Dota 2: Top Picks and Bans at DreamLeague Season 11

DreamLeague Season 11 Major is over and Vici Gaming are the champions. As the dust settles, it’s time to take a look at some of the most popular heroes from the tournament. You should keep in mind that literally on the same day, a new patch was released – 7.21d. This means that some of the heroes mentioned here will not be as popular as they were a few days ago.

The data for this article is from DotaBuff.

Top Picks

Oracle

As expected, Oracle takes the crown for the most picked hero with 34 total picks. But what makes him so popular nowadays?

Probably his biggest strength is the fact that he is very good against some of the top meta heroes right now. Oracle has a spell that can purge Ion Shell, Necro’s Ghost Shroud, and many more annoying spells that can turn around a team-fight. What’s more, the hero also does a significant amount of damage, which makes him good for various aggressive moves.

For better or worse, IceFrog decided that it was time to unleash the nerf hammer upon Oracle. In 7.21d, his big ultimate (False Promise) received three nerfs – longer CD, more mana cost, and a reduced cast range.

In my opinion, these nerfs won’t probably “kill” him but they will undoubtedly affect his popularity. The hero will slowly fade away once there is a big meta shift in terms of Core heroes.

Shadow Shaman

With 33 picks in total, Shadow Shaman gets second place for the most picked hero at DreamLeague Season 11.

Rhasta has always been in the spotlight throughout the years but he is definitely at his peak right now. One of the main reasons for that is the amazing CC that he provides. That’s why some players buy a BKB as a second item, just so they can get the full duration of Shackles.

Another very popular item is Aether Lens. As soon as you get to level 15 and you have Aether Lens, you can cast a hex from miles away. When you combine that with a Blink Dagger, your enemy can’t really do much.

Another big plus for SS is his pushing capabilities. We saw many games during the Major where some Shaman players split-pushed very effectively. That’s why the hero fits very well with all those pushing and “in-your’-face” lineups.

In terms of nerfs in 7.21d, SS only received a -2 base Int reduction. Despite that, I believe that he will still remain one of the most popular support heroes for the upcoming tournaments.

Top Bans

Chen

Receiving 73 bans during the tournament, Chen takes the number one spot. This is definitely not a surprise, considering the current state of the meta.

He provides good lane harassment, as well as immense pushing power. On top of that, the hero does not really need much in terms of farm, which makes him one of the best pos 5 supports right now. When you combine that with his healing capabilities, it’s easy to see why teams are so afraid of him.

In 7.21d, Chen’s Divine Favour duration was reduced during the first 3 levels of the spell. However, I don’t think that this will have that much of an impact on his popularity.

Team Secret is probably one of the teams that always try to get their hands on Chen. After all, Puppey plays the hero to near perfection.

Lifestealer

The second place in terms of bans is occupied by probably the top carry in the current meta. Naix has been on the rise ever since 7.21. The hero is very good against all Strength heroes. On top of that, Lifestealer can combo very well with other heroes. A good example is Storm Spirit, especially since he keeps getting buffed in every patch.

In the latest update, the CD of Rage is increased by two seconds but I don’t think that is enough to “force” Naix out of the meta. This will most likely happen once the meta shifts, which should be the case when patch 7.22 comes out.

Pangolier

In third place but definitely not last is Pangolier, one of the most annoying heroes to play against. Besides picks, the hero also gets third place in terms of bans.

Pango has evolved a lot since his introduction to Dota 2. Once a definite offlaner, he is currently slowly taking over the mid lane. Probably the most notable team that does this is Virtus.Pro. Usually Pango is a pretty good mid, however as Vici Gaming proved, some heroes are very powerful against him and pretty much completely shut him down. This was the case in game three when the Chinese picked Bloodseeker. Ori gave No[o]ne pretty much zero chances to make plays throughout the game.

Pangolier probably received one of the biggest nerfs in 7.21d. His Lucky Shot (passive) can no longer apply both silence and disarm at the same time. On top of that, the proc chance is down from 20 to 17%. The other change is to his ult – on level 3 it will require 200 mana instead of 100.

I believe that these changes will unquestionably have a huge impact on his popularity. Only time will tell if Pango will remain in the meta. If you ask me, he will be taking a break for a while.

Next up, ESL One Mumbai

The next big tournament will be ESL One Mumbai. The event starts on the 16th of April and unless something big happens, 7.21d will be the game patch. If you missed any of the action from DreamLeague make sure to check our highlights from each day. Also, feel free to follow us on Twitter for the latest Dota 2 news.