Guide To The Anti-mage(Magina)

Magina

The Anti-Mage

Reworked by: Me
Image originally made by: blackunit10

I. FOREWORD
II. INTRODUCTION

a) PROS
b) CONS
c) HERO STATS
d) SKILLS
e) ROLE

III. SKILL BUILD

a) JUSTIFICATION

IV. ITEMS

a) STARTING ITEMS
b) EARLY GAME
c) MID GAME
d) LATE GAME / CONSIDERED ITEMS
e) REJECTED ITEMS

V. ALLIES & ENEMIES
VI. REPLAYS & STUFF
VII. CREDITS



I. FOREWORD

The main reason I wanted to make this guide was because I've seen players who've been playing one of my favourite hero, Anti-Mage so horribly wrong with horrific item choices and overall just plain bad.

I want to start of by explaining that if you're looking for a guide with images, backgrounds story about the hero and overall tips about Dota, then you've come to the wrong place. Although I will be linking to other guides just to help you out. And remember from now on and further down are only my opinions, thoughts and situations. Remember also that there is other ways of playing this hero, and this is mine.



II. INTRODUCTION

Magina is probably one of the easiest hard-carry in the game, yet you don't see him much in competitive games, that's because he doesn't have any synergy with his team even with the "recent" buff of his ultimate. That means if you don't have a decent team you might lose even though you're a carry. But, that by no all means he is a bad hero. A farmed Magina is terrifying Magina.


a) PROS

[+] Possibly the best hard-carry
[+] High natural aspd
[+] Great attack animation
[+] Anti-caster / Mana burner
[+] Ability to blink

b) CONS

[-] No team synergy
[-] Very item dependant (like all hard-carries)
[-] No farm-abilities
[-] Low STR and STR-gain
[-] Melee


c) HERO STATS

Strength: 20 + 1.2
Agility: 22 + 2.8
Intelligence: 15 + 1.8

Damage: 49 - 53
Armor: 3.1
Movespeed: 320


e) SKILLS



Mana break
Burns 28/40/52/64 mana per hit
Passive

No need to argue, one of the best orbs in the game... period. This is the skill that makes your enemies frustrated, and it's fun indeed seeing them rage.



Blink
Teleports self to target position with max range of 1000/1075/1150/1150
Cooldown: 12/9/7/5
Mana cost: 60

What most carries lack is an escape-skill. And Anti-Mage has a great one, with only one level of this you have a range of 1000 which makes it superior to others, like Queen of Pains blink.
Keep in mind that if you blink above maximum range you will blink 4/5 of the range. There for start a single player match and practice that blink.



Spell Shield
Reduces magic damage by 10/20/30/40%
Passive

Perfectly suited skill. This is what makes you an anti-caster, while taking hardly no damage from spells you can whack heroes and burn their mana. And the best of all is that it stacks with other magic reducing items.



Mana Void
Deals 0.6/0.85/1.1 damage per mana point missing and stuns for 0.1/0.2/0.3 seconds
Cooldown: 70
Mana cost: 125/200/275

A devastating nuke. No more to say really, it speaks for it self. Prioritize intelligence heroes with it though, it will deal significantly much more damage then to a strength hero. When you use it be sure that it will be the killing blow because you'll need the gold, and if someone tries to TP into safety, use it, it has a mini-stun which breaks channelling abilities for a reason.


e) ROLE
Magina should be picked when you're against a team of nukers, specially when they are INT, and your team is lacking a carry, oh and I almost forgot, if you're up against a Medusa, Anti-Mage is a great pick and can easily out carry her. And those are the only reasons why he should be picked really, because there are much better carries. But the reason why you will pick him is probably that you wan't to f**k shit up, just for teh lulz.

Anti-Mage has one very important role, and that's carrying. Although he can gank very good with a team-mate, his job is to stay in lane and farm as much as possible. So here's a list of what you'll be doing.

1. Farming
2. Farming
3. Farming
4. Farming some more
5. Trying to kill someone
6. Farming some more
7. Slaughtering and winning the game




III. SKILLBUILD

Level 1 - Blink
Level 2 - Mana Break
Level 3 - Mana Break
Level 4 - Blink
Level 5 - Mana Break
Level 6 - Mana Void
Level 7 - Mana Break
Level 8 - Spell Shield
Level 9 - Blink
Level 10 - Spell Shield
Level 11 - Mana Void
Level 12 - Spell Shield
Level 13 - Blink
Level 14 - Spell Shield
Level 15 - Stats
Level 16 - Mana Void
Level 17+ - Stats


a) JUSTIFICATION

Blink is always picked first, no matter what. Anything can go wrong.

