A CHALLENGER APPEARS: CAPTAIN'S DRAFT!!
Since IceFrog implemented -Captain's Draft mode, it has been met with much confusion and shrouded in a fog of mystery. I am here to cut through the haze with the shining sword of knowledge.
I present to you three example -cd mode games - each randomly generated using 6.67c DotA.
For each draft, we will discuss key bans and picks, as well as combos to consider when playing this mysterious (and relatively) new mode.
To provide the in-depth analysis, I recruited a well-known and highly respected team captain--
na_no of EDGE, FYC, and now 7even Gaming fame.
Draft 1 -- aka The Ring of Fire
Take note of the Doom Bringer, Alchemist, and Ancient Apparition among others...
na_no: Bans here could be AA, Alchemist, Doom, CK, NA.
Ancient Apparition - Very imbalanced mostly because his ult, he can stop any lane from pushing and it has a very short cooldown-- it's kinda like a Clockwerk Rocket on crack. I haven't played him much, but his other skills seem very imbalanced also.
glocks: It's key to note that -cd gives access to heroes not available in -cm, and AA is a perfect example: picking him might give you a large advantage, namely the element of surprise. I doubt that most teams know how to properly fight against this hero.
na_no: Alchemist - Undeniably the fastest farmer in the game. Even if you don't get goblin greed early, acid spray allows him to stay in lane and is just overall very good in team fights also. He can farm a very fast Vanguard which makes him pretty much unkillable with Vanguard + his ult. I believe some of the best heroes in the game are the ones that can farm super fast while being able to gank at the same time, and Alchemist's skills allow him to do just that.
Doom - Also a hero that can farm very fast. He has the ability to keep a hero out of a team fight which can be game breaking and with his new ability to get a skill from a creep, he can be useful in ganks too.
Chaos Knight - 5 second stun + VS swap anyone? With a couple bracers and strength treads this hero becomes a monster-- amazing ganker and useful throughout the entire game.
Nerubian Assassin - Mana Burn just rapes and with his new skill (Urna Swarm) he can keep enemy heroes silenced a very long time if microed properly. He can also just use them as vision. Great ganker and with his new Mana Burn he can be useful late game especially against heroes with massive intelligence.
glocks: Don't overlook Pugna here-- his Nether Ward can work wonders against light casters that your enemy may take here: Lina, Shadow Priest, or Puck. Also his Decrepify can provide a quick save if the opponent takes a physical damage-centered team.
na_no: Depending on the bans, heroes in this pool that could make a good line up would be:
Shadow Fiend solo
Puck + NA lane
Veno + CK lane
There aren't many heroes in the pool that can solo a Shadow Fiend, and all of the heroes in this line up can gank. Also, there is a good amount of AoE (SF, Puck, Veno) to be successful in team fights.
Draft 2 -- aka Circle of Doom
Take note of the Alchemist and Magnataur, among others...
na_no: Bans to look out for here are NA, Alchemist, Clinkz, Tide.
Tide - Has one of the best AoE spells in the game that you CAN'T MISS (unless you're Lust jk :p) and can also be a good roamer with Gush.
Clinkz - Very strong hero this version with the ability to orb walk at level 3, he can outharrass pretty much any heroin the game in lane during early game phases. His buffed ult provides him with a potential +100 dmg and +1000 hp.
glocks: Gondar might be considered here as well. There's not a ton of support to lane him with, which might prove difficult, but his Track ultimate might come in very handy against heroes like Clinkz, TA, NA, Stealth Assassin, or even Sand King.
This game will be decided by farming and counter picking-- the support role is almost non-existent here.
na_no: Assuming these four heroes are banned a good line up here would consist of:
Sven + PotM lane
Lanaya, Tinker, or Wind Runner solo
glocks: Don't forget Wind Runner's namesake skill-- avoiding physical damage will be key here, considering that's how 90% of these heroes will be dealing their damage.
na_no: Veno with either Panda, Juggernaut, or Ursa
Sven + PotM is overall just a very good lane and Sven's 2 second stun should be more than enough to set up a nice 3-5 second arrow. Both of these heroes are also useful throughout the entire game.
As mentioned above, I believe a strong hero is one that has the ability to solo/farm while being able to gank and Lanaya, Tinker, and WR are able to do just that.
Veno is the obvious choice to lane here while Ursa, Panda, Jugg will depend on how the picks roll out. Ursa would be ideal here though seeing how there aren't too many disables in this pool.
Draft 3 -- aka The Field of Champions
Take your own goddamn notes for this one...
na_no: Bans/First picks to look out for: Broodmother, Beastmaster, ClinkzBroodmother - Even though there are some anti push in this pool,
BM is still a great hero. IMO she doesn't NEED to be used for only pushes but just has a very dominant presence in laning phase and even in team fights once she has BKB. The fact that she can push very fast only makes her a better hero, you take your eyes off her for a few minutes and you can expect
a tower or two down.
Beastmaster - Pretty much free maphack with the Hawk and with a very powerful ultimate and slow from boar, this hero is really a pain to play against. Great ganker and basically a free kill when lvl 6 with assist.
Assuming Brood, Beast, Clinkz are banned a good line up can consist of (assuming sent):
Drow + Ogre (roam) bot
Rhasta/WR/Zeus solo mid
Lion + PL/Skeleton/TC top
Keep in mind lanes can depend on what enemy heroes have...
Although it may seem obvious, it is important to plan ahead and know that you will have enough stuns/disables/DPS at the end of picks. With this line up we have Drow (the best dps in the pool) as the main carry and enough stuns/disables to keep the other team busy in fights while Drow farms.
Another way to go with this pool is to do a push strat:
Death Prophet + Omniknight top
Rhasta mid
Sniper + Ogre/Abbadon bot
Just make sure to ban anti-push/turtle with Pitlord/Mag.
glocks: Don't forget about Dirge when talking push/anti-push. Tombstone is a very powerful skill, and if your opponent takes a caster-heavy lineup (Lion, Puck, Rhasta, Zeus), the Zombies can do a ton of damage before the Tombstone goes down.
So there you have it, folks: three drafts analyzed and inspected by our own na_no.
NADS would like to thank na_no~ for his time and effort.
So what do you think -- do you agree/disagree with the strategies outlined here? or do you have an innovative idea of your own?
Comments
instead it turned into: "ban tide because he has strong aoe ult" ????
the only cd specific things said were a) new heroes are in cd mode! (which is common sense, but good to put in), b) ursa might be good since this pool has low disables.
it outlines why heroes are picked competitively, instead of why heroes should be picked in CD, and how cd is different than cm, because imo theres much different though processes and pick processes in cd than cm, but this issue was not outlined.
i still think it is well written, and a good topic though, i think it could have come through a bit better
Also, many aspirations for this article were chopped to the cutting room floor, unfortunately.
lol jk