Building a Team Around a Support

Dota 2 Exercise:  Building around a support

For this exercise, I decided to try building a team around Crystal Maiden (CM), with her mana-aura.  I picked heroes that are generally limited by their early-game mana, but can be very dangerous with additional mana early game.

Team Sample #1: Low-Mana Str heroes + CM

Sven/CK + CM (w/Basilius)

Nightstalker/Dragon Knight (mid)

Offlaners:  Clockwerk

Junglers:  Enigma

Other mana-dependent heroes:  Leshrac, Zeus, Pugna

Team Sample #2 (Dual Lanes)

Axe + Disruptor offlane
Shadowfiend mid
Luna/Gyro/Razor/Sven + CM safe lane (spam Lucent Beam, Missile, Field, or Hammer)

Flowchart: Hero Selection

This needs to be put in a flowchart, but it's a work-in-progress for now.

Dota 2 Flow Chart for Hero Selection:

Choose your strat:

1. Pushing (see pushing heroes to pick & anti-push heroes to ban)
   1. Choose pushing-supports as your first picks. Try to select heroes with good teamfight to obscure your choice of strategy, and to be able to win fights when you group up to push.
   2. Choose a semi-carry or early-effect carry who can push (Luna, CK, Gyro, Tiny, DK, Juggernaut, etc).
   3. Choose a mid with push (Tinker, QoP, Puck, Zeus, etc.)
   4. Know that you need to end the game early (before 30 mins if possible).
2. Teamfight (choose most flexible heroes first, then mid, then carry last)
3. Gank & Snowball
   1. No more than 1 invis hero (too easy to counter whole team if > 1)
   2. Mid should be ganker hero who can farm enemies at L6, and dominate mid.
   3. Consider aggressive tri-lane to shut down enemy carry
   4. Supports should have nukes/disables and some push to take towers after successful ganks.
   5. Good idea to ban the type of heroes that could counter-gank (Wisp, KotL, NP) or counter-push (KotL, Dazzle, Lina, Tinker)
4. Split Push / Global Strat (see mobile heroes and split-push heroes – ban gankers & supports with teleports such as Wisp, KotL, etc). First-pick NP if possible.

If at least 1 true support on our team  take Lion (Tranq boots, Wand, Soul Ring, Eul’s)

If no supports, or only semi-supports  Lich (try for Force Staff) or Shadow Shaman (Regen, Eul’s)

If no carry -> melee carry -> Lifestealer, Chaos Knight, Sven, Dragon Knight, Alchemist

If need jungler -> Lifestealer or Ursa, Enigma, Legion Commander

If need ranged carry -> Drow Ranger, Luna, Shadowfiend, Viper, Gyro, Medusa

If need ganker -> Nyx Assassin, QoP, Slardar, Storm Spirit, etc.

If need support pusher -> Shadow Shaman, KotL, Leshrac, Lina, Veno

If need split pusher -> Nature’s Prophet, Tinker, Lycan

Paired with gank-style carry:  Shadow Shaman, Keeper, Lion, Leshrac, Shadow Demon, Veno

Paired with weak melee carry:  Lich, Crystal Maiden, Lion

Support - If lots of melee on team -> Vengeful spirit, Beastmaster, Dazzle

Lots of mana-dependent enemies, with big ultimates -> Silencer, Nyx

Need to counter a melee carry -> Lifestealer, Viper, Ursa, Razor

Need AOE damage -> Earthshaker, Sand King, Venomancer, Gyrocopter, Ancient Apparition, Obsidian Destroyer (Int based), Tidehunter, Warlock

Need AOE disable/positioning -> Naga, Enigma, Magnus, Dark Seer, Clockwerk (cogs),Wyvern, Earthshaker.

Match an enemy hard carry -> Faceless Void, Phantom Assassin, Alchemist, Anti-mage, Sven

If your Hard Carry = Chaos Knight, Skeleton King or Tiny, then good pick = Wisp, Shadow Shaman, Lich, Dazzle

Team Idea: Drafting Around Faceless Void

This team idea focuses on choosing Faceless Void as your carry, and maximizes the damage that can be inflicted inside of Chronosphere.

Faceless-centric line-ups:

Dual Lanes:
Veno+Drow, Face+Venge, Lesh mid (or Drow mid)
Tri-Lane Team:
Face+Veng+Lesh trilane
Veno solo offlane
Drow mid

Tri-Lane team #2:

DarkSeer offlane, 
Shadow Fiend mid, 
Face+Lesh+Veng trilane 
Combo:  Vacuum into Chrono/Lesh/SF ults, with Venge armor reduction for Face

Advantages:

+ Can get kills in trilane (Missle+Split+autoattacks w/Venge armor reduction)

+ Venge can go gank mid to get advantage

+ SF strong mid in pubs if not denied heavily

+ DS very safe offlane w/ion shell spam (get Clarities)

+ Lots of push

Faceless Void trilane with 2 supports from this list:

WITCH DOCTOR (position 4 or 5)
CRYSTAL MAIDEN (4, pulls, phase boots + shadowblade),  
LICH (5, stays lane, Mek),
SHADOW SHAMAN (position 4)
SKYWRATH MAGE (position 4 or 5)

Offlane:  Jakiro (Position 3, Arcane Boots, Force Staff, Veil/Pipe)
Mid:  Magnus (Position 2, Boots, Wand, Upgraded Boots, Blink Dagger, Drums, BKB)

Drafting Exercise: Building a Team around a Carry

The following teams are based around Sven.  This post illustrates a thought process where you figure out what a hero needs, and create a team around boosting that carry with appropriate picks.

