NOOBCAKE's Guide to Rubick

Introduction

Here we are again, hello and welcome to NOOBCAKE's guide to the Grand Magus, Rubick!
In my third guide, I shall attempt to delve into the mind of amazing Rubick players such as Dendi as s4 and translate that into lingo normal folk like us can understand. This journey shall be perilous; there will be many obstacles in the way - but that's why we build Force Staff!

I have loved Rubick since I first saw him played in The International 2. Who can forget that play? You know the one I'm talking about: Play Video
Anywho, let's get started.

About the Magus

Any mage can cast a spell or two, and a few may even study long enough to become a wizard, but only the most talented are allowed to be recognized as a Magus. Yet as with any sorcerer’s circle, a sense of community has never guaranteed competitive courtesy.

Already a renowned duelist and scholar of the grander world of sorcery, it had never occurred to Rubick that he might perhaps be Magus material until he was in the midst of his seventh assassination attempt. As he casually tossed the twelfth of a string of would-be killers from a high balcony, it dawned on him how utterly unimaginative the attempts on his life had become. Where once the interruption of a fingersnap or firehand might have put a cheerful spring in his step, it had all become so very predictable. He craved greater competition. Therefore, donning his combat mask, he did what any wizard seeking to ascend the ranks would do: he announced his intention to kill a Magus.

Rubick quickly discovered that to threaten one Magus is to threaten them all, and they fell upon him in force. Each antagonist's spell was an unstoppable torrent of energy, and every attack a calculated killing blow. But very soon something occurred that Rubick's foes found unexpected: their arts appeared to turn against them. Inside the magic maelstrom, Rubick chuckled, subtly reading and replicating the powers of one in order to cast it against another, sowing chaos among those who had allied against him. Accusations of betrayal began to fly, and soon the sorcerers turned one upon another without suspecting who was behind their undoing.

When the battle finally drew to a close, all were singed and frozen, soaked and cut and pierced. More than one lay dead by an ally’s craft. Rubick stood apart, sore but delighted in the week’s festivities. None had the strength to argue when he presented his petition of assumption to the Hidden Council, and the Insubstantial Eleven agreed as one to grant him the title of Grand Magus.

Pros/Cons

Pros
One of the best mids in game
Good attack animation
Unique ability Spell Steal
Versatile

Cons
Below average stat gain
Move speed of 290
Difficult to master
Will be focused


When to pick

• Enemy team has at least 2 good ultimates, with at least 5 good abilities that YOU KNOW HOW TO USE
• Enemy team has a weak mid hero
• Your team needs someone flexible
• Your team needs more disable

When NOT to pick

• Enemy team has no good abilities to steal
• Enemy team is tanky
• Your team has enough support

Skills

Telekinesis

Ability: Target Unit | Affects: Enemies
Rubick uses his telekinetic powers to lift the enemy into the air briefly and then hurls them back at the ground. The unit lands on the ground with such force that it stuns nearby enemies.

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Range: 550/575/600/625
Radius: 325
Lift duration: 1.5/1.75/2/2.25
Stun duration: 1/1.25/1.5/1.75

• Telekinesis Land

  
  
  Ability: Target Point
  Chooses the location the target will land when Telekinesis finishes.

Fade Bolt

Ability: Target Unit | Affects: Enemies | Damage: Magical
Rubick creates a powerful stream of arcane energy that travels between enemy units, dealing damage and reducing their attack damage. Each jump deals less damage.

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Range: 800
Jump Distance: 440
Duration: 10
Damage: 70/140/210/280
Jump damage reduction: 4%
Attack damage decrease: 14/20/26/32 (7/10/13/16 for creeps)

Null Field

Null FieldAbility: Passive | Affects: Allied Heroes
Rubick's mastery of the arcane protects his allies against weaker magics, granting them magic resistance.

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Bonus magic resistance: 5%/10%/15%/20%

Spell Steal

Ability: Target Unit | Affects: Enemy Heroes
Rubick studies the trace magical essence of one enemy hero, learning the secrets of the last spell the hero cast. Rubick can use this spell as his own for several minutes or until he dies.

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Range: 1000
Duration: 3/4/5 minutes

Skill Discussion and Build

Telekinesis is an interesting stun. When used, it lifts the target enemy (hero or creep) into the air, and stuns the area of where they land for a short duration. Typically, you want to cast it on the hero you want to stun, and drop him out of position - though I have seen some people lift creeps and stun heroes with that. Keep in mind that you have to press the hotkey for Telekinesis again to determine where to drop.

