The recently completed BLAST Twitch Invitational series saw one of the biggest shifts in the competitive Valorant meta since the game’s launch, thanks to patch 1.07 patch.

The new meta saw Breach go from almost never picked, to the highest pick rate in the tournament at 83%. Conversely, Sage, a previous must-pick, plummeted to just 15% pick rate.

One of the main reasons why teams have opted to use Breach, instead of Sage, is his newfound ability to counter the enemy team’s Operator player.

This is all thanks to his Fault Line ability, which descopes players, and is particularly effective against Operators, allowing Breach to safely clear an angle without having to expose himself, as his team pushes forward.

Breach has also become one of the best utility agents in Valorant, since he now has three charges on his Flash, and it also goes off faster, letting it work more like a traditional pop flash. This means teams can fully commit to their pushes, while Breach hangs back and throws an absurd amount of flashes at the enemy team.

Meanwhile, Sage’s overall usefulness has gone down due to the nerfs she received in the last 1.07 patch. Even G2 Esports’ dedicated Sage main, David “davidp” Prins has dropped Sage for Breach, because she no longer has that much to offer, in terms of agent compositions.

The second impactful change to Valorant’s meta is the Vandal buff. Prior to the BLAST Invitational, almost all pro players were using the Phantom because it was the superior assault rifle. It had a 30-ammo capacity with better spray pattern accuracy, and it was silenced which covered players’ tracer rounds, as opponents couldn’t see which way the bullets were coming from.

During the BLAST Invitational though, everyone made the switch to the Vandal, after its fire rate was increased. The main reason why is that the Vandal’s headshots kill, while the Phantom’s does 140 damage. Players at the highest level rarely miss their shots. Which is why, if you hand them an assault rifle that guarantees them a kill with one bullet, most of them will take that option. And, since the Vandal’s fire rate was increased, players can now spray down their opponents as well.

With the recent changes to the meta, teams in all regions have decided to go for agent compositions where they can use all their abilities cohesively. And, Sage no longer fits that mold. She is still one of the best agents to stop rushes, but more teams are opting to play for site retakes instead of trying to fight teams head on.

This is why Breach is now a must-pick hero for competitive Valorant