Time to Talk About: Leshrac

so im starting a new series called "Time to Talk About"

basically its a discussion thread for meta heroes and how and why they arrived in meta and ways to counter AND play them to their fullest.

This time i want to talk about Leshrac the rainbow pony of death and annoyance.

Pre meta he wasnt picked much because of his hard to land stun low hp pool and his ultimate being countered by bkb (pretty much 90% of his skills countered by bkb) also it was a physical damage meta.

another reason was that he feel into the same hole as omni and undying. where and how to lane them.

i feel he came into meta through 4 changes.

1. the lightening storm slow duration buff meant that you could now reliably land a split earth by yourself. this meant his mid lane presence just exploded. you no longer needed any help in lane.

2.Octarine core made him viable late game wth the massive amounts of magic damage output he can do he is one of a few heroes that can man fight a team a win. it also tanks him up a bit which is something that is needed.

3. Glimmer cape is insanely good early game for you to deal your damage for a short duration free of any from of damage taken.

4. Early game deathballers with the ability to be great late game. heroes with the ability to take a tower by themselves very quickly is kinda in meta atm (DK lesh) but both heroes have strong teamfight and solo kill potential as well as late game presence. the requiremnt of all rounders in the mid and core position have made it possible for lesh to come back into meta.


Thoughts?

What are some ways to deal with a leshrac?

disagree on any points?

why do you think he came into meta?

He got immortal only reason he's in meta kappa

ok, i agree with all your points, and you deal with him just by getting a BKB. Of course you can make him not as dangerous by ganking him early, he is so squishy its sad.

That stupid ****ing horse, i would rather face a team of techies, undying and pre patch troll than face a single leshrac now. He is just so annoying wherever he is.

I think the main reason he is picked up now is because of the octarine core. Leshrac in the past was a hero much like zeus. He can deal out a ton of damage even in the lategame, except he can deal even more than zeus, but he has to be in the centre of the teamfight to deal the most damage, unlike zeus. That meant that he was very prone to being focused down, and since he doesn't have a very high str gain, and doesn't have a tendency to build hp items, he is relatively easy to take down. But with the addition of Octarine core, He can now lifesteal from his spells. That is a HUGE buff to his lategame potential, since it helps with his biggest problem in the lategame.

Counter to leshrac is still the same, a bkb blocks 95% of his damage, but now you need to kill him while your bkb is still active or he will easily kill you after your bkb duration ends.

I love leshrac. His wc3 model was cenarius who wouldn't love that badass!

Seriously though gank him early. The only best way to deal with him.

I love casters/mages always. So, I am kinda biased.

btw masaaki ive decided to do an indepth video of that captains game since there is a lot of stuff that i can explain and help with. so it might be a lot longer before its done. its turning into a three part series haha

oh? that seems interesting... can't wait for it man, thanks in advance.

Leshrac may be in the game now as a core, but he can be countered, I find, with magic resistance. Drafting a Rubick is a good idea, as is making cloaks on your non-bkb wielding heroes.

He has low armor, so that's also a legitimate way to kill him, with a solar crest and a Focus Fire.

Well, Smuggels all of your points are correct.

To counter lesh:
Early game just gank him like a boss. Nyx Assassin does wonders.
Late game buy BKB or get a pipe in your team or a Rubick. Anti-Mage is a great late game counter-high MR, mana burn and can one shot lesh if he is low on mana.

Which lane/position to go?
Leshrac may be viable as a pos1 as he can sustain with Octarine Core and deal amazing dmg, but he is easily countered. Playing him as the pos2 midlane hero is okay as he now can finnaly land his stun which means better killing potential which means more kills which means more gold which means more items which means better late game presence.

I think it was more the meta changes (introduction of Octarine Core etc) that saw him taken seriously again, his "buffs" were all pretty minor and not especially relevant tbh. 6.83 was such a bad patch for him, he was completely neutered.

Countering him is not as difficult as people sometimes make out - there are so many ways of dealing with magic damage reliant heroes:

Skills like Flame Guard, Null Field and Rage, items like Pipe of Insight, Black King Bar - even Glimmer Cape. He also struggles a lot with very mobile heroes as he tends to lack mobility items and lockdown himself.

Pretty much this ^ .

Except, he's always been the best Hero to pick up a Eul's Scepter on, since it comboes so well with all of his Skills.

Split Earth - same as Light Strike Array, you can use Eul's to setup a Combo.

Diabolic Edict + Pulse Nova - still actively putting out Damage while you become Immune for 2.5 seconds, a well timed Eul's can keep you in a fight and turn it around if you're being Focused. <}3

Lightning Storm - into Eul's into Split == EZ 2nd Lightning Storm, Slow->Lift->Stun->Slow makes anyone without a BKB cry. <}3

It's 75% the other 25% is countered by Ghost Scepter 8{3

This has never been an issue, he's always worked as a Situational Support pick that provides a lot of early Pushing power. He's always been a good Deathball based Mid, similar to Pugna, except Pugna is a little better at Pushing early on since he can land a Netherblast and back off, whereas Leshrac has to stand under a Tower for several seconds to melt it.

Lightning Storm has always given him the ability to Push the Lane and play aggressively, "winning" most matchups 1 vs 1, but as you say, now that Lightning Storm can chain into Split Earth, he now has the Ability to get Kills 1 vs 1 without a Eul's.