Well I got torn apart fairly quickly except I noticed one thing. Vader hung until the end with nearly everything intact including Protection and the other team had no protection at all. Some were severely damaged.

Vader's AOE attack had dropped everyone's protection consistently. So the next round I used Vader with various Heros that all had AOE as well. Had an issue or two but after a couple of rounds trying different AOE attacks I started winning. Even the Royal Guard won't fire off a taunt when protection is gone on another team member. Once everyone had lost there protection it was pretty much business as usual. Choose the most dangerous and widdle away at them.

I was like OMG I just figured it out. Then a thought occurred to me. Counter Teams! If you had a heavy set of 5 counter Heros with IGD leading then that could be very bad news. One AOE and you get hammered with 5 Heros.

I think AOE and Counter Teams just took on a whole new meaning. Still not sure I care for this patch much but I do see some new styles of play emerging.

JMO!