Instead of a new playable Legend, the real star of Apex Legends right onw is the new permanent game mode that launched alongside the game's 26th season: Wildcard. Wildcard is a fast-paced version of the game's standard battle royale that aims to get players back into the chaos of battle as quickly as possible. But after playing for a few hours, I discovered that Wildcard is pure chaos, effectively making some Legends obsolete.

Wildcard Mode has a lot of convenient new features, but the biggest game-changer is Legend-stacking. For the first time in Apex Legends history, players no longer have to fight over which Legend they want to play. If all three members of your squad want to play as Ash, they can. If you want to trap enemies inside electric fences as Wattson while both of your squadmates play as Caustic and leave Gas Traps everywhere, go for it! If you want to bamboozle everyone you come into contact with, ready up as a trio of Mirages and let the fun begin.

On paper, this all sounds great. In practice, it's a lot of fun, but it also lays bare the shortcomings of some Legends in their current form. I squadded up with both friends and strangers, and throughout my time with Wildcard Mode, I noticed a trend: Instead of coordinating Legend-stacking (i.e., "Hey, we're both picking Caustic. You should too!"), my teammates were more interested in making sure I didn't pick the wrong Legend. I soon realized why.

In addition to allowing Legend-stacking, Wildcard Mode also ups the chaos factor by taking place within a smaller starting ring, and it requires only 30 players per match (down from the standard 60-player battle royale mode). Wildcard employs........

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