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Animal Courier
Observer Ward
Tango
Iron BranchIron BranchIron Branch
Clarity
Boots of Speed
Magic Stick
Magic Wand
Flying Courier
Arcane Boots
Urn of Shadows
Bracer
Force Staff
Blink Dagger
Aghanim's Scepter
Eul's Scepter of Divinity
Scythe of Vyse
Mekansm
Pipe of Insight
Bloodstone
Observer Ward
Sentry Ward
Dust of Appearance
Smoke of Deceit
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1 | 4 | 8 | 9 |  |
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2 | 3 | 5 | 7 |  |
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10 | 12 | 13 | 14 |  |
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6 | 11 | 16 |  |
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15 | 17 | 18 |
Greetings all. My name is Zequeins; I usually go as 'Zeqs' or 'Meow' in-game. Also 'Twilight Sparkle, Grand Magus' or variants thereof.
I won't say I'm a great DotA player. In fact, I had less than 50% winrate across my games. But ever since I've used Rubick, I've fallen in love with this hero, and have played him almost exclusively. As I've used him against many different enemies, I've gotten to know him a bit better. Now, I would like to share what I have learned about this favorite hero of mine. Ultimately, I am hoping that this guide can be a learning experience for both of us.
24 Mar 2014:
* First update: added 2nd Rubick build and item discussions.
* Ongoing fixes on typos.
* Changed layout of skill discussion.
6 July 2014:
* No more Ledge Drops. I am sad :(
* Added variant builds with build discussion/logic.
* Edited item build discussions and tactics.
Upcoming update:
* On spell steal: Boring but Practical vs Awesome but Impractical
* Good and easy heroes to steal from, some dexterity required, and generally bad heroes to steal from.
Rubick is an Intelligence hero infamous for his ability to copy enemy skills with his ultimate, Spell Steal. While officially classified as Disabler and Nuker, he is commonly played as Support and Counter-Initiator in the competitive scene. In fact, the competitive players consider Rubick to be a top tier Support hero, due to his versatility. As such, this guide will focus on Support Rubick on Safelane (or duo Hardlane, if you're in pub).
Playing Rubick requires several things, first and foremost is familiarity with all other Dota2 heroes, due to his core mechanic of copying enemy spells. Second, you will need a good decision-making on which spells to steal, and when. Third and last, is reflex and accuracy in clicking the enemy to Steal their spells, as any competent player will try to protect their spell from being copied.
In General:
* All of Rubick's default spells are nigh-instant cast and hit. Against top-tier players, this is incredibly powerful as that means his spells cannot be dodged, such as with Blink, Invisibility, or Phasing.
* When casting stolen spells, Rubick will use his default, nigh-instant cast animation. Spells which are usually hard to land due to long casting animation will be cast instantly, making them superior on Rubick than the original owner (for example, 
Fissure, 
Split Earth, and 
Ice Path). Spells with extended cast time such as 
Assassinate will be cast as normal.
* His skills (which will be discussed in details in later chapters) make him very flexible, able to fit in any lineup.
As a Support Hero:
* Very item and level-independent, just like any other Support hero. But special mention should be made of his Spell Steal. It doesn't matter if you are lvl 6 and the enemy is lvl 25, if you steal his 3rd-rank ultimate, you will get his 3rd-rank ultimate. He used to be able to copy Aghanim-upgraded spells, but patch 6.79 changed that, for better and for worse.
* As Support, you are only as good as your team's strongest Carry. If your team lost the game, time to ask yourself some honest questions. Was it your fault? Or was it really someone else's fault? Don't be discouraged.
Weaknesses:
* Flexibility has its price. While I mentioned that his spells make Rubick very flexible, in general they are not as powerful as other heroes' spells in the same category. For instance, his Disable does not deal damage and have a very long cooldown, and his Nuke has a high mana cost and rather lackluster damage. But fear nor, for you can supplement your Disabling or Nuking ability with Spell Steal.
* Poor Int growth and mana efficiency. Tied with Ogre Magi at 2.4 Int/level, his primary Nuke costing 150 mana a pop, being a Support hero with little farm, BEFORE taking account on Stolen spells' manacost, you cannot afford to waste your spells. This is why I consider Arcane Boots to be a core early-game item. However, there are times you may pass the boots over for something else.
