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TangoTango
ClarityClarity
Healing Salve
Gauntlets of Strength
Iron Branch
Boots of Speed
Sage's Mask
Arcane Boots
Urn of Shadows
Sage's Mask
Blink Dagger
Aghanim's Scepter
Assault Cuirass
Shadow Blade
Force Staff
Gem of True Sight
Black King Bar
Veil of Discord
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1 | 3 | 5 | 7 |  |
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2 | 12 | 13 | 14 |  |
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4 | 8 | 9 | 10 |  |
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6 | 11 | 16 |  |
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15 | 17 | 18 |
Sand King is a character with a skill tier somewhere between beginner and intermediate. You do need to juggle around some abilities and items later on, and his survivability largely depends on how good you are at making use of every single factor in the game to escape and prevent ganks, but at the same time, he is very far from the difficulty levels of Melee carries, or heroes such as Wisp, who have much more complicated abilities.
This probably isn't a build you haven't heard of before. It's probably the go-to strategy for Sand King players. However, I'd just like to give my opinions on how to play him, so here we go.
Here's a run-down of what Sand King's skills do, why I recommend their order above, and how they are useful:
Burrow Strike:
This is the priority 1 skill. Anyone with basic knowledge in dota can understand why. It is reliable, it is fast and it stuns enemy heroes. One mistake in this skill's usage I've seen other players do is that in desperation, they use it as a temporary substitute to Blink Dagger during their get-away. This is a very bad idea. If it is at all upgraded, you *will* get further just from the stun-timer alone, not to mention using it on the enemy instead before running off nets the very small chance of discouraging them from chasing. You never know.
In team-fights, remember that Burrow Strike stuns all creeps and heroes in a small AoE around it, so do use that to you and your friends' advantage.
Sand Storm:
This ability is rather hit or miss. Extremely useful, or entirely useless, depending on the enemy team's abilities and strategy. The gist of it's potential is earned from just a single point, however, which is why I recommend that you save completing it for last.
Sand Storm turns you into a swirl of sand and dust, casting invisibility on you, and inflicts a miniscule amount of damage per second to all enemy units around you. The invisibility can, of course, save your life in many situations, unless the enemy has True Sight. The problem is, they *will* have true sight by mid-game, if they know what they're doing.
While in low skill matchmaking pools, your best bet at predicting if the enemy will counter this skill is to see if there are any obvious Stealth heroes on your team. Everyone knows Riki is that stupid bastard who goes invisible, so they will probably buy items accordingly. On the flip side, a largely lesser amount of people are going to disrupt their item builds just to counter Sand King alone, not to mention all the people who might not even realize or remember that SK has this skill in the first place.
If you do have a stealth team-mate, do NOT lane with him. Often, the only ones on the enemy team to buy wards or items against invisibility are the ones who go up against Stealth heroes on their lane, while all the others remain in ignorance. Thus, I don't have explain why it would be a bad idea to tag-team with Riki.
Caustic Finale:
Sand King's least involving, yet extremely useful skill. It takes until 3 points spent into it, until it starts shining, but once it does, enemy creeps become walking gold coins on legs. After you attack a creep with your standard melee, it will explode, upon death, dealing strong damage to other units around it. When sufficiently powered, this essentially will remove the need to last-hit entirely, allowing you to focus on shopping, or the minimap, or yelling rude things at your team-mates. You can dispose of a creeper squad in no time. Heck, if he was swimming in a sea of creepers, Sand King would be one-man apocalypse.
It's not like SK is the only hero with such great lane pushing and creeper farming skill, but the point is, he's one of the best in that regard.
It also cuts time spent and damage received from jungling in half, if you ever feel the need to do it for whatever reason.
What not to do with Caustic:
-Do not level it first. Because of everyone's low starting damage, it is useless early-game. You simply can't apply the effect fast enough, and you might steal last hits from your team mate too much, etc. so just don't do it.