Fade Bolt is one of the best laning spells. Not only does it nuke indefinitely, but it also places a Damage Reducing Debuff on all units affected. It goes through Linken's Sphere (the damage doesn't) which is handy. The debuff reduces damage by 14-32
But that's hardly anything!
The time when you'll be most spamming it is early game and mid game - when heroes' damage ranges from 40-100. By reducing one third to a half of that, you are putting a massive dent in their last hitting capabilities. Also, it affects creeps, which means your wave will push, giving you excellent lane control.

Lane control, Harass, and reduces enemy last hits. Max this first!

Fade Bolt or Telekinesis at level 1? Well it is always better to have the stun, but sometimes you may be in wanting of a nuke. Solution: Don't skill it until you need it! If you should spy an enemy standing at the rune spot, skill Tele for a bit of a laugh; if the enemy ganks you early, then you may need the damage reducing buff from Bolt.

Null Field, I skill last - but it's situational. If the enemy has a lot of magic damage (e.g. Death Prophet, Zeus, even Pudge) skilling this early can be life saving. 20% magic resistance, which also STACKS with other magic resistance abilities and items - Anti-Mage? yes. Cloak? yes. Can effectively reduce casters to naught - then you-

Spell Steal. In my view what makes Rubick one of the strongest casters in the game - his versatility as well as mobility once you get items makes him hard to shut down and predict. This skill also REMOVES long cast animations that their owners have - Fissure from Earthshaker, Blink from Queen of Pain - changed to 0.1s cast animation for the Grand Magus.

Skills Your Team Will Kiss You For

Non-Ultimate Skills that are Amazing

Fissure Ice Path

both long range stuns, and once stolen cast animation time is removed giving you instant initiation.

These are by no means the end of spells - there are just simply TOO MANY to list. I have chosen the pick of the litter, the very best to have - but you may find that you love Burrowstrike, Ball Lightning, or any other spells you run across.
Just remember - Cast Animation is removed, and replaced with 0.1s. Cast Time for a spell is the same - e.g. Fissure happens quicker, but Assassinate is the same.

You will find that most of the time, you won't be able to steal Ravage - the good Tidehunter players know that a stolen Ravage could turn the teamfight around. The trick is, then, to target spell steal as he gets in position. If timed right, the cast time for Spell Steal will match that of him pressing R, and you can force/blink to safety with the green 'spellghost' following in triumph.

Item Discussion and Build

Starting

Mid buys Tango and three Iron Branches to save gold for a fast Bottle Support buys Observer Wards or a Courier, along with a salve and clarity added to the mid-build. Offlane Rubick? Get boots. This would be one of the only situations where I would agree with boots first item, and that's because of Rubick's move speed nerf a while back.

Core

Arcane and Force on all Rubick builds. Add a Blink Dagger too, for more mobility - however, I have seen the Magus get by with Phase Boots and Drums of Endurance, so that's a possible build to keep in mind. The popular highly mobile Rubick calls for at least the Force Staff, which is what I prefer. Ring of Basilius if you would like more armor and mana regen, and even a bit more pushing power. If you want more HP, candidates here would be Bracer, Ogre Club, Vitality Booster or Point Booster.

Luxury

Really, at this stage, it all depends on how the game is going. If you haven't bought Blink Dagger yet, it should be top of the list, followed by Bloodstone. Are you being focused with autoattacks too much? Consider getting Blade Mail or Ghost Scepter to survive a bit longer; even a Eul's Scepter of Divinity will help. If you're swimming in cash, though, then easy - Scythe of Vyse. Always Scythe of Vyse. Or, for a bit of troll, turn that green blob red with Desolator. Hard Support Rubick should be buying wards, Mekansm and Pipe of Insight.

Aghanim's Scepter

What are you doing, getting Agha on Rubick? It is useless!
You would think so, but it is FAR FROM IT.
First, let's see how many heroes have an Aghanim's Scepter upgrade:

doom bringer

necrolyte

outworld devourer

windrunner

I have omitted Invoker, Tiny, Ogre Magi, Night Stalker and Meepo.

