Came back after quitting. EK not viable anymore?

Hey guys, I came back after a year of quitting and I was wondering if EK Mara wasn't viable anymore in HC. Used to have a 77 EK Mara and did fairly well with him. Not really sure what changes occurred with EK, is it mostly for Shadows/Witches now?

I kind of like the dual totem, crit based EK the best. But I am sure the stack as much HP / str as possible and run iron will still works too.

I too wonder the same thing, just came back and got a level 42 ek mara, is it worth specing EK again or should I go for another build while I have the chance?

EK is really strong,and with the castspeed buff and spell echo it isnt boring as it used to be (1 sec castspeed cmoooon)
and that new staff is simply amazing for ek,especially for marauder builds that will probably get a lot of hp nodes,you can wear kaoms and run a 7 link in staff

1,Arctic armour can improve mana base EK char's physical defense dramatically.

2,Arctic armour can almost eliminate fire damage as a threat.

3,since that time GGG nerfed monster's damage, you don't need 7k life to avoid being stunned anymore, 4k-4.5k is well enough.

4,life base EK need to sacrifice one slot for blood magic, which is a lost to damage output.

5,cast speed EK or crit EK, those nodes are all there in INT area, just too much trouble to travel from maurauder starting area.