-Do not ignore it/leave it for last. Very new players are especially susceptible to this mistake, as the skill doesn't contribute anything to team-fights, so why bother, right?
You need gold the most during mid-game, and that's the time and place to level this skill for.
Epicenter:
The main force behind Sand King, and the reason for the build's title is his fragile, but potentially devastating ultimate ability.
Simply put, Epicenter creates an earthquake that deals strong damage to enemies around you for a good couple of seconds. The two things this ultimate can do is:
-Finish a team-fight. Completely.
-Cause enemy heroes to panic and run.
Both require very good judgement and timing on your part. I said this ultimate is fragile, and I wasn't kidding. When you activate it, you spend 2 seconds on generating/charging up the attack. If anything, literally ANYTHING happens while you do that, save for standard physical damage, the generation will cancel, and Epicenter will be put on the cooldown timer, which lasts for a hefty amount of time, I might add. Silence, stun, moving; you don't want any of it, so you usually can't afford to activate it in the middle of a team fight. It's important to use every second of the earthquakes to your advantage, but careful not to start walking right before generating continues. If you frequently find yourself cancelling teleport scrolls in your eagerness to return to the fight, you might want to work on your timing (or steer clear of Sand King entirely for the time being).
The earthquake sound effects start about half a second or less before generating is completed, so do NOT use it as a reference for when it is ready!
Because of how easy it is to be cheated out of your ultimate, you need to cast it in safety. This is where Blink Dagger comes into play as your primary item. It lets you generate the skill in secrecy, or at least out of harm's reach, while still getting into the thick of it before any of your quakes are wasted.
The ultimate becomes stronger, longer and gains a faster recharge with Aghanim's, making it your 2nd required item. A Sand King with Aghanim's Scepter and Blink Dagger is hardly a force to be reckoned with. It's a force to be running away from, head between heals.
Don't get too confident, though. You won't KO anyone if they're at full health (unless they're severely underleveled/underequipped) using only Epicenter, and walking into a 4-man gank all alone, just with Epicenter is still a bad idea in general, even if you get a kill before dying.
EARLY GAME
Sand King's early game is quite sufficient. He is as good an initiator as any with Burrow Strike, and Sand Storm can foil brave attempts by the enemy heroes on your lane, and generally save your hide from many things. Don't harass. Only initiate when you see it wise. Being a Strength hero with melee standard attacks and moderate HP, SK is still quite susceptible to ranged heroes, so for this reason I don't recommend soloing on the middle lane, unless you know for sure that your opponent there will also be melee.
Again, remember to NOT lane with stealth heroes. It will prompt the enemy there to get True Sight, which makes your Sand Storm absolutely useless.
Other than that, Sand King works fine with most Heroes, although you might prefer to lane with someone who has ranged attacks, so as to minimize harassment.
Burrow Strike & Epicenter
At the first tier, your Epicenter might not seem entirely useful, but as always, it is all about the timing. The best way to use it early on is to stun your enemy with a fully upgraded Burrow Strike, and start generating your epicenter immediately afterwards. If done right, the enemy has an incredibly small amount of time to strike you with a disable/stun and cancel the ultimate, but at this point they are frantically right clicking to run away from you 9 out of 10 times. Once Epicenter is active, melee your opponent to finish his life bar off. The earthquake will slow him down, so you don't need to worry about not getting any strikes in. If your lane's doing well, you can even go ganking with this, if you wish.
You can turn a 1-on-1 gank completely around with this. Many times, an enemy Ursa runs out at me from the fog with 80% HP, thinking I am chopped liver. I instantly hit him with the above combo, and get a kill.
If the enemy doesn't falter, however, there's always Sand Storm to exit the fight at will, which, provided he can't see you, will cause him to run off to heal.
Do not use Burrow Strike once Epicenter is active. It will cause your enemy to give up on running and start pummeling you before their health gets dangerously low, which can cause the situation to go either way, leaving you with only Sand Storm as a means of escape. It is much better to conserve Burrow Strike for either finishing them off or as your getaway card in case the Epicenter doesn't cause them to run at first.
