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Magnus' pick rate in Dota 2 has risen significantly since before the TI 10.
Magnus was the top contested off-laner in the primary stage meta and the second-highest picked hero overall. With a 72% win rate in the main stage, Magnus' performance in the TI 10 main event far surpasses previous meta offlaners of Dota 2, such as Mars.
The real reason that Magnus has become so popular in pubs is likely Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov's performance on the hero. With his high-range Skewers, he was a big factor behind Team Spirit's successful lower bracket run, right up to the decisive match of the grand finals.
Magnus' Horn Toss almost certain to be nerfed in the upcoming Dota 2 update
Their ultimate abilities define most team fighting heroes in Dota 2: Tidehunter by Ravage, Enigma by Black Hole, etc. Likewise, Magnus' Reverse Polarity is a long, immunity-piercing, area-of-effect disability. However, Magnus is powerful in Dota 2 7.30 because he does not need to play around with his Reverse Polarity, thanks to Horn Toss.
As evident from Collapse's escapades with the rest of Team Spirit, Magnus can actively fish for stray targets to blink, Horn Toss and then Skewer into his team. Thanks to two lvl 15 and lvl 20 talents that reduce Skewer cooldown and increase its range, this combo can abduct enemies from almost 1700 units away.
Laning phase and early game
Collapse almost always starts with two Gauntlets of Strength purely for the stats. He never builds them into a Soul Ring, instead opting for Arcane Boots for mana sustain. The rules for skill build is as follows: skill up Skewer first if there is kill potential in the lane, go for Empower otherwise. Irrespective of lanes, Collapse maxes out Empower with one point in Skewer and Shockwave and builds a Headdress before Arcane Boots.
The regular way to play offlane on Magnus is to push out waves with Empower and then clear out the two camps nearby. In the current Dota 2 meta, the safelane tier-1 is always the first to fall. At this point, Magnus takes over the enemy jungle, much like a Venomancer.
Item build and usage
The only two required items to pull off the Horn Toss-Skewer combo efficiently is Blink and Aghanim's Shard. Collapse pads out his item build primarily to accentuate this combo further, to wit:
- Blink Dagger
- Aghanim's Shard
- Mekansm / Helm of The Dominator
- Force Staff
- Aether Lens
- Black King Bar
Collapse does not tank up on Magnus other than the Mekansm or Helm of The Dominator. When he is focused, he uses the force of staff to get out of the center of attention and looks for an angle to re-engage the team fight for efficient ability usage.
This article reflects the opinions of the writer.
