Vanguard/Diffusal on Spectre

So I played a game with Spectre today and wouldn't you know, the son of a gun built a Vanguard and a Diffusal Blade! You know, the things that the default build tells you to build, but you skip over it to get your Radiance?

Now I get how the diffusal makes sense (If you build it after finishing Radiance), but the real head-scratcher for me is the Vanguard? Is there any situation where a Vanguard on Spectre makes sense? Or will it just be one of those items that delays your Radiance?

Note: This particular Spectre was not involved in early fights, rather, he was afk farming to the point it was basically 4v5. His involvement was limited to popping Haunt once or twice to steal-I mean, secure a few kills. I wouldn't have had a problem with this, but since he built the Vanguard and (level 2) Diffusal Blade before his Radiance, I was reasonably upset. But hey, I won.

The reason you buy Vanguard is because it makes you much more tanky. More tanky on Spectre = More damage you can output with Dispersion with the extra HP.

Vanguard/ Diffusal Blade Spectre is kind of old school but it's not a bad build. It's the "early fighting" Spectre build. The Vanguard increases your effective HP by a lot in the early game and it allows you to join fights as soon as you're level 6 without worrying about getting bursted down. And the diffusal gives you good illusion damage in teamfights.

People don't go for that build anymore because Vanguard is just not that good of an item (it gives no added value over what its components already do). There are arguably slightly better builds, but it doesn't make this build bad.

However both items are *completely incompatible* with going Radiance. If you go for early fighting Spectre, you skip radiance completely. Radiance is really a "rush it or forget it" item.

Vanguard Spectre is like Vanguard Anti-Mage...it's meant for early fighting. If you AFK farm with this kind of build you're a horrible player. Especially since the whole point of Spectre as a hero is that she can farm and fight at the same time just by pressing R.

I think the Vanguard build is a relic from the old Vanguard Anti-Mage, Doom, Slardar, etc.. Pretty much any core that wanted to tank up and join fights early on built a Vanguard..

However, these days, people opt for an Urn of Shadows or even a naked Bracer to give them some raw hp, and go Radiance.

The Diffusal Blade build is legit though, since I your Haunt illusions get full advantage from Desolate + Feedback from the diffusal. If you are skipping Radiance, I would go Phase Boots, Urn of Shadows, Yasha, Diffusal Blade, Manta Style, followed by either Heart of Tarrasque or Eye of Skadi depending on the game.

Short story? It sucks.

Long story? There is almost no reason to go Vanguard as it is ONLY the sum of its parts and Spectre's unlikely to upgrade to a Crimson Guard. Urn + Point Booster is much better, as you are tankier, have more utility, more mana and the booster will go into your Skadi eventually.

Diffusal is good depending on the game, but I find it falls off compared to other items.

Generally, your 6-slots will either be:
Butterfly-Travels-Heart-Diffusal-Abyssal-Manta
or
Butterfly-Travels-Manta-Abyssal-Skadi-Satanic.

and the latter is just better.