Sven needs:

-        Attack speed:  Beastmaster, Troll, Ogre

-        Mana regen:  Crystal Maiden (CM), Keeper of the Light (KotL)

-        Slowing/lockdown:  Disruptor, Veno, Invoker, Magnus, Puck, Batrider

-        Lane Babysitter:  CM, Disruptor, AA, Warlock, Lion, Io

Don’t pick Sven against kiters:

-        Drow

-        Viper

-        Lycan

-        Weaver

-        Sniper

Pick Sven against: 

-        Illusion heroes (Naga, CK, PL, etc)

Sven Items:

Start (585):  Tango, Shield, Potion, Branch x 2

Early: Boots, Wand, Helm of Dominator (stacking)

Core:  Power Treads, BKB, TP

Late:  MoM/Satanic, S&Y, Deadalus, BoT

6 Slotted:  BoT, S&Y, BKB, Deadalus, Heart, MoM/Satanic

Sven-based teams:

#1:

Mid:  Kunkka or Luna

Offlane: Solo Darkseer or Centaur

Supports: Disruptor, CM

Safe Carry: Sven

#2:

Mid: Magnus

Offlane: Solo Beastmaster

Supports:  Ogre (Roaming / Pulling), CM (babysitter, early aura)

Carry: Sven

#3:

Mid: Exhort Invoker/AA

Offlane: Solo Timbersaw

Supports:  Shadow Demon/Bane, Sand King

Carry:  Sven

#4:

Mid: Puck (#2) or Storm Spirit

Offlane: Centaur/Magnus/Dark Seer (#3)

Supports:  Wraith King (#4), Disruptor/Warlock (#5)

Carry:  Sven (#1)

#5:

Mid:  Timbersaw/Slark/Puck (ganker)

Offlane:  Lich/Veno/BH/Magnus/Tide

Supports:  Venge (roamer), Disruptor (lane support)

Carry:  Sven

Drow-Based Teams with Ranged Carries

The idea of these teams is to take advantage of Drow Ranger's precision aura to boost damage to your main right-click carries, and even some supports to make them more dangerous.

In most cases, you need to pick Drow last so that she's not counterpicked (she's easily ganked early game), and so that the team's synergy may not be readily apparent until last pick.  This also gives the ability for the captain to pick a different carry if another would be more suitable vs. the opponent's lineup.  Some suggestions for alternate carries are given in some team ideas, below.

Team Ideas (dual lanes):

#1:

Mid: Drow (or Beastmaster/Clinkz/Zeus)

Offlane: Batrider (Warlock/Treant/Phoenix/Puck/Silencer) + Bristleback/ElderTitan/Axe (ooh, annoying!)

Safelane:  Luna + Venge/Lion/Nyx

Bans: OD, Viper, then Invoker/Pudge/NP/Io/Bane, then counterban

Pick Order:  Batrider, Venge, Luna, Bristleback, Drow

#2:

Mid: Shadowfiend

Offlane:  Luna + Dazzle

Safe:  Drow + Tidehunter (Clockwerk?)

Bans:  Batrider, OD, NP, then Bounty/DK/Slark

Picks:  Tidehunter, Luna+Dazzle, Shadowfiend, Drow

Problem:  Low Stuns

#3:

Mid: Viper/Huskar

Offlane:  Clinkz + Clockwerk

Safelane:  Drow + support

(Tough) Supports w/teamfight initiation:  Earthshaker/Tide/Magnus/Beastmaster/SandKing/Jakiro/Treant/Alchemist

Bans:  Ember, Bountyhunter, NP, Tinker, Dazzle, Disruptor, Kunkka

Pick:  Clockwerk, Support, Clinkz, Viper, Drow

#4:

Mid:  DK

Offlane:  Clockwerk

Safelane:  Drow + Venge/Dazzle/SD

Jungle:  NP (or Axe/Commander/Ursa)

Bans:  Batrider, OD, Invoker, Nightstalker

Picks:  NP, Clockwerk, DK, support, Drow

#5:

Mid:  Shadowfiend (early Shadowblade, then BKB)

Safe:  Drow (Aquila, Manta, Ethereal Blade) + Support Wraithking (Blademail, Blink Dagger)

Offlane: DK (Armlet, Pipe) + Support Viper (Mek, Wards)

Bans: Lycan, Invoker, Centaur, OD, Dazzle

Picks:  Viper, DK, Shadowfiend, Wraithking, Drow

Problem:  No teamfight Disable/Lockdown (but 2 stuns, and 2 slows, tho)

#6:

Mid: Drow/SF/DK (shadowblade, manta)

Offlane:  Lina (Arcanes, Drums) + Venge (medallion, force staff)

Safe:  Death Prophet (Mek, Bloodstone) + Dazzle/Tree/Omni/Abaddon (hard support)

Bans:  Batrider, OD, Io, Tinker, Disruptor

Picks: Dazzle, Venge, Lina, Death Prophet, Drow

Problem:  No hard carry.  Need pickoffs.

Tri-Lanes:

#7: 

Mid: Shadowfiend

Solo Offlane (tank):  Bristleback, Clockwerk, Slardar, Tide, or Timbersaw

Safe: Drow + Lina + Windranger

Bans:  Batrider, Io, Brewmaster, Spectre, Viper/OD

Picks:  Windranger, Lina, Offlaner, Shadowfiend, Drow