executioner and atalanta's trending in opposite directions?

Does anyone think that The Executioner will get anywhere close to the prominence it had before the nerf. It isn't getting fully restored, but with Atalanta's Bow getting the 10% penetration nerf is that enough for exe to become a primary or at least a more attractive option more often again? I would think that Hi-Rez thinks so. I feel like this is a kind of, whoa...we took away too much from exe, now we gotta back track on it kind of deal.

Exe will definitely be included in more builds again, where Atalanta's falls out. It's likely to be seen again either as a standalone item or in combination with the new Dominance item, in some cases might see an Exe + Atalanta's combo though that should be rare given how hard Atalanta's is getting nerfed.

Atalanta’s is not going to get picked up unless buffed

Let's also consider the various combinations in which you can get reasonable % pen. I would say most builds want a minimum 20% + some flat pen, or at least 30% especially against comps with heavy tanks. Not including Heartseeker / Titan's Bane since I'm talking standard carries, not Ullr / Neith.

Non-Crit:

• Atalanta's Bow: 25 power, 25% AS, 10% pen
• Berserker's Shield: 50-80 power, 20-40% AS, 20 phys prot, 10% pen
• Dominance: 55 power, 200 mana, 20 MP5, 10% pen / 20% basic attack pen
• Silverbranch Bow: 30 power (+ any overcap), 30% AS, 10% pen
• The Executioner: 35 power, 25% AS, up to 28% prot reduction

Crit:

• Fail-Not: 45 power, 10% pen, 20% CDR, 20% crit chance (+15 when ult)
• Wind Demon: 25 power, 15% AS / 35% AS + 10% pen when first crit

A combo of Exe + Berserker's or Dominance + Berserker's would fit the bill. As you can see here, Berserker's is just a straight up superior item to Ata at this point, for only 50 gold more. (I do expect the nerf to be at least partially reverted somehow.)

In addition, I'm thinking about how much AS will be built, and which starter / upgrade the hunter chooses.

• Death's Toll -> Death's Embrace: the Embrace passive wants high AS for more procs, and the heal won't benefit from crits. I see a Qin's direction here, though the high (80) power could be nice for crits. No AS in 2 items assuming another is either Devo's or Trans. Hunters w/ high AS steroids could still use Qin's Sais + Silverbranch Bow well if they build enough AS in the rest of their items. Other hunters with low to no AS steroid shouldn't get Silver.
  
  
• Death's Toll -> Death's Temper: This has 30% AS. This direction could work for Qin's + Silver builds AND for crit builds, as the passive gives you up to 35% increased basic attack damage, which is huge (but situational to stack).
  
  
• Gilded Arrow -> Diamond Arrow: The AS is situational and wacky (up to 60% AS!). As I said elsewhere, I don't see it being used too much, but we'll see.
  
  
• Leather Cowl -> Hunter's Cowl: 45% AS when you're near teammates, which should be happening late-game anyway. Could work with any build.
  
  
• Manikin Scepter -> Manikin Mace: Could be a thing. Somewhat niche, as I'd consider against a basic-attack-heavy comp. Would be curious about combining Mace w/ Ichaival and Berserker's Shield for some really nice counter potential.