* Poor Str growth means he is very squishy, just like most other Int heroes. Positioning as Rubick is of utmost importance, and buying Bracer or Urn of Shadows can help somewhat.
Things you should know about Telekinesis:
The first skill you should get, Telekinesis is an extremely versatile disable to prevent early ganks, or to do one yourself.
* As I mentioned earlier, Telekinesis hits instantly, thus making it a very reliable disable.
* Telekinesis has a secondary component, where you can re-cast this spell while the enemy is lifted to choose where they land. Catching other enemies in the landing aoe will cause them to get stunned, thus this spell is both a single-target and aoe stun in one package.
* The repositioning aspect has many uses, such as comboing with another hard-to-hit spell, pulling enemies closer to make their escape that much difficult, throwing enemies away to save yourself or your teammates, or pulling enemies over cliffs/river bank for a gank/escape.
* While officially Telekinesis stuns for 2.25 secs at its max level, simply pulling or throwing your target effectively add to the stun's duration.
* Enemies dropped by the secondary component will also destroy trees on their landing aoe.
Potential uses:
* General repositioning of the enemy. There are many ways you can do this, I won't list them all. Among my favorites are pulling enemies out of their fountain, lifting enemies from the river into the river bank (into a gank), or pulling enemy melee hero behind your creep line during early game.
* Combo with other positioning-intensive spells, for instance 
Shackleshot.
* Tree destruction. A very niche use, but can be useful in certain situations, especially against 
Nature's Prophet's 
Sprout. In general, you don't really want to do this since Telekinesis has an extremely long cooldown.
Weaknesses:
* Extremely long cooldown. At 22 secs, it is among the longest, non-ultimate disable there is. As such, you want your Telekinesis casts to count; do not spam it, and if you know your target has 
Linken's Sphere, use your Fade Bolt first to remove its protection.
* Delayed areal stun. While it has the areal stun secondary component, in general it is not as reliable as its primary effect for 2 reasons. First, Rubick will have to actually 'cast' the spell again (although costing no mana) to choose the target location. If you manage to lift the enemy but did not manage to actually cast the repositioning component (such as if you're disabled), the enemy won't be repositioned. Secondly, the primary stun will have to expire before the secondary component gets into play. This means at max lvl, you will have to wait for 2.25 secs for the secondary stun, and often you need that stun NOW.
* There are ways to disrupt the secondary stun. As mentioned above, if you get disabled before you can cast the secondary stun, it will fail. That said, certain disables from your teammates can also disable the secondary stun, such as 
Impale and 
Torrent. If you lifted an enemy and casted the secondary stun, but your teammate Impaled the lifted enemy, the repositioning aspect will fail.
* No damage. Despite its description, this spell strangely does no damage. This means you will have to rely on Fade Bolt as your one and only primary nuke. As such, if a single Telekinesis is all you contributed in a gank, you will get no Assist credit (though you will still get gold and exp). Overall, minor compared to the aforementioned 2 weaknesses.
Things you should know about Fade Bolt:
Rubick's primary and only nuke by default.
* Just like his other skills, it is instant-cast and highly versatile.
* A chain-lightning type spell with the unique distinction of not having a chaining limit, although its damage gets reduced by 4% per jump.
* It also reduces the damage of those hit by it, making it a potent pushing / harrassment / debuffing spell.
Potential uses:
* Early game harassment. Usually done at lvl 3 with 2 ranks of Fade Bolt, not only this spell does damage to the enemy, it also reduces their damage, making it that much more difficult for them to last hit or deny. It can also be used to hit enemies who are using Clarity or 
Healing Salve behind the creep line, simply by casting it on the creep and letting it bounce to hit them. However, be very careful not to spam this spell excessively.
* Debuffing. Usually only effective early-mid game, the -32 damage debuff at max rank of this spell can severely limit a blooming carry's damage output; in fact, it can save your or your teammates' life. Even late game, -32 damage is still -10% out of 320.
* Softening / clearing creep camps. As support, you will be stacking the creep camps. I often stack them until 3 stacks, and cast a Fade Bolt to soften them up for my carry or jungler to clear. Or I can cast another and clear the creep camp for myself.
* Pushing. Since this spell does damage and reduce enemy damage, it will ensure your creep wave to win against their creep wave. Do note that while the damage reduction is halved for creeps, it is enough to cut down creep damage by ~70%.