So, how many of those heroes have Aghanim's Scepter as one of their core?
Not many.
Take Luna for example:

Eclipse

Calls an eclipse that follows Luna, striking units with her current level of Lucent Beam. A single target can only be hit a maximum times. Unlike individual Lucent Beams, Eclipse does not stun. Eclipse turns day into night for 10 seconds.

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Radius: 675 Lucent Beams summoned: 4/7/10 (4/8/12*) Duration: 1.8/3.6/5.4 (1.8/4.2/6.6*) Strike interval: 0.6 Maximum hits per target: 4 (6*)

With Agh's, it deals 2 more beams in total, and 2 extra maximum hits to one target and the duration is increased.
With a full level Lucent Beam - 300 damage each - you're getting 600 extra damage.

Viper? Adds range, and more damage.
Spirit Breaker? Adds an AOE BASH.

This isn't limited to carries who do not buy Aghanim's - even supports on the enemy team who cannot afford it, you can upgrade.
An upgraded Macropyre deals huge amounts of damage, as does a Death Ward.

Not only this, but Aghanim's Scepter gives you a lot of stats which are extremely useful.

So, next time, when you hit 30 minutes with 2k in stash and nothing to buy, consider Aghs!
Even if there's only one ulti to steal and upgrade, the stats are valuable.

Gameplay

Early Game

• Solo Mid
  Last hit, deny well, rune control. Ask other lanes for gank, or gank them yourself, when you see any chance to. Rubick should win lane at level 6.
  However, keep in mind that if the opposite mid is a carry, you should try to stay in lane as much as possible, denying them exp and gold.
  
  
• Support
  Stack and Pull, and deny. I have included a stack-pull section in my guide for Enchantress, here. You should also ward and secure runes for your mid, as well as ganking mid and supporting the offlane whenever necessary. However, these duties are always second to that of babysitting your carry.
  
  
• Solo Offlane
  You poor bugger. You have one job here: DO NOT DIE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
  Put down wards, so you are safe in lane, and you block their pull camp.
  Pay attention to the mini map for anybody missing - don't rely on other people, they can make mistakes too.
  STAY ALIVE, LEECH EXP.

Mid Game

Ganking well? Good. Continue. There are going to be more teamfights though, so keep your eyes peeled and fingers ready to steal that perfect spell. Do not be afraid to initiate, if your team will back you up - Rubick can do that with various spells.
As always, be safe, push, and keep Roshan warded. Fade Bolt is an excellent pushing and counterpush spell, as it reduces enemy creep damage by 16.

Late Game

Hopefully the game hasn't been disastrous; your carry is fed, theirs 0-12, and team is pushing T4. If not, then do what you do with any game. Blame someone else.

JUST KIDDING

If you've got the time, always download replays and watch yourself - when you don't have the pressure of being in game, you'll be surprised by how many things you miss. Realising where you went wrong is the first step to IMPROVEMENT!
If you blame someone else, you will never consider to improve yourself; which could be the problem in itself.

YES PLEASE

• Leshrac
  Tele -> Split Earth -> Fade Bolt -> Edict/Lightning Storm will deal high damage early in the game.
  
  
• Enemy Anti-Mage or Queen of Pain
  STEAL BLINK
  BE ANNOYING
  
  
• Enemy Morphling
  STEAL MORPH
  MORPH AGI STR
  
  
• Enemy Bounty Hunter
  STEAL TRACK
  TRACK BOUNTY
  KILL BOUNTY
  GET BOUNTY FOR KILLING BOUNTY
  LAUGH

NO GOE AWAE

• Bounty Hunter
  STEAL TRACK
  GET TRACKED
  GET JINADA'D
  GIVE BOUNTY TO BOUNTY
  CRY
  
  
• Pudge
  I ACCIDENTALLY ROT EVERYWHERE
  
  
• Doom Bringer, Silencer
  Silence. Hate.
  
  
• Anti-Mage, Phantom Lancer
  Mana burn. Hate.
  
  

Credits

Thanks to IceFrog and Valve, along with the good half of the Dota Community.
This is probably the longest guide I've written so far, but I feel that Rubick really needs it. There is so much you need to know, about items and heroes and their abilities - cooldowns, range, all of it. You also need to know mana control, and damage you can deal, how much damage you might take... the list goes on.
Thanks for reading, hope this helps.

:)

Version:

• v.1.0.0 - guide written