New PA build: Vanguard

Vanguard on Anti-Mage is great because spell shield makes him almost immune to magic damage (even more with 250 HP), and vanguard makes him extremely resistant to physical damage in the early game as well. So you get an ultra-tanky AM that can fight effectively, and is extremely hard to gank while farming.

I really don't see the analogy with PA. Damage block doesn't synergize with a skill that gives 50% evasion in any way. Nor does it synergize with a blink whose only purpose is to snowball off of 4-shotting people.

I have not tried it, but I've seen several PA's in my team try it. Let's just say they weren't 23-1... more like the opposite. PA's critting for 230 damage...what has dota come to.

I'm going to equate Vanguard PA to another hero with a similar idea behind getting Vanguard; Faceless Void.

It's basically a given now that Waga void works, and works scarily well. I think I've got a 100% winrate with it, or close to? And that's just my experience.

Anyway, I could literally write an essay on how different builds pertain to how carries play, and timing windows, and all of that juicy theory stuff, but I'll try and keep it short because it's 1:30am down here.

Vanguard and Radiance work on Void because of their synergy with his skill set. Time Walk makes him exceedingly tanky, and Time Dilation and Time Lock excel in drawn-out teamfights because Void is constantly there, backtracking damage, freezing cooldowns and interrupting the flow of combat. It's this utility that makes him such a good lategame carry, and that's not even counting how a Chronosphere can completely swing a fight. So, Vanguard gives Void the raw HP to allow him to get off Time Walk, and Radiance applies yet another effect to disrupt teamfights through the burn and miss chance.

Contrast this with Phantom Assassin - her entire toolkit appears to revolve around jumping on someone, bursting them down in 4 hits and then getting out to repeat again. Although your average lategame PA will be throwing her weight around in a teamfight, her skillset doesn't allow this in the early and midgame. Vanguard, yes, does alleviate her squishiness - but at the cost of all her damage, meaning she can't snowball, meaning she'll get outcarried. Essentially, it's an item that covers her weaknesses, rather than playing into her strengths, and it doesn't even provide utility the way it can on Void. Notably, this is the only reason that Manta PA is rarely a thing even if I do it whenever I'm unfortunate enough to random that useless turd of a hero - Manta doesn't allow you to 3-shot people. And nor does Vanguard.

Contrast this with Phantom Assassin - her entire toolkit appears to revolve around jumping on someone, bursting them down in 4 hits and then getting out to repeat again. Although your average lategame PA will be throwing her weight around in a teamfight, her skillset doesn't allow this in the early and midgame. Vanguard, yes, does alleviate her squishiness - but at the cost of all her damage, meaning she can't snowball, meaning she'll get outcarried. Essentially, it's an item that covers her weaknesses, rather than playing into her strengths, and it doesn't even provide utility the way it can on Void. Notably, this is the only reason that Manta PA is rarely a thing even if I do it whenever I'm unfortunate enough to random that useless turd of a hero - Manta doesn't allow you to 3-shot people. And nor does Vanguard.

Vanguard on Anti-Mage is great because spell shield makes him almost immune to magic damage (even more with 250 HP), and vanguard makes him extremely resistant to physical damage in the early game as well. So you get an ultra-tanky AM that can fight effectively, and is extremely hard to gank while farming.

I really don't see the analogy with PA. Damage block doesn't synergize with a skill that gives 50% evasion in any way. Nor does it synergize with a blink whose only purpose is to snowball off of 4-shotting people.

I have not tried it, but I've seen several PA's in my team try it. Let's just say they weren't 23-1... more like the opposite. PA's critting for 230 damage...what has dota come to.