* Defending. Due to its damage reduction, Fade Bolt will reduce creep damage vs your tower, letting it stand up that much longer. More importantly, this is a great spell for a last-ditch defense when you have 2 lanes down or even mega creeps. As Fade Bolt does not have a chaining limit, a single cast will eventually chain to all the creeps present, and you can lure them into your fountain for disposal, pied piper-style.
* Illusion detection. Against heroes who rely on Illusion such as 
Phantom Lancer or 
Naga Siren, a single cast of Fade Bolt can quickly pinpoint the real one, as they will take much less damage compared to the illusion.
Weaknesses:
* High mana cost. At 150 mana a pop, you must make your Fade Bolt casts count during the early game. As you get your Arcane Boots, you can afford to spam this a bit more, but still be mindful to leave plenty in reserve to cast stolen spells.
* Its damage debuff lose effectiveness as the game goes, as it does not scale in percentage, like 
Tidehunter's 
Anchor Smash.
Things you should know about Null Field:
An Aura passive which raises magic resistance by 20% at its highest rank.
* Assuming standard hero magic resistance of 25%, this will raise their resistance to up to 40%. While it can make a difference against nuke-heavy teams, it is otherwise a very plain skill.
Potential uses:
* Early protection against nuke-heavy team. At the start of my guide, I included a 'Standard' skill progression, the most common way to build Rubick. However, against such enemy team, it may be a good idea to leave Telekinesis at lvl 1 while maxing Null Field first. Do note that this means your Telekinesis will have a bit of reduced range, in addition to shorter duration stuns.
Weaknesses:
* You need to be alive and near your team for this to be effective, as it has 900 range. Otherwise, a very bland, if useful passive.
Things you should know about Spell Steal:
THE skill that defines Rubick as he is, Spell Steal is an incredibly simple, yet potent spell if used properly. Using this spell will allow Rubick to copy the last spell his target used, for up to 5 minutes at max rank. More importantly, it allows him to steal those gamechanging ultimates, and to supplement his deficiency in disabling and nuking abilities. Ever notice that most heroes only have 1 disable, and those with 2 disables such as 
Lion and 
Shadow Shaman are considered top-tier disabler? If you copy the right disables, you can be a top-tier disabler too, if temporary.
* In general, spells will have to be actually cast before they can be stolen. Casting Spell Steal during the cast animation, be it by default or extended cast animation will NOT give you the spell being cast. For instance, 
Earthshaker and 
Shadow Fiend. Earthshaker has a long cast animation, and Shadow Fiend's ultimate has a 1-second cast time. Casting Spell Steal during their cast will not get you their current cast spell. That said, Sniper's Assassinate is an exception; the moment you hear his gun click and him aiming at you, you can cast Spell Steal on him, and you will get Assassinate, despite it not being actually cast yet.
* It is worth noting that Spell Steal is NOT blocked by Magic Immunity.
I will also include several chapters regarding which heroes are good to steal from later.
Potential uses, in descending order of importance:
* Stealing and using gamechanging ultimates against their owners. This is the most important use of Spell Steal, one that makes Rubick incredibly powerful in team fights, that it is worth saving your Spell Steal for those ultimates alone.
* Stealing areal stuns, low-cooldown low-mana stuns, or low-cooldown low-mana nukes. This will greatly supplement Rubick's ability to disable or nuke.
* Stealing escape mechanisms can be useful in a pinch, but also for initiating purposes, while you still have not gotten your Force Staff or Blink Dagger.
* Stealing other, situational spells. No spell is completely useless (even Darkness can grant you unobstructed vision, provided you have the Aghanim upgrade), and it all depends on how you use the spells you steal. As you play Rubick more and more, you will learn which spells are useful and which are less so.
* Resetting cooldown of spells. If you steal and cast spell A (with 3-minutes cooldown), steal spell B and steal spell A again, the cooldown of spell A would be reset. Highly improbable due to competent enemy will allow you to steal such long cooldown spell (which is more often than not, an ultimate), but worth mentioning nonetheless. If you have the Aghanim's Scepter, it becomes more probable.
Weaknesses:
* Relatively long cooldown at 16 seconds at max level. This means in a big team fight, you will most likely get 1, or at most 2, casts of Spell Steal. Make those steal attempts count. Getting an Aghanim's Scepter can fix this, but it is not always feasible to build one.
