I got a nice surprise when I logged in for a quick game over lunch – 3v3 matchmaking is LIVE! Yes, the long awaited Twisted Treeline has finally entered live play. It’s going to be a strange new world in the tiny map. This really does change the dynamic of the game in a big way.

If you haven’t played on Treeline, you’re in for a bit of a surprise. Melee toons do very well, to the point that most think Mundo and Mordekaiser are severely OP. It’s really a matter of selecting a team that’s durable enough to withstand some damage and still dish out enough to wipe three people.

3v3 is where you’ll find me for the next couple weeks, testing out different characters and comps. First project – Heimerdinger.

It’s been three days since Riot officially confirmed the patch for this week – yes, I’m considering a sale on new content that ends this coming Sunday an official confirmation – and there’s still no word on when it will actually drop. Nothing. Nada. No post in the announcement forums, nothing in the server status forums. Not even an update to the sale announcement that pushes the dates back.

I’d like to say I’m not one to speculate but, frankly, I speculate often so here it goes. My guess is that there’s some trouble related to a widespread Twisted Treeline rollout. I still stand on the assumption that it’s coming in this patch. The matchmaking test on the Test Realm was so short that my guess is they got a quick confirmation that, yes, it will work. If it was a no, you can bet there would have been more testing to figure out why. It’s a pattern Riot has followed rigorously to this point. Hell, when it seems 80% of the population can’t connect or chronically crashes the servers are set to “busy” while the team attempts to sort things out.

It’s also safe to say that this is the biggest patch since launch, with the possible exception of the store. The Twisted Treeline update will change the game in a huge way, and will likely a whole new set of hardware. Add to it the major revamp the patch gave to Twisted Fate and the release of a new champ with completely new mechanic and you have the heaviest content patch we’ve seen.

I’m still convinced it won’t happen, though. Tomorrow’s Friday and there’s still no news.