Burrowstrike, Sandstorm, Burrowstrike
You don't have a lot going for you in a team fight. If you feel useless while waiting for Burrow to recharge, or even vulnerable, don't be afraid to activate Sand Storm in-between the relatively fast recharges of Burrow. It actually does a lot more good than you'd expect, provided of course that the enemies don't have True Sight. Aside from the pseudo invulnerability and minimal AoE damage, a large swirling cloud of dust could very well strike fear in the hearts of your enemies, or at least the ones who have absolutely no idea what Sand Storm does, causing them to play more defensively in a situation where continuing to pummel on you and your friend(s) would be more beneficial to them. Once Burrowstrike is ready again, unleash it once more, then start playing defensively until Sandstorm has recharged.
MID GAME
Sand King's mid-game is the most difficult thing about him. Blink Dagger and Aghanim's Scepter are imperative, and both cost a lot of gold. Blink Dagger itself costs 2150 gold and cannot be built out of cheaper items, and the problem with that is Sand King isn't a one man army. His abilities are inherently not focused on player killing, and you can't afford to waste gold on other items, while the enemy very much can, leaving him at a distinct disadvantage at this point. You need to pick your battles wisely, partaking in the right team fights and pushing lanes only as long as it's safe. Avoid dying at all costs. Taking part in PvP might sound like a great way to get gold in theory, but the more kills you get, the more possible deaths you're calling upon yourself.
No matter how you look at it, Sand King's mid-game is slow in a balanced (or losing) match. If you're good enough to gain 2k gold in record time, more power to you, but don't let your confidence end up in getting killed enough times to prolong your Mid-Game and turn an advantage into a disadvantage. In the end, you must rely on your team to keep up their mid-game, as they are relying on you to get ready for Late Game.
Lane Control
Sand King is excellent at redirecting the flow of minions towards the enemy base. Caustic Finale finishes a creep wave so well that your own creeps will take minimal damage. Don't be afraid to push a lane in mid-game and after whenever it is safe. Your speed at clearing just two waves will gain your creeps a large advantage, giving your lane a bit of breathing room for a small amount of effort.
In tower defense, Epicenter is your primary skill. Be it enemy heroes or creeps, you can essentially deny the tower altogether, buying your team time to come fend them off, or causing them to give up on the lane entirely for the time being.
Epicenter
Without the Blink Dagger, this skill's usefulness is largely hindered, as the time it takes to walk into enemy range from the safety of generating can cut the amount of damage dealt in half. It's important to remember that this ultimate is essentially a psychological force wave. Most (not all, but most) players' reaction to a well-timed Epicenter is to run away. But Epicenter slows them down, causing them to take the gist of it's damage and lose more health anyway. The end result is that running turns into necessity now, as their health is largely gone and it's too late for them to start pummeling you to turn the situation around.
Make use of this tactic for a level 2 Epicenter. Fend off Gankers and defend your towers.
Always remember that Sand King is not on his offensive during mid-game.
LATE GAME
Acquiring your Blink Dagger usually marks the beginning of Sand King's Late Game, as it opens you up to Epicenter tactics you will rely on for the rest of the game. Keep in mind, though, that your damage potential leaves a lot to be desired until you gain the third rank in Epicenter, and build Aghanim's Scepter (and Veil, optionally), so don't get too cocky just yet.
Epicenter & Blink Dagger
You essentially gain the ability to support a team fight with your ultimate whenever you desire. Not having to waste time to walk into range not only increases your damage potential, but also adds the very important element of surprise. You alone can turn a full-on team fight completely around with a well timed Epiblink, or end one much faster, saving your team HP and Mana, enough to let them continue pushing instead of returning to heal from a battle that could have lasted a minute longer. You can also dissolve a very bad situation and save lives by causing enemies to run. Ultimately, you need good judgement to tell when and how to teleport in and cause havoc.