* While Spell Steal is instantly cast and hit just like his other spells, there is a brief delay for the animation where the enemy's 'soul' (or trace arcane energy, whatever) is transferred into Rubick's staff. Only when the soul is fully absorbed that you will get to cast the spell you just stole. This is important because this means stealing at longer range might delay you getting that spell by 1 second, and that 1 second might be gamechanging. Corollary to that, casting Spell Steal at melee range practically grants you the stolen spell instantly.
* It is not blocked by Magic Immunity, but Linken's Sphere DOES block it. If you know your target has a Linken, use your Fade Bolt to burn its charge first.
* Stealing from Illusion will start the cooldown but will not get you any spell, despite the success message. Probe which one is the real hero with Fade Bolt before casting Spell Steal.
* If your enemy has an Aghanim-upgraded version of the spell but you don't have the Scepter yourself, you will not get the Aghanim-upgraded version of the spell. A nerf from patch 6.79.
* Enemy spell will not have their manacost adjusted for Rubick (except for 
Ball Lightning, but even this isn't a good thing). So you stole that 
Mystic Flare? Great! But you will quickly realize that you just don't have the spare 800 mana to cast it. As such, bear in mind if your mana pool can handle the spell you plan to steal. Nothing's more disappointing than stealing 
Global Silence only to see your mana too low to cast it.
There is one most commonly used Rubick build, but me and my friends have been experimenting, and we've came up with a few variants:
Build 1: The Standard Rubick build
The most commonly used Rubick build, a solid choice for most situations.
Build 2: Rubick 1 Spell Steal
A build I proposed and tested with my friends, our verdict so far was 'good idea'. This build relies on 3 points of logic:
1. Leveling up Spell Steal only grants you larger margin of error (longer duration and shorter cooldown) instead of actually raising its effectiveness. In other words, "If level 1 Spell Steal is just as effective as level 2, why bother raising it?"
2. In a purely mathematical sense, raising Spell Steal from lvl 1 to 2 increases its duration by 33% and reduces its cooldown by 10%. If you choose to level Null Field instead, that's a 100% increase in effectiveness from 5% to 10% (although actual resistance will be less than this, I know).
3. In a practical sense, it is no use holding on to that stolen spell for too long. Let's assume you managed to steal 
Ravage with its 150 second cooldown with lvl 3 Spell Steal, and used it. Are you really going to hold on to that Ravage on cooldown for teamfights? I personally think it's better to ditch it and grab a more practical spell for teamfight such as Ice Path (which is incredibly broken it's unbelievable) or 
Wraithfire Blast. As well, once it's off cooldown, can you actually guarantee a teamfight will happen within the next 150 seconds? If you can't, then you have just held on to that Ravage for nothing.
Build 3: Early Null Field.
This build sacrifices early Telekinesis duration to soak up magical damage. I've tested it a number of times, and personally I think the loss of Telekinesis duration is not worth the trade. That said, when you're facing nuke-heavy team, you may want to use this build to soak up the damage as soon as possible.
Build 4: Balanced Telekinesis/Null Field
A build a friend of mine proposed, this build tries to soak up magical damage as early as possible, without sacrificing Telekinesis duration for too long. This build relies on the logic that "Null Field gains 100% effectiveness from lvl 1 to lvl 2, but only 50% from lvl 2 to lvl 3, and a mere 33% from lvl 3 to lvl 4."
Assuming you hand-picked Rubick, you will have 625 gold to work with. In 99% of cases, you will want to start with these 3 items:
Animal Courier: You are Support, get the courier. If your team has a second Support, you can have him get the courier instead.
Tango: Early game heals, almost everyone would start with a set of Tango.
Iron Branch: Early game stats, and will be turned into Magic Wand later on.
Clarity: Very good mana regen for early game.
Boots of Speed: Everyone wants one, and I've yet to see a hero without boots. This should be the first early game item you get.
Flying Courier: You're support, you give the courier wings. Or you can ask the other Support to upgrade the courier instead.
Magic Stick and Magic Wand: Very cost-effective and frees up your inventory space.
