It has almost been a month since 7.32b dropped. If you are still navigating through the murky waters of this new patch, you are not alone. With the conclusion of the TI11 regional qualifiers, many teams have shaped, tested, and pushed the limits of the current meta. Alas, there were two heroes that stood out the most–Marci and Undying.
Marci grows stronger, again
Marci and Undying underwent some major changes. For Marci, Valve gave her the Earth Spirit treatment where two of her skills had their effects swapped. The Dispose stun switched places with the Rebound slow. Many considered this as a nerf at first. However, it slowly became apparent that this was actually a buff instead.
The former Marci forced you to time your skills, which could be challenging to accomplish. However, with Rebound being the stun skill, you can now initiate with ease without having to rush into Dispose. There is no need to simultaneously cast Dispose into Rebound, avoiding execution inefficiencies altogether. This also means that Blink Dagger is no longer essential for Marci. With the new Marci, players often opt for a straight Black King Bar or Skull Basher even when played as a support.
Undying literally can’t die
Undying on the other hand had a much simpler yet crucial update. His Decay no longer modifies both his and his opponents’ health when expired. In other words, any health gain or loss will not be reverted at the end of the Decay’s timer. Back then, Undying players sometimes found themselves in a shock after losing a massive chunk of their health during clashes only to realize too late that their Decay buff was over.
With the newly updated Undying, you can go into fights more confidently without the fear of suddenly dying in the middle of team fights. As for builds, it really depends on whether you are playing as a core or a support. Shard is his best item if played as a core. It allows him to summon zombies for every hit on enemies. Paired with Echo Sabre, Undying can dish out insurmountable damage that slows. For supports, Holy Locket amplifies his heals to absurd levels that will surely frustrate opponents.
Undying standard build overview (Image via Dotabuff)
Why are the pros picking them?
Marci and Undying were not only the most picked heroes during the regional qualifiers but also the highest winning heroes. They appeared in more than 200 matches, boasting a win rate of over 54 percent. One of the biggest reasons they were picked often was the fact that they are highly versatile. Both can be played as hard carries, offlaners, and supports.
Some of the most sought-out and highest-performing combinations include Marci + Viper and Undying + Morphling. The Marci and Viper combo was picked 21 times in the qualifiers and had a 57% win rate whereas the Undying and Morphling combo was picked 15 times with a 53% winrate.
Marci and Undying quick stats during TI11 regional qualifiers (Image via Spectral Stats Hub)
Which team is making Marci and Undying work?
There were many incredible Marci and Undying plays across all regions during the qualifiers. Polaris’ Nikko “Force” Bilocura demonstrated surgical Armlet toggles on his Marci and clutched his way through a bind during a clash against T1. Despite being caught in Faceless Void’s Chronosphere under enemy tower, he successfully took two down.
Meanwhile, T1’s Anathan “ana” Pham created huge hype around his carry Undying. A fully decked-out Undying peered with the revered Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen Morphling dominated their match against RSG, showing the world what a pos1 Undying could do. In fact, ana was quite practiced in his role as a carry Undying. In a pub match, he scored a Rampage with his Undying and accumulated seven thousand health points.
Despite their outstanding performance, T1 and Polaris came short in securing a seat for TI11 from the regional qualifiers. However, they still have one more shot at the upcoming Last Chance Qualifiers. There are 12 teams that will be fighting over the two remaining slots in Singapore. This will surely be a bloodbath you do not want to miss, so be sure to check Esports.gg for all the details.
TI11 Last Chance Qualifier: All Teams, Groups and more details
The final qualifier for TI11 is on the horizon. From household names to Lower Division underdogs, here are all qualified teams that made it to the Last Chance Qualifier. UPDATE: Groups and Schedule are out!
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