Core Leshrac Pre-6.84: Is it even viable?

So a long time ago I liked Mid Leshrac. Lightning Storm is very underrated, its such a good spell.

But only now it is after the Slow duration is increased did people complain about him being OP. What about before? Was Leshrac OP before this patch? I feel like he is just noticed this patch and is actually strong before.

Thoughts?

Biggest reason lesh is op now is because of the amount of damage he can pull out, even in lategame. Problem is, he is so squishy and his stun is so damn hard to hit. Slow time increase helped so much in landing his stuns, his lightning area also is crazy now. And his weakness of squishyness is reduced a lot by octarine core, so much that he can run in and not worry about dying as much as before. Melee carries used to be able to kill lesh before they get killed because of lesh being squishy in nature, but with the addition of octarine core, that is no longer the case.

In short, his slow time increase and the addition of octarine core is what made him op this meta. He was strong before the meta, but now he is just plain OP.

He was considered trash last patch, primarily because what was deemed a pushing support had no place in a ricing meta. He was in that horrible somewhere between a core and support zone, without being a viable offlaner.

6.84 buffs helped him, but so did the meta change, and of course the Octarine Core.

I had played him a couple of times as a mid, but not in a teamfight oriented style. More of a split pusher that clears waves and buildings very fast.

Lesh got a lot of experimentation in prior patches. For as long as I've been watched DOTA (Early 6.80), he's never been that good, but he's been pciked up in a load of places; You saw him usually as like a paired support with Shadow Demon for a few patches, but he gradually got more attention in a core role. Mostly safe lane, not mid-lane.

I think if the meta hadn't been what it was in 6.83 he'd have seen some love, because the hero was still pretty strong then (His 6.84 buffs were pretty big, the cast time change, and making his slow scale as well as Octarine Core). But it definately wasn't as viable an option pre 6.84, and won't be post 6.84 either.

1. Meta change: Lesh has low cooldown spells, thus fits in the "kill everyone all the time" meta
2. Octarine Core
3. Lightning Storm now perfectly sets up Split Earth.

It's partly the meta change and partly because of a couple of new items, Octarine Core and Glimmer Cape.

Pre 6.84 meta was all about physical damage carries - Troll Warlord, Sniper, Juggernaut, etc that could wreck Leshrac since he's pretty squishy.

6.84 countered those meta heroes pretty hard with the addition of Winter Wyvern and Glimmer Cape. Those heroes can no longer right click with impunity, since WW is a super anti-rightclick hero. A Leshrac is no longer that squishy with an Octarine Core and a WW backing him up.

Pre 6.84, Leshrac was just way too squishy as a core, and way too greedy as a support.

better slow = being able to land stun + O.Core makes him really good.