Mana Break is always maxed first.
It's your best spell, and it's really strong early game.

Remember that this is best to get that early first blood. Hence the two levels of blink and mana break maxed.

If you are harassed and out laned. Pick what skill fits you best. If you're up against a lot of nukers, go defensive (Spell shield and Stats). I can not decide what you should pick, and you should NEVER pick skills right of the bat from a guide. Choose what's best for you.



IV. ITEMS


Magic Wand
+3 all attributes
Energy Charge (active)
It's certainly not a coincidence why all pros buy this imbalanced item. Burst HP and Mana gain will save you more thank you think.


TP-scroll
Teleport (active)
The most important item in the game. You shouldn't leave the base without one.


Power Treads - Strength
+60 movement speed
+10 selected attribute
+25 attack speed
Switch Attribute (active)
Standard item on Anti-Mage, I don't recommend getting any other type of "boots" because you need the +10 Strength for survivability purposes. The +25 ASPD is just a bonus. Although late game you can sell them and pick up some Boots of Travel for map control.


a) STARTING ITEMS


Quelling Blade: 225
Stout Shield: 250
Tangoes: 90
Total: 565 gold
A perfect starting build for easier last hits, being a bit tanky, and hp-regen.



Tangoes: 180
Stout Shield: 250
GG-branches: 159
Total: 589 gold
If you're a fantastic last hitter and just wants to stay in lane as long as possible.


b) EARLY GAME

or

Now start thinking about if you want to make that Stout Shield either into Poor Mans Shield or Vanguard. But before you do that. Look at the enemy team. What kind of heroes do they have? Many physical-attack heroes, or just a few? And ask yourself if you're having a good start and if you can farm easily.

If you don't know what physical-attack heroes are. It's heroes that depend on their attacks only. Heroes like Troll, Mortred, Void, Nerubian Weaver, Chaos Knight etc.

If they have many of those and you have a great farm then the choice is made, you should go for Vanguard. But make use of that Vanguard, farm A LOT, farm in the forest especially. Or that gold would go to waste. Because buying a Vanguard delays your late game items. If you're choice is still Vanguard... pick up the Ring of Health first.



If you're being harassed heavily, and can't farm at all. Either ask for a lane switch or just pick a Poor Mans Shield, skill some points in Stats, and Spell Shield. If you do decide to go for PMS, don't buy the Vanguard later because of the bad start. It will just delay your items even more.






This is what you'll be aiming for...


... or if you decided to go for a fast Vanguard.


Do not hesitate in buying these if you're doing poorly.

If it's too dangerous in lane, try farming in the woods.
Even though Magina can't jungle as good as other heroes early game, he could manage quite well with a QB and Stout Shield/PMS and a strategy called Choke-Point Jungling 


c) MID GAME


+26 Agility
+10 Strength
+10 Intelligence
+15 attack speed
+10% movement speed
Mirror Image (active)

Now when you probably have your core for early game, you should thinking about what your next item will be. The item that you'll be aiming for is of course Manta Style. Because Manta is the best DPS-increasing item there is. And you get 2 more illusions that can also burn mana. But what should you go first? Yasha or Ultimate Orb?

or

Now, it may sound boring and stupid to you, but you should ask yourself these questions again. How am I doing? How is my farm? How is my enemies farm? If you're doing well, and your farm is good then you should buy Yasha. If you aren't doing well but your farm is still OK, but the enemies farm is better you might want to buy the more defensive item, Ultimate Orb. Keep in mind that since the nerf of Maginas STR-gain he has trouble surviving, so it's definitely not a bad choice. Although sometimes the best defense is offense as a wise man once said (*cough* Merlini *cough*)





If you don't have this by level 16, your team needs to do some serious turtling or you will not be able to carry your team, and turtling basically means, defend as best as they can, don't push and let you get most of the farm, so you can finish your next item of choice, possibly the Basher. Because it provides kind of a disable, and with "kind of a disable" I mean that it's quite unreliable, but a 1.4 seconds bash isn't something you should laugh about. Especially when it can kick in again after 2 seconds.