Alternatively, you can also get these items:
Arcane Boots: This item is incredibly helpful for Rubick as it grants much-needed mana restoration (which quite often allows you to pull that ONE last spell to finish off a fleeing enemy) as well as raising his mana pool. Highly recommended to get one, but you can live without it if your mana management is good.
Urn of Shadows: One of my favorite items, Urn is a very cost-effective after combat healing, not to mention its extra hp and mana regeneration. It is somewhat pricey at 875 gold though, and buying this can delay your core item by that much longer.
Bracer: Adds extra hp, making Rubick less squishy.
Time to get your core item, and this section will mostly discuss on which item you may want to get.
Force Staff: Perhaps your best bet, Force Staff grants extra stats and utility throughout the game.
Pros:
* Grants extra Int and hp regen.
* Provides additional utility as initiation tool.
* Is not disabled by damage.
* Can be built in increments of 1000g, 350g and 900g.
Cons:
* Longer cooldown and cost a tiny bit of mana.
* Covers shorter distance of 600 compared to Blink Dagger.
* Cannot be used to disjoint projectiles.
* Movement is not instant (0.4s), meaning aware enemies can see it coming.
When to get:
* When you are not sure which core item to get.
* When the enemy team has damage over time or 
Radiance user, such as 
Alchemist, 
Viper, 
Venomancer, or 
Spectre.
Blink Dagger: Grants unparalleled initiating ability, but not as reliable as escape mechanism.
Pros:
* Unless the area is warded and they can see you coming, no mortal possess the reflex to avoid blink + Telekinesis combo; and if you shift-queue your commands, not even the fastest computer will be able to dodge it.
* Lower cooldown and costs no mana.
* Covers larger distance of 1200 compared to Force Staff.
* Can be used to disjoint enemy projectiles.
Cons:
* Must be bought in lump sump of 2150g.
* Provides no stats whatsoever.
* Disabled on damage, so damage over time and Radiance will shut down your escape mechanism.
When to get:
* When you expect to play as initiator during ganks / teamfights.
* When the enemy has no damage over time or Radiance
Aghanim's Scepter: I've been trying Aghanim as my 1st core item, and the result was... pretty good, actually. It is however, much more situational compared to FS or BD.
Pros:
* Grants much needed stats for survivability.
* Allows you to steal from very safe distance (a screen's worth) and the much lower cooldown means you can keep stealing and slinging spell throughout a fight.
Cons:
* Very expensive at 4200g total.
* You will be lacking in mobility, so ensure your positioning is top-notch, or steal a blink or escape spell.
When to get:
* When there are enemy heroes with reliably stolen blink / escape mechanism, such as 
Anti-Mage, 
Weaver and 
Morphling.
* When the enemy team packs a lot of upgradeable ultimates.
Aghanim's Scepter If you have gotten your Force Staff or Blink Dagger, this is a great time to grab an Aghanim.
Eul's Scepter of Divinity Adds movement speed, damage, mana regeneration, and a great disable/escape mechanism. This item really works well in combination with Blink Dagger, as it allows you to let the 3-second rule expire.
Scythe of Vyse Very powerful choice for the disable and extra mana regen. Again, if you can afford this after your mobility item and Aghanim, the game may already be over.
Mekansm I have been told to get Mekansm before, but in general I would not recommend it, due to the importance of mobility items. Ask the 2nd support to get the Mekansm instead.
Pipe of Insight With Rubick's Null Field, your team (and especially you, due to the extra magic resistance) can really soak up magical damage. If you are doing the Early Null Field build, you may want to grab this instead of Aghanim.
Bloodstone Grants extra health, mana, and massive mana regen, allowing you to spam spells with impunity. Combined with an Aghanim, this will dramatically increase Rubick's capability in fights. On the other hand, if you can get your mobility item, Bloodstone and Aghanim together, the game may already be over.
In general, the more experienced you are with Rubick, the less items you would need. In most cases, my endgame items would be along the lines of:
1. Force Staff
2. Blink Dagger
3. Observer Ward
4. Arcane Boots
5. 
Town Portal Scroll
6. Urn of Shadows
In case of invisibility-heavy enemy team, I would be forced to sacrifice some slots for detection:
1. Force Staff / Blink Dagger
2. Magic Wand / Dust of Appearance (or just buy Dust and drop in fountain for others to take. Remember, Buy-and-Drop, as to not needlessly stack the Dust.)
