"How to" play mid as Topson Rubick: best Dota 2 games
What's inside
In 7.31, Rubick got a new Aghanim's Scepter upgrade, which now grants twice Spell Steal of the hero's last skill, and stolen spells last longer on enemies. So, Topias Miikka demonstrates that the motto "The Wizard from Finland" (Topson's Motherland) truly displays his desire to show performance to the high-MMR public. Today we survey one of his livestream games, where Topson metamorphoses typical pos-4,5 Rubick into "mini Invoker" and surprises opponents with his mongoose reaction and art of juking.
Initial mid-stage
Chad starts with four Ironwood Branches, Tango, and Faerie fire. It grants Rubick missing strength and agility stats and boosts attack rate to secure the last hit. Further, he holds a position on his high ground, which grants him additional 25% evasion. Matchup against mid-Pangolier, who spams Swashbuckle + Shield Crush, forces Chad to purchase Magic Wand firstly to collect HP/MP charges for the future counterattack. At min 2:00, Topson activates Cliff fortification to outpace Pango and get one level more, so he can control the Water Rune on both sides of the River. Water runes spawn at 2:00 and 4:00 minute.
The next item in Rubick stash is a Bottle. Topson does as much as possible to control the first power rune in 6:00 minutes. It expands gank potential for the mid-player, especially for Rubick, who has 3-4 key-press active spells. Topson bids on Fade Bolt maxing, which allows Rubick to put a lot of pressure on Pango. Spell is also great for split-pushing and farming. In addition to damage, Fade Bolt inflicts an attack reduction debuff, which is very effective in the early mid-stage to outfarm your opponent. Moreover, Chad acquires Power Treads instead of Arcane Boots and obtains Null Talisman, which empowers his survival capacity.
Fast Aghanim's Scepter
The ability to steal pair spells is comic. Hero, who has three disables or even three nukes, stuns, buffs. Topson's Rubick is a "one-man-combo-machine." Opponents pick Mars, TA, Grim, Pango, and Lich = 18 spells for stealing permanently. Remember that all stolen spells have additional spell amplification, which transfers a unique hero effect to Rubick. And the sooner he buys Aghs, and the sooner Rubick can do what he wants with enemies. Triple magical damage + Arcane Supremacy passive effect + AS spell amplify grant full control over opponents' cores.
Dire team has Mirana and Magnus in a single pick, which means unstoppable gank the whole map. Topson acts like Puck. He plays for the first 25 minutes due to procasting and then goes into hand-damage and Black King Bar. Topson manages ally and uses voice micro: "Oversee your position," "Do not chase deep base", "Save Blink", and "We've covered" - this is the most difficult task when you are playing the Rubick because you need to deal damage, but not uncover yourself. Topson advisedly forces teammates to impose mass fights so that he can steal high-destruction spells, like Chain Frost or Arena of Blood. In this case, Chad's team has an advantage; a variety of active spells leave no chance to outperform the Dire team without Black King Bar, Lotus Orb, or Force Staff. Topson realized it and abused them for their own team goals.
Final notes
While Dire team kites opponents around the map, Anti-Mage farms and stashes items to end the game solo. Finally, Topson acquires Aghanim's Shard, which reduces cooldown when targeting self, ally, or enemies. Late game Rubick playstyle is not much different from other stages. Due to his ability to steal spells, you need to buy a Blink Dagger. Topson chose BKB to avoid any physical or magical obstacles during the fight. Dire team trapped Lich and Mars near Ward rock in min 30:00; thus, the high ground last push 3x5 ended in favor of Dire.
Despite Topson's retirement, he tweets that he feels already rested and ready to resume a professional Dota 2 career, most likely missing TI11. Still, maybe next year we'll see a famous Rubick performance by Giga Chad.