+30 damage
+6 Strength
Bash (passive)


d) LATE GAME / CONSIDERED ITEMS



Now when you have your late game core items, and this is where the game usually ends, but if for some reason it doesn't you should think wisely what your next few items will be, because you'll be selling the Vanguard and TP-scroll.


+10 Strength
+24 damage
Avatar (active)

Usually a must for a carry like yourself. But analyze your opponents yet again. Do they have disables? Which they probably do, then this item is definitely worth buying. Because it grants you 10/9/8/7/6/5 seconds of magic immunity (starting with 10, and decreasing by 1 second every time it's used, 5 sec minimum) If you have no use of it though, skip it.



+80 damage
+15 attack speed
True Strike (passive)
Mini-Bash (passive)

This is the most important choice you probably will have to make. Does your enemies have some sort of evasion? If they do, then this item should be picked up earlier, even before the basher. Because it counters their evasion and is game changing.




+60 damage
Burn Damage (passive)

Now you might say: "WHAT? Magina isn't a good Radiance-carrier", but bare with me, I'll explain. How many times have you blinked after heroes that are trying to run away with low hp and only dealt a couple of hits? Many.. I guess. While chasing heroes which you can do pretty well, you will deal a great amount of damage with Radiance. But you will be focused if you do actually get this, there for I recommend of getting some survivability items first, like Vanguard, BKB, anything that gives you more HP pretty much.



Vampiric Aura (passive)
Damage Aura (passive)
Armor Aura (passive)
Mana Regeneration Aura (passive)

I have seen this item so many times as the first item on Magina (and on many other heroes). Now I'm not saying it's a bad item, the problem is that you have few slots left (late game), and this should rather be picked up by another player on your team. And the only time this should be picked up is either really late game, or early as possible if you're going for a push-strategy (which you're not likely doing, because... what are you doing here then).
Lifesteal isn't that great, the real benefits come from the other auras.



+75 damage
Critical Strike (passive)

Although your illusions also have a chance to crit, this item is very unreliable and not the best choice in my opinion. I don't recommend it. But it does increases your DPS by a lot. So you shouldn't count it out.



+40 strength
+300 hit points
Health Regeneration (passive)

If you need survivability... keep the Vanguard. Unfortunately with recent nerfs of HoT it's just not worth the money now. But If you feel that you want to last longer in battles, buy it, because it still provides a large health pool.



+95 movement speed
Teleport (active)

Full inventory, and it's really late into the game? Sell the PT and get these.


e) REJECTED ITEMS


+65 damage
+6 HP/sec regeneration
+150% mana regeneration
Cleave (passive)

It may seem feasty earlier in the game for easymode farming, but remember you're a late game hero, and Battlefury doesn't scale good into late game, and most of all, your images don't benefit from it, at all.



+40 attack speed
+10 armor
Attack Speed Aura (passive)
Positive Armor Aura (passive)
Negative Armor Aura (passive, enemies)

Even though it gives a great attack speed boost, some really nice auras Anti-Mage shouldn't buy it. It is much better to buy Butterfly for example and get aspd, evasion, +30 damage, and +30 AGI (which the illusions benefit from as well.) If you magically find it in the forest, put it on a crow and fly it around you, and by that I mean someone else on your team can gladly buy one and help out.




+250 damage

How fat you may be (in-game), don't buy it. Divine Rapier shouldn't be bought just for fun. It should be bought when your team is in need for desperate measures and this is the last option to win.



V. ALLIES & ENEMIES

ALLIES
Everyone

ENEMIES
EVERYONE

Yes, how is that for originality. Basically every single hero is good in it's own way, one hero more than another. But everyone can assist you, and everyone could be a threat to you. Fear everyone and no one, don't underestimate your enemies or yourself.

The ones that you should look out for though:


What did you expect. He can pretty much counter every single hero. And by not putting every hero that can silence and mess you up, I'm going to mention that you look out for silencers.


Heroes that could possibly out carry you if better farmed. Except Naga Siren, she can DEFINITELY out carry you.



And last but not least...
Yeah... not so tough now are you.
But seriously, pay attention to Linken-wearers. There is two ways of countering them by yourself. One being you get an Urn of Shadows, and the other being targeting the ultimate on another hero. Because the Linken only blocks targeted spells. Or just be smart, and ask a team-mate to come along and gank with you. That's the easiest way.