3. Sentry Ward
4. Arcane Boots
5. Town Portal Scroll
6. Observer Ward
1. Punish enemy melee heroes by using Telekinesis and pulling him behind your creep line. If your lane partner has a stun, use it for a certain first blood kill.
2. Use Fade Bolt's chaining effect to hit enemy trying to regen using Clarity or Healing Salve behind creep line.
1. Roam to other lanes to aid in ganks.
2. If you have Blink Dagger, use it to catch lone enemy with Telekinesis and throw him to your team.
3. Against enemies with Bloodstone, it may be wise to save your Telekinesis until their hp is low enough, so they won't have a chance to activate it.
1. Try to enter a teamfight with a stolen spell at hand.
2. If you have it, Force Staff an enemy into your team.
3. Combine the effect of stolen disables with your Telekinesis drop as initiation.
4. Get ready to steal those gamechanging ultimates, such as 
Guardian Angel, 
Black Hole and Ravage, as this is the time they will most likely be used.
These heroes are special, because not only are their spells useful, they're easily and reliably stolen. These heroes are mostly one or two-trick ponies, meaning you will get the same spell over and over. But don't be fooled; I include them in this chapter because their spells are incredibly useful for such an easy steal. If you currently have no stolen spell and no team fight is imminent, casting a Spell Steal as you pass by these heroes just won't go wrong. In descending order of importance:
1. 
Wraith King You are guaranteed to get his Wraithfire Blast. Cast it on an enemy, use Telekinesis as the stun wears off, and cast another Wraithfire Blast once it's off cooldown. Within 8 seconds, you will have stunned your target for 6.25 seconds (not counting the repositioning effect), deal 450 damage, and all for 400 mana. Incredibly powerful combo for ganks or locking down enemy carries, and my personal favorite.
2. 
Luna If you are into nuking, steal from Luna. 
Lucent Beam is incredibly cheap at 120 mana for 325 damage and ministun at 6-second cooldown. Or if you have gotten Lucent Beam previously, aim for her Ultimate, 
Eclipse. With Luna, it's either Lucent Beam or Eclipse; would you rather an on-demand nuke, or an ultimate that (in most cases) obliterates anyone trying to go one-on-one with you? Both are great choices.
3. Anti-Mage You will, in all likeliness, get his 
Blink. Incredibly useful for escape or initiation, and works as a substitute until you get your Force Staff or Blink Dagger proper. Even then, using Blink in combination with FS or BD will grant you tremendous mobility. If you are unlucky, you may get 
Mana Void instead. However, since most AM spams Blink, it is highly unlikely.
4. Viper Another one-trick pony, you are guaranteed to get his 
Viper Strike. Use it in combination with Telekinesis during ganks for a certain kill.
5. Phantom Lancer You will either get his 
Spirit Lance or Doppelwalk. The former can be used to supplement your nuking ability, and the latter can be used as escape mechanism. In general, expect to get his Spirit Lance over the Doppelwalk. That said, the real challenge is casting Spell Steal on the real Phantom Lancer, or risk wasting your ultimate. Again, probe with your Fade Bolt first.
6. 
Spirit Breaker A rather challenging one to steal from, but you will feel good about it. If you have been doing your job and ward properly, you will see him coming. Remember that Telekinesis will hit instantly, and you can and should stun him mid-charge. From there, you will either get his 
Charge of Darkness or 
Nether Strike (though stealing when he's stunned will get you Charge; use it to escape or counterinitiate). Charge of Darkness can be used as an initiation spell, while Nether Strike can be used to push enemies deeper into your position (usually during ganks) or a finisher on escapees. One thing to note, while it takes Spirit Breaker 1.2 second to cast Nether Strike, Rubick will cast it instantly, possibly interrupting Spirit Breaker and delaying his Nether Strike by that much longer.
7. 
Necrophos A two-trick pony, you will either get his 
Death Pulse or 
Reaper's Scythe. While both are great spells and reliably stolen, beware of their high mana cost, and you lack his Sadist, which you cannot steal.
8. 
Drow Ranger Formerly, you are guaranteed to get her Silence, which has since been replaced by 
Gust. With the recent changes however, she is not as reliable to steal from as before, but may still worth stealing from if you have no stolen spell.