A Very important thing to remember about your Epicenter tactics at this point, is that you're not the only one in their Late Game. Enemies have farmed out their items and skills as well, and they will be confident. Rely less on causing enemies to run, and more on the element of surprise and proper timing. That Juggernaut is done running from you. He knows he has the damage to kill you regardless of his health bar. A trio of enemies won't think twice to tower-dive you no matter how menacing your Epicenter and it's damage you think might be. Focus on Team-Fights more, as solo Gaking can go either way, no matter what. You're still scary, but only when your friends are around.
Starter Items
The basic repertoire of regen items work just fine for Sand King. Two batches of Tangos for quick patch-ups, a Salve for emergency, Mana pots to keep him in PvP, and a customary Gauntlet & Branch. Unless you do badly in your lane, these supplies will last you all throughout Early Game. Trying to get a head-start, or wasting gold on some other costy item is only counter productive, as you will need to return to base more frequently, causing you to lose out on gold/XP and lengthening your Early Game.
Early Game
The usual regimen of buying Boots of Speed comes first as always. Some say it's not that necessary, but Sand King doesn't need much in the way of items at this tier. You need it for Arcane boots, and Sage's Mask can wait until your Mana Pots are gone. Once you got the mask, duke it out 'till you got 1k for the Energy Booster which will combine with the Boots for your Arcane Boots.
Amassing the gold required for all these is easy enough in a standard match. If you're having trouble, purchase a salve every now and then. If you find yourself buying additional mana pots, you are being too offensive and I suggest you rethink your early game strategy. Try to initiate less, or tell your team-mate he's initiating more than you can support him to.
Mid-Game
Once you got your Arcane Boots, build an Urn. It's cheap and you already got a mask for it. The healing you gain from it will make a huge difference for the rest of the game. Once you got it, I recommend you purchase another mask, as your mana regen still leaves a little to be desired at this point, unless you're comfortable with it as it is. The 300 gold does make a difference in reaching the Blink Dagger sooner.
Late Game & Situational
Late Game consists of nothing but acquiring Aghanim's Scepter. 9 out of 10 times you are in the final stretch of the game, and if you can build anything else costy, then odds are that you already are winning.
Still, there's the occasional odd match that spans out for a long time, and these moments are when the listed Situational items become a goal for reasons obvious in their descriptions.
The exceptions are Shadow Blade and Gem of True Sight.
Shadow Blade is something optional that you can spend time on building Mid-Game, before Blink Dagger. If the enemy team ganks you a lot, or you expect them to, this can increase your survivability greatly. Even if they have True Sight, the Active Ability grants you increased running speed. Because Sand King is mainly a lane pusher in Mid-Game, this item enables him to go beyond the corners and push far safely, escaping from the expected Ganks entirely unscathed.
Gem of True Sight is a necessary evil when the enemy team has one or more Stealth heroes. Still, 700 gold is a small price to pay if you consider that it essentially disables those enemies as far as their Ganking goes.
Pros:
-Superb lane control starting Mid-Game and on.
-Effective at Early Game.
-Powerful Ultimate with great potential uses.
-Simple Item Build.
Cons:
-Slow and difficult Mid-Game.
-Sandstorm and Eclipse are extremely fragile as they can be countered with True Sight and Silence respectively.
-Prone to run out of mana.
-Utilizing Eclipse is difficult, especially Early and Mid-Game.
Of course this isn't the only way to play Sand King. You can very well speed up your Mid-Game by building differently, but Epicenter will take a hit, so I only recommend experienced players to attempt deviating.
Sand King is a great hero for new players who are willing to learn. He can be powerful without requiring a bucketful of skill, but at the same time you aren't handed everything to you quite as easily as some other heroes, such as the Sniper or Ursa.
Above all, this build requires the practice of good judgement on your end, which is a crucial skill to have in Dota 2.
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