Shadow Shaman POS5: a guide to control and pushing
When we catch Io, my buttons are only part of the play: the disable must give teammates time to deal damage. The aim is a team pickoff, not simply spending every spell.
What to take from the episode
- This suits linking a long hold with tower damage after a won fight.
- Shackles is a channel, and enemies in the second line can interrupt it. Without cover, snakes may fail to turn into a secured objective.
- I choose a channeling position and identify interrupts beforehand. After success, I place snakes for a specific tower or to trap a target, not simply whenever they are off cooldown.
- On the split push I take the tower and die. That does not make it a good trade every time: before dropping snakes I check vision, incoming enemies and an escape. A later push with a safe exit shows why that exit needs planning.
Item → purpose
This is the confirmed inventory from this match, not a mandatory build or a reconstructed purchase order. Purchase timestamps in the description use the match clock; chapters use video time. Check current effects in the client.
Blink Dagger ↗
Changes the entry angle and lets me reach a target quickly. Damage taken can prevent its use.
Arcane Boots ↗
Provide mana for laning and regular ability use.
Magic Wand ↗
Charges provide health and mana on demand. Check them before going in: a little extra resource can let you make one more useful play, but will not save you from every focus fire.
Kaya ↗
Kaya appears in the final inventory. That is an observation from this game, not a mandatory slot: first decide whether the team needs reach, a save or resources.
Aghanim's Scepter ↗
On the recorded patch, Aghanim’s Scepter upgrades Shackles. Check current effects in the client.
Aether Lens ↗
Lets you use targeted abilities and items from a safer distance.
Spell order and catching Io
When we catch Io, my buttons are only part of the play: the disable must give teammates time to deal damage. The aim is a team pickoff, not simply spending every spell.
Blink Dagger: pick the jump
Changes the entry angle and lets me reach a target quickly. Damage taken can prevent its use. Shackles is a channel, and enemies in the second line can interrupt it. Without cover, snakes may fail to turn into a secured objective.
Split push: a tower for a life
On the split push I take the tower and die. That does not make it a good trade every time: before dropping snakes I check vision, incoming enemies and an escape. A later push with a safe exit shows why that exit needs planning.
Double kill, then high ground
Double kill, then high ground. Ogre Magi → Monkey King. This suits linking a long hold with tower damage after a won fight.
Hold Ogre and finish the throne
Hold Ogre and finish the throne. Hex → Shackles. I choose a channeling position and identify interrupts beforehand. After success, I place snakes for a specific tower or to trap a target, not simply whenever they are off cooldown.
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Watch the match behind this note ↗