BLAST Slam 1 is now in full swing with the group stage done and dusted, and the early metagame fueled by Patch 7.37e is starting to show itself already. Teams have been pulling out all the stops in order to get a good start in the group stage, which will determine how high of a hill they will have to clim in the playoffs.

BLAST Slam 1: Invoker Rules the Group Stage

Indeed, everyone has been trying to get to the top spots in their respective groups, and it shows in the picks that each squad’s drafters are going for. There’s really not a lot of time for teams to experiment when so much is at stake so early in the tournament, so for the most part, we’ve been seeing more or less the same set of heroes so far.

Invoker on Fire

The one hero that immediately stands out as the best pick so far is Invoker, who is currently enjoying an 85.71 percent win rate over seven picks total. Mid laners in this tournament have been tearing it up with this hero, particularly with the Hurricane Pike strat. Supported by the Quas-Wex build, Hurricane Pike Invoker seeks to be a real shark around the map as soon as possible, getting pickoffs with the usual Tornado-EMP-Cold Snap combo.

PARI No[o]ne WESG
No[o]ne is probably having a grand time knowing that Invoker is one of the best heroes in the tournament. (Image Credit: StarLadder/WESG)

Naturally, this lends well to the fast-paced style that professional Dota 2 teams have been favoring lately. Going at a breakneck pace is the name of the game right now (unless you’re part of Team Falcons), so it’s not a surprise to see Invoker doing just that and thriving because of it. And this is even after he got a few nerfs in the current patch, mind you.

Given his success so far, we can expect teams to keep picking him going forward. We can also expect more bans going his way, especially in the first phase against players that really know how to pilot the hero.

Enchantress’ Spell is Broken

As if they’re telling Falcons’ Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu that enough is enough, Dota 2 publisher and developer Valve absolutely gutted Enchantress in this patch, and it’s obvious in the way she’s been almost completely neglected at BLAST Slam 1. Enchantress has been picked just twice so far in the tournament, and has lost both of those games.

FLCN Sneyking TI11
With his signature hero now in the dumpster after some serious nerfs, Sneyking has turned to other picks instead of forcing himself to use Enchantress. (Image Credit: Valve)

It’s hardly shocking at all. Enchant (W)’s mana cost was increased this patch to be a fixed 70 at all levels, which isn’t great considering Enchantress wants to use that mana for both Enchant and Impetus (Q) in the laning phase. Players will now have to pick their spots with the hero in the early game as a result.

But teams at BLAST Slam 1 have simply decided that it’s just not worth picking her in the first place — even a team with such a great Enchantress specialist like Team Falcons. It’s very telling when Sneyking, the guy that won like 20 games in a row as Enchantress before this tournament, doesn’t even want to bother with her anymore.

More of the Same

Elsewhere in the metagame, we’re seeing pretty much the same picks as the last patch. Doom is still a hotly contested hero due to his ability to simply delete a hero and prevent regeneration and healing, Dragon Knight is still popping off in the carry position, and Pugna is the best support hero right now.

Someone is obviously missing, though: Luna. The most broken carry of 7.37c is nowhere to be found at BLAST Slam 1, owing to nerfs applied to her in the latest patch. It’s unlikely she’s going to make an appearance here, with other ranged carries like the aforementioned Dragon Knight (at least, after he transforms) and Morphling taking over in the ranged carry department.

As for melee carries, though, they’re still definitely out of the picture with the exception of Alchemist. Terrorblade is being played in the offlane, and everyone else is just too weak numbers-wise to be viable.

However, Wraith King is actually been a pleasant change of pace in this regard, as he currently has a 2-0 record in the tournament. Yes, that’s a small sample size relative to the top picks so far, but we’re just as high on him as the teams here seem to be. Getting a +2 armor buff in 7.37e seems to have made a huge difference in his laning capability, and we’re excited to see what the extent of his capabilities are in the playoffs.