Rubick: In-Depth Post 6.81

i'd suggest adding rod of atos as luxury, since it gives rubick both int and hp.

Epicenter is another great ultimate to steal, but most Sand King players Burrowstrike soon after to initiate, so it can be a tricky ultimate to steal.

Very nice guide! Rubick is quickly becoming one of my favorite supports, if only because he's got the coolest clothes.

I'm working on it. I might update this guide next week, next month, or whenever. But right now I'm taking inputs from each comments / discussions, doing field tests on it, and stuffs like that. (Currently using Blink Dagger instead of Force Staff. I haven't been buying Aghanim for a while now. It seems as you get more experienced with Rubick, you will want/need Aghanim less. I haven't got the luxury of facing an Initiator-heavy team yet.)

But in general, there's only 2 skill builds for Rubick; 1 is the one I posted as 'Standard', the other is where you max Null Field early.

If anything, I'm still kind of confused at the difference between 'Core', 'Luxury' and 'Situational' items. I'm assuming Core means you must get the item, it's just that deeply ingrained with the hero, while Luxury is around the same as Situational?

Also still not very clear on the distinction of early, mid or late game. I read that it's decided by what's happening; early is basically the laning/farming phase, mid is when towers are getting pushed, and late is when you are pushing into enemy bases (or vice versa).

I think you should include some different item and skill build and Rubick can be played in a lot of different ways, but overall nice guide(which is becoming a rarity around here :/)

I agree on most, if not all points peppo- unless you're playing against a Bristleback and you're playing safelane support you probably won't need a starting item magic stick. Typically I don't grab both wards and courier on Rubick unless I'm solo-supporting a team (not recommended unless a jungler is involved with a solo-offlane), and early-game branches are almost vital due to Rubick's squishyness.
My personal preference is to grab courier or wards, then grab a set of tangos, Ring of Protection, and couple of Iron Branches, as the branches gives needed stats and build into a wand, and the +armor is useful for eating minor harass, while being able to dish it out with the regen from Ring of Basilius (picked up from side-shop).

I LOVE playing Rubick, and typically I never use Telekinesis more than a handful of times during the early laning phase due to the mana intensiveness of doing so (aside from cliff trapping, which is ALWAYS worth the mana cost). Arcane Boots are pretty much mandatory in the early-mid game due to that fact. Typically I grab Force Staff as a support more so than Blink Dagger as being able to manipulate positioning on anyone makes Rubick a painful adversary to deal with, despite the minor mana cost.

Rushing Aghanim's Scepter before mobility is really risky in a lot of situations, as despite Aghs giving a nice and large cushion for you to steal spells and buffing ultimates you manage to snatch, it doesn't do much for situations where you get focused. Really it's only worth it in situations where the enemy is careless with powerful ultimates that can be buffed by Aghs (Lion, Warlock, etc), and pays for itself quickly enough to purchase the mobility you're sacrificing. Most of the time it's not a great idea to give up mobility unless you can hold your ground where you're at in almost any given situation.
Generally as Rubick utility spells for stuns/nukes or heals will suffice to at least satisfy your role or turn the tide of a fight- For example working extremely hard and wasting time waiting to steal a Tidehunter ultimate could be time you could be using to steal a simple Burrowstrike or Storm Hammer to satisfy the needs of a teamfight.

I have never played the Null Field build, but I would assume it would really only useful in laning situations where you and your carry are being nuked by heavy magic damage (Zeus/Crystal Maiden lane for example), but having never tried it I can't really say much.


Also the speed boost from Track is always nice and also noteworthy.

Good guide, but there are three things (2, most notably) I disagree with. The first one is the starting set: I'd never buy a Magic Stick from the beginning of the game since you will need at least a Clarity to refill after a gank attempt. I usually go Tango + Healing Salve + Clarity, or substitute the Salve with a Clarity and a Branch.

A more important problem is, in my opinion, the Urn of Shadows: as a Rubick your job is stealing spells, and delaying your Blink Dagger (or Force Staff if you prefer) by 800 gold makes you pick it much more later! I was even thinking about going brown Boots into Blink because of the buff of the Dagger but, much like Earthshaker, I think he still needs early mana. So, in general, I'd rather have Arcanes and Blink by 25 minutes than Arcanes, Urn and Blink by 30-35 minutes: it makes a lot of difference.

Third, I personally don't like the Aghanim's Scepter. I think the upgrade is pretty useless unless you have a lot of mana and an initiation tool, in fact there are very few supports that get so many benefits from an Agh's they can rush it ( Ancient Apparition and Visage are the only ones that pop off my mind at the moment). It won't take less than 40 minutes if going Arcanes and Urn before - that's why pro players usually go brown Boots into Agh's when rushing it on a support - and you'll probably lose or win the game by that time; plus you won't have a Blink Dagger/ Force Staff so you'll be susceptible to burst damage unless your positioning is perfect.


So, while the guide is detalied and the skill build is perfect (you even mention the Null Field build that very few people use!), I think it's too focused on the early game: a Rubick played this way has less mid game potential, unless your carry gives Rubick the possibility to get some farm. But it's still very nice as you talk about the Blink Dagger, which is core on Rubick most of the time but isn't even mentioned in the top rated builds.

Good guide that is detailed. Even explain who is easy and hard to steal from.