These heroes are infamous for their incredibly powerful and gamechanging ultimates. Team fights have been known to succeed or fail simply by these spells. As such, these should be your top priority spells to steal. In no particular order of importance:
1. 
Omniknight This guy deserves special mention. ALL his spells are useful, but you will want his Guardian Angel, as it can make or break a fight. Stealing from him is also easy since he has such a slow casting animation; imo, the most difficult aspect in stealing his ultimate is the white angelic beings obscuring your sight and you may click the wrong hero. Otherwise, if you know his ultimate is not due, or if you have an Aghanim, treat him as one of the 'reliably and easily stolen' heroes.
2. 
Enigma Infamous for his Black Hole alone, out of the big 3 initiators, his is the easiest to steal due to its channeling nature. Just make sure you don't get caught in its effect so you can interrupt him with a Telekinesis, steal, and counterinitiate with a Black Hole of your own.
3. 
Magnus Another of the big 3 initiators, like Omniknight, all his spells are useful, but you will want 
Reverse Polarity. It is relatively easier to steal compared to Ravage due to its much smaller aoe, but good Magnus will try to catch you in it, and use a 
Shockwave or 
Skewer to protect his ultimate.
4. Tidehunter Last of the big 3 initiators, Ravage is rather difficult to steal due to its massive aoe, and good Tidehunter will use Anchor Smash to protect it from being stolen. Magic immunity or mobility items are almost required to steal it. Or an Aghanim, since it increases your Spell Steal range.
5. Earthshaker With all his spells dealing 
Aftershock, it can be a challenge to steal his 
Echo Slam. If you were caught in it, you will most likely not be able to steal it. Otherwise, try to aim for his Fissure instead.
6. 
Treant Protector Slow, ponderous, and easily stolen, you will want his 
Overgrowth. It is very easy to steal due to his slow animation, obvious visual and sound effects, and the fact that Overgrowth does not prevent you from casting spells.
7. 
Silencer His Global Silence is THE single, hardest ultimate to steal from, as any competent Silencer will cast his other 2 spells to protect it while you are silenced. 
Black King Bar is almost mandatory here. If you manage to grab it, give yourself a pat in the back... or ask why the enemy Silencer allowed you to steal such a wonderful ultimate.
8. 
Bounty Hunter Watch his cast animation. If you see him casting something but nothing comes out, he may have just cast 
Track, which you will want (or he's just cancelling his animation). Either way, Track is incredibly powerful as more gold = better items = better chance to win. Also for the sheer sense of irony of Bounty Hunter counterpicking himself.
10. 
Beastmaster Another easy steal; unless he is aiming it at you, 
Primal Roar is easily stolen. The most important bit of Primal Roar is that it affects even Magic immune units, so use it to disable the enemy carry under BKB.
These heroes deserves special mention due to the unique mechanics of their spell if stolen.
Faceless Void I would put him in the easily and reliably stolen heroes list if not for the fact that 
Chronosphere does not affect him, and can screw your team if you cast it wrongly. That said, you will either get 
Time Walk which is a pseudo-Blink, or Chronosphere which can affect his entire enemy team. Do warn your teammates beforehand if you are going to cast Chronosphere.
Morphling 
Waveform is a nuke/escape mechanism combo, but you will want his Morph instead. The moment you see some red glow on his head, cast spell steal and press F. Do NOT press D, as this will convert your Str into Agi, and it is important to never go full Agi as Rubick. Even after the spell expires, the stat changes will be permanent, making Rubick that much more durable.
Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you enjoy this Rubick guide of mine. I wrote this guide in hope to share my Rubick experience, and to inspire new players to try this great hero. If you notice grammatical errors in this guide, I apologize; I will try to fix those errors as time goes on.
I might add more chapters on other heroes regarding possible stolen spell combos in the future.
I did not write these guides, but I highly recommend to read these, as I have learned much from them. All credit to the guides' original writers.
* Playing a Support Hero: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/dota-2-strategy/377503-guide-how-to-play-support-by-burningsera
* 10 ways to make money as a support hero: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34513964/Makin%20Money.pdf
* The Ultimate Warding Guide: http://www.team-dignitas.net/articles/blogs/dota/1092/dota-2-ultimate-guide-to-warding/
* Casting 3 spells in quick succession with Refresher Orb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e8